The top reported proficiency rate is 0% in Math.
Original Research by School Decision on Dodson School
Dodson School serves students from prekindergarten through sixth grade in the small, rural agricultural community of Dodson on Montana’s Hi-Line. The town, which originated as a supply and shipping center for cattle ranches and homesteads along the Milk River, sits adjacent to the Fort Belknap Indian Reservation and has experienced slow population decline over decades as agriculture consolidated. The grain elevators and the Phillips County Fairgrounds anchor the visual character, and US Highway 2 runs through town. It is a quiet rural hamlet rather than a walkable commercial center, and the school is integrated into the town’s small-scale civic life.
The school enrolls a very small student body. A large majority of students are American Indian or Alaska Native, with small numbers of white and Hispanic students and a tiny number of students of two or more races. Every student in the school qualifies for free or reduced-price meals, reflecting the high poverty level of the surrounding community. Data on students with disabilities and English learners were not reported, so the school’s support and identification patterns in these areas are not clear from the available information.
On state assessments, the picture is difficult to interpret. For math and English language arts, the data show a reported proficiency rate of zero percent, but no students were recorded as tested. Given that the school serves grades where testing is required, this may indicate either extremely low participation or a data reporting anomaly; a parent may want to discuss this directly with the school to understand what assessment participation and performance actually look like. For science, results were suppressed due to the very small number of students tested, which is common in tiny rural schools. Across all tested subjects, the school’s overall proficiency index places it in the bottom quartile relative to other districts in Phillips County, but the lack of clear tested-student counts for the core subjects makes this comparison uncertain. No data on chronic absenteeism were available, and as an elementary school, it does not have a graduation rate.
There are no program offerings listed in the data, and no information on staffing or discipline was reported. The district, Dodson K-12, appears to have no major recent changes or initiatives publicly documented. For families considering this school, the central takeaway is that it is a very small, high-poverty elementary school in a rural agricultural community where most students are Native American. The available test data are too sparse and anomalous to offer a reliable picture of academic performance. Anyone evaluating the school for their child would likely need to visit, speak with staff, and learn about classroom instruction and student supports directly.
See more original research from School Decision →