The top reported proficiency rate is 0% in Math.
Original Research by School Decision on Sheridan High School
Sheridan High School occupies a distinctive place in Montana’s educational landscape: it is a very small rural high school that serves as its own single-school district. The student body is small, with enrollment spread across grades nine through twelve in roughly similar numbers, suggesting a school where teachers and administrators know every student by name. The student population is predominantly white, with a modest share of students from two or more races and no other racial or ethnic groups represented in the data. More than two out of every five students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, a share that places the school in a context where economic need affects a substantial portion of the student body.
State testing data for the 2023-24 school year reports zero students tested in math, English language arts, and science. The data does not explain the reason for the absence of tested students. For a high school of this size, there are several plausible explanations — the state may test at different grade levels than those served, the school may have participated in an alternative assessment, or the testing window may have encountered a low-participation year — but the data does not specify which. A parent interested in academic performance measures should look into this further with the school or district to understand how student progress is evaluated. The comparison fact-set using districts in Madison County places Sheridan High School’s overall proficiency index in the bottom quartile of the seven districts measured, though that index is drawn from the same zero-rate data and therefore may not be a meaningful comparative figure. Graduation rate data was not available in the provided records.
The town of Sheridan is a quiet agricultural community in the Ruby Valley, grounded in grain farming, cattle ranching, and sheep operations. The local economy is built around these industries along with the Ruby Valley Hospital and the school system itself. Sheridan has seen modest population growth since the 2020 census, and its median household income and low poverty rate suggest a stable if not affluent local economy. Housing values in the area have risen at a pace above the national average in recent years, and the typical home carries an estimated monthly mortgage cost that is manageable relative to local incomes. The town is compact — essentially one square mile — and the school complex sits within walking distance of the downtown shops and galleries, the public library, and Town Hall. The broader valley offers outdoor recreation on the Ruby River, Ruby Reservoir, and the Tobacco Root Mountains, all of which contribute to a character that is rural, outdoors-oriented, and community-focused.
The district itself consists of this single high school and operates as its own administrative entity. A search for recent district-level changes — referendums, curriculum shifts, or property tax changes — returned no evidence of such activity, indicating a period of administrative stability. The school is not a charter, does not have magnet status, and no Title I status was reported.
For a family, Sheridan High School fits a particular profile. It is a place for a student who will thrive in a very small setting where anonymity is impossible and relationships with teachers are necessarily close. The academic pathway is unclear from the available test data, which is a gap a prospective family would want to investigate directly. The peer environment is homogeneous in racial composition and shaped by the economic realities of a working agricultural community. The housing market, while heated relative to national trends, remains accessible compared to many Montana resort towns, and the town offers a low-key, self-contained community life. This is not a school with broad program offerings or a wide range of course pathways — no such offerings were reported in the data. It is a straightforward rural high school serving the children of the Ruby Valley, where the core experience is the small community itself rather than a menu of academic options. Families considering a move to Sheridan should plan to learn about the school’s actual academic program and student outcomes directly from the school office, as the public data provides a limited picture.
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