The top reported proficiency rate is 52% in English language arts. The lowest is 42% in Math.
Original Research by School Decision on Kinsey School
Kinsey School is a very small public elementary school serving prekindergarten through sixth grade in the unincorporated rural community of Kinsey, Montana. It is the only school in the Kinsey Elem district and sits along Secondary Highway 14 near the Yellowstone River, about a short drive northeast of Miles City. The school building and the post office are the two civic anchors of this low-density, agricultural settlement; there is no downtown, no commercial main street, and no sidewalk network. For families considering the area, the school defines the community's educational landscape, and because it serves only through sixth grade, every student will need to transfer to a different district for middle and high school, most likely in Miles City.
State testing results for the school provide a limited but informative picture. In math, a share of students in grades three through six met the state's proficiency benchmark on the Smarter Balanced assessment, while in English language arts roughly half of the tested students met that bar. Science results could not be reported because the number of students tested was too small to release publicly, a common situation in a school this size. No trend data are available, and the school is too small to be included in the county-level comparisons that the state typically provides. A parent considering academic performance should note that these results come from a single year and a small cohort, so year-to-year swings are possible.
The student body is overwhelmingly white, with a very small number of Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander students and no other racial or ethnic groups reported. The total enrollment is small, with an uneven grade distribution; second grade is the largest, sixth grade the smallest. Information on the share of students eligible for free or reduced-price meals is missing, as are counts of students with disabilities and English learners. That absence means a parent cannot directly assess the school's economic or special-education profile from the available data, and anyone with a child with significant learning needs should ask the school directly about staffing and services.
Kinsey itself is a stable, slow-moving community. Reported household incomes tend to be above the Montana average, while home values are lower than both state and national averages, suggesting a relatively affordable housing market in a rural setting. No major employers exist in Kinsey itself; the school district is one of the few local institutions, and most residents likely commute to Miles City for work. There is no indication of new housing developments or commercial growth, so the area is unlikely to see either rapid change or a surge in school enrollment.
Because the school ends at sixth grade, the academic pathway is effectively a two-stage affair. A child will spend their elementary years in a building that doubles as a community anchor, then move to a new district for seventh grade and beyond. That transition is a practical consideration for any family, especially those who value continuity through middle and high school. The school's small size means that class sections are few, and a parent may find a close-knit atmosphere where staff know every student by name, but it also means limited course variety, few specialist teachers, and no breadth of program offerings to compare against larger schools.
Kinsey School fits a family that wants a rural elementary experience with a very small student body and a quiet, low-cost housing setting, and that is prepared to plan ahead for the middle school years in a neighboring district. It is less suited to a family that expects extensive data on student supports, program choices, or peer diversity, as those dimensions are either absent from the public record or simply not present in a school this size.
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