The top reported proficiency rate is 22% in Science. The lowest is 0% in English language arts.
Original Research by School Decision on Havre Middle School
Havre Middle School draws students from across the city of Havre and the surrounding area of Hill County for grades six through eight. The school is part of the Havre Public Schools system, which also operates three elementary schools, a high school, and an alternative high school within the community.
The student body at Havre Middle School is somewhat diverse for a northern Montana school. A majority of students are white, with a substantial American Indian or Alaska Native population, and smaller shares of students who are of two or more races, Hispanic, Asian, or Black. More than half of the students come from low-income households, as measured by eligibility for free or reduced-price lunch. This is a characteristic of the local economic context; the city of Havre, founded as a railroad service center halfway between Seattle and the Twin Cities, has seen its most prominent employer, the BNSF Railway, scale back its workforce since the 1990s, and the population has been declining slightly in recent years. The city remains a regional medical and business hub, with Northern Montana Hospital and Montana State University–Northern among the largest employers.
State testing results present a mixed picture for Havre Middle School. In science, a modest share of students met the proficiency standard on the Montana Science Assessment. The school's overall proficiency index, which averages performance across tested subjects and grades, places it below the midpoint relative to other districts in Hill County. This is a measure a parent will want to discuss directly with the school to understand what academic supports and interventions are in place.
No state assessment data was reported for math or English language arts. These subjects are tested annually in these grades, but the reported proficiency rate for the school is zero, and no scale scores or participation rates are available in the data. This gap may reflect a data-reporting issue at the state or school level. A parent should verify with Havre Middle School or the district office whether these assessments were administered and how students performed.
The school environment section of the data provides limited information. No detailed course access or staffing numbers were available, and no discipline or attendance figures were reported. The school does not appear to be a charter or magnet school. Its Title I status was not included in the data, so it is not possible to say whether the school receives federal funding based on the share of low-income students, though the share is substantial enough that many schools of this profile do.
Housing in the immediate area around Havre Middle School is relatively affordable. The typical home value is well below both the state and national benchmarks, and has been rising at a moderate pace. This affordability, combined with the city's role as a regional service center and its rail and highway access, may appeal to families looking for a lower-cost entry point into Montana.
Havre itself is a working town with a walkable historic downtown. The east–west U.S. Highway 2 is the main commercial corridor, fronting the BNSF tracks. The historic business district features brick buildings, and the underground mall known as Havre Beneath the Streets is a local tourist attraction. The city has a public library, a large county park in Beaver Creek Park, a museum on the Montana Dinosaur Trail, and an Amtrak stop on the Empire Builder line. Montana State University–Northern is within the city limits.
For a family considering Havre Middle School, the core takeaway is that the school serves a mid-sized middle school population in a regional hub with affordable housing, but the available academic performance data is incomplete and what is reported places the school below the midpoint of its county peers. A direct conversation with the school about current curriculum, intervention programs, and the reporting of test results would be a reasonable next step for any parent weighing enrollment.
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