Goal 1—Highest Student Achievement
A Message from the Director, DoDDS Pacific

          Goal 1, Highest Student Achievement, of the DoDEA Community Strategic Plan (CSP) states, “All students will meet or exceed challenging standards in academic content so that they are prepared for continuous learning and productive citizenship.” In today’s educational environment, standards based reform to enhance student performance is on the national agenda. Our organizational emphasis on Goal 1 is very consistent with those national trends and the legislative intent of the No Child Left Behind Act.

          This week, I want to focus on development and implementation of rigorous content standards in DoDEA. A standards-based system measures its success by looking at student learning, specifically how well they have achieved the standard. Content standards clearly articulate and identify the important knowledge that students are expected to obtain as result of instruction, and they help guide teachers in the development of learning activities. By planning lessons with the outcome in mind, teachers are able to ensure that there is congruence between the learning objective and the instructional activity. Further, a clear definition of the standard helps teachers develop classroom assessment practices that enable them to closely examine student performance to determine if the student has demonstrated mastery.

          From a practical perspective, the adoption of content standards across the curriculum will enable teachers to customize instructional and assessment practices to meet the needs of individual students, and provide accurate feedback to both students and their parents. A clearly articulated set of content standards establishes a cohesive framework in which teachers plan lessons tailored to student needs.

          During School Year 2001-2002, we implemented new content standards in social studies. This year, we will begin the process of implementing new content standards in the area of reading and language arts. As the school year progresses, you can expect to see additional training that focuses on infusing research tested instructional practices to help teachers better meet student needs, not only in these areas, but also across the curriculum.

          Goal 1 of the CSP is our blueprint for managing instructional practice and classroom assessment. Attention to the development, articulation, and implementation of our standards is critical as we transform our schools. Many of the subject area standards are listed on the DoDEA web site at: http://www.odedodea.edu/instruction/curriculum/standards.htm#es. It is important that we all – administrators, counselors, and teachers alike – take time to study and become familiar with the DoDEA curriculum standards so that we all know what is expected of our young people, and can be ready and equipped to assist in the goal of helping all children achieve to the highest standards.

Nancy C. Bresell
Director, DoDDS Pacific