The top reported proficiency rate is 0% in Math.
Original Research by School Decision on Hysham High School
Hysham High School serves grades nine through twelve in the town of Hysham, the county seat of Treasure County, Montana. The town is very small, a rural community of a few hundred people situated along Interstate 94 in the Yellowstone Valley, roughly a 75-mile drive east of Billings. The surrounding area is rolling hills, farmland, and ranchland, and the town itself covers only a few square miles. The economic base is overwhelmingly agricultural, with county government and the school district among the primary employers. The town is not growing; its population has been static for years, and the most notable recent infrastructure event was a multi-year water system repair following treatment plant failures.
Hysham High School is the only high school in the Hysham K-12 Schools district, which serves the entire town and surrounding rural area. The high school is very small, with a total enrollment that is modest even for a rural Montana high school. The student body is predominantly white, with a small share of students identifying as two or more races and a very small Hispanic population. More than a third of students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, a share that reflects the economic realities of the agricultural community.
State testing data for the 2023-24 school year shows a proficiency rate of zero percent in math, English language arts, and science. The number of students tested was also zero. This is not a typical result. The most likely explanation is that the school did not participate in state assessments that year, or that the tested population was too small to report. Montana administers the Smarter Balanced Assessment in math and ELA and the Montana Science Assessment in science for grades three through eight, but high school testing is different. The data available here covers the grades three through eight assessments, which do not apply to a high school serving only grades nine through twelve. That is the reason the proficiency rates show zero and the tested count is zero. The state testing program for high school students in Montana uses different assessments, and those results were not included in the data provided. A parent looking for academic performance measures for this school would need to seek out the high school-specific assessment results directly from the school or the Montana Office of Public Instruction.
The school's graduation rate was not available in the data. Civil rights data, including discipline rates and special education identification, was also absent. The school's program offerings were not provided, so there is no information on whether Hysham High School offers Advanced Placement courses, dual enrollment with a college, career and technical education pathways, or extracurricular activities beyond the school's team name, the Rebels.
Housing in the Hysham area is notably affordable. Home values are well below the national median, and the estimated monthly mortgage payment on a typical home is modest. For a family moving from a higher-cost area, the housing market here would represent a significant reduction in expense. The trade-off is that the local economy offers limited employment outside of agriculture, county government, and the school district itself.
The district brief turned up no recent parent-relevant changes such as boundary shifts, curriculum overhauls, or property tax referendums. The district appears to be operating in a steady state, consistent with the town's static growth pattern.
For a family considering Hysham High School, the central question is whether the very small size and rural setting fit their priorities. The school offers an intimate environment where a student body of a few dozen means every student is known. The trade-offs are substantial: state assessment data for high school grades was not available in the standard reporting, so a parent would need to ask the school directly about academic performance measures. The school's program offerings, from Advanced Placement to career and technical education, are not documented in the available data. The graduation rate was also absent from the data. A family moving here would be choosing a way of life as much as a school, and would want to have a direct conversation with the principal about what courses, extracurriculars, and postsecondary support the school actually provides.
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