The top reported proficiency rate is 16% in Science. The lowest is 0% in English language arts.
Original Research by School Decision on West Elementary
West Elementary in Great Falls serves students from prekindergarten through sixth grade, making it a traditional elementary school within the Great Falls Elem district. The school is located at 1205 1st Avenue NW, on the city’s west side. Great Falls itself is a city bisected by the Missouri River, serving as a cultural and commercial hub for central Montana. Its character is shaped heavily by Malmstrom Air Force Base, the community’s largest employer, and the nearby Montana Air National Guard. The city has a notable concentration of museums, including the Lewis and Clark Interpretive Center and the C. M. Russell Museum, and Interstate 15 provides north-south access through the region.
The school’s enrollment is sizable for an elementary building, and the student body is predominantly white. A substantial share of students identify as two or more races, and the school also serves American Indian or Alaska Native and Hispanic students. A very large share of students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, indicating a student population with high economic need. Data on the share of students with individualized education programs or English learner status was not available in the data provided.
In terms of academic performance, the picture is incomplete. For the most recent year with state testing results, West Elementary reported no tested students in math or English language arts for grades three through eight, meaning proficiency rates of zero percent were recorded for those subjects. A parent may want to ask the school directly about this, as it could reflect a data-reporting issue or a testing circumstance rather than actual student outcomes. Science assessments, which are administered at a different grade level, did yield results: a modest share of students scored proficient or above. Overall, the school’s proficiency index, which averages performance across tested subjects and grades, falls in the bottom quartile relative to districts in Cascade County. This is a soft spot, and families may wish to discuss instructional supports and recent academic trends with the school to get a fuller picture.
Because West Elementary does not serve high school grades, there is no graduation rate to report. The data also did not include information on chronic absenteeism, discipline, course access, staffing ratios, or program offerings such as gifted or career pathways. These are notable gaps for a family trying to assess the school’s full environment. The district itself, Great Falls Elem, does not have any publicly reported recent changes of lasting impact, so the broader district context appears stable for now.
The housing market in the area reflects a cost of homeownership that is below the national benchmark for home values, while rents have been rising at a faster clip than the national average. A typical rent payment consumes a moderate share of the local median household income, which itself is near the national median. The national unemployment rate has remained steady in a low range, suggesting a stable employment picture.
This is a school where a family needs to dig deeper. The high poverty rate, the missing reading and math data for the most recent testing cycle, and the low science proficiency all raise questions. The strong presence of military families in the community may mean some children come from a mobile or deployment-impacted background, but the data does not speak to that directly. A parent considering West Elementary should request recent classroom-level performance information and ask about how the school supports students who are behind academically. The school’s large size and central location in Great Falls mean it draws from a broad residential area, and the neighborhood around First Avenue Northwest is an established part of town. For families who value a school that reflects the community’s economic diversity and who are willing to be hands-on with their child’s learning, West Elementary may be worth a closer look. But the available numbers do not paint a picture of strong academic outcomes on their own.
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