Montana Schools

    In the “Smartest State” rankings for the 2005-06 school year, Montana moved up one spot from tenth to ninth in the nation for, among other things, student achievement, positive outcomes, and personal attention from teachers. The rankings were based on 21 factors and compiled by Morgan Quinto for his annual reference book “Education State Rankings, 2005-06”.

Montana’s ACT scores for the 2006 testing season were also above average of 21.1—21.9 out of 36 possible. In the reading portion of the test, Montana students were 1.1 points above the national average. This was the third year of improvement for Montana’s students.

In terms of the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001, Montana is doing poorly. In the 2004-05 school year, the state overall was marked for improvement. The only parts of the “Adequate Yearly Progress” determined by NCLB the state made were in graduation and attendance rates. IN Reading and Math, all students fell below the federal proficiency scores—though the participation rate was excellent. Over 80% of Montana students attend “Title I” schools—schools that need to focus on academic improvement or are in low-income areas. These schools are eligible for extra federal funding to pay for programs—including free after-school tutoring and bussing students to higher-performing schools in the district—to help improve test scores.

For more information on your particular school’s performance, please visit Montana’s Office of Public Instruction at http://www.opi.state.mt.us.