Dear Editor: Facts Matter

Dear Editor,

FACTS MATTER, especially when applied in and around schools that are teaching our kids. Even, perhaps especially, when they don’t tell us what we want them to.

My family has lived and worked in the Jefferson Valley for over 125 years, and I have many family members that attended and graduated from Cardwell School, including my mom. So when I saw the front page of the Whitehall Ledger today I was very excited to hear that a school in our community was getting such great accolades. I am also a Whitehall School Board trustee, and a parent of two kids in the district, so I am always interested in finding out how our school can improve. After I read the Ledger article, I went to Family Minded to see if they had more details about what Cardwell School was doing that earned such a great ranking. After reading the article, I was very impressed with the testing scores Family Minded used to calculate the ranking, and I wanted to see how other schools (specifically the one I am most familiar with, Whitehall) in the area compared. Thanks to our Whitehall School Superintendent, I know that all of the schools in Montana have test scores that are easily accessible on Montana’s OPI (Office of public instruction) website. The OPI data is interesting. Whitehall Elementary School district’s scores for 2021-2022, (the time period for Cardwell’s impressive ranking) are a bit below what Cardwell’s are as represented in the ranking article. However, Cardwell’s numbers were considerably lower. The Family Minded article quotes some very impressive scores for reading and math at Cardwell school. Here it is:

Located in the city of Cardwell, the school has an enrollment of 46 students in grades PK through 8 and a student-teacher ratio of 8 to 1. State test scores show 65 percent of students are proficient in math and 85 percent are proficient in reading. Because Cardwell serves students through eighth grade, it’s ranked as the top middle school in Montana, and its teachers in all grades are ranked No. 1 in the state.

Runners-Up:

Creston School (Kalispell)

West Glacier School (West Glacier)

Hobson Elementary School (Hobson)

Fort Benton Elementary School (Fort Benton)

The numbers above would be truly impressive, if accurate. Unfortunately, Montana’s OPI website https://gems.opi.mt.gov/school-district-data has some very different information. For proficiency in math, Cardwell School scored a 26.67%, with 0% of students scoring in the advanced range. In English, Cardwell Scored 40% proficiency, with another 6.7% of students scoring in the advanced range. Just for comparison, in math, Whitehall was 31% proficient, and another 19% advanced. In English Whitehall was 29% proficient, and another 20% advanced. In both cases, more of the Whitehall Elementary students were either proficient or advanced.

I debated with myself whether this should even be addressed. The Ledger article is, in fact, a feel-good article intended to highlight the hard work and dedication of the teachers at Cardwell Elementary School. It is because of the respect I hold for those same teachers, and I know that they care as much or more than I do about getting facts right, that this needed to be written. Cardwell School has produced an incredible abundance of superb students, teachers, and contributors to our world, and has a long history of excellence. We continue to have excellent schools with excellent teachers throughout the Jefferson Valley, and true accomplishments should be celebrated. It is very important that when we do so, we get the facts right.

James Reiff

Whitehall, Montana