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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