America’s military schools are ranked the best in the nation. California should take note. The U.S. Department of Defense, through its Department of Defense Education Activity (DODEA) program, operates 160 K-12 schools in the U.S. and overseas. These schools at American military installations serve around 67,000 very diverse students who are children of service members or of civilian employees of the military. DODEA’s success is undeniable. On the National Assessment of Educational Progress, often referred to as the nation’s report card, its schools rank No. 1 in reading and math results. It is instructive to note the performance disparity between military schools and public schools in California. Both spend roughly the same amount per student — around $25,000 per pupil. Yet military school students hugely outperform public school students in California. For example, on the 2024 eighth grade NAEP reading exam, 54% of DODEA students met or exceeded the proficiency benchmark. In contrast, only 28% of California eighth graders hit the proficient mark. Among specific demographics, 51% of Hispanic DODEA eighth graders scored at or above the proficient level, compared with just 19% of California Hispanic eighth graders who met the mark. In addition, 42% of DODEA Black eighth graders scored at or above proficiency, more than double the 20% of California black eighth graders who scored at that level. With students at these DODEA schools far outperforming similarly funded public schools in states like California, the question is why the difference? A 2024 report on military school performance by the…
