Montana’s State Highlights

Summary of Grades

Montana scores below average on all four of the graded policy categories in Quality Counts.

The state lags far behind in standards and accountability, ranking second-to-last in the nation. Montana’s English, mathematics, and social studies standards have not been rated clear and specific by the American Federation of Teachers. In addition, the state does not sanction or provide assistance to all low-performing schools.

Montana also falls below average in efforts to improve teacher quality. Montana is one of only three states that do not require prospective teachers to pass basic-skills, subject-knowledge, or subject-specific-pedagogy tests for their initial licenses. Montana also lacks key policies for holding teacher-preparation institutions accountable for the success of their graduates in the classroom.

Montana outscores only a handful of states in school climate. Its grade suffers in this area partly because it lacks all of the schoolsafety policies that are tracked in Quality Counts. The state has no law that enforces specific penalties for school violence and no regulations or funding related to reducing school bullying or harassment.

Montana is among the lowest-performing states In resource equity. Its coefficient-of-variation score is second-to-worst in the nation, indicating a high level of disparity in per-pupil funding levels across school districts in the state.

Note: Details may not sum to totals due to rounding.