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Montana Schools Fall Short on Testing Benchmarks

By Beacon Staff

HELENA – Montana students have fallen short of this year’s benchmarks set by the federal No Child Left Behind Act.

The testing goals require that 94.8 percent of students score proficient or above in reading, and 90 percent in math.

Office of Public Instruction spokeswoman Allyson Hagen said Friday that 84 percent of Montana students tested as proficient in reading and 66 percent in math.

Superintendent Denise Juneau says No Child Left Behind is a broken system and must be replaced with one that provides meaningful information to educators, parents, students and communities.

The agency says Montana’s graduation rate increased from 82.2 percent to 83.9 percent during the 2011-2012 school year. The national graduation rate is 78.2 percent.

The 2013 No Child Left Behind graduation rate goal is 85 percent.