Education Data Collection Team
The Education Data Collection Team serves Montana students by assisting education agencies with Infinite Campus data reporting and providing accurate and timely education data to other OPI units for state and federal reporting.
Infinite Campus Data Collections
The Data Collection Schedule contains a complete list of all data collections occurring throughout the year. The following Data Collections are due in April. These collection windows are related to assessments.
Montana Science Assessment: March 3, 2025, through May 23, 2025
Multi-State Alternate Assessment (MSSA) and Montana Alternate Science Assessment: March 10, 2025, through April 25, 2025
MAST Test Window 3: March 24, 2025, through May 23, 2025
ACT with Writing Window 1: March 25, 2025, through April 4, 2025
ACT with Writing Window 2: April 8, 2025, through April 18, 2025
ACT with Writing Window 3: April 22,2025, through May 2, 2025
Verify enrollment and demographic information, program information (FRAM (free and reduced meal status), EL (English learner), Immigrant, Homeless/Unaccompanied Youth, Gifted & Talented, Title I, Military Connected, Foreign Exchange, Section 504), and Special Education data (lock IEP's, ER's, ensure records transfers are complete). Students who transfer during the test window should be exited as soon as possible.
Early Literacy Eligibility Window: April 1, 2024, through June 30, 2025 Districts may begin entering eligibility information for Early Literacy programs for the 2025-26 school year in April, including Jumpstart, Classroom-Based and Home-Based Early Literacy Programs. Select the 25-26 school year, enter the student's 25-26 grade, select the Eligibility Domain(s) and the Methodology Tool used to assess the student's literacy. If the Tool is not in the list, enter the name of the Tool in the Methodology Comments. Students assessed and found eligible should have a record entered, even if the student chooses not to participate in an Early Literacy program or moves prior to starting the program.
Other Reminders
Save the Date!!! In conjunction with the MASBO Summer Conference, the OPI is teaming up with School Services of Montana (SSOM) for a full-day "All Things Infinite Campus" training - with an emphasis on State Reporting. Please consider joining us on Monday, June 9, 2025. Registration information will be posted soon on the MASBO webpage: Events. The team will also be available on Tuesday, June 10, 2025, for an all-day help session (in person or virtual!).
CTE Allocations for 2025-26: Districts should run the Data Validation Report CTE Courses All Year with Class Minutes and Enroll Counts to ensure that district CTE courses have the correct credit, are aligned to a Pathway, have a properly licensed and endorsed educator indicated as either Teacher of Record or Facilitator, and have accurate course minutes (Semester courses should be at least 4050 minutes and Full-Year courses should be at least 8100 minutes). Work-Based Learning courses should be marked on the Course Information tab and have the partner(s) indicated. If course minutes are not accurate, check both the Period Setup and Section Placement to ensure that minutes are calculating correctly.
New Look in Infinite Campus: Effective July 2025, the new look in Infinite Campus will be the only option for districts and the classic look will be deprecated. The new Infinite Campus experience contains all the same tools as the classic view and includes several improvements. Lear about the new look: https://kb.infinitecampus.com/help/try-the-new-look-of-campus
Cohort Data - Date First Entered 9th Grade: Please ensure all high school students have their Date First Entered 9th Grade field populated under the Graduation Tab. Use the Data Validation Reports in Infinite Campus to assist with data verification. Contact Andy Boehm at (406) 444-0375 or aboehm@mt.gov.
Student Photos Needed: Please remember to collect the Student Photo Opt-In information from parents as they register their students OR as they update their annual census information. Districts are required to provide information on the repository and information about how to opt-in (20-7-1317, MCA). Once parental consent is obtained, districts must upload the students’ photos into Infinite Campus and set the Opt-In Status to 1: Opt In. Photos are used by the Department of Justice to help find missing children. See our AIM District Student Photo Repository user guide for additional information. We have published a new Validation Report to verify status within the district: All Photo Repository Opt-In Status.
Updating Contact Information: Please update your contacts whenever there is a change in staff or contact information at your district, school or educational agency. Contacts may be designated by role (Superintendent, Clerk, Secretary), school (EL/HS), or responsibility (enrollment, personnel, programs, certification). Instructions may be found on our webpage.
Gifted and Talented Students: Students who are evaluated and/or identified as gifted and talented must be identified on the new Program Participation tab: Gifted. Enter the Date Evaluated and Date Identified (if applicable). The fields are the enrollment tab will be deprecated for the 25-26 school year. The new fields will reduce future data entry, as records do not have be re-entered with each new enrollment.
Home-Based Early Literacy: Students participating in a Home-Based Early Literacy program must have a separate enrollment created to reflect the student's participation in the program. It is recommended that districts have a separate calendar to track those enrollments. Instructions for creating those enrollments may be found here: Early Literacy Programs.
MAST Scores Coming Soon!: The state will be uploading MAST Test Window 1 and 2 test scores to the State Edition and pushed to districts. Look for those scores coming soon!
Did You Know?
Behavior Reporting Districts may have created their own Behavior Codes. Event codes required for state reporting must be aligned to a State Event Code. Resolution codes that result in suspension or expulsion must be mapped to a State Resolution code. Behavior events may be entered at any time during the school year and are certified in the End of Year Behavior Incident Certification. Contact Kristie Sears at kristie.sears@mt.gov or (406) 444-4430 for Behavior questions.
The OPI is committed to providing reasonable accommodations to people with disabilities. If you need a reasonable accommodation, require an alternate format, or have questions concerning accessibility, contact the OPI ADA Coordinator, 406-444-3161, opiada@mt.gov, Relay Service: 711.
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