WASHINGTON (AFPN) -- Results show Defense Department school system students scored consistently higher than the national average on a standardized test.

Numbers from the 2003 TerraNova 2nd Edition standardized test revealed DOD third-to eleventh-graders scored higher than the national 50th-percentile average in the United States.

But Joseph Tafoya, director of the Department of Defense Education Activity, is already looking at ways to improve the upcoming school year's curriculum for even better results in the future.

"We're trying to be a leader. We're trying to look at programs and … make them better so that our students are more successful," Tafoya said. "And so our efforts to improve test scores continue; our efforts to have kids have more access to challenging courses continue.

“We know that every kid in our system needs to take algebra and geometry, and not only do they need to take it, they need to be successful. So we're putting (in) a lot of time and effort to do that," he said.

The TerraNova test is a nationally standardized achievement test in which students are evaluated in reading, language arts, math, social studies and science.

Test results showed DOD students consistently scored 10 to 20 points higher than the national average in 37 of the 45 subtests, and 21 to 25 points higher in five subtests.

Tafoya said he hopes curriculum changes in the upcoming school year at DOD high schools will result in even better test results. He said this year's high school curricula were standardized to focus on literacy and algebra skills, along with language support and computer-oriented math instruction.

Some of the high school-level curriculum changes will be considered for elementary and middle schools in the future "to ensure that all kids are getting the same curriculum and the same opportunity," he said.

Another initiative Tafoya said may have helped students score well was the educational activity's focus on getting students to read.

Tafoya also said that DOD schools scored high on the National Assessment of Education Progress evaluation test. As with the TerraNova test, this evaluation assesses students' know-how in various subject areas. He said the gap between minority and other students was the smallest in the nation, and DOD students ranked No. 1 in overall writing skills.

"So we have this very high-level degree of success," Tafoya said. "Obviously we're very proud of those scores, but we're not going to sit back and say we're doing (well). We're continuing use that as an emphasis and help our kids and DOD schools to be among the best," he said.

Tofoya said having outstanding students has been the work of "great administrators and teachers." But, he said, the keys to the success of the military education program have been the parents and military commands that support DOD schools.

"They are very interested," he said. "The quality of the education of their students is paramount all the way from the very top at the … Pentagon down to the local bases and schools. So with that, we believe we have an advantage."

The education activity operates 224 fully accredited public schools in 21 districts in 14 countries, seven states and the U.S. territories of Guam and Puerto Rico. About 106,000 students are enrolled in DOD schools.