    [Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: William J. Clinton (1997, Book I)]
    [March 13, 1997]
    [Page 305]
    [From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]

    Memorandum on National Testing in Defense Department Schools
    March 13, 1997

    Memorandum for the Secretary of Defense

    Subject: Participation of Department of Defense Dependents Schools and
    Domestic Dependent Elementary and Secondary Schools in National Testing

        The Department of Defense Dependents Schools overseas and the
    Domestic Dependent Elementary and Secondary Schools here at home play an
    important role in enhancing the quality of life and overall readiness of
    the Armed Forces of the United States. They provide military families
    deployed overseas and within the United States with outstanding
    educational opportunities, and they play a vital role in preparing the
    children of military and civilian personnel in the Armed Forces for the
    future.
        Students in these schools deserve the best we can offer, starting
    with the highest expectations and most challenging academic standards
    available. Drawn from all racial and ethnic backgrounds, located in 15
    countries throughout the world and in seven States and Puerto Rico here
    at home, all highly mobile, no group of students better underscores the
    need for common national standards and a uniform way of measuring
    progress.
        That is why I am pleased the Department of Defense Dependents
    Schools and Domestic Dependent Elementary and Secondary Schools have
    accepted the challenge of benchmarking the performance of their students
    against widely accepted national standards in fourth grade reading and
    eighth grade math, using voluntary national tests aligned with these
    standards. This step will ensure that students, parents, and teachers in
    the Department of Defense Education Activity (DoDEA) schools will have
    honest, accurate information about whether students are mastering the
    basic skills. Along with the States of Maryland, Michigan, and North
    Carolina, the DoDEA schools are among the first in the Nation to commit
    to participate in this testing program, beginning in 1999.
        Accepting this challenge of meeting national standards means much
    more than administering new tests. It means beginning immediately to
    prepare students to meet these standards. This will require steps such
    as providing parents with the information and assistance they need to be
    their child's first teacher, upgrading the curriculum, implementing
    proven instructional practices and programs, making accessible new
    technologies to enhance teaching and learning, supporting and rewarding
    good teaching, and providing students who need it with extra help and
    tutoring.
        The DoDEA schools have already begun this task, but much more needs
    to be done. And the lessons the DoDEA schools learn from these efforts
    can be valuable for other schools throughout our Nation.
        Therefore I direct you to ensure that the DoDEA schools take these
    and other steps as appropriate, and use all available resources to
    prepare every one of their students to meet these standards, in 1999 and
    each year thereafter, and to report annually on the progress being made
    toward this objective, and on the effectiveness of the strategies and
    approaches the DoDEA school system uses to achieve it.

                                                          William J. Clinton