The top reported proficiency rate is 75% in Science. The lowest is 67% in Math.
Original Research by School Decision on Rattlesnake Elementary School
Rattlesnake Elementary sits in a residential neighborhood on the north edge of Missoula, serving students from pre-kindergarten through fifth grade as part of the Missoula Elem district, which sends Rattlesnake students on to middle and high school in the citywide system. The school enrolls roughly four hundred students, a size that keeps it large enough to sustain specialized instruction while remaining a single-site neighborhood school.
The student body is predominantly white, a composition that broadly mirrors the city and state demographics. Just under a third of students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, a share that places Rattlesnake on the lower end of economic need among Missoula County elementary schools and suggests a predominantly middle- to upper-middle-income attendance zone. The neighborhood itself sits in a housing market that is notably expensive by national standards: home values in the Rattlesnake zip code are elevated even relative to the state, and rents are climbing. For families already living in the area or considering a move, the cost of entry is a real consideration.
Academically, Rattlesnake posts consistently strong results. On the Smarter Balanced assessments administered in grades three through five, the share of students scoring proficient or above in English language arts and in math both fall well above the median for districts in Missoula County. In science, the proficiency rate is even higher. The comparison with other county districts places Rattlesnake in the top quartile for overall proficiency across tested subjects and grades, a clear indicator that the school is delivering at a high level relative to its local peers. Absent specific subgroup breakdowns in the available data, a parent may want to ask the school directly how outcomes vary for students receiving special education services or for those who are English learners, since those measures were not reported here.
The district underlying Rattlesnake has made several recent moves that shape the school experience. Voters approved an elementary general fund levy in 2024, after a similar measure failed the year before, and the new funding is directed toward student mental health supports, class size, and curriculum. That vote signals a community willing to invest in its elementary schools even after a rejection, and the money flows directly to buildings like Rattlesnake. At the same time, the district adopted a new elementary literacy curriculum for the 2023-2024 school year that is rooted in the science of reading, a shift in teaching approach that affects every classroom. A five-year strategic plan covering 2025 through 2030 is now in place, with stated priorities around academic excellence, whole-child wellness, and community engagement. These are publicly reported initiatives worth watching for the direction they set, though the plan’s actual classroom impact at Rattlesnake will only become clear over time.
What is not available in the data may matter to some families. There is no reported chronic absenteeism rate and no discipline data, so it is hard to gauge attendance patterns or the frequency of behavioral interventions. Staffing ratios and teacher qualifications were also absent from the records reviewed. A parent considering Rattlesnake would be well served to visit, talk with the principal, and ask about class sizes, special education staffing, and how the school monitors attendance and behavior day to day.
Missoula itself is a mid-sized university city that has moved beyond its lumber-era economy into healthcare, education, and government services. The University of Montana sits near downtown, and a lively commercial core with restaurants and music venues is a short drive from the Rattlesnake neighborhood. The city has steady population growth, ample parkland and trails, and a topography that blends a flat valley floor with steep hillsides. It is a place where outdoor recreation and a small-city cultural scene coexist. Rattlesnake Elementary occupies a specific niche within that larger context: a high-performing neighborhood school in an expensive housing market, with a district that has recently aligned its literacy instruction and secured new operating revenue, but where a family will want to fill in the missing operational details directly from the school.
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