Achievement in Montana (AIM)

The district's Primary Contact is the liaison between the district and the state. The Primary Contact is the main contact for data collection issues/questions.  Districts are responsible for designating their Primary Contact.  To add or change contact information, please follow the process described below:

Do you need to update your district contact information? Email opiaimhelp@mt.gov

Please copy and paste this information into your email:

1. District Name: 

2. Contact Name: 

3. Contact Phone:

4. Contact Email: 

3. Contact Type (District Level/School Level): 

4. Subject Area (General Ed/Special Ed/Both):

5. Contact Priority (Primary/Backup): 

All imports, except the Student Demographic import, require Student State ID numbers.  The Student Demographics upload should be completed first, followed by the Student Enrollment file upload. Once these two have been completed for every student, all other uploads can be done.  It is best practice to come to this webpage and download these templates as they are needed to ensure you have the most up-to-date version

Required Templates:
Student Demographic Template

Student Enrollment Template

Additional Templates By Collection:
Teacher-Class Templates - Course, Section, Staff, Roster (*NEW)

Terms of Employment Template (*NEW)

Section Placement Template

Fall Enrollment Count Template

Program Participation Template

Section 504 Template

Student Mode of Instruction

Free Reduced Application Management (FRAM) Import Template

English Learners (EL) Template

Spring Enrollment Count Template

Fall Career and Technical Education (CTE) Template

End of Year (EOY) Attendance Totals Template

End of Year (EOY) Career and Technical Education (CTE) Template 

Please Note: Infinite Campus systems are unavailable during the update.  Updates are typically taken after 5:00 p.m. on Friday and systems restored/available the following Saturday morning. Target dates are subject to change.

Release schedule is subject to change        

Information on Infinite Campus Releases:

• Infinite Campus Release Notes - Campus Release Packs provide details about version updates/changes

Infinite Campus Technical References:

Infinite Campus Community support webpage resources:

• Recommended Browser Setting

• Supported Platforms

NOTICE: Please do not email any student personally identifiable information (PII), including names or student ID's, to the OPI or AIM Help Desk. Please call AIM Support directly for assistance with individual student PII or use ePass MT for the secure transfer of larger student data files. 

Montana File Transfer Service

User Guide

Fall 2024 Infinite Campus User Groups

• OPI Presentation - Data Validation and Certification, Updates for 2024-2025
• SSoM - Requests & Rosters and School Store
• SSoM - Campus Learning

AIM Data Dictionary

Click on the hyperlink below to see a PDF version of the AIM Data Dictionary. This Data Dictionary is intended to assist local education agency (LEA) staff and their student information system vendors in understanding the specific data elements and codes that must be populated for state reporting through AIM. It is intended to improve the accuracy and integrity of collected data by maintaining consistency in data elements. It relies and builds on previous data definitions used throughout the agency that meet state and federal guidelines for collecting and reporting purposes.

AIM Data Dictionary
Updated April 2024

The purpose of this page is to provide general information about the OPI AIM student information system, along with its purpose and processes. 

Questions can be directed to the OPI AIM Help desk at 877-424-6881 or Submit an AIM Help Desk Ticket.

AIM, THE MONTANA STATE STUDENT INFORMATION SYSTEM

The AIM system is designed to collect demographic, enrollment, program participation, and assessment data for each student. The program also tracks special education student's IEP data and all students’ movement from school to school and district to district within Montana. It allows for timely reporting and data accuracy through standardized reporting capabilities. This system allows school districts to submit the required student information electronically. The AIM system provides the OPI, the State of Montana, federal entities, and the education community with timely and accurate data about the progress of our students, schools, school districts, and the state.

Please see the AIM Policy References webpage (buttons listed on the main AIM web page) for pertinent State and Federal laws that apply to AIM.

INFINITE CAMPUS, THE COMPANY, AND SOFTWARE

The state of Montana Office of Public Instruction (OPI) adopted the Infinite Campus software application as its statewide student information system (SIS). The OPI calls the state-level SIS ‘Achievement In Montana’ (AIM). The name of the company that owns the Infinite Campus software is also called Infinite Campus.

The ’State Edition’ of Infinite Campus is used by the OPI staff and contains the state-reported student data from all Montana districts.

The ‘Montana Edition’ of Infinite Campus is provided to the districts at no cost so that the schools who don’t use Infinite Campus as their local SIS can submit their data into our Infinite Campus statewide system for state reporting.  

The ‘Montana Edition – Valued Added’ is typically used by small districts as their main local student information system. Districts use it to maintain their basic set of enrollment, demographic, programs, and special education IEP data.  The ‘value added’ feature of this edition also allows districts to maintain students’ daily attendance and marks data.

The ‘District Edition’ of Infinite Campus is used by some districts as their complete local SIS. 

THE MOVEMENT OF THE AIM DATA

The data originates at the district level and gets copied to the state level of Infinite Campus by a syncing process. The syncing process happens automatically when data is manually entered and ‘saved’ in Infinite Campus or when the district executes a mass syncing process to get the data copied to the state level.

If the local district data is housed in a different local student information system (other than Infinite Campus), for larger districts it goes through a mass export and then an upload process to get into the Montana Edition of AIM. The smaller districts can choose to hand-enter their data into the Montana Edition.  It then goes through a final nightly syncing process to get copied into the State Edition of AIM. 

Once the data is at the state level it is ready to be reviewed and validated by the OPI staff for reporting purposes.  The OPI utilizes state-level data snapshots processes for some of the federal reporting which affects district funding.  The districts utilize import processes to copy their district’s state-level data into other OPI subsystems that also affect school funding (such as MAEFAIRS and Special Education). There are multiple other systems that pull data from the State level AIM system data such as (Child Nutrition Program) CNP for Free and Reduced lunch funding.

AIM Data Security Policies

Please refer to the OPI Student Privacy web page for OPI data security policies. 

AIM Relevant State Laws and Rules

U.S. Department of Education

• Federal Reporting File Specifications (2020-21)
• Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) High School Graduation Rate Guidance
• Montana State Plan for the American Rescue Plan Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief (ESSER) Fund

U.S. Department of Education Race & Ethnicity Policy

Q&A Links

The U.S. Department of Education has finalized changes to the collection and reporting of race and ethnicity. Starting with the 2010-2011 school year, the new standards will require all students to be identified using a new two-part race/ethnicity question. The federal government has established the two-part question to recognize Hispanic ethnicity and race as two separate and distinct concepts. Additionally, the change allows the reporting of multiple races, American Indian or Alaska Native, Asian, Black or African American, Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander, and White). 

• Dear Colleague Letter for Bill Evers Assistant Secretary, OPEPD
• US Department of Education Race and Ethnicity Policy Questions/Answers
• Office of Planning, Evaluation, and Policy Development
• Race and Ethnicity Guidance for the Collection of Federal Education Data

District Information 

The OPI has developed the following guidance and resource materials for district use as they transition to the new standards. 

• Race and Ethnicity Guidance to Schools
• Race and Ethnicity Reporting Form Detailed
• Race and Ethnicity Reporting Form Short
• Suggestions for Conducting Observer Identification

Parent Information

• Sample Letter to Parents for Re-identification

Resources

• NCES Forum Guide to Implementing New Federal Race and Ethnicity Categories

Military Interstate Compact Commission

• Military Interstate Compact Commission Rules

AIM / Infinite Campus Feedback Form

External Resources

• Infinite Campus COVID Resources (Blended Learning, Assignment-Based Attendance, & Teacher Resources)
• School Services of Montana (SSoM)
• Feb. 2018: National Forum Guide to Collecting and Using Attendance Data
• Oct. 2016: National Forum Guide to Data Visualization
• July 2016: National Forum Video on School Courses for the Exchange of SCED Data

Internal Resources

• Student Photograph Repository Project (2019 Legislature Senate Bill 40)
• GEMS (Growth and Enhancement of Montana Students) Website
• Home School Informational Packet
• OPI Reporting Center Website
• MAEFAIRS Login Website
• School Finance Website
• TEAMS Website

Montana Early Warning System (EWS)

The Montana EWS model uses readily available school, student, and other live data to identify students who are at risk of dropping out of school before they drop out. Students are identified early on so that action can be taken by school officials to help keep the student in school. The Montana EWS is a logistic regression model that uses attendance, behavior, grades, mobility, and other data to determine if a student is at risk. The model will identify students in grades 6-12 that are at risk and also provide indicators for why each student is at risk.

Watch Montana's Early Warning System (EWS) Introduction Recording

Since the Montana EWS uses live data it can be run at any time during the school year or summer. What this does is allow educators to see how a student is progressing or regressing over time. Tracking over time also allows educators to track any interventions they are administering with students to determine if the interventions are in fact working.

School reports are also available on the Montana EWS that allow educators to track their school-wide EWS results over time. The school reports also allow schools to compare their results to the statewide average results to get an idea of where their school is at.

EWS User Guide: Montana Early Warning system – Required Data Setup 12/16. This is a link to documentation inside Campus Community* and is for districts using the District Edition of Infinite Campus as their primary student information system. Please refer to the “Required Data Setup” section by clicking on that hyperlink at the top of the page, just under the title.

If you have further EWS questions please contact: Kaitlyn Greenhalgh K20 Data & Research Analyst Office of Public Instruction Kaitlyn.Greenhalgh@mt.gov 406-444-1610.

Non Public Database Access Form

Non Public Database Upload Template