The top reported proficiency rate is 75% in Science. The lowest is 64% in English language arts.
Original Research by School Decision on Tongue River Elementary
Tongue River Elementary sits in Ranchester, a small town in Sheridan County, Wyoming, tucked between the city of Sheridan and the Bighorn Mountains along U.S. Highway 14. The town has historically served as a stopping point for hunters, snowmobile riders, and travelers heading over the Bighorns via the Bighorn Scenic Byway. Civic life and schools are woven into the town fabric rather than set apart on remote campuses. Tongue River Elementary and Tongue River Middle School are both in Ranchester, while Tongue River High School is a short distance south in Dayton. A public library branch, a visitor's center, and Connor Battlefield State Historic Site with its playground and picnic areas all sit within the town's compact footprint.
The school serves kindergarten through fifth grade with an enrollment that is modest for its grade band. The student body is predominantly white, with small representations of Native American students and students identifying as two or more races. A substantial share of students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch. Data on individualized education programs and English learner services was not available, so those details are left out rather than estimated.
Academic results from the most recent WY-TOPP assessment tell a mostly encouraging story with a clear pattern. Proficiency rises steadily from third grade through fifth grade in both math and English language arts. Third-grade results sit in the middle of the pack, with roughly half of tested students reaching proficiency in math and reading. By fourth grade, math proficiency climbs notably and science proficiency is strong. Fifth grade is where the school hits its stride, with proficiency rates in both math and ELA among the higher ends of what the data shows. Participation rates were full or very near full across all tested grades and subjects.
Placed against other districts in Sheridan County, Tongue River Elementary's overall proficiency index lands below the midpoint but well above the lowest district in the county. The gap between this school and the top of the county cohort is not large. The school's relative soft spot is in the earlier grades, where proficiency is more middling. By the upper elementary years, performance firms up considerably. A parent looking at third-grade results may want to ask the school how it supports early-grade literacy and numeracy, since those numbers are the weakest in the school's profile.
Because Tongue River Elementary serves only kindergarten through fifth grade, there is no graduation rate to report. Chronic absenteeism data was also not available. No information on course access, discipline, staffing ratios, or specialized programs was provided, so those dimensions of the school environment cannot be characterized here. The parent district, Sheridan County School District #1, had little publicly reported in the way of recent changes that would affect families, so that is noted as a gap rather than filled with speculation.
The housing market around Ranchester carries typical home values above both the Wyoming state benchmark and the national benchmark. Estimated monthly mortgage costs are meaningful relative to national median household income. No rental data was available for the immediate area. The town is growing steadily, with a small population increase since the 2020 census and a few new commercial additions, including a brewery and a visitor's center. No major housing developments were identified in available sources, and the town's small land area suggests any growth comes through infill or modest expansion rather than large-scale subdivision.
For a family considering this school, the picture is of a small-town elementary with solid and improving academic results as children move through the upper grades, a community where schools and civic life share the same compact streets, and a housing market that runs somewhat above state and national norms. The missing pieces on staffing, programs, and student support services are worth asking about directly. What the data does show is a school whose students generally perform well by the time they leave fifth grade, with the clearest room for growth concentrated in the earliest tested grades.
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