This page is organized to answer the following questions for parents and families by each assessment that is required in Montana under the Montana Comprehensive Assessment System (MontCAS).

• What does the test measure? Is this test required? What test questions will my child see? How is my child's school or school district performing? How is my child doing? When will I get their results? Will my child be asked to complete a survey? How can I help?

 Smarter Balanced is the general math and reading/language arts assessment for academic achievement reporting in Grades 3–8.

1. This assessment is required for general population students to participate in under both state and federal laws and regulations. 

2. Information about school or school district achievement can be found on the OPI’s longitudinal data warehouse (GEMS) or the Montana ESSA Report Card.

3. School districts are required to notify parents/guardians of the planned assessments. Here is the Sample OPI Smarter Balanced Notice Letter. 

4. NEW! School districts may elect to use the Remote-Only Family Letter template to provide remote-only learners with the opportunity to come to the school for testing this spring.  

5. School districts are required to notify parents/guardians in a timely manner of the time and format for disseminating assessment results including individual student reports. Here is the Sample OPI Smarter Balanced ScoreReport Letter. 

6. The Starting Smarter website is intended for Montana parents. The site helps parents to understand the summative assessment score reports including areas of academic strength and improvement. It also connects parents with sample test questions and provides additional resources to support their child’s learning. 

 ACT with Writing is the general math, reading/language arts, and science assessment for academic achievement reporting in Grade 11.

1.  This assessment is required for general population students to participate in under both state and federal laws and regulations. 

2. Information about school or school district achievement can be found on the OPI’s longitudinal data warehouse (GEMS) or the Montana ESSA Report Card. 

3. School districts are required to notify parents/guardians of the planned assessments. Here is the Sample OPI ACT Notice Letter and Montana's List of 23 Critical Non-Test Questions. 

4. School districts are required to notify parents/guardians in a timely manner of the time and format for disseminating assessment results including individual student reports. Here is the Sample OPI ACT Score Report Letter.

 Montana Science Assessment is the general science assessment for academic achievement reporting in Grades 5 and 8. 

1. This assessment is required for general population students to participate in under both state and federal laws and regulations. 

2. Information about school or school district achievement can be found on the OPI’s longitudinal data warehouse (GEMS) or the Montana ESSA Report Card. 

3. School districts are required to notify parents/guardians of the planned assessments. Here is the Sample OPI MSA Notice Letter. 

4. School districts are required to notify parents/guardians in a timely manner of the time and format for disseminating assessment results including individual student reports. Here is the Sample OPI MSA Score Report Letter.

 ACCESS for ELLs and WIDA Screener is the English Language Proficiency assessment for academic achievement reporting for English Learners (EL) in Grades K–12.

1. This assessment is required for students identified as ELs under both state and federal laws and regulations. 

2. Information about school or school district achievement can be found on the OPI’s longitudinal data warehouse (GEMS) or the Montana ESSA Report Card. 

3. School districts are required to notify parents/guardians of the planned assessments. Here is the Sample OPI ACCESS for ELLs Notice Letter. 

4. School districts are required to notify parents/guardians in a timely manner of the time and format for disseminating assessment results including individual student reports. Here is the Sample OPI ACCESS for ELLs Score Report Letter.

Multi-State Alternate Assessment is the alternate math and reading/language arts assessment for academic achievement reporting in Grades 3–8 and 11 for students with significant cognitive disabilities. 

1. This assessment is required instead of the SBAC assessment for students with significant cognitive disabilities under both state and federal laws and regulations. 

2. Information about school or school district achievement can be found on the OPI’s longitudinal data warehouse (GEMS) or the Montana ESSA Report Card. 

3. School districts are required to notify parents/guardians of the planned assessments. Here is the Sample OPI MSAA Notice Letter. 

4. School districts are required to notify parents/guardians in a timely manner of the time and format for disseminating assessment results including individual student reports. Here is the Sample OPI MSAA Score Report Letter.

Alternate Montana Science Assessment is the alternate science assessment for academic achievement reporting in Grades 5, 8, and 11 for students with significant cognitive disabilities.

1. This assessment is required instead of the AMSA assessment for students with significant cognitive disabilities under both state and federal laws and regulations. 

2. Information about school or school district achievement can be found on the OPI’s longitudinal data warehouse (GEMS) or the Montana ESSA Report Card. 

3. School districts are required to notify parents/guardians of the planned assessments. Here is the Sample OPI AMSA Notice Letter. 

4. School districts are required to notify parents/guardians in a timely manner of the time and format for disseminating assessment results including individual student reports. Here is the Sample OPI AMSA Score Report Letter.

Montana Aligned to Standards Through-Year (MAST) is an improved assessment system developed by the Montana OPI in partnership with New Meridian. This test accurately reflects the needs of our students, teachers, and administrators while providing useful flexibility in terms of test administration.

Office of Public Instruction - Parent Corner - provides information for parents and family members about ways to get involved in the education and assessment of their child.

Six Things Stakeholders Should Know About Participation and Testing in Montana - The purpose of this document is to ensure that readers are aware of the significant value to stakeholders (e.g., students, parents/guardians, teachers, school leaders, and others) of the information derived from participating in state-level tests. Figure 1 depicted below is contained in this document to describe the average testing times for math, reading/language arts, and science students.