The top reported proficiency rate is 0% in Math.
Original Research by School Decision on Medicine Lake High School
Medicine Lake High School sits in a tiny prairie town in Sheridan County, northeastern Montana, where the surrounding private land is intensively farmed for small grains and the town itself has a dwindling business core of false-front commercial buildings. Medicine Lake has experienced long-term population decline, though it saw a modest rebound in the last decade. The high school serves grades nine through twelve and is part of the Medicine Lake K-12 Schools district, which educates all grade levels within the town’s compact footprint.
The school’s enrollment is very small. The student body is heavily white, with a handful of Hispanic students and students of two or more races. About a fifth of students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch. The small size means classes are likely very small and students receive a lot of individual attention, but it also limits the breadth of course offerings and extracurricular options. No information was available on programming such as Advanced Placement, dual credit, career and technical education, or other specialized pathways.
State assessment data is reported for math, English language arts, and science at the high school level, but the results are difficult to interpret. The proficiency rate for all students in every subject is reported as zero percent, and the number of students tested is also zero. This likely means that either no students took the assessments in the testing window, or the data is suppressed due to extremely small student counts—a common situation in a school this small. A parent should discuss testing and academic expectations directly with the school to understand what measures are used to track student progress.
Several other typical data points are absent. There is no reported graduation rate, chronic absenteeism rate, or discipline information. Staffing data, such as teacher experience or student-to-teacher ratio, is not available. The district did not have any recent major changes or strategic developments reported publicly. The comparison set for Sheridan County is too small to generate meaningful academic or outcome comparisons relative to other districts.
Home values in Medicine Lake’s ZIP code are modest relative to state and national levels, reflecting the area’s agricultural economy and remote location. The town is geographically very small, with minimal commercial infrastructure. The Medicine Lake National Wildlife Refuge, located nearby, provides a significant recreational anchor with a tall observation tower and auto tour route, but daily life lacks the amenities of a larger community.
For a family considering Medicine Lake High School, the primary draw would be the small, close-knit rural setting where a student is not lost in a crowd. However, the absence of academic outcome data and the extremely limited enrollment mean that families should investigate current course offerings, college and career preparation, and student support directly with the school. The available data does not provide a clear picture of academic performance, and the school’s very small size may affect everything from extracurricular variety to class options.
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