Less than half of Montana third-graders are able to read at a grade-appropriate level, a distressing indicator for the future of many students in the state.

Educators agree that reaching third grade-level proficiency is a key milestone in the overall trajectory of a student in the classroom and beyond.

Yet the educational landscape for the youngest Montanans is pretty bleak. Montana is one of only six states in the country without a public preschool program; it’s widely considered a child care desert with just 43% of demand for early education met by current care capacity; and funding to support the education of early childhood educators continues to dwindle.

[HB 352] tasks BPE with creating a methodology to determine whether a 4-year-old is on track to reach proficient reading levels by the third grade; developing a framework for summer jumpstart programs to close literacy gaps for elementary students; and recommending a home-based program operated by an outside nonprofit that parents can use in the household.

It also allocated $1.5 million to the future programs, calling for close collaboration between BPE, the Office of Public Instruction and local school boards.

Local school districts would use these benchmarks to screen students at parents’ request. Districts would be empowered to tailor the tools used for the assessment to their specific student population.

Helena IR: State education entities seek to address low reading scores