The top reported proficiency rate is 45% in Math. The lowest is 41% in English language arts.
Original Research by School Decision on Alkali Creek School
Alkali Creek School serves students from pre-kindergarten through fifth grade in Billings, Montana, as part of the Billings Elementary district. The school sits on Alkali Creek Road, on the north side of a city that functions as the primary trade and distribution center for a vast region spanning much of eastern Montana, northern Wyoming, and parts of the Dakotas. Billings has earned the nickname “Magic City” for sustained rapid growth since its railroad-town founding, and it continues to be the fastest-growing city in the state, with a strong economy tied to healthcare, finance, retail, and energy services including the Bakken oil development to the east.
Alkali Creek School enrolls a student population that is predominantly white, with smaller shares of Hispanic students and students who identify as two or more races, and a modest representation of American Indian or Alaska Native students. About one in five students qualifies for free or reduced-price meals, a rate that is relatively low compared to many schools in the region. The school’s grade span means it does not have a graduation rate to report, and no data was available on chronic absenteeism, special education enrollment, or English learner counts, so those aspects of the school environment are not covered in this account.
On state assessments administered in the 2023-24 school year, which included the Smarter Balanced Assessment for math and English language arts and the Montana Science Assessment for science, Alkali Creek’s overall proficiency across tested subjects and grades placed it in the top quartile relative to districts in Yellowstone County. This means that, among the twelve districts in the county for which comparable data was available, the school’s average proficiency rate was toward the higher end. The district brief found little in the way of recent changes of lasting impact at the district level, so the school’s academic standing appears stable within the broader context of Billings Elementary.
The housing market around the school reflects the broader Billings area. Home values in the zip code are above the national benchmark, and the local market shows a mix of modest price adjustments and steady demand. Monthly mortgage costs are estimated to be higher than typical rents in the area, suggesting that homeownership here requires a solid income, though the local economy is supported by Billings’ role as a regional hub for employment and services. For families shopping for a home near Alkali Creek, the neighborhood sits within a city that offers cultural amenities such as ZooMontana, the Yellowstone Art Museum, and the Moss Mansion, along with access to the Yellowstone River and the natural sandstone formations known as “the Rims.”
Academically, Alkali Creek is a solid performer for an elementary school in this part of Montana. Parents looking at schools within the Billings Elementary district will find that its proficiency results compare favorably with other schools in the county, though the available data does not break down performance by student subgroups or provide trend information over multiple years, so it is difficult to assess whether recent changes have occurred. The school’s relatively low share of students from low-income households may be a factor in its overall academic profile, but the strengths in tested subjects are clear from the available snapshot.
Program offerings beyond the core curriculum were not reported in the data, and there is no information about course access, staffing ratios, or discipline patterns. For families considering Alkali Creek, the central question will be how its academic outcomes and community context align with their priorities. The school is part of a large, growing city with a strong regional economy, and its students perform well on state tests relative to the surrounding county. Those seeking a more detailed picture of special education services, enrichment programs, or classroom climate would need to reach out to the school directly, as those details are not captured in this dataset.
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