Middle school (grades 6-8) · Billings, MT

Yellowstone Academy 7-8

Federal NCES profile for Yellowstone Academy 7-8, including enrollment, faculty, free-lunch eligibility, demographics, and resource indicators - Resource Investment Index 56/100.

2024-25 NCES dataMiddle school (grades 6-8)NCES 302886001114
0/100100/10056/100
👥 S:T ratio
95
🌟 Gifted program
30
🎓 Counselors
97
📋 Attendance
0
Scored 0–100 from federal NCES and CRDC indicators, resource allocation, not test scores. Full methodology →

The verdict

Yellowstone Academy 7-8 earns 56/100 on the Resource Investment Index, with class sizes smaller than 99% of Montana schools.

#2 of 10
middle schools in Billings · Resource Index
56
Resource Index · Higher
1.2:1
small classes for Montana
16
students enrolled

Yellowstone Academy 7-8 has class sizes smaller than 99% of Montana schools. Computed live against every Montana school reporting to NCES.

By Resource Investment Index, Yellowstone Academy 7-8 ranks #2 of 10 middle schools in Billings, MT.

Enrollment

16

Montana · 2024-25 NCES data

Teachers (FTE)

13.0

Federal CCD staff survey

Students per teacher

1.2:1

vs 11.8:1 Montana avg

-90% vs state

Student-teacher ratio in context

How Yellowstone Academy 7-8 compares with Montana and U.S. medians

Smaller classes than state median
0:135:11.2:1

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

What stands out at Yellowstone Academy 7-8

Yellowstone Academy 7-8 is a mid-sized middle school in Billings, Montana, enrolling 16 students.

Classes run notably small here: at 1.2:1, Yellowstone Academy 7-8 is leaner than roughly 99% of Montana schools and 90% under the state's 11.8:1 norm, more adult attention per pupil than most peers.

Enrollment of 16 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 led by White (75%) and Two or More (19%) (diversity index 40/100).

Counselor coverage is strong, about 16 students per counselor, inside the American School Counselor Association's recommended 250:1.

Chronic absenteeism is elevated: 62.5% of students missed 10% or more of school days (2021-22 Civil Rights Data Collection).

The surrounding Yellowstone Academy Elem spends $81,532 per pupil, 323% above the Montana average, a better-resourced district than most.

Among Billings's middle schools, it stands alongside Lewis & Clark Middle School (741 students): Yellowstone Academy 7-8 is smaller than that campus by headcount and runs leaner classes (1.2:1 vs 16.1:1).

Its district, Yellowstone Academy Elem, also runs Yellowstone Academy Elem (36 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 Yellowstone Academy 7-8 compares

Yellowstone Academy 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 1.2:1 ▼ 90% 11.8:1 15.7:1
Enrollment 16 top 83% - -

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

1.2:1
Leaner classes than 100% of US schools, among the more generously staffed nationally.
16
Bigger than 2% of US schools by enrollment, a small campus.

Equity indicators (what these measure)

Staffing depth
1.2:1
students per teacher - 90% below state mean
Top 1% in Montana - lower ratio than 100% of state schools
Well under the widely cited 15:1 individualized-attention benchmark, among the leaner class loads nationally.
Engagement
62.5%
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
$81,532
per pupil, district-wide - above Montana avg of $19,282
Well above the U.S. public-school average, reflecting substantially higher local or state investment per enrolled student.
Support staff
Counselors1.0 FTE
Per 16 students, the combined health-and-guidance staffing load for this school.
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: 6.3 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 75.0%
Two or More 18.8%
American Indian / Alaska Native 6.3%

Largest group: White at 75.0% of enrollment.

Student-body diversity index 39.8/100

Simpson diversity index - at 39.8, Yellowstone Academy 7-8 is more mixed than the Montana school average of 23.6.

Programs

Funding & spending

District-wide per-pupil expenditure for Yellowstone Academy Elem, which includes Yellowstone Academy 7-8.

$81,532
Per student
+323%
vs Montana
Avg $19,282
+391%
vs U.S.
Avg $16,593
Revenue mix
Local 60.0%
State 25.1%
Federal 14.9%

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 Yellowstone Academy 7-8 Compares to District-Mates

School Enrollment Economic Profile Student-Teacher Ratio
Yellowstone Academy Elem Larger No free-lunch data Higher S:T ratio

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

Other Schools in This District

Yellowstone Academy Elem · 1 sibling school

View district profile

Similar middle schools in Billings

6 comparable middle schools (grades 6-8) serving the same city.

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 Yellowstone Academy 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 Yellowstone Academy 7-8

How many students attend Yellowstone Academy 7-8?

Yellowstone Academy 7-8 has 16 students enrolled. It is a middle school in Billings, MT.

What is the student-teacher ratio at Yellowstone Academy 7-8?

The student-teacher ratio at Yellowstone Academy 7-8 is 1.2:1, which is 90% lower than the Montana average of 11.8:1 and 92% lower than the national average of 15.7:1. Lower ratios generally mean more individual attention per student.

What is the racial and ethnic makeup of Yellowstone Academy 7-8?

The largest demographic group at Yellowstone Academy 7-8 is White at 75.0% of enrollment, in Billings, MT.

What is the Resource Investment Index for Yellowstone Academy 7-8?

Yellowstone Academy 7-8 has a Resource Investment Index of 56/100 (higher 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 Yellowstone Academy 7-8 rank among middle schools in Billings?

By Resource Investment Index, Yellowstone Academy 7-8 ranks #2 of 10 middle schools in Billings, MT. This compares federal resource and staffing data among local peers; it is not a test-score or academic ranking. See all middle schools in Billings on the city page.

Is Yellowstone Academy 7-8 a good school?

Yellowstone Academy 7-8 earns 56/100 on the Resource Investment Index, with class sizes smaller than 99% 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 Yellowstone Academy Elem?

Besides Yellowstone Academy 7-8, Yellowstone Academy Elem also operates Yellowstone Academy Elem (36 students). See the Yellowstone Academy 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.