Middle school (grades 6-8) · Big Timber, MT

Big Timber 7-8

Federal NCES profile for Big Timber 7-8, including enrollment, faculty, free-lunch eligibility, demographics, and resource indicators - Resource Investment Index 36/100.

2024-25 NCES dataMiddle school (grades 6-8)NCES 300380001064
0/100100/10036/100
👥 S:T ratio
31
🌟 Gifted program
30
🎓 Counselors
45
📋 Attendance
38
Scored 0–100 from federal NCES and CRDC indicators, resource allocation, not test scores. Full methodology →

The verdict

Big Timber 7-8 earns 36/100 on the Resource Investment Index, with class sizes larger than 92% of Montana schools.

#3 of 3
public schools in Big Timber · Resource Index
36
Resource Index · Typical
17.3:1
large classes for Montana
69
students enrolled

Big Timber 7-8 has class sizes larger than 92% of Montana schools. Computed live against every Montana school reporting to NCES.

By Resource Investment Index, Big Timber 7-8 ranks #3 of 3 public schools in Big Timber, MT.

School address

Enrollment

69

Montana · 2024-25 NCES data

Teachers (FTE)

4.0

Federal CCD staff survey

Students per teacher

17.3:1

vs 11.8:1 Montana avg

+47% vs state

Student-teacher ratio in context

How Big Timber 7-8 compares with Montana and U.S. medians

Larger classes than state median
0:135:117.3:1

Source: NCES Common Core of Data As of 2024-25 federal staff survey Total enrollment ÷ full-time-equivalent classroom teachers

What stands out at Big Timber 7-8

Big Timber 7-8 is a mid-sized middle school in Big Timber, Montana, enrolling 69 students.

Class loads run heavy: 17.3:1 is larger than about 92% of Montana schools and 47% above the 11.8:1 state mean, so each teacher carries more students than is typical.

With 69 students, its enrollment sits close to the Montana median campus size.

Its Resource Investment Index lands in the lower third of 826 scored Montana schools.

Its student body is predominantly White (88% of enrollment) (diversity index 21/100).

Counselor coverage runs a bit thin, about 276 students per counselor, somewhat past the ASCA-recommended 250:1 benchmark.

Attendance runs somewhat below the norm, with 24.6% of students chronically absent per the 2021-22 civil-rights collection.

The surrounding Big Timber Elem spends $9,811 per pupil, 49% below the Montana average, a leaner-resourced district than most.

Its district, Big Timber Elem, also runs Big Timber School (222 students).

Sourced from NCES CCD, CRDC, and F-33 (federal records, not a quality verdict). How we source and compute this.

Source: National Center for Education Statistics Common Core of Data + CRDC + F-33 · 2024-25

How Big Timber 7-8 compares

Big Timber 7-8 on the metrics families compare, against Montana and U.S. means.

Metric This school vs Montana Montana avg U.S. avg
Students per teacher 17.3:1 ▲ 47% 11.8:1 15.7:1
Enrollment 69 top 53% - -

Source: NCES Common Core of Data School-level CCD + state/national means from Public School Universe · 2024-25

17.3:1
Leaner classes than 29% of US schools, heavier class loads than most.
69
Bigger than 7% of US schools by enrollment, a small campus.

Equity indicators (what these measure)

Staffing depth
17.3:1
students per teacher - 47% above state mean
Top 92% in Montana - lower ratio than 8% of state schools
Between 16:1 and 20:1, squarely in the typical U.S. public-school staffing range.
Engagement
24.6%
chronically absent (missed 10%+ of school days)
At or above 20%, the commonly used threshold for "high" chronic absenteeism, signaling significant barriers to regular attendance.
Funding equity
$9,811
per pupil, district-wide - below Montana avg of $19,282
Well below the U.S. average per-pupil spend, a notably leaner funding position that may affect programs, facilities, and staffing.
Support staff
Counselors0.3 FTE
Student-support staffing from the Civil Rights Data Collection.
Discipline context
0
in-school suspensions + 0 out-of-school
Suspension rate: 0.0 per 100 students. Combined in-school and out-of-school rate: 0.0 per 100 students. Reported via the Civil Rights Data Collection.

Overview

  • Common Core of Data (June 2026): enrollment, staffing, and the student-teacher ratio above.
  • Civil Rights Data Collection: discipline counts and program access (AP, gifted, special education).
  • F-33 School District Finance Survey: the district-wide per-pupil spending figures below.

Three separate federal collections, each on its own reporting cadence - which is why this school's numbers line up on a consistent basis against every other school and state on this site, rather than mixing figures pulled from different survey years.

Student demographics

White 88.4%
Hispanic or Latino 7.2%
Two or More 4.3%

Largest group: White at 88.4% of enrollment.

Student-body diversity index 21.2/100

Simpson diversity index - at 21.2, Big Timber 7-8 is less mixed than the Montana school average of 23.6.

Programs

Funding & spending

District-wide per-pupil expenditure for Big Timber Elem, which includes Big Timber 7-8.

$9,811
Per student
-49%
vs Montana
Avg $19,282
-41%
vs U.S.
Avg $16,593
Revenue mix
Local 50.4%
State 40.0%
Federal 9.5%

Source: NCES F-33 School District Finance Survey District-level finance · FY 2021-22 Per-pupil expenditure reflects the district-wide average. Individual school budgets are not reported at the federal level.

How Big Timber 7-8 Compares to District-Mates

School Enrollment Economic Profile Student-Teacher Ratio
Big Timber School Larger No free-lunch data Lower S:T ratio

Comparisons are relative to Big Timber 7-8's own figures; each column derives from NCES Common Core of Data.

Other Schools in This District

Big Timber Elem · 1 sibling school

View district profile

Similar middle schools statewide

Matched by enrollment size and by staffing ratio across all of Montana, not just this city - a different peer set than the local comparisons above.

Next steps

Verify locally before acting on Big Timber 7-8's federal record.

Federal record (CCD 2024-25, CRDC 2021-22) - PlainSchools assigns no subjective rating; the composite quality score is a transparent, reproducible index computed from this cited federal data.

Frequently asked questions about Big Timber 7-8

How many students attend Big Timber 7-8?

Big Timber 7-8 has 69 students enrolled. It is a middle school in Big Timber, MT.

What is the student-teacher ratio at Big Timber 7-8?

The student-teacher ratio at Big Timber 7-8 is 17.3:1, which is 47% higher than the Montana average of 11.8:1 and 10% higher than the national average of 15.7:1.

What is the racial and ethnic makeup of Big Timber 7-8?

The largest demographic group at Big Timber 7-8 is White at 88.4% of enrollment, in Big Timber, MT.

What is the Resource Investment Index for Big Timber 7-8?

Big Timber 7-8 has a Resource Investment Index of 36/100 (typical reported resources relative to schools nationally) based on 4 factors: student-teacher ratio, counselor availability, attendance rates. Not a test-score or academic measure (national median ~41/100, see methodology).

How does Big Timber 7-8 rank among public schools in Big Timber?

By Resource Investment Index, Big Timber 7-8 ranks #3 of 3 public schools in Big Timber, MT. This compares federal resource and staffing data among local peers; it is not a test-score or academic ranking. See all public schools in Big Timber on the city page.

Is Big Timber 7-8 a good school?

Big Timber 7-8 earns 36/100 on the Resource Investment Index, with class sizes larger than 92% of Montana schools. This is a resource snapshot, not an academic rating; see the Resource Investment Index question above for what the number does and doesn't measure.

What other schools are in Big Timber Elem?

Besides Big Timber 7-8, Big Timber Elem also operates Big Timber School (222 students). See the Big Timber Elem district page for the complete list.

Source: National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) CCD + Public School Universe (2024-25), CRDC (2021-22), F-33 District Finance Survey (FY 2021-22) · 2024-25 Data as of the 2024-25 school year. Coverage from U.S. Department of Education NCES Common Core of Data. Varies by entity type; administrative districts and certain charter networks may report only a subset of fields.

All federal data sources used on this page

Full source list and how we compute each figure: methodology page.

Every figure on PlainSchools is rendered directly from the source NCES, CRDC and F-33 federal records, no number is typed in by an editor. Each school's figures reflect its most recent NCES/CRDC submission on file. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error. Data current as of June 2026.