The top reported proficiency rate is 39% in English language arts. The lowest is 30% in Math.
Original Research by School Decision on O D Speer School
O D Speer School serves students from pre-kindergarten through sixth grade in Deer Lodge, Montana, as part of the Deer Lodge Elementary School District. It is a public school with a student body that is predominantly white, with a smaller share of students identifying as two or more races and a very small number of Asian, Black, and Hispanic students combined. About six in ten students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, a reflection of the economic circumstances of many families in the area. Enrollment is moderate for an elementary school serving this grade span, and the school draws families from Deer Lodge and the surrounding Powell County area.
Testing data from the 2023-24 school year is available for grades three through eight in math, English language arts, and science. In math, roughly three in ten students scored at a proficient level or above on the Smarter Balanced Assessment in math. In ELA, about four in ten students reached proficiency. On the Montana Science Assessment, about one in three students tested proficient. These results suggest that while a notable share of students are meeting state standards, a majority are not, and parents may want to look into how the school supports students who are below proficient, particularly in math. Because the school only goes through sixth grade, there is no high school graduation rate to report. No multi-year trend data was available, so it is not possible to say whether performance has been improving or declining.
Deer Lodge is a small town that serves as the county seat of Powell County. It has a long history as a railroad town, though the railroad abandoned local operations several decades ago, and the population has been declining for many decades. The town has a traditional Main Street layout with a historic district. Major local employers include the Montana State Prison, the Montana State Hospital in Warm Springs, and the Deer Lodge Medical Center. The Old Prison Museum complex sits at the south end of Main Street and is a cultural anchor, along with the Grant-Kohrs Ranch National Historic Site. The town's economy has shifted from rail to corrections, health care, and heritage tourism, and no major new housing developments or growth initiatives were identified in public sources.
Housing values in the area are below the state median but above the national median. The typical home in the broader zip code area is priced such that a household with the national median income would face a manageable mortgage, and rents appear to be somewhat lower than mortgage costs, suggesting a relatively affordable market for homebuyers and renters relative to much of Montana. The broader economic context shows a national unemployment rate that has been stable, and mortgage rates have been moderately elevated.
The district brief for Deer Lodge Elementary found no recent major changes that would directly affect parents, such as tax referenda, curriculum shifts, or bond measures. This may reflect a period of stability, or simply that such changes were not widely reported.
For a family considering O D Speer School, the central question is how its academic profile fits a child's needs. The proficiency rates are below the level that many families would consider strong, though not dramatically low for a rural Montana school serving a community with significant economic challenges. The school offers no high school programs because it ends at sixth grade; students would move on to another school for grades seven through twelve, likely Powell County High School or a nearby alternative. The town itself is small and has been losing population, so the housing market is relatively affordable but the community is not growing. The local economy is anchored by institutional employers. The school's demographic composition is fairly homogeneous. This is a straightforward elementary school in a quiet, slowly shrinking town where academic outcomes are modest and families would do well to investigate what interventions and enrichment are available.
See more original research from School Decision →