The top reported proficiency rate is 0% in Math.
Original Research by School Decision on Billings West High School
Billings West High School is a large, comprehensive public high school in Montana’s largest city. Serving grades nine through twelve, it is one of the Billings H S district’s comprehensive high schools and sits in a residential area on the city’s west side. The school enrolls a very large student body for a high school in the region.
The student population is predominantly white, with a Hispanic enrollment in the low double digits in percentage terms, and with American Indian or Alaska Native, two-or-more-races, Black, Asian, and Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander students each making up smaller shares. About a quarter of the student body qualifies for free or reduced-price lunch, which places the school in a moderate-to-low range for economic disadvantage relative to the national average for public high schools.
State testing data for the most recent available year reported no students tested at the elementary and middle school grade levels. This is a high school serving only grades nine through twelve, and Montana’s state accountability assessments for those grades are administered through a high school assessment system, not the grades three through eight tests that were reported. A parent looking for proficiency results will want to ask the school directly about performance on the high school-level assessments. In the comparison of overall proficiency across tested subjects and grades, the school’s reported figure fell in the bottom quartile among districts in Yellowstone County, though the metric is based on assessments that do not appear to cover the high school grades this school actually serves. The graduation rate was not available in the data provided.
The school operates within the Billings H S district, which oversees the city’s public high schools. No recent district-level changes of lasting impact to parents were identified in available sources.
Billings itself functions as the primary commercial, medical, and cultural hub for a vast region covering much of eastern Montana, northern Wyoming, and the western Dakotas. The city was founded as a railroad town and has grown steadily, earning the nickname “Magic City” for its early rapid expansion. It remains the largest city in Montana and continues to grow. The local economy is anchored by healthcare, finance, retail, and services tied to the Bakken oil development to the east and the Heath Shale oil discovery to the north. Civic and cultural amenities include ZooMontana, the Yellowstone Art Museum, the Moss Mansion, and nearby state parks. The Yellowstone River runs through the southeast part of the city, and the sandstone formations known as the Rims define the local landscape. The city’s airport provides regional air service.
In the local housing market, the area has seen a moderate increase in home values over the past year, and rents have also risen. The median listing price in Yellowstone County has held fairly steady with a modest decline year over year, while the number of active listings has dropped. The supply and demand balance suggests a seller’s market, with homes spending a bit more time on the market than a year ago. The price-to-income ratio nationally sits above four, and in Billings the estimated rent burden is within a typical range.
Families considering Billings West should weigh the school’s very large size and its role as a comprehensive high school in a growing regional city. The absence of high school-level state assessment results in the data means that a clear picture of academic performance is not available here, and a parent may want to follow up with the school for that information. The student body is less economically diverse than many schools nationally, and the racial and ethnic makeup reflects the broader community. The school sits in a city that offers amenities and services unusual for a Montana community of its size, and it serves a student population that draws from the west side of Billings.
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