Roundup Record Tribune & Winnett Times -

HELENA— The Office of Public Instruction has released Montana’s 2018-2019 school year statewide assessment results for elementary and middle school students. The Smarter Balanced Assessment is used to show proficiency in math and English language arts (ELA) for students in grades 3 through 8. The most recent results showed little variation in either category.

For grades 3 through 5, the proficiency rates are 49.8% in ELA and 44.7% in math. That is down from 50.5% proficiency in ELA and up from 44.4% proficiency in math in 2018. For grades 6 through 8, the proficiency rates are 50.3% in ELA and 39.0% in math. That is up from 50.1% proficiency in ELA and 38.5% proficiency in math in 2018. Participation rates by grade are around 98%.

“The Office of Public Instruction is committed to working with schools to move the needle on student achievement,” State Superintendent Elsie Arntzen said Friday. “While one test does not represent a student’s full potential, these results do show where we can start supporting improvement. State assessments in combination with local measurements provide data for teachers to support individualized student success.”

Montana is beginning its second year of Comprehensive and Targeted Support and Improvement efforts under the federal Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA). The OPI is assisting schools and districts which have high percentages of underperforming students in certain categories such as American Indian, Hispanic, economically disadvantaged, and special education students. Students in these categories have historically performed below the all-student average.

The OPI is committed to working with school teams to create school improvement plans which ensure that all Montana students have the opportunity to succeed. You can learn more about these efforts on the OPI’s website.

Complete state and local assessment results can be found on OPI’s GEMS data website. ACT results for high school students were released last month.