Big Sky Times

Montana teachers could soon help when it comes to raising their confidence in teaching math to their students.

At schools across the state, state education officials are pitching the implementation of so-called Math Innovation Zones in certain schools by the end of the academic year, with Montana Superintendent of Public Instruction Elsie Arntzen insisting learning how students learn is critical to the process as is teaching them accordingly.

"Everyone is unique in how they learn. And what we learn is by our state standards and the curriculum that implements those state standards," Arntzen told NBCMontana.com. "It's extremely important then that we look at the data specifically to honor the teaching that happens in the classroom."

Officials stress another part of the equation includes them implementing individualized learning plans for students as part of building up their scores.