The top reported proficiency rate is 0% in Math.
Original Research by School Decision on Grass Range 7-8
Grass Range 7-8 is a middle school serving only seventh and eighth graders in the tiny ranching community of Grass Range, Montana. The school sits within the Grass Range Elem district and is part of a K-12 campus that serves the entire town. With a very small enrollment, the school is one of the smallest public middle schools in the state. The student body is predominantly white, with a single American Indian or Alaska Native student, and a substantial share of students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch.
State assessment data for this school is extremely limited. In math and English language arts, no students were tested, so no proficiency rate can be reported. In science, a small number of students took the state assessment, but the results are suppressed to protect student privacy. The lack of usable testing data is common for schools this small, where any reported rate could compromise individual student confidentiality. The neighbor comparison, which places the school in the bottom quartile for overall proficiency relative to districts in Fergus County, is based on a set that includes only two districts with reported data, so it offers little meaningful context. No graduation rate applies because the school does not serve high school grades.
The town of Grass Range is a crossroads hamlet with a declining population and a very low median household income. The surrounding economy is cattle ranching and dryland farming. Most families drive a long distance to Lewistown for shopping and services. The school itself functions as a civic anchor, hosting a Parent-Teacher Organization, a summer food program, and a Farm and Ranch to School initiative. The district reported no recent changes such as referenda, curriculum shifts, or facility updates that would be relevant to parents.
For a family considering this school, the central fact is its scale. A student at Grass Range 7-8 will be in a classroom with a handful of peers, and the school is integrated into a single K-12 building that covers the entire community. The academic pathway leads directly into Grass Range High School, but no data is available on that school's offerings, graduation rates, or course access. There is no information about programs, staffing ratios, or discipline rates. A parent should expect a setting where the school's size and rural isolation shape every aspect of the experience, from peer interaction to extracurricular opportunities to the kind of instruction that can be delivered with very few students per grade. The town's economic hardship and population loss mean the school operates in a community that is not growing, and the lack of recent district changes suggests a stable but resource-constrained environment.
See more original research from School Decision →