The top reported proficiency rate is 0% in Math.
Original Research by School Decision on Lincoln-mckinley School
Lincoln-McKinley School serves second and third graders in Havre, Montana, as one of the elementary schools within the Havre Elem district. It is a conventional public school, not a charter or magnet, and its grade band means that many of the metrics parents often look for at upper-grade levels simply do not apply here.
Because the school serves only grades two and three, it has no graduation rate to report, and the state testing data that is available covers only the tested grades, beginning in grade three. The assessment results for the most recent year show no tested students in math, English language arts, or science. That does not mean students did not take tests—it means that for a school that serves grades two and three, the only tested grade would be grade three, and the reported figures show zero tested students. A parent may want to follow up with the district to clarify whether third graders at Lincoln-McKinley were assessed separately or whether test administration and reporting fell in a different year. As it stands, the data field offers no usable proficiency picture.
The school enrolls a student body that is majority white, with a substantial American Indian or Alaska Native population, and smaller shares of Hispanic, multiracial, Black, and Asian students. Nearly every student qualifies for free or reduced-price lunch, a very high rate that places the school in an economically distinctive peer environment. Enrollment is concentrated entirely in second and third grades, with a slightly larger cohort in third grade than in second.
The parent district, Havre Elem, is part of the Havre Public Schools system, which operates multiple elementary schools, a middle school, and a high school within the city. Havre itself is a regional commercial and medical hub on the Hi-Line of northern Montana, with U.S. Highway 2 running through as the main street. The town was founded as a railroad service center for the Great Northern Railway, and that rail-town grid layout still shapes the downtown. The largest employers are Northern Montana Hospital, Montana State University–Northern, and BNSF Railway. The city has seen a modest population decline in recent years, and no major new housing developments were identified in publicly reported searches. Housing values in the area are below the state benchmark but have risen, and the local economy has experienced a period of low unemployment.
When positioned relative to other districts in Hill County, Lincoln-McKinley falls in the bottom quartile for overall proficiency across tested subjects and grades. This comparison is based on a proficiency index that averages reported rates across subjects, but the index itself relies on the available test data, which in this case is reported as zero. The comparison set notes that the proficiency index is the mean of reported proficiency rates across tested subjects and grades, and because the school’s tested count is zero, the index value reflects that. The school’s overall academic performance picture is essentially unmeasurable from the state data provided.
For a family considering this school, the relevant considerations are less about test scores and more about the nature of the school itself. It is a small, early-elementary building where nearly all students come from low-income households, housed within a district that covers a small city with a stable but slowly shrinking population. The program offerings data was not available, so there is no information on what enrichment, special education, or English learner supports the school provides. A parent may want to ask the school directly about class sizes, reading and math interventions, and how the school supports its high-poverty population. The absence of tested-student data also means that no trend information is available, so a parent cannot see whether academic performance has been moving in any direction over time. This is a school where the informational picture is thin, and the most useful next step would be a conversation with the principal or a visit to the building.
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