The top reported proficiency rate is 67% in Science. The lowest is 0% in English language arts.
Original Research by School Decision on North Star School
North Star School serves students from pre-kindergarten through eighth grade in the unincorporated agricultural community of Gildford, Montana. It is a small rural school, and its enrollment reflects that scale. The student body is predominantly white, with small numbers of Hispanic and multiracial students. About half of the students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, a share that aligns with the area’s agricultural economy and modest household incomes.
State testing results for math and reading were not available in a meaningful form for the most recent school year. The school reported zero students tested in those subjects, which for a PK-8 building likely means no students were enrolled in the tested grades that year, or the testing population was so small that results were suppressed. A parent curious about academic progress in those core subjects would want to ask the school directly about its internal assessments and how it measures student growth. Science testing did yield usable results: a majority of tested students scored at the proficient level or above. That is a clear strength, especially for a school of this size, and it suggests solid instruction in that subject area.
When compared with other districts in Hill County, North Star School lands above the midpoint on an overall proficiency index that averages across tested subjects and grades. The comparison set is small—only four districts had data available—so the ranking should be taken in that narrow context. Still, it indicates that the school’s academic performance, as measured by state science tests, is competitive within its rural corner of the county.
The school is part of the North Star Elementary School District. The elementary building is in Gildford, while the district’s junior and senior high schools are located in the separate town of Rudyard, so North Star School is a standalone PK-8 campus. There is no high school here, so there is no graduation rate to report. The district’s recent history shows little in the way of major changes or disruptions; it is a stable, small rural system serving two communities.
Gildford itself is a quiet census-designated place with a shrinking population. The built environment is minimal: a grid of streets along U.S. Route 2, with no downtown to speak of. Daily life revolves around agriculture—the town is a grain marketing point for spring wheat farmers. The nearest Amtrak station is in Havre, about a half-hour drive east, and the Fresno Reservoir nearby offers camping and fishing. The housing market in the area is modest compared to state and national benchmarks, consistent with a rural community that is slowly losing residents.
For a family, North Star School fits a specific profile. It is a small, community-rooted elementary and middle school where a child will know most of their classmates and teachers. The absence of state reading and math test data is a gap worth investigating further, but the science results and the above-midpoint county standing are encouraging signs. Parents who value a quiet agricultural setting, a tightly knit school, and a straight-through PK-8 experience before moving to the high school in Rudyard will find a straightforward, no-frills option here. Those looking for a wide array of programs, large class sizes, or high-stakes academic competition will need to look elsewhere. This is a school that reflects its place: rural, small, and grounded in the rhythms of the surrounding farm community.
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