Original Research by School Decision on Richland 44
Richland 44 is a small rural district in southeastern North Dakota, serving students from pre-kindergarten through twelfth grade across two buildings: Richland Elementary School and Richland Junior-Senior High School. The enrollment is modest, with cohort sizes that run small at every grade level. The student body is predominantly white, with a small Hispanic presence and a handful of American Indian or Alaska Native students and students of two or more races. The district does not report free or reduced-price lunch figures, nor does it provide IEP or English-learner counts, so families looking for information on economic disadvantage or special-population services will need to ask the district directly.
On state assessments, Richland 44 uses the ND A-PLUS test, which underwent a name and cut-score change this year. Because of that shift, trend comparisons against prior years are not possible, and the results below should be read as a first-year baseline under the new assessment rather than a continuation of an established pattern. Proficiency is reported in ranges rather than point estimates, which adds some uncertainty but still gives a sense of where the district stands.
In math, the picture varies by grade. Third grade sits in a lower range, while fourth grade moves into a middling band. Fifth grade spans a wide range, and sixth grade reaches higher. Seventh grade dips back into a moderate band, and eighth grade lands in a strong range. The strongest math results appear in the middle grades, particularly sixth and eighth, while the early elementary grades show more room to grow.
English language arts follows a similar arc but runs somewhat stronger overall. Fifth and sixth grade land in high ranges, seventh grade holds in a solid band, and eighth grade settles into a moderate range. Third and fourth grade sit lower, mirroring the math pattern. The district's ELA results in the upper elementary and middle grades are a genuine strength.
Science is tested only in fourth and eighth grade here, and both land in a moderate band. These are neither standout nor concerning results, though the limited grade coverage means science performance across the full district is only partially visible.
Participation rates are solid across most grades, though third grade runs somewhat lower than the rest. A parent may want to look into what drives that lower third-grade participation with the school.
The district did not report a graduation rate, and no civil-rights data, course-access information, staffing figures, or program offerings were available in the data we reviewed. We looked for recent district-level changes or strategic priorities and found little of lasting impact publicly reported, so we left that out rather than guess. These gaps mean families should reach out to the district for details on advanced coursework, career pathways, extracurriculars, and student support services.
Housing in the district spans several communities across Richland County, including Christine, Colfax, Horace, Mooreton, Wahpeton, and Walcott. Home values vary considerably across these towns. Colfax and Walcott carry the heaviest weight in the district's housing profile, and both sit at moderate-to-high price points for the region. Wahpeton, the largest of these communities, has the lowest home values in the set, while Horace sits at the top. Overall, the district's weighted home value runs above the North Dakota state benchmark but below the national one, and values have been climbing modestly year over year. Rental data is sparse, available only from Wahpeton and Horace, with Wahpeton rents sitting quite low. For a family weighing buying versus renting, the estimated monthly mortgage in this area runs well above what rent would cost, which is worth noting in a market where home prices continue to rise.
Richland 44 fits families looking for a small, close-knit rural district where their child will be in small classes and part of a community where everyone knows each other. The academic baseline under the new state test shows genuine strength in upper-elementary and middle-grade ELA, with math performance that peaks in certain grades but varies across the grade span. Families considering this district should contact school leadership directly to fill in the gaps around graduation outcomes, program offerings, and student support services that the available data does not cover.
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