State Assessment Director (00620)
Job Location:
Helena, MT - USA
Monthly Salary:
Posted on:
Vacancies:
Job Summary
State government does not discriminate based on race color national origin religion sex sexual orientation gender identity or expression pregnancy childbirth or medical conditions related to pregnancy or childbirth age physical or mental disability genetic information marital status creed political beliefs or affiliation veteran status military service retaliation or any other factor not related to merit and qualifications of an employee or applicant.
Knowledge Skills and Abilities (Behaviors):
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 to manage budgets contracts and financial planning processes.
Minimum Qualifications (Education and Experience):
Bachelors degree in education assessment measurement research statistics data science or a related field.
Five (5) years of professional experience in K12 education or assessment.
Three (3) years of experience in a supervisory lead or project management role.
Preferred Experience:
Masters 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.
Other combinations of related education and experience may be considered on a case-by-case basis.
Does this sound like you
Please tell us how and why by submitting your resume online including any veterans or disability preference documentation. When submitting the required documents you must check the relevant document box to ensure your attachments are uploading correctly to the specific application for this position. Documents not requested will not be considered in the recruitment process.
OPI is an equal opportunity employer. Women minorities and people with disabilities are encouraged to apply.
This position is in the TRS retirement system.
- Resume - Please include dates of employment and your supervisors name/phone number for each position.
For a complete job description please email
To be considered for this position you must reside in Montana.
Why you would enjoy working here; Office of Public Instruction employees are a passionate group of professionals dedicated to leading and supporting our education system. We house a diverse collection of experiences with the 200 unique individuals we employ. Our specialists further OPIs purpose with applicable knowledge in education health research and analysis nutrition finance administration human resources licensing and regulation information technology and many others. We are proud to serve 149000 students pre-K to grade 12 their parents and guardians 400 school districts 16000 educational professionals and 3000 adult learners.
Benefits of working for OPI:
Work/life balance
Family friendly
Dedicated and caring colleagues
Health coverage
Retirement plans
Paid vacation sick leave and Holidays (combination of up to 38 per year)
Opportunities and room for professional growth
Public service loan forgiveness-Employment with the State of Montana may qualify you to receive student loan forgiveness under the PSLF.
Job Overview:
The Director of Assessment serves as the states program manager for the Montana Comprehensive K12 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 Montanas 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 38)
- 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 Montanas 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.
Required Experience:
Director
About Company
The Montana Department of Labor & Industry wants to help both employees and employers to be happy on the job. We take seriously our mission to promote and protect the well-being of Montana's workers, employers and citizens, and to uphold their rights and responsibilities. Our agenc ... View more
