Director's Message 3/11/03

     January marked not only the beginning of the new year but also the beginning of the spring testing season. Like their counterparts in the 50 states, our fourth and eighth graders participated in the National Assessment of Educational Progress, the Nation’s Report Card, in January and February. From March through the end of the school year, the TerraNova, Balanced Assessment in Mathematics, Communication Arts Performance Assessment, and the Algebra End-of-Course Assessment will be administered in selected grades and courses as part of DoDEA’s Systemwide Assessment Program.

     The TerraNova provides students, parents, and the system with an understanding of how our students stack up against students nationwide in the areas of reading, language arts, mathematics, science, and social studies. The other assessments are part of the requirements of our DoDEA Community Strategic Plan (CSP) and provide information to help us monitor our success in reaching the goals of the CSP.

     As parents and educators, please encourage your children and students to approach the assessments with a positive outlook. It is important that they understand

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that their performance on these tests is important to you,
that the tests provide a chance to show off what they know and can do,
that the tests are designed to “stretch” students and consequently are difficult; therefore, they should not become discouraged if they are unsure about the answers to many items. For example, most students will answer only about half of the items on the TerraNova correctly. The important thing is for all students to be prepared and to do their best on each section of the test.

If schools have not done so already, I encourage them to make sure teachers are fully briefed on the test administration procedures and their responsibilities under the Systemwide Assessment Program.

Your efforts help provide our system with valid, accurate assessment information, which is one of the outcomes of the CSP Goal 1, Outcome A - Highest Student Achievement: Individual student progress will be continually measured using multiple internal and external performance-based assessments. I understand that the assessment impact on grades 4, 8, and 10 is heavy for teachers and students, and I want you to know that I appreciate your involvement in and support of the testing process.

Nancy C. Bresell
Director, DoDDS Pacific