Enrollment
32
Montana · 2024-25 NCES data
Middle school (grades 6-8) · Clyde Park, MT
Shields Valley 7-8
Federal NCES profile for Shields Valley 7-8, including enrollment, faculty, free-lunch eligibility, demographics, and resource indicators - Resource Investment Index 54/100.
2024-25 NCES dataMiddle school (grades 6-8)NCES 300093201025
👥 S:T ratio 36
🌟 Gifted program 30
🎓 Counselors 99
📋 Attendance 53
Scored 0–100 from federal NCES and CRDC indicators, resource allocation, not test scores. Full methodology →
The verdict
Shields Valley 7-8 earns 54/100 on the Resource Investment Index, with class sizes larger than 85% of Montana schools.
- 54
- Resource Index · Higher
- 16:1
- large classes for Montana
- 32
- students enrolled
Shields Valley 7-8 has class sizes larger than 85% of Montana schools. Computed live against every Montana school reporting to NCES.
School address
District: Shields Valley Elem · Montana
NCES ID 300093201025 Verify on NCES CCD record →
Teachers (FTE)
2.0
Federal CCD staff survey
Students per teacher
16:1
vs 11.8:1 Montana avg
+36% vs state
Student-teacher ratio in context
How Shields Valley 7-8 compares with Montana and U.S. medians
What stands out at Shields Valley 7-8
Teacher staffing is the clearest operational constraint
Shields Valley 7-8's enrollment sits away from the most extreme size bands, but its reported student-teacher ratio is heavier than most Montana schools. That isolates staffing load as a more useful concern than raw campus size. A high ratio does not establish weak teaching or outcomes, yet it can indicate less adult capacity per enrolled student. The remaining federal indicators show whether support staffing and program access offset that pressure.
Student support operates inside a leaner district budget
Shields Valley 7-8's district reports $14,820 in per-pupil expenditure, at least 15% below the Montana average of $19,859. That district-wide constraint gives the campus-level support fields added meaning: counselor loads, specialist staffing, and program access are being reported within a comparatively lean spending environment. F-33 does not publish this school's own budget, so the comparison describes district context rather than dollars assigned to this building.
Shields Valley 7-8 is a mid-sized middle school in Clyde Park, Montana, enrolling 32 students.
Class loads run somewhat heavier than typical: 16:1 puts it in the larger third of Montana schools by student-teacher ratio.
Enrollment of 32 puts it in the smaller third of Montana schools by headcount.
Its Resource Investment Index lands in the upper third of 826 scored Montana schools.
Its student body is predominantly White (91% of enrollment) (diversity index 17/100).
Counselor coverage is strong, about 6 students per counselor, inside the American School Counselor Association's recommended 250:1.
Attendance runs somewhat below the norm, with 18.8% of students chronically absent per the 2021-22 civil-rights collection.
The surrounding Shields Valley Elem spends $14,820 per pupil, 25% below the Montana average, a leaner-resourced district than most.
Its district, Shields Valley Elem, also runs Shields Valley Elementary (107 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 Shields Valley 7-8 compares
Shields Valley 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 | 16:1 | ▲ 36% | 11.8:1 | 15.7:1 |
| Enrollment | 32 | top 70% | - | - |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data School-level CCD + state/national means from Public School Universe · 2024-25
16:1
Leaner classes than 38% of US schools, a middle-of-the-pack class size.
32
Bigger than 4% of US schools by enrollment, a small campus.
Equity indicators (what these measure)
Staffing depth
16:1
students per teacher
- 36% above state mean
Top 85% in Montana - lower ratio than 15% of state schools
Close to the 15:1 benchmark most often cited for individualized attention.
Engagement
18.8%
chronically absent (missed 10%+ of school days)
In the 15-20% range, nearing the "high" absenteeism threshold.
Funding equity
$14,820
per pupil, district-wide
- below Montana avg of $19,859
Somewhat below the U.S. average per-pupil spend; funding constraints may affect programs, facilities, and staffing.
Support staff
Counselors5.5 FTE
Per 6 students, the combined health-and-guidance staffing load for this school.
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.
Student demographics
White 90.6%
Hispanic or Latino 6.3%
Two or More 3.1%
Largest group: White at 90.6% of enrollment.
Student-body diversity index 17.4/100
Simpson diversity index - at 17.4, Shields Valley 7-8 is less mixed than the Montana school average of 23.6.
Programs
Funding & spending
District-wide per-pupil expenditure for Shields Valley Elem, which includes Shields Valley 7-8.
$14,820
Per student
-25%
vs Montana
Avg $19,859
-16%
vs U.S.
Avg $17,658
Revenue mix
Local 47.8%
State 40.0%
Federal 12.2%
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 Shields Valley 7-8 Compares to District-Mates
| School | Enrollment | Economic Profile | Student-Teacher Ratio |
|---|---|---|---|
| Shields Valley Elementary | Larger | No free-lunch data | Lower S:T ratio |
Comparisons are relative to Shields Valley 7-8's own figures; each column derives from NCES Common Core of Data.
Other Schools in This District
- Enrollment
- 107
- Students per teacher
- 10.7:1
- Resource Index
- 36/100
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 (~32 students)
Similar student-teacher ratio (~16:1)
Next steps
Verify locally before acting on Shields Valley 7-8's federal record.
- Compare Shields Valley 7-8 against another school. Compare schools
- Shields Valley 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 Shields Valley 7-8
How many students attend Shields Valley 7-8?
Shields Valley 7-8 has 32 students enrolled. It is a middle school in Clyde Park, MT.
What is the student-teacher ratio at Shields Valley 7-8?
The student-teacher ratio at Shields Valley 7-8 is 16:1, which is 36% higher than the Montana average of 11.8:1 and 2% higher than the national average of 15.7:1.
What is the racial and ethnic makeup of Shields Valley 7-8?
The largest demographic group at Shields Valley 7-8 is White at 90.6% of enrollment, in Clyde Park, MT.
What is the Resource Investment Index for Shields Valley 7-8?
Shields Valley 7-8 has a Resource Investment Index of 54/100 (higher 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).
What other schools are in Shields Valley Elem?
Besides Shields Valley 7-8, Shields Valley Elem also operates Shields Valley Elementary (107 students). See the Shields Valley 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.