Parent Corner

Requirements

Montana school districts are required to provide parents/guardians with notice regarding student participation in state assessments at the beginning of each school year [or in a timely manner] before testing windows open. Montana does not have an “opt out” law and within the federally recognized accountability and reporting procedures, the only recognized reasons for non-participation are for medical exemption. For more information on this state policy, visit the Parent Right to Know Guidance.

When a student cannot be tested at any time throughout the Published Test Windows they are counted as a non-participant unless the reason is due to a significant medical emergency (e.g., a student is hospitalized due to an accident). In Montana, there is no “opt out” law, and state law requires all students in public and accredited non-public schools to participate in state testing. Therefore, in accordance with ESEA-ESSA Section 1112(e)(1)(B)(ii), parents may refuse to have their child participate in state assessments, but the parent refusal will count negatively against the school’s participation rate within the accountability process. The MontCAS Policies and Procedures for Participation in State Assessments explains the state participation policies and procedures to register and include students in each of the state assessments.

---

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)).

---

Resources

• OPI Parent Notice Letter Customization Checklist: This checklist provides guidance on how to customize the OPI Parent Notice Letter.
• OPI Parent Notice Letter Template: This template letter can be used as guidance to communicate with parents/guardians in advance of Smarter Balanced testing per Administrative Rules for Montana (ARM10.56.102(6)) (see accordions below for other assessment specific letter templates). 
• Six Things Stakeholders Should Know About Participation and Testing in Montana: 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. 

Requirements

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. 

---

Resources

• OPI Score Report Parent Letter Template: This letter template can be used by schools to send home with individual score reports to inform parents about the importance of Smarter Balanced testing (see accordions below for other assessment specific letter templates). 

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

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

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

1. 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 14 Critical Non-Test Questions. 
2. 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.

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

1. School districts are required to notify parents/guardians of the planned assessments. Here is the OPI Sample MSA Parent Notification Letter. 
2. 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 OPI Sample MSA Score Report Letter.

The 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. School districts are required to notify parents/guardians of the planned assessments. Here is the Sample OPI MSAA Notice Letter.  
2. 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.

The 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. School districts are required to notify parents/guardians of the planned assessments. Here is the Sample OPI AMSA Notice Letter.  
2. 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.

The 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. School districts are required to notify parents/guardians of the planned assessments. Here is the Sample OPI ACCESS for ELLs Notice Letter.  
2. 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.