Montana Mathematics Content Standards and Resources

Math Instructional Coordinator: Katrina Engeldrum | 406-465-4117

Return to K-12 Content Standards and Revision page

Announcements and Opportunities


  Montana Math Minute Website Banner - Click here to visit the Math Minute Updates

The Montana Math Minute contains news related to math in Montana, resources for teachers, and information on professional development. Editions will include district and school spotlights when available. Districts, schools, or teachers interested in being featured in future Math Minute editions can fill out this form


Math Community

 MCTM: Montana Council of Teachers Of Mathematics

MCTM Bulletins: 

  • The 2024 MCTM Math Contest has been announced and registration is now open. Consider registering your students for your region's contest. MCTM offers scholarships to Juniors and Seniors who compete in this event. 
  • Prebble Award (deadline for applications June 30): This award is issued to Montana Math Educators who have been great teachers and leaders. 
  • Longhart Award (deadline for applications October 12): Funds professional development for teachers with 5 or more years of experience. 
  • Native American Scholarship (closed): Scholarship awarded to Native American Students wishing to become educators who will teach math (K-12).  
  • Early Career Scholarship (due May 1): Funds attendance at MCubed Conference.
  • Small Classroom Grants (closed): Awarded to teachers for the purchase of materials to improve math instruction. 
  • Teacher Scholarship for Professional Development (closed): Assists in offsetting the costs for attending instate or out-of-state, in-person or online, professional development events. 

NCTM: National Council of Teachers of Mathematics 


 

 

 

Current Montana Mathematics Grade Level Standards

Mathematics Alternate Core Content Connectors

Alternate standards are not formally adopted by the OPI but are aligned to and used in the creation of the Montana's Multi-State Alternate Assessment:

​​Tech Directors: To access a machine readable version of the official Montana Content Standards for Mathematics, please visit the IMS Global 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 a variety of other uses. Learn more about the CASE Network CASE Network FAQ

Featured Event: 

Mark your calendars for an unmissable professional development opportunity! On April 3, 2024, from 9:00 AM to 3:30 PM MST, we're hosting a free online workshop titled "Empowering Mathematical Mindsets," led by the esteemed Dr. Jo Boaler. This event promises to be a game-changer for educators looking to inspire a love of math in their students through innovative, growth-minded teaching practices.

In just one transformative day, Dr. Boaler will guide you through the essentials of fostering mathematical mindsets in the classroom, ensuring your students can approach math with confidence and curiosity. You'll leave with actionable strategies to make math learning more dynamic, inclusive, and effective.

Don't miss this chance to connect with fellow educators and revolutionize your teaching approach. Secure your spot now and be part of the movement toward a more engaging and empowering math education.

REGISTER NOW! 
Note: Teachers can receive OPI Professional Development Unit Certificates (Formally Renewal Units) for attending this event. 


Teacher Learning Hub:

Looking for free, online professional learning? Take a look at the Teacher Learning Hub for a variety of excellent mathematics courses.
 

How Can Your School Use the Courses?
 

  • Choose a course to take at your first math department or grade-level meeting. Use the course to center your discussion for the year! 

  • Align your PIR day for time to discuss the course in person and for teachers to talk about the implementation of new strategies learned during the course. 

  • Have teachers go through the list of courses during your first week of school and select which course is most relevant to them. Use the course as a topic of conversation for one-on-one teacher-principal meetings. 

  • Schools may use funds to provide stipends for teachers who complete the course outside of the contract day. This is a district-level decision. (Note: teachers can not receive both a stipend and renewal units upon completion). 
     

Self-Paced Highlights! 


⇒ Indian Ed & Math Seamless Integration

This course is designed to help teachers of mathematics find authentic connections between Indigenous cultures and mathematical practices.  It also provides a planning tool that can be used to strategically align Indian Education for All and curriculum planning. 
 

⇒ Multiplication Strategies: Multi-Digit Numbers

This course will provide educators with strategies for teaching multi-digit multiplication based on place value and properties.  Teaching multiplication in a way that connects with the learning progressions and Montana content standards is essential. Participants will have multiple opportunities to learn, practice, and analyze the strategies for efficiency.
 

⇒ But What About Fact Fluency?

"My kids just don't know their math facts!" If you have said this before and want to learn how to best help students improve fact fluency, this course will be valuable to you! 
 

⇒ Addition & Subtraction Strategies

Learn the various strategies for addition and subtraction based on place value, properties, and the inverse relationship. 
 

⇒ Multiplication Strategies 

"My kids just don't know their multiplication facts!" Have you ever found yourself saying that statement? If so, this course is for you. The Montana Content Standards emphasize solving multiplication problems by using strategies based on place value and properties. This course will focus on how to build multiplication fact fluency with your students by building a conceptual understanding first to learn foundational and derived facts.
 


Summer Professional Development 

Are you looking for professional development events this summer to strengthen and support your professional learning? Take a look at these events offered by approved professional development providers in Montana: 
 

OPI Summer Institute: 

Cost: $65 (Registration Only)
Location: Bozeman, MT. 
Dates: June 17th - 20th, 2024 

REGISTER 
 

Innovation Runs Through It: 

Cost: Final Number TBA. Estimated at $250 (Registration Only)
Location: Missoula, MT.
Dates: July 16th - 18th, 2024 

REGISTER

 

STEM Summer Institute: 

Cost: $250.75 (Registration Only) 
Location: Bozeman, MT.
Dates: August 5th - 7th 

REGISTER


MCubed - 

Cost: TBA (Last Year's Cost: $50 for non-MCTM members, $30 for MCTM Members) (Registration Only) 
Location: Butte, MT. 
Dates: August 8th - 9th 

REGISTER 
 

Formative

  • Tools for Teachers- Teacher created lesson plans aligned to our MT standards for math and ELA grades 3-12. Provide next steps after administer interim assessments. 
  • Smarter Balanced Content Explorer Site: Learn more about Smarter Balanced's blueprints, claims, targets, standards, and sample items. 

Interim

SBAC Interim Assessments- grades 3-12

Summative

Helpful Links

Math Planning Resources

Selecting Instructional Materials that Incorporate Acceleration

Selecting Evidenced-Based Math Curriculum 

The 2021 Summer Learning & Enrichment: State Guidance for District and School Leaders

  • This Guide offers support as schools plan for summer 2021 learning opportunities to meet the most pressing needs of students and teachers in this uniquely challenging school year. The resources and considerations in this document are based on leading research and evidence-based, best practices for summer learning and closing learning gaps. It also includes guidance on how to use ESSER funding to integrate school and community resources to create innovative summer learning programs. 

One Page Summary of the 2021 Summer Learning & Enrichment document. 

 

Louisiana's Pre-K-High School Tutoring Strategy

  • No longer are the days of remediation, catch-up, and cramming skills in isolation. Such strategies have proven ineffective and often detrimental to student learning. Accelerate is an equal-access, just-in-time tutoring model that is focused on identifying, celebrating, and building upon the assets students bring to the learning experience. An acceleration approach addresses unfinished learning in an equitable way. Acceleration means connecting unfinished learning in the context of new learning, integrating new information and the needed prior knowledge.

TNTP Learning Acceleration Guide 

  • The New Teacher Project’s (TNTP) Learning Acceleration Guide: Planning for Acceleration in the 2021-2022 School Year guides school leadership teams through the process of creating a student learning acceleration plan while helping teams tackle barriers that may affect the outcome of the plan.

EdReady Montana

  • EdReady is a free Montana-based program through MTDA, ready to help schools with support for math programming in grades 5 to 12 identifying and addressing gaps and gains for fall, ACT Skill Prep, and providing supplemental class material for online/blended or face to face instruction. 

Student Achievement Partners - Priority Math Standards 

  • This document provides guidance for the field about the content priorities by leveraging the structure and emphases of college- and career-ready mathematics standards.

Charles A Dana Center - Front mapping tool 

  • This google folder holds lost learning mapping outlines for grades 4- Algebra I math courses. This tool can be used to connect standards or concepts that may not have been taught to future grade level standards.

Coherence Mapping tool- grades K- Algebra II

  • This spreadsheet is designed to help math teachers and leaders better understand the potential consequences of leaving gaps in their mathematics curriculum. It is a model of how many lessons and hours are needed to teach sequences of standards as defined by the Coherence Map. Created by Raymond Johnson, Mathematics Specialist, Colorado Department of Education.

Cognitively Demanding (Rich) Math Tasks 

  • This free digital resources contain Cognitively Demanding (Rich) Math Tasks to assist with engaging students in learning mathematics with technology online or face-to-face. This document was created by Hawaii Department of Education. 

Diagnostic and Assessment tools with next step guidance

Ed Ready Montana

  • EdReady Montana is ready to help support math grades 5 to 12 including  ACT Skill Prep, ID gaps and gains for fall. 

New Classroom’s Diagnostics and Academic Road Map

SBAC Interim Assessments- grades 3-12

  • Smarter Balanced Remote Learning page directs users to online resources for teachers, including administering interim assessments remotely. 
  • Tools for Teachers- Teacher created lesson plans aligned to our MT standards for math and ELA grades 3-12. Provide next steps after administer interim assessments. 

Gooru Education 

  • Navigator for Instructors helps instructors monitor learners’ progress, engage the class with rich-media content, and provide Go Live Assessments for real-time updates. This data informs instructor suggestions for additional activities to help learners achieve mastery.

Professional Learning 

Smarter Balanced Interim Assessment Course- Teacher Learning Hub 

Building the Foundation of Data Literacy 

Using Classroom Assessment to Identify Student Learning Gaps, Strengths and Needs for Instructional Purposes

Family Resources

Looking to learn more about grade level expectations? Check out our Just for Families page. 

Math Standards Review: Timeline

        Timeline of the Math Standards Review Process

Research and Review Phase

Math Standards Review: Research and Review Phase

Superintendent Elsie Arntzen, with approval from the Montana Board of Public Education, has opened the Montana Mathematics Standards for review. The purpose of the standards review process is to assure that Montana public schools are setting high academic standards for all children of our state. The goal is to serve our Montana students and educators with the best-possible mathematics standards to guide instruction and prepare our students for their lives beyond the classroom.

We are currently wrapping up the Research and Review Phase of the Standards Review Process. We solicited applications for the Mathematics Standards Review Task Force, with the application period closing on February 10, 2023. We had a great response to the call for applications. Thank you to all who applied to participate in this important work.

Currently, we are in the process of reviewing applications for the Math Task Force with two teams of reviewers made up of members of major stakeholder organizations, respondents to the Mathematics Standards Review Interest Survey, and internal reviewers. The Task Force members will be chosen from applicants representing a variety of stakeholders who are involved with K-12 mathematics instruction across Montana. Thank you to all who are participating in application review, supporting our goal of forming excellent teams of educators to complete the revision and review process.

The Task Force includes both a Development Team, as well as a Review Team. During the Revision phase of the standards review process, the Development Team will use the research and data analysis provided by the Regional Educational Laboratory West (REL West) at WestEd to inform revision of our Montana Mathematics Content Standards. The Review Team will recognize the work of the Writing Team, and provide feedback that will inform the work of the Negotiated Rulemaking Committee during the Negotiated Rulemaking phase of the review process. 

 

Revision Phase

Math Standards Review: Revision Phase

Superintendent Arntzen is excited to announce our Math Standards Revision Task Force. The Task Force includes both a Development Team, as well as a Review Team. During the Revision phase of the standards review process, the Development Team will use the research and data analysis provided by the Regional Educational Laboratory West (REL West) at WestEd to inform revision of our Montana Mathematics Content Standards. The Review Team will review the work of the Writing Team, and provide feedback that will inform the work of the Negotiated Rulemaking Committee during the Negotiated Rulemaking phase of the review process. Below you will see the Task Force as well as the Revision Schedule for the upcoming months.

Development/Writing Days

July 19-21st

Capitol Room 152 - 8:30 am - 4:30 pm

These meetings are open for public viewing.

 

Negotiated Rulemaking Phase

Negotiated Rulemaking Committee

Applications for the Negotiated Rulemaking Committee are now closed

Additional information, along with recordings of previous sessions, can be found on the Mathematics K-12 Standards Revision Page

 

Upcoming Dates: 

There have been no dates set by the Negotiated Rulemaking Committee, or Board of Public Education at this time. 

Note: Additional meetings may be set on an as-needed basis following session #7, depending upon the time considerations made by the Negotiated Rulemaking Committee. 


Previous Meetings: 

Additional information, along with recordings of previous sessions, can be found on the Mathematics K-12 Standards Revision Page
  • Orientation (Virtual)
    • October 25, 8:30 am - 1:00 pm
    • Virtual only - Zoom
    • Orientation
       
  • Session #1 (Hybrid)
    • November 14, 9:30 am - 4:30 pm 
    • In-Person - Capitol Building - Helena, MT - Room 152
    • Virtual - Zoom
    • Mathematical Practices, Kindergarten, 1st-grade, and 2nd-grade standards. 
       
  • Session #2 (Hybrid)
    • November 15, 8:30 am - 1:00 pm
    • In-Person - OPI 1300 Building, 1300 11th Ave, Helena, MT - Upstairs Conference Room
    • Virtual - Zoom
    • Revisitation of items from the previous session and 3rd-grade standards. 
       
  • Session # 3 (Virtual only)
    • December 1, 8:30 am - 4:00 pm
    • Virtual only - Zoom
    • Revisitation of items from the previous session, 4th and 5th-grade standards. 
       
  • Session #4 (Hybrid)
    • January 8, 12:00 pm - 5:00 pm 
    • In-Person - Capitol Building - Helena, MT - Room 152
    • Virtual - Zoom 
    • 6th - 8th grade standards 
       
  • Session #5 (Hybrid)
    • January 9, 8:00 am - 5:00 pm 
    • In-Person - Capitol Building - Helena, MT - Room 152
    • Virtual - Zoom 
    • 6th - 8th grade standards 
       
  • Session #6 (Hybrid)
    • January 10, 8:00 am - 1:00 pm 
    • In-Person - Capitol Building - Helena, MT - Room 152
    • Virtual - Zoom 
    • 6th - 8th grade standards review, high school standards. 
       
  • Session #7 (Virtual)
    • January 22, 8:30 am - 3:00 pm 
    • Virtual - Zoom 
    • High school standards

 

 

If you have any questions, please contact Marie Judisch, marie.judisch@mt.gov, Senior Manager of Teaching and Learning

Montana Math Standards Drafts

For the most up-to-date information on the Math Standards Revision, as well as access to up-to-date materials related to this process, please visit our Mathematics Standards Webpage

Economic Impact

The Economic Impact Survey is live and accepting responses for consideration by the Board of Public Education. 

Superintendent Arntzen requests that parents, families, teachers, school leaders, and community members submit responses to the survey for the proposed revisions to the Montana Math Content Standards. 

Adoption

The Negotiated Rulemaking Committee has not finalized their review and revisions, nor their assessment of economic impact. Following these processes, the standards will move forward to the Board of Public Education. Once the BPE makes their determination, they will determine whether or not to adopt the recommended revisions to the Math Content Standards. Once this process has concluded, the adoption procedure will take place. 

For more information on the current pacing of the revisions, please visit the Negotiated Rulemaking tab above. 

The OPI intends to provide guidance documents for schools and families once a set of standards is adopted. Updates will be provided as they arise. 

Implementation

The Board of Public Education has not yet adopted a revised set of Math Content Standards. Implementation has not begun yet. Updates will be provided as they arise. To follow along with the current status of the Math Content Standards, please visit the Negotiated Rulemaking tab given above. 

New Graduation Requirements:

The graduation requirements in Montana have been expanded to include financial literacy. (ARM 10.55.906

It states that "In order for students to graduate, they must meet the content and performance standards," including "1/2 unit of economics or financial literacy within the 2 units of social studies, the 2 units of mathematics, or the 1 unit of career and technical education"

This expectation goes into effect for the class of 2026 graduates. 

 

Guidance:

For guidance on these new expectations, and for information regarding how schools can support students in meeting these requirements, please visit the Career and Technical Education Webpage
 

Financial Literacy in the Math Standards: 

There are many concepts related to financial literacy that exist within the Math Content Standards. OPI has prepared a guide that identifies these standards. 
 
Please note that the Montana Math Content Standards are under revision and are slated to enter implementation in the Summer of 2025.  Once these new standards are finalized and approved by the Board of Public Education, guidance will be provided that similarly identifies concepts related to Financial Literacy within the 2025 Math Standards.