Superintendent Elsie Arntzen Receives Federal Assessment Grant for the MAST Pilot Program

• Brian O'Leary
• August 26 2022

HELENA – Superintendent Elsie Arntzen is proud to announce that Montana has received a $3 million Competitive Grant for State Assessments (CGSA) to complete the Montana Alternative Student Testing (MAST) pilot program. On February 16, 2022, the U.S. Department of Education released a notice inviting applications for the Competitive Grants for State Assessments (CGSA) program. The purpose of this program is to enhance the quality of assessment instruments and assessment systems used by States for measuring the academic achievement of elementary and secondary school students. It is authorized by section 1203(b)(1) of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (ESEA). 

“I am very pleased that the federal government is agreeing with Montana’s innovative solution of linking learning and teaching in our state assessments,” said Superintendent Elsie Arntzen. “This will allow Montana to get back to the basics of Math and Reading while focusing on student and teacher success.”

Montana was one of 10 states to receive the grant. Montana applied for the Absolute Priority 2 of the CGSA, which is for evaluating student academic achievement through the development of comprehensive academic assessment instruments (such as performance and technology-based academic assessments, computer adaptive assessments, projects, or extended performance task assessments) that emphasize the mastery of standards and aligned competencies in a competency-based education model.

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