Investigation gives Montana Superintendent of Public Instruction Elsie Arntzen’s claims an ‘F’ — for ‘False’

No one at the state’s Office of Public Instruction falsified high school juniors’ ACT scores or sought to misrepresent the scores to the federal government last year, contrary to what new Superintendent of Public Instruction Elsie Arntzen alleged at a January press conference where she lambasted her Democratic predecessor, an independent review has found.

Arntzen commissioned the review just weeks after taking the helm at the state’s K-12 education agency in response to a staff "whistleblower" who raised concerns about data recently reported to the U.S. Department of Education under former OPI chief Denise Juneau. Announcing the investigation, Arntzen, the first Republican elected to lead the OPI in 29 years, accused Juneau’s administration of misrepresenting student scores, alleging an "abuse of state and federal dollars" that could jeopardize school funding.

The investigation, conducted by Helena consultant Jim Kerins at a cost of $4,200, concluded March 20. There was no press conference to highlight its findings.

By Derek Brouwer

Full Story: http://missoulanews.bigskypress.com/missoula/report-refutes-claim-that-juneau-falsified-data/Content?oid=3734762