Enrollment
25
Montana · 2024-25 NCES data
Middle school (grades 6-8) · Ekalaka, MT
Ekalaka 7-8
Federal NCES profile for Ekalaka 7-8, including enrollment, faculty, free-lunch eligibility, demographics, and resource indicators - Resource Investment Index 45/100.
2024-25 NCES dataMiddle school (grades 6-8)NCES 300967000940
👥 S:T ratio 50
🌟 Gifted program 30
🎓 Counselors 71
📋 Attendance 30
Scored 0–100 from federal NCES and CRDC indicators, resource allocation, not test scores. Full methodology →
The verdict
Ekalaka 7-8 earns 45/100 on the Resource Investment Index, with class sizes near the Montana median.
- #1 of 3
- public schools in Ekalaka · Resource Index
- 45
- Resource Index · Typical
- 12.5:1
- students per teacher
- 25
- students enrolled
Ekalaka 7-8 has class sizes near the Montana median. Computed live against every Montana school reporting to NCES.
By Resource Investment Index, Ekalaka 7-8 ranks #1 of 3 public schools in Ekalaka, MT.
School address
Teachers (FTE)
2.0
Federal CCD staff survey
Students per teacher
12.5:1
vs 11.8:1 Montana avg
+6% vs state
Student-teacher ratio in context
How Ekalaka 7-8 compares with Montana and U.S. medians
What stands out at Ekalaka 7-8
Scale and staffing sit near the state mainstream
Ekalaka 7-8 is neither an extreme outlier in enrollment nor in student-teacher ratio among Montana schools. Its profile therefore turns on the other dimensions rather than on scale alone: economic need, counselor coverage, program access, attendance, and district finance. This middle placement is useful because it prevents the campus from being mislabeled as unusually large, small, crowded, or teacher-dense when the federal comparison does not support that claim.
Attendance is the dominant support signal
Ekalaka 7-8's 28.0% chronic-absence rate is more consequential than a generic staffing label: at least one quarter of students missed 10% or more of school days in the 2021-22 collection. That level can affect instruction, counseling demand, and continuity even when other reported resources look ordinary. The dataset records the scale of absence but not its causes, so it should prompt a current-year question rather than a conclusion about school management.
Ekalaka 7-8 is a mid-sized middle school in Ekalaka, Montana, enrolling 25 students.
At 12.5:1, its student-teacher ratio sits close to the Montana median, within a few percentage points of the 11.8:1 state norm, neither notably crowded nor notably small.
Enrollment of 25 puts it in the smaller third of Montana schools by headcount.
Its Resource Investment Index sits near the middle of the pack among 826 scored Montana schools.
Its student body is predominantly White (92% of enrollment) (diversity index 15/100).
Counselor coverage is strong, about 147 students per counselor, inside the American School Counselor Association's recommended 250:1.
Chronic absenteeism is elevated: 28.0% of students missed 10% or more of school days (2021-22 Civil Rights Data Collection).
Its district draws 22.5% of revenue from federal sources, an above-typical federal share that tends to track a higher-need student population.
Its district, Ekalaka Elem, also runs Ekalaka Elementary School (69 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 Ekalaka 7-8 compares
Ekalaka 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 | 12.5:1 | ▲ 6% | 11.8:1 | 15.7:1 |
| Enrollment | 25 | top 75% | - | - |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data School-level CCD + state/national means from Public School Universe · 2024-25
12.5:1
Leaner classes than 71% of US schools, among the more generously staffed nationally.
25
Bigger than 3% of US schools by enrollment, a small campus.
Equity indicators (what these measure)
Staffing depth
12.5:1
students per teacher
- 6% above state mean
Top 54% in Montana - lower ratio than 46% of state schools
Well under the widely cited 15:1 individualized-attention benchmark, among the leaner class loads nationally.
Engagement
28.0%
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
$20,864
per pupil, district-wide
- above Montana avg of $19,859
Somewhat above the U.S. public-school average, reflecting higher local or state investment per enrolled student.
Support staff
Counselors0.2 FTE
Student-support staffing from the Civil Rights Data Collection.
Discipline context
0
in-school suspensions + 1 out-of-school
Suspension rate: 0.0 per 100 students. Combined in-school and out-of-school rate: 4.0 per 100 students. Reported via the Civil Rights Data Collection.
Student demographics
White 92.0%
Hispanic or Latino 4.0%
Two or More 4.0%
Largest group: White at 92.0% of enrollment.
Student-body diversity index 15.0/100
Simpson diversity index - at 15.0, Ekalaka 7-8 is less mixed than the Montana school average of 23.6.
Programs
Funding & spending
District-wide per-pupil expenditure for Ekalaka Elem, which includes Ekalaka 7-8.
$20,864
Per student
+5%
vs Montana
Avg $19,859
+18%
vs U.S.
Avg $17,658
Revenue mix
Local 51.6%
State 25.9%
Federal 22.5%
Source: NCES F-33 School District Finance Survey District-level finance · FY 2022-23 Per-pupil expenditure reflects the district-wide average. Individual school budgets are not reported at the federal level.
How Ekalaka 7-8 Compares to District-Mates
| School | Enrollment | Economic Profile | Student-Teacher Ratio |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ekalaka Elementary School | Larger | No free-lunch data | Lower S:T ratio |
Comparisons are relative to Ekalaka 7-8's own figures; each column derives from NCES Common Core of Data.
Other Schools in This District
- Enrollment
- 69
- Students per teacher
- 9.9:1
- Resource Index
- 44/100
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.
Similar enrollment (~25 students)
Similar student-teacher ratio (~12.5:1)
Next steps
Verify locally before acting on Ekalaka 7-8's federal record.
- Compare Ekalaka 7-8 against another school. Compare schools
- Ekalaka Elem's spending and staffing shape this school. District profile
- Confirm current enrollment and boundaries with the school. Choosing guide
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 Ekalaka 7-8
How many students attend Ekalaka 7-8?
Ekalaka 7-8 has 25 students enrolled. It is a middle school in Ekalaka, MT.
What is the student-teacher ratio at Ekalaka 7-8?
The student-teacher ratio at Ekalaka 7-8 is 12.5:1, which is 6% higher than the Montana average of 11.8:1 and 20% lower than the national average of 15.7:1.
What is the racial and ethnic makeup of Ekalaka 7-8?
The largest demographic group at Ekalaka 7-8 is White at 92.0% of enrollment, in Ekalaka, MT.
What is the Resource Investment Index for Ekalaka 7-8?
Ekalaka 7-8 has a Resource Investment Index of 45/100 (typical reported resources relative to schools nationally) based on 4 factors: student-teacher ratio, gifted-program reporting, counselor availability, chronic absenteeism. Not a test-score or academic measure (national median ~41/100, see methodology).
How does Ekalaka 7-8 rank among public schools in Ekalaka?
By Resource Investment Index, Ekalaka 7-8 ranks #1 of 3 public schools in Ekalaka, MT. This compares federal resource and staffing data among local peers; it is not a test-score or academic ranking.
What other schools are in Ekalaka Elem?
Besides Ekalaka 7-8, Ekalaka Elem also operates Ekalaka Elementary School (69 students). See the Ekalaka Elem district page for the complete list.
Related tools
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, the data changelog, or report a data error. Data current as of August 2026.