The top reported proficiency rate is 0% in Math.
Original Research by School Decision on Highwood High School
Highwood High School sits at the center of a very small, unincorporated rural community in the Big Sag Valley of Chouteau County, about a 25-mile drive east of Great Falls. The town of Highwood itself has no downtown or commercial district to speak of. The built environment consists of scattered homes, agricultural land, and a single school campus where the high school, middle school, and elementary school are co-located. Ranching and farming have been the economic base since homesteaders arrived in the 1860s, and the school district is likely one of the few institutional employers in the immediate area. The population has declined over recent decades, and no major new housing developments or infrastructure expansion are documented. The school campus functions as the primary civic gathering point.
The high school enrollment is small and serves grades nine through twelve. The student body is predominantly white, with a small number of students who identify as American Indian or Alaska Native, Hispanic, or two or more races. About half of the students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, a substantial share in a community where median household income is moderate and housing values have risen in line with broader regional trends. Data on students with disabilities and English learners was not available in the source materials.
State testing data for the 2023-24 school year reports a proficiency rate of zero percent in math, English language arts, and science. However, the tested count for each subject was also zero. This is a critical detail. A zero-percent proficiency rate with zero students tested means no students at this school took those state assessments in that grade band that year. A parent should confirm directly with the school whether students participate in state testing and what the school’s understanding of academic progress is, because the published figures offer no usable measure of student achievement. Because the data does not provide a graduation rate, that metric is also absent from this picture.
The comparison set places Highwood High School among districts in Chouteau County. On the proficiency index, which averages reported rates across tested subjects and grades, the school falls in the bottom quartile of that group. Again, that position is based on a reported zero in each subject with zero test-takers, so the meaning of that rank is unclear.
No information was available on course offerings, Advanced Placement or dual-credit programs, career and technical education pathways, or staffing ratios. The district brief, which covers parent-relevant changes such as property-tax shifts, referenda, or curriculum updates, returned no results. A family evaluating this school would need to contact the school directly to learn about academic programs, class sizes, extracurricular activities, and the school’s approach to college and career preparation.
This is a very small rural high school in a shrinking community with limited institutional infrastructure outside the school itself. The absence of state testing data and graduation rate, combined with the lack of program information, means a parent cannot draw a standard academic picture from publicly available sources. That does not necessarily indicate a weak school. It may reflect the realities of a small, isolated setting where formal metrics are sparse or where the grade band tested does not apply. But the gaps are real. Anyone considering Highwood High School should ask the school for its own assessment results, graduation rates, and a description of the academic program to fill in what the public data leaves blank.
See more original research from School Decision →