Dear Parent/Guardian:  
 
Cascade High School is preparing for the annual administration of the ACT with Writing assessment,
administered each year to Montana juniors. As listed on our school calendar, juniors will take the
assessment on Tuesday, March 28. State and federal law requires all students to participate for high
school academic achievement reporting in Grade 11. Participation in this test is important. The ACT with
Writing is one of many tools to understand individual student achievement (how much your child knows
at the end of the year) and individual progress (how much your child has improved since the previous
year.

Our school uses the score information to help families, teachers, and principals understand and address
the specific academic needs of students in relation to the state mathematics, English language arts, and
science standards. The achievement results will be used in combination with other data to help our
overall efforts to address our COVID-19 recovery plans to create stronger and more equitable education
system for all learners. High school juniors taking the ACT may be interested in options after high school.
The Montana Office of Public Instruction (OPI) and Office of the Commissioner of Higher Education
(OCHE) have partnered to offer the ACT with Writing at no cost. To support students with postsecondary
opportunities, the OPI and OCHE have compiled 14 non-test “state use” questions. While all 14 state
use questions are voluntary and are not required to receive a score report, the Montana University
System (MUS) will use this information to contact students to inform them about scholarships and other
MUS college access opportunities. If students or parents do not want to share this information, students
may choose not to complete the non-test questions with no impact on their test scores or grades.  
 
Additionally, through MyACT, students may select up to four college campuses to send their
ACT information to. This service typically costs $13/campus but is free to Montana high school juniors
using the statewide assessment. The ACT’s optional Educational Opportunity Service (EOS) provides
students with information from colleges, universities, financial aid/scholarship agencies, government agencies,
and organizations that offer educational, community and civic involvement, extracurricular, and career opportunities,
products and services to assist students with their postsecondary pursuits.

Results from the ACT with Writing state assessment provides the state, our district, our school, teachers,
you, and your child with information about the knowledge gained over the past school year. Individual
student reports will be available on each students’ MyACT account with the original report going to their
student file.
 
It is important to remember that state assessments provide only one measure of student learning, but
when combined with grades, classroom activities, unit quizzes and tests, and district-level assessments,
the end-of-year tests can complete the picture of a child’s abilities and help him/her down a path
toward academic success in reaching Montana’s Content Standards.  
 
You can explore our school’s state assessment results by going to the Office of Public
Instruction’s Student Achievement Dashboard or visit Montana’s Report Card Information for Families

website to see how our school compares to other schools across Montana in a variety of different
measures. 
 
Here are some things to note about the state assessments: 

• Your child’s grades will not be impacted by their test scores.  
• Your child’s privacy will be protected. State and federal laws, such as the Family Educational Rights
  and Privacy Act (FERPA), ensure these data remain confidential.  
• Students with Individual Educational Plans (IEPs), Section 504 plans, or English Learner plans will be
  assessed based on individual student needs, consistent with all state and federal laws and regulations. 

 
Here are some things you can do to help: 

•    Encourage your child to do their very best on everything they do in school, including this
assessment. 
•    Support your child by explaining the purpose of the test Here are three resources to
assist you and your child in preparing or this important assessment. 
o    Kaplan ACT Test Prep Site 
o    How Parents Can Help Get Ready for the ACT 
o    Review the “Preparing for the ACT Test” with your child. 

 
We appreciate your partnership in helping Cascade fulfill the state requirement for end-of-year
assessments and supporting your child to do their best.  
 
Please do not hesitate to contact us with any questions you may have about state testing this year.
Questions can be directed to Ms. Jones at carrie.jones@cascade.k12.mt.us  
 
Sincerely,  
Carrie Jones, MS
School Counselor