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It did and didn't. If you attended schools run by DoDDS (Department of Defense Dependents Schools) before and after transferring, there wasn't the jarring effect of "this school system teaches algebra in $GRADE but the other teaches it in $GRADE-1" because I think the general curriculum was standardized.

Kids were generally well behaved so there wasn't much in the way of disruption. Everyone has at least one parent (usually dad) in the military and I seem to recall serious behaviors like bullying could impact military careers, so there was an incentive to have some minimal level of concern about children. Incomes were relatively equal, and at the time (and probably now) racism and the like was not tolerated by anyone.

Everyone moved a lot so the awkwardness of a new school system was significantly reduced; pretty much everyone had been the new kid at some point.

If you were overseas (likely if you're in DoDDS schools) there'd likely be some sort of weekly local language and culture class that was mandatory. My school also offered full language immersion as an option.

There aren't many studies on military brats, unfortunately. I've seen a few that suggest higher college graduation rates than the general population, but a greater likelihood of starting or finishing a degree at some point other than directly after high school. More worldliness.

I'd wager that there'd be a difference on a few variables between children that stayed Stateside at one location (e.g. grew up in Norfolk around the naval base and stayed in the area), children who were stationed overseas and attended military schools, children who moved around the US and didn't attend military schools, and some combination thereof. Throw in peace and war as variables.

I can attest that moving from random US district to another with a different curriculum does make you both ahead of and behind the curve. I had to retake a number of classes I'd had in middle and elementary school to meet high school graduation requirements for the Nth new high school.

I was once ahead in math then behind due to differences in sequences.

I'm sure it impacted which colleges accepted me.

I've heard some post-9/11 changes may have helped with transfers but that wasn't my era, unfortunately.




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