BILLINGS Billings Public Schools is reporting significant academic gains across elementary and middle schools, with rising reading and math scores, expanded intervention programs, and growing career education opportunities.Howe ver, district leaders say major challenges remain at schools with higher poverty rates.Watch full story below: Billings Public Schools reports rising test scores, but achievement gaps persist across campusesNew benchmark data presented during a September school board performance monitoring report showed K-8 reading proficiency rising from 57% in fall 2023 to 65% by spring 2026.Math proficiency increased from 62% to 69% during the same period.The district uses NWEA benchmark testing, a nationally normed assessment used to measure student growth over time.Superintendent Dr. Erwin Garcia said the results reflect years of instructional changes."If school districts were given letter grades, I would rate our system as an A-rated system," Garcia said.Garcia credits the district's expansion of science-of-reading instruction, visible learning strategies, intervention support, and teacher training programs for the improvement."These results show how much the changes that we have brought for instruction, the visible learning, and the focus on science of reading have given us these results," Garcia said.Some of the largest gains appeared in elementary and middle school reading scores.Kindergarten reading benchmark scores rose from 48% to 67% over the reporting period, while seventh grade reading climbed from 64% to 75%.Garcia said district leaders made science-of-reading instruction consistent across all elementary schools after finding uneven implementation several years ago."It existed in some of our campuses, but it was not consistent, so we made it consistent," Garcia said. "Every single campus, K through 5th, all of the elementary campuses, have to teach the science of reading."The district also expanded teacher training in math instruction using Eureka Math in elementary schools and Amplify Math in middle schools.Intervention specialists filling learning gapsAt Bitterroot Elementary, instructional improvement specialist Priscilla Barrera works directly with students needing additional reading and math support."We teach whatever it is that they're missing from that main instruction in the classroom and filling in those gaps," Barrera said.Barrera, who previously taught third grade before moving into intervention work, now works with students across kindergarten through fifth grade.In Barrera's classroom, students work in small groups focused on reading foundations, decoding skills, fluency, and comprehension."Seeing that moment when it finally clicks for a student and watching their confidence grow after that that's the really rewarding part," Barrera said.She said the work often begins with foundational literacy skills for younger students."In the kinder classes that looks like letter sounds," Barrera said. "Starting out with those letter sounds and being able to identify the sound that matches with the letter."Achievement gaps persist at high-poverty schoolsGarcia said district-wide improvement does not mean every school is performing equally. He repeatedly pointed to large achievement gaps between schools in Billings West End and the Heights compared to campuses on the South Side, where poverty rates are significantly higher."You go to kindergarten, first week of school," Garcia said. "You go to Arrowhead, 80 percent of those kindergarteners are proficient. You take the same assessment in the south side of Billings, only 20 percent of the kids are proficient."Garcia said those disparities are closely tied to socioeconomic conditions, not differences in student ability."When you're teaching 80 percent of your population who's not reading on grade level, that is a total beast," Garcia said.District leaders say schools with the highest poverty rates also face the highest mobility rates and chronic absenteeism.Garcia said one Billings school currently experiences nearly 40% student turnover between the beginning and end of the school year."We have about 600 homeless students," Garcia said. "We have about 250 foster care kids in our community. And those are accounted in the data."The district has responded by expanding attendance intervention programs, including attendance coordinators, truancy officers, and partnerships with local youth court systems."We need parents' help," Garcia said. "You can't have 60 absences in a semester and pretend that your child is going to cope with regular instruction."Middle school program ties attendance to academic successAt Medicine Crow Middle School, administrators say improving attendance and engagement has become part of the academic strategy itself.Principal Michael Thomas said the school's "Grow with Grit, Shine with Hope" initiative was created after student surveys showed many students lacked confidence and long-term motivation."One thing is hope is just a dream unless you actually work for it," Thomas said.The program ties attendance, academic intervention, incentives, and student engagement together while encouraging students to take ownership of their education."If you hope to be successful in school, if you hope to be on the basketball team, if you hope for these things, you have to attend school," Thomas said.Thomas said Medicine Crow saw roughly 10% growth in both reading and math benchmark scores over the past year.Career certifications and college readiness on the riseThe district also points to workforce and college readiness programs as another area of growth. Student certifications increased from 902 in the 2022-23 school year to 1,687 in 2025-26. Programs now include welding, EMT training, cybersecurity, CNA certification, FAA commercial drone certification, automotive technology, and financial literacy programs.Garcia said the district is intentionally expanding opportunities for students who may not follow a traditional four-year college pathway."We want to give them a pathway forward," Garcia said.Advanced Placement participation and success rates have also climbed. District data showed AP exam scores of 3 or higher increased from 57% several years ago to 82% in 2025-26.Montana continues ranking among the strongest ACT-performing states among the 11 states where at least 95% of juniors take the exam.Still, some high school indicators remain flatter than elementary and middle school benchmark growth, with ACT science and math readiness scores improving more slowly district-wide.Garcia said those results show significant work remains, particularly at the high school level and in addressing poverty-related achievement gaps."We don't have any campus in Billings Public Schools where achievement is low and growth is low," Garcia said. "Fortunately, all of our schools are making significant growth." ...read more read less