Tutoring in Montana
Kolu is software. Nobody from Kolu will drive to your house in Montana, and we have no office there. If you want a person, this page says how we would look for one. If the question is which skill is missing, we can help with that part.
Montana no longer gives one long spring test in grades 3 to 8. MAST, which replaced Smarter Balanced, breaks math and English language arts into short testlets given in three windows across the school year. In 2026-27 those run October 19 to December 11, January 11 to March 5, and March 29 to May 21, and schools can see testlet reports weekly while a window is open. Science is separate. The Montana Science Assessment is given in grades 5 and 8 between March 1 and May 21. High school has one state test, the ACT with Writing, which every junior takes at school in March or April. It serves as the grade 11 measure in English, math and science.
What Montana tests, and when
| Grade | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Reading and writing | MAST | MAST | MAST | MAST | MAST | MAST | Not tested | Not tested | ACT with Writing | Not tested |
| Math | MAST | MAST | MAST | MAST | MAST | MAST | Not tested | Not tested | ACT with Writing | Not tested |
| Science | Not tested | Not tested | MSA | Not tested | Not tested | MSA | Not tested | Not tested | ACT with Writing | Not tested |
- MAST (Montana Aligned to Standards Through-Year): reading and writing, math, grades 3 through 8
- MSA (Montana Science Assessment): science, grades 5 and 8
- ACT with Writing: reading and writing, math, science, grade 11
- Main testing window
- three windows from mid-October to late May, the last from late March
- Standards
- Montana Content Standards
- Paid for by the state
- ACT, grade 11, on a school day
State testing in grades 3 to 8 starts in the fall here. The first MAST window opens October 19, so a child has already sat part of the state test before winter break.
Is there a graduation test in Montana?
No. Montana does not require a passing score on any state test for a diploma.
Kolu finds the missing skill and goes back to it
It starts with a skill check, a short test that gets harder or easier depending on the last answer. The result is a map of the subject broken into skills with their prerequisites drawn in, each one marked as solid, still being learned, or a gap.
After that, each session is a handful of activities picked for that student, usually something due for review, a gap to repair and one new skill. When an answer is wrong, Kolu looks at which earlier skill the mistake points to and goes back to it. Here is what that looks like for a sixth grader who can't divide fractions.
The problem on the page
3/4 ÷ 2/5
Dividing fractions
Grade 6
Multiplying fractions
Grade 5 · rests on the one below
Equivalent fractions
Grade 4 · usually where it started
Multiplication facts
Grade 3
Kolu does not call a skill mastered after one right answer. That takes correct work on different kinds of problems on different days, and a skill that fades gets brought back.
Kolu is not test prep for MAST. It has no bank of released questions. It teaches the skills the test draws on, and it will not do tonight's homework.
When to hire a person instead
Some students need a person, and software is the wrong purchase for them. That includes a child who shuts down when the work gets hard, a student with a learning disability who needs someone trained in it, and anyone with an exam in ten days.
Ask the school first. Teachers know who tutors, and a counselor can tell you what the district already offers at no cost. A nearby college is the next place to look, since students there took these courses recently and usually charge less than an agency.
Whoever you hire, ask one question before the first session: how will you find out what my child doesn't know? If the answer is that they will go over the homework, keep looking.
Free for one subject, $15 a month for 5
Kolu is free for one subject at a time, with one full skill check every 30 days and up to 4 sessions a day. Plus is $15 a month, or $120 for a year, and covers 5 subjects at once with unlimited skill checks. A learner under 13 needs a parent or guardian to set up the account.