MONTPELIER — According to the latest New England Common Assessment Program standardized test data, only 36 percent of Vermont high school juniors are proficient in math.

However, Montpelier High School 11th-graders ranked No. 1 in the state in math.

The 2011 NECAP data show that 8 percent of 11th-grade Solons, who took the test in 2010, were proficient in math with distinction, 49 percent were proficient, 23 percent were partly proficient, and 21 percent were substantially below proficient.

What seems to be making the difference is that the math department is offering extra classes for students who struggle with the subject, said Sue Abrams, a math professional community leader at the high school.

“Instead of putting them in a lower-level class,” Abrams said, “we give them extra support so they can succeed in higher-level classes.”

Also, she said, about 90 percent of freshmen take Algebra 1 or geometry.

Not only did Montpelier have the most students scoring as proficient in math, Abrams said, it also had fewer students coming in below proficient.

But as far as the U.S. Department of Education is concerned, Montpelier High School failed to make the grade according to No Child Left Behind Act targets.

The most recent “adequate yearly progress” report, based on 2010 results, puts Montpelier High School in the “failing” category. For the first time, the school did not reach the target set by the federal law in reading, math or for student participation in the test.

The No Child Left Behind Act sets the bar for success higher each year until 2014, when 100 percent of students must be proficient in core subjects.

“No Child Left Behind unrealistically sets 100 percent proficiency across all subject areas as the benchmark,” Montpelier Superintendent Brian Ricca said in an email.

The state is trying to get a federal waiver to allow it to use the 2009 levels while the department revamps its accountability process.

— Staff Reports