News

Schools qualify for federal education program

Fifty Montana schools, plagued by high poverty and low student test scores, will qualify
this fall for a federal program that provides federally paid tutoring or transportation to another public
school.

By BOB ANEZ Associated Press -Missoulian

But taking advantage of the new program may be difficult for students at many of the schools, said
B.J. Granbery, head of the Educational Opportunity and Equity Division in the state Office of Public
Instruction.

In some of the more remote rural schools, students will have a tough time finding tutors and may
have to use some type of Internet service, she said. In districts where all the schools are eligible for
the program or only one elementary school exists, students would not have subsidized transportation
to a different school in the district, Granbery added.

The program is part of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act that President Bush signed into
law in January.

The eligible schools identified in Montana have a history of reading and math scores that fall below
the national average and have a higher-than-average poverty rate, Granbery said.

The 50 schools represent about 6 percent of the 877 schools in the state.

All but 10 of the qualified schools are on or near American Indian reservations. Some of the schools
include Box Elder, Brockton, Browning, Frazer, Harlem, Heart Butte, Lodge Grass, Lame Deer,
Poplar and Rocky Boy.

"We know that native American children tend to not do as well on standardized achievement tests,"
Granbery said.

However, as part of the new federal law, states must revise their testing programs and Granbery said
that will involve introducing a new test in Montana.

Currently, the schools annually test students in fourth, eighth and 11th grades in math, science,
reading, language and social studies. The law mandates annual testing of grades three through eight
in math and reading.

Granbery said the state has hired a New Hampshire-based company, Measured Progress, to provide
and score the new exams beginning in April 2004 at the three grade levels now tested. Students in
third, fifth, sixth and seventh grades will be added in 2006, and science testing will be added in 2008,
she said.

Once the new system is in place, schools that do not show adequate improvement in scores over a
three-year period will become eligible for the paid tutoring. A two-year measure will be used to
determine those qualified for the paid transportation to another school, Granbery said.

She said Measured Progress has promised to work with state officials in adjusting its off-the-shelf
test to remedy problems that may put Indian students at a disadvantage when taking the exams.

A frequent criticism of the tests is that they are culturally biased.

Granbery said Montana’s Indian population will be involved in field testing the new exam to identify
problems. A different test may need to be developed for Indian students for whom the language barrier
is so great that the regular test would be an invalid measure, she said.

Here’s a list of the Montana schools that initially qualify this fall for a new program that provides
federally paid tutoring and transportation to other schools.

Arrowhead 7-8 (Pray)

Belfry 7-8

Orchard Elementary (Billings)

Ponderosa Elementary (Billings)

Box Elder 7-8

Brockton Elementary

Brockton 7-8

Brockton High

Browning Middle

K.W. Bergan Elementary (Browning)

Napi Elementary (Browning)

Vina Chattin (Browning)

Browning High

Greeley Elementary (Butte)

Culbertson Elementary

East Glacier Elementary

Frazer Elementary

Frazer 7-8

Frazer High

Longfellow Elementary (Great Falls)

Hardin-Crow Agency Elementary

Harlem 7-8

Harlem High

Hays-Lodgepole Elementary

Hays-Lodgepole 7-8

Hays-Lodgepole High

Heart Butte Elementary

Heart Butte 7-8

Heart Butte High

Lame Deer Elementary

Lame Deer 7-8

Lame Deer High

Lincoln Elementary

Lodge Grass Elementary

Lodge Grass 7-8

Lodge Grass High

Plenty Coups High

Poplar 7-8

Poplar High

Pryor 7-8

Rocky Boy Elementary

Rocky Boy 7-8

Rocky Boy High

St. Ignatius Elementary

St. Ignatius Middle

Cecelia Hazelton (Townsend)

Vaughn 7-8

Willow Creek Elementary

Willow Creek 7-8

Wyola Elementary

Source: Montana Office of Public Instruction.

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