DoD Schools Ranked Best in the United States Again on Nation’s Report Card

Fourth and eighth-grade students attending Department of Defense Education Activity (DoDEA) schools led the nation in scoring on the 2024 National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) Reading and Mathematics Assessments. 

DoDEA students’ average scale scores ranged from 14 to 25 points higher than corresponding national average scores and held steady while national average scores mostly decreased. 

“I am delighted that DoDEA has once again performed exceptionally well on the National Assessment of Educational Progress,” said DoDEA Director, Dr. Beth Schiavino-Narvaez. “Credit for this success belongs to our incredible teachers, administrators, and staff of DoDEA, and most importantly to our students and their families, for all their hard work and dedication. Our relentless pursuit of continuous improvement has empowered our mission to deliver excellence in education to every student, every day, everywhere."

The National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) is the only nationally representative and continuing assessment of what America's students know and can do in various subject areas. Assessments are conducted periodically in mathematics, reading, science, writing, the arts, civics, economics, geography, and U.S. history. NAEP does not provide scores for individual students or schools; instead, it offers results regarding subject-matter achievement, instructional experiences, and school environment for populations of students (e.g., fourth graders) and groups within those populations (e.g., Hispanic students). NAEP results are based on a sample of student populations of interest.

DoDEA NAEP 2024

The NAEP Reading and Mathematics Assessments were administered using digital-based assessments (DBA) to fourth and eighth grade students in the nation’s public schools. For more information about NAEP digital-based assessments, please visit https://nces.ed.gov/nationsreportcard/dba/

The NAEP Reading and Mathematics scale scores range from 0 to 500. Achievement levels are performance standards that indicate what students should know and be able to do. NAEP results are reported in terms of three achievement levels – Basic, Proficient, and Advanced – and are expressed in terms of the percentage of students who attained each level. DoDEA participated in the NAEP reading assessment for the first time in 1998 and in mathematics in 2000.

DoDEA 2024 NAEP READING RESULTS 

4^th Grade

• The average scale score for students in DoDEA in 2024 (234) was higher than that in 1998 (220) and was not significantly different from that in 2022 (235).
• In 2024, the percentage of students in DoDEA who performed at or above NAEP Proficient was 48 percent. This was greater than that for the nation's public schools (30 percent).
• The percentage of students in DoDEA who performed at or above NAEP Proficient in 2024 (48 percent) was greater than that in 1998 (32 percent) and was not significantly different from that in 2022 (50 percent).
• In 2024, the percentage of students in DoDEA who performed at or above NAEP Basic was 79 percent. This was greater than that for the nation's public schools (59 percent).
• The percentage of students in DoDEA who performed at or above NAEP Basic in 2024 (79 percent) was greater than that in 1998 (66 percent) and not significantly different than that in 2022 (80 percent).

8^th Grade

• The average scale score for students in DoDEA in 2024 (282) was higher than that in 1998 (269) and not significantly different from that in 2022 (282).
• In 2024, the percentage of students in DoDEA who performed at or above NAEP Proficient was 53 percent. This was greater than that for the nation's public schools (29 percent).
• The percentage of students in DoDEA who performed at or above NAEP Proficient in 2024 (53 percent) was greater than that in 1998 (37 percent) and was not significantly different from that in 2012 (55 percent).
• In 2024, the percentage of students in DoDEA who performed at or above NAEP Basic was 90 percent. This was greater than that for the nation's public schools (66 percent).
• The percentage of students in DoDEA who performed at or above NAEP Basic in 2024 (90 percent) was greater than that in 1998 (79 percent) and was not significantly different from that in 2022 (90 percent).

Table 1 shows a comparison of reading performance scores of DoDEA students and those in national public schools. In 4th grade reading, DoDEA has a consistent trend of increasing the extent to which our students are performing higher than students in the national public system each year, with growth from 13 points higher than the national public average in 2017 to 20 points in 2024.  The reflects an increasing and positive gap for DoDEA.  The same trend is clear for 8th grade with growth from a 15-point gap in 2017 to outperforming the nation’s public schools by 25 points in 2024.

Table 1. Historical Performance of DoDEA students on the NAEP Reading Assessment

DoDEA 2024 NAEP MATHEMATICS RESULTS 

4^th grade Math

• The average scale score for students in DoDEA in 2024 (251) was higher than that in 1996 (224) and was not significantly different from that in 2022 (250).
• In 2024, the percentage of students in DoDEA who performed at or above NAEP Proficient was 54 percent. This was greater than that for the nation's public schools (39 percent).
• The percentage of students in DoDEA who performed at or above NAEP Proficient in 2024 (54 percent) was greater than that in 1996 (19 percent) and was not significantly different from that in 2022 (51 percent).
• In 2024, the percentage of students in DoDEA who performed at or above NAEP Basic was 91 percent. This was greater than that for the nation's public schools (76 percent).
• The percentage of students in DoDEA who performed at or above NAEP Basic in 2024 (91 percent) was greater than that in 1996 (64 percent) and was not significantly different from that in 2022 (92 percent).

8^th grade math 

• In 2024, the average mathematics scale score for eighth-grade students in DoDEA was 291. This was higher than that for the nation's public schools (272).
• The average scale score for students in DoDEA in 2024 (291) was higher than that in 1996 (274) and was not significantly different from that in 2022 (292).
• In 2024, the percentage of students in DoDEA who performed at or above NAEP Proficient was 41 percent. This was greater than that for the nation's public schools (27 percent).
• The percentage of students in DoDEA who performed at or above NAEP Proficient in 2024 (41 percent) was greater than that in 1996 (22 percent) and was not significantly different from that in 2022 (41 percent).
• In 2024, the percentage of students in DoDEA who performed at or above NAEP Basic was 81 percent. This was greater than that for the nation's public schools (59 percent).
• The percentage of students in DoDEA who performed at or above NAEP Basic in 2024 (81 percent) was greater than that in 1996 (64 percent) and was not significantly different from that in 2022 (82 percent).

Table 2 shows a comparison of mathematics performance scores of DoDEA students and those in national public schools. In Mathematics, DoDEA exceeds national public schools, and the gap has increased over time from 10 points in 2017 to 14 points in 2024. Additionally, the portion of students meeting the highest expectations (Advanced on NAEP) have increased from 8 percent of students to 11 percent of students. In 8th grade math the results are even more dramatic with the gap nearly doubling from DoDEA outperforming by 11 points to DoDEA outperforming by 19 points.

Table 2. Historical Performance of DoDEA students on the NAEP Mathematics Assessment

DoDEA 2024 NAEP PERFORMANCE OF SELECTED STUDENT GROUPS 

With respect to fourth grade reading, female students achieved a higher average scale score in reading than that of the male students. White students in DoDEA had an average score that was higher than the average scores of Blacks and Hispanic students, but not significantly different from the average score of Asian students. The percentage of White students (54) performing at or above Proficient was greater than corresponding Black (34) and Hispanic (42) students and was consistent with the percentage of Asian students (53). 

Figure 1: 2024 NAEP 4th Grade Reading Average Scale Scores

With respect to eighth grade reading, female students achieved a higher average scale score in reading than that of the male students. The difference between student performance at or above Proficient level between male and female is significant; 47 percent and 60 percent respectively.  White students in DoDEA had an average score that was higher than the average scores of Black and Hispanic students, but not significantly different from the average score of Asian students. The percentage of White students performing at or above Proficient was greater than corresponding percentages of Black and Hispanic students, but not significantly different from the percentage of Asian students.

Figure 2: 2024 NAEP 8th Grade Reading Average Scale Score

DoDEA 2024 NAEP Mathematics Results by Student Groups 

With respect to fourth grade mathematics, male students in DoDEA had a higher average scale score (254) than female students (247) on the NAEP 2024 assessment.  The percent of male students (60) that performed at or above Proficient was higher than female students (48). White students in DoDEA had an average score that was higher than the average scores of Black, Hispanic students but was not significantly different than that of Asian students. The percentage of White students (60) performing at or above Proficient was significantly higher than corresponding Black (37) and Hispanic students (47), but not 

Figure 3: 2024 NAEP 4th Grade Math Average Scale Score

With respect eighth grade mathematics, male students in DoDEA had an average scale score in mathematics (294) that was significantly higher than that of female students (289).  The percent of male students (45) that performed at or above Proficient was higher than female students (36). White students in DoDEA had an average score that was higher than the average scores of Blacks and Hispanic students but was lower than that of Asian students. The percentage of White students performing at or above Proficient was significantly higher than corresponding Black and Hispanic students but was not significantly different than that of Asian students.

Figure 4: 2024 NAEP 8th Grade Math Average Scale Score

NAEP uses Item Response Theory (IRT) scaling and NAEP marginal estimations to estimate scale scores for each of the content areas at each grade. For both mathematics and reading, each scale score distribution is transformed to NAEP scale scores that range from 0 to 500. Subscale effect sizes are used to compare performance in the different content areas. For more information about NAEP analysis, IRT, and scaling, see https://nces.ed.gov/nationsreportcard/tdw/analysis/.   

Additional Information 

Detailed information on the 2024 NAEP Reading and Mathematics assessment and all other NAEP assessments can be found on the web at: http://www.nationsreportcard.gov.

DoDEA plans, directs, coordinates, and manages pre-kindergarten through 12th grade education programs for school-age children of Department of Defense personnel who would otherwise not have access to high-quality public education. DoDEA schools are located in Europe, the Pacific, Western Asia, the Middle East, Cuba, the United States, Guam, and Puerto Rico. DoDEA also provides support and resources to Local Educational Agencies throughout the United States that serve children of military families.

NAEP Comparison Data (2024 and 2022)

    Reading, Grade 4

Reading, Grade 8

Mathematics, Grade 4

Mathematics, Grade 8