Montana school districts are required to provide parents/guardians with notice regarding student participation in statewide assessments at the beginning of each school year [or in a timely manner] before testing windows open.
Federal Requirement: provide parents with transparency on testing including participation requirements, time requirements, and information available from the assessments in a timely manner ( ESSA Section 1112 ).
State Requirement: notify parents using OPI guidance on the assessment purpose, requirement, and individual student performance including how these data will be used ( ARM 10.56.102(6)).
Montana school districts are required to provide parents/guardians with individual student reports in a timely manner. To understand and address the specific academic needs of students, it is required under state and federal law to provide individual student interpretive, descriptive, and diagnostic reports regarding achievement. This allows families, teachers, and other school leaders to address individual student needs regarding student proficiency and progress as soon as is practicable after the assessment is given.
Federal Requirement: provide timely individual student reports to parents, teachers, and principals and include the results on local report cards (ESSA Section 1111).
State Requirement: statewide assessment public results must include a clear statement of the purpose, subject areas assessed, description of proficiency levels, and the percentage of students who participated in the assessments (ARM 10.56.105(2)) and (§20-7-104, MCA). School districts must also place individual student reports in the student’s cumulative file per ARM 10.55.909.
Use the OPI Parent Notice Letter Customization Checklist for guidance on how to customize the OPI Parent Notice Letters below.
DLM ELA/math: DLM Notification Letter Template
MAST Assessment: MAST Notification Letter Template
WIDA ACCESS: WIDA ACCESS Notification Letter Template
WIDA Alternate ACCESS: Alt ACCESS Notification Letter Template
DLM Science: DLM Notification Letter Template
Montana Science Assessment: MSA Notification Letter Template
ACT with Writing: ACT Notification Letter Template
DLM ELA/math: DLM Score Report Letter Template
MAST Assessment: MAST Testlet Score Report Letter Template
MAST Assessment: MAST Summative Score Report Letter Template
WIDA ACCESS: WIDA ACCESS Score Report Letter Template
WIDA Alternate ACCESS: Alt ACCESS Score Report Letter Template
DLM Science: DLM Score Report Letter Template
Montana Science Assessment: MSA Score Report Letter Template
ACT with Writing: ACT Score Report Letter Template