The top reported proficiency rate is 0% in Math.
Original Research by School Decision on Roberts High School
Roberts High School serves grades 9 through 12 and is the secondary campus of the Roberts K-12 Schools district, a very small rural system in Carbon County, Montana. The high school enrolls fewer than fifty students, a size that makes it among the smallest high schools in the county. The student body is predominantly white, with a very small share of Hispanic students and a similarly small share of students identifying as two or more races. A substantial share of students qualify for free or reduced-price meals. The school sits on Maple Street in Roberts, an unincorporated census-designated place that functions as a rural settlement rather than a town with a downtown. The community has experienced population decline over the past decade, and its housing stock shows a notable vacancy rate. Median home values in the area are above the national median. There are no major employers in Roberts itself; most employed residents work in construction or other services, and many likely commute to Red Lodge or Billings.
Because Roberts High School serves grades 9 through 12 and the state of Montana administers its Smarter Balanced assessments in grades 3 through 8, the school has no state testing data for math, English language arts, or science at the high school level. The proficiency index, a composite measure of the school’s reported testing results that the state does supply, places the school in the bottom quartile relative to districts in Carbon County. That index is based on a very small number of observations. A parent considering this school should be aware that the available academic performance data is extremely limited and does not provide a clear picture of how students here perform on statewide assessments. The graduation rate was not available in the data we examined.
The school, like the district as a whole, is very small by any standard. With enrollment in the dozens, class sizes are inherently small, and the high school spans all four grade levels within a single building. The district reportedly operates on a four-day school week, a schedule that some rural Montana districts have adopted, though our research did not confirm when that schedule was put in place. The school environment is shaped by the broader community context: Roberts has minimal walkable infrastructure, no public transit, no public library, and limited civic institutions beyond the school itself and the rural fire district. The nearest medical care and commercial airport require a drive of some distance.
For a family weighing whether Roberts High School fits, the school offers the intimacy and close community ties that come with a very small rural school. Students who thrive in a setting where they are well known by staff and where the school is the center of community life may find it a good match. The absence of standardized test data at the high school level means there is less information available to gauge academic performance compared with schools that participate in those assessments. A parent may want to look into this further with the school, including asking about college readiness, course offerings, dual-credit options, and postsecondary outcomes directly. The district and school did not surface any recent changes such as curriculum overhauls, facility bonds, or staffing shifts that would alter the basic character of the school in the near term.
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