The English Language Arts and Literacy Standards
ELA Standards Revision
The proposed revisions for the ELA and Literacy Standards are currently being reviewed through the Negotiated Rulemaking process. The Negotiated Rulemaking Committee began their work reviewing the revised standards on January 6-8 for sessions 1-3. Sessions 4 and 5 of Negotiated Rulemaking took place January 30 and 31 from 8:30 am-12:30 pm. Session 6 is scheduled for February 28 from 8:30-10:30 am. To review the research; learn more about standards revision process; review committees; and access agendas, meeting recordings, and the proposed standards revisions, visit the Montana Content Standards Revisions 2022-2026 page.
Prior to convening the NRC, the Standards Revision Task Force completed their orientation workshop and a 3-hour Research Deep Dive workshop to understand and unpack the research provided by the Regional Educational Laboratory Northwest in spring of 2024. Over June 10-12, the collaboration and calibration meeting took place, the writing and review task force teams met in July, and finally, over October 7-8, the reconciliation team met to revise the standards.
For more information please get in touch with Claire Mikeson at claire.mikeson@mt.gov.
Current (2011) ELA Standards Documents
Grade Level Standards Documents
ELA Core Content Connectors for Montana's Multi-State Alternate Assessment
Alternate ELA Standards (Core Content Connectors) are not formally adopted by the OPI but are aligned to and used in coordination with Montana's Multi-State Alternate Assessment.
Family Roadmaps- Grade-to-Grade Crosswalks for the MT English Language Arts Content Standards
Involve stakeholders in student learning by providing parents and families with these grade-level guides to the content standards. Each grade level document provides a clear and easy-to-understand overview of what their child will learn and do in their grade. It also includes a side-by-side comparison of vertical alignment with the grade below and grade above to help parents and students understand the subtle differences in ELA skill progression as outlined in the standards. Each grade-level document concludes with a section on specific supports families can and should do to help their students meet grade-level ELA goals.
Kindergarten
Grade One
Grade Two
Grade Three
Grade Four
Grade Five
Grade Six
Grade Seven
Grade Eight
High School
Machine Readable Standards on the CASE Network for SIS Interoperability
Tech Directors: To access a machine-readable version of the official Montana Content Standards for English Language Arts and Literacy, please visit the 1EdTech CASE Network site. Create a free login, select Montana Office of Public Instruction, and view or download the standards. The CASE version of the standards can be uploaded to student information systems, curriculum mapping programs, and various other uses. Learn more about the CASE Network or view the CASE Network FAQ
Professional Learning and Development
Featured Opportunities
SIM Virtual Professional Learning is available for educators as self-paced PD courses on Canvas with follow-up virtual coaching sessions. The sessions feature learning strategies and content enhancement routines focused on evidence-based literacy practices.
This is free to groups of Montana educators of 4 or more through June 2025. Check out the
Montana SIM Project website or the
Montana SIM Project flyer for more information.
Writing Coaches of Montana, a nonprofit literacy organization, seeks volunteers to assist with the scoring of student writing for a research study. This event will take place at Columbia Falls High School, Saturday, March 8, from 8:30 am-4:00 pm. Volunteers will score anonymous student papers to determine if WCM's coaching services affect student writing outcomes. Educators can earn OPI renewal credits, learn about writing assessment processes and applying holistic rubrics, and network with fellow educators and community members who value education. Fill out the
interest form to be contacted by WCM staff.
Professional Organizations
Learning Communities
The Professional Learning Portal The one-stop shop for professional learning opportunities. Take a look at our calendar of upcoming events!
Looking for free, quality, online professional learning? Need more renewal units? Take a look at the Teacher Learning Hub for a variety of online learning courses.
Writing
Reading