"It's a Way of Life for Us": High Mobility and High Achievement in Department of Defense Schools

This article focuses on the academic performance of students in a system characterized by high student mobility: the U.S. Department of Defense Education Activity (DoDEA) school system. Some observers contend that the high achievement among highly mobile students in DoDEA schools is a function of the middle-class family and community characteristics of these students. We believe that such a view is overly simplified. We argue that DoDEA schools simultaneously “do the right things” and “do things right,” including the way individual schools - and the system - respond to high student mobility rates.