State Assessment Director (00620)

State of Montana•Helena, MT

1d•Onsite

About The Position

The Director of Assessment serves as the state’s program manager for the Montana Comprehensive K–12 Assessment System (MontCAS), providing overall leadership for the design, implementation, and continuous improvement of the statewide assessment system. The Director ensures statewide assessments are aligned to Montana’s content standards and meet rigorous technical quality standards, including validity, reliability, accessibility, and fairness for all students, including English Learners (ELs) and students with disabilities. This role leads both the administration of statewide summative assessments and the advancement of innovative assessment models, including the Montana Aligned to Standards Through-Year (MAST) system, supporting the evolution of more responsive and instructionally meaningful approaches to measuring student learning. MontCAS includes the following statewide assessments: Montana Aligned to Standards Through-Year (MAST) assessments in English Language Arts and Mathematics (grades 3–8), Montana Science Assessment (grades 5 and 8), ACT with Writing (grade 11, Math, ELA & Science), English Language Proficiency Assessment (WIDA ACCESS for ELLs), Dynamic Learning Maps (DLM, Montana Alternate Assessments aligned to for students with significant cognitive disabilities, Math, ELA & Science, 3-8th, 11th). This role provides leadership for assessment policy, federal compliance, vendor partnerships, and data systems to ensure accurate, timely, and actionable reporting of results. The Director ensures compliance with federal requirements under the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA), Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), and Title III-Language Acquisition for English Learners, including appropriate inclusion, accessibility, accommodations, and reporting for English Learners and students with disabilities. The position works closely with agency leadership, educators, and national partners to ensure assessment systems support instructional decision-making and provide meaningful information to students, families, educators, and policymakers, including school and district accountability systems. A central responsibility of this position is the leadership and oversight of a complex, multi-vendor assessment ecosystem, including end-to-end procurement strategy and contract lifecycle management. The Director leads RFP development, vendor selection, contract negotiation, and performance-based contracting, ensuring all vendors meet contractual, technical, security, and timeline requirements across multiple assessment programs. This includes coordinated oversight of partners responsible for test design, technology platforms, item development, scoring, psychometrics, reporting systems, accessibility supports, and secure administration systems. The Director ensures system interoperability, alignment to state standards, and accessibility requirements while proactively managing vendor performance, mitigating risk, and driving continuous improvement across all deliverables. The Director oversees the development and delivery of statewide professional learning to build educator capacity in assessment literacy, including test administration, test security, appropriate use of accommodations, and effective interpretation and use of results. The Director maintains ongoing communication with system test coordinators across Montana’s 300+ school systems through multiple channels, including newsletters, webinars, training, and site visits. The position also communicates regularly with agency and state leadership regarding assessment policy, administration, testing irregularities, and reporting. This position supervises 5.0 full-time staff and additional temporary staff who support training and technical assistance to school districts. The Director manages an annual budget of approximately $4 million, primarily funded through a federal assessment grant, with some additional state general fund support.

Requirements

Bachelor’s degree in education, assessment, measurement, research, statistics, data science, or a related field.
Five (5) years of professional experience in K–12 education or assessment.
Three (3) years of experience in a supervisory, lead, or project management role.
Knowledge of personnel management practices and techniques.
Knowledge of state and federal laws.
Knowledge of federal grant and contract management, including compliance and reporting requirements.
Knowledge of motivation and supervision.
Knowledge of standards-based assessment design and alignment to academic content standards.
Knowledge of state education governance, including roles of the Board of Public Education and OPI in standards and assessment policy.
Knowledge of teaching and learning principles as they relate to assessment design and use of data.
Skilled in strategic leadership and long-term systems planning.
Skilled in supervising and developing diverse teams across technical and program areas.
Skilled in collaboration and representing the agency in cross-agency, state, and national partnerships.
Skilled in verbal and written communication skills.
Ability to analyze, interpret and summarize information accurately and clearly.
Ability to multi-task, adapt to changing priorities, and meet deadlines while demonstrating accuracy, attention to detail, perseverance.
Ability to handle sensitive issues and maintain confidentiality.
Ability to effectively present technical and complex information to various audiences.
Ability to develop written materials and internal content with attention to details.
Ability to develop and manage work plans, projects, and performance timelines.
Ability to manage budgets, contracts, and financial planning processes.
Must reside in Montana.

Nice To Haves

Master’s degree in education, assessment, measurement, research, statistics, or a related field.
Experience working with large-scale assessment systems at the district, state, or consortium level.
Experience with federal education programs or accountability systems.

Responsibilities

Serve as the state’s program manager for the Montana Comprehensive K–12 Assessment System (MontCAS).
Provide overall leadership for the design, implementation, and continuous improvement of the statewide assessment system.
Ensure statewide assessments are aligned to Montana’s content standards and meet rigorous technical quality standards.
Lead the administration of statewide summative assessments and the advancement of innovative assessment models.
Provide leadership for assessment policy, federal compliance, vendor partnerships, and data systems.
Ensure compliance with federal requirements under ESSA, IDEA, and Title III-Language Acquisition for English Learners.
Oversee the leadership and oversight of a complex, multi-vendor assessment ecosystem, including end-to-end procurement strategy and contract lifecycle management.
Lead RFP development, vendor selection, contract negotiation, and performance-based contracting.
Oversee the development and delivery of statewide professional learning to build educator capacity in assessment literacy.
Maintain ongoing communication with system test coordinators across Montana’s 300+ school systems.
Communicate regularly with agency and state leadership regarding assessment policy, administration, testing irregularities, and reporting.
Supervise 5.0 full-time staff and additional temporary staff.
Manage an annual budget of approximately $4 million.