Montana · NCES CCD 2024-25

Best-Resourced Public Schools in Montana

Top 50 schools ranked by resource quality score, based on student-teacher ratio, counselor access, gifted programs, and attendance.

Compiled from official source data by PlainSchools. · Updated August 2026

The ranking in one line

Colstrip High School in Colstrip is Montana's top-resourced public school, scoring 60/100 on the NCES resource index.

60/100
top score (grade C+): 1
schools at the top grade (C+): 51/100
average across the top 50

#	School	Grade	Enrollment	Student:Teacher	District	Score
1	Colstrip High SchoolColstrip	C+	155	8.2:1	Colstrip H S	60
2	Belt SchoolBelt	C	178	14.8:1	Belt Elem	58
3	Bainville SchoolBainville	C	108	12:1	Bainville K-12 Schools	58
4	Blue Creek SchoolBillings	C	145	9.7:1	Blue Creek Elem	57
5	Longfellow SchoolGreat Falls	C	263	12:1	Great Falls Elem	56
6	Scobey SchoolScobey	C	152	12.7:1	Scobey K-12 Schools	56
7	Broadview SchoolBroadview	C	105	11.7:1	Broadview Elem	56
8	Park High SchoolLivingston	C	420	11.7:1	Park H S	55
9	Monforton SchoolBozeman	C	254	16.9:1	Monforton Elem	55
10	Red Lodge High SchoolRed Lodge	C	176	10.4:1	Red Lodge H S	55
11	Poplar 7-8Poplar	C	117	10.6:1	Poplar Elem	55
12	Broadwater High SchoolTownsend	C-	196	11.5:1	Townsend K-12 Schools	54
13	Three Forks 7-8Three Forks	C-	182	15.2:1	Three Forks Elem	54
14	Ennis High SchoolEnnis	C-	134	12.2:1	Ennis K-12 Schools	54
15	Pine Butte Elementary SchColstrip	C-	217	11.4:1	Colstrip Elem	53
16	Frank Brattin Middle SchlColstrip	C-	119	9.2:1	Colstrip Elem	53
17	Roosevelt Junior HighRed Lodge	C-	111	13.9:1	Red Lodge Elem	53
18	Longfellow SchoolBozeman	C-	289	14.4:1	Bozeman Elem	52
19	Joliet High SchoolJoliet	C-	129	12.9:1	Joliet H S	52
20	Fort Benton High SchoolFort Benton	C-	112	18.7:1	Fort Benton H S	52
21	Browning Middle SchoolBrowning	C-	368	13.1:1	Browning Elem	51
22	Canyon Creek SchoolBillings	C-	147	11.3:1	Canyon Creek Elem	51
23	Meadowlark SchoolChinook	C-	144	10.3:1	Chinook Elem	51
24	Joliet SchoolJoliet	C-	177	14.8:1	Joliet Elem	50
25	Lodge Grass SchoolLodge Grass	C-	175	10.9:1	Lodge Grass Elem	50
26	Malta 6-7-8Malta	C-	111	13.9:1	Malta K-12 Schools	50
27	Fairfield High SchoolFairfield	C-	107	8.2:1	Fairfield H S	50
28	Bozeman High SchoolBozeman	D	1,279	15.8:1	Bozeman H S	49
29	Lockwood High SchoolLockwood	D	552	16.7:1	Lockwood K-12	49
30	Jefferson SchoolHelena	D	245	16.3:1	Helena Elem	49
31	Corvallis 7-8Corvallis	D	194	13.9:1	Corvallis K-12 Schools	49
32	Mountain View SchoolRed Lodge	D	192	11.3:1	Red Lodge Elem	49
33	Shelby High SchoolShelby	D	143	11:1	Shelby H S	49
34	Philipsburg SchoolPhilipsburg	D	100	14.3:1	Philipsburg K-12 Schools	49
35	Laurel Middle SchoolLaurel	D	506	14.9:1	Laurel Elem	48
36	Sidney High SchoolSidney	D	355	13.1:1	Sidney H S	48
37	Fred W Graff SchoolLaurel	D	245	16.3:1	Laurel Elem	48
38	Central SchoolHelena	D	242	7.1:1	Helena Elem	48
39	Edna Thomas SchoolCorvallis	D	191	14.7:1	Corvallis K-12 Schools	48
40	Whittier SchoolGreat Falls	D	187	9.8:1	Great Falls Elem	48
41	Anderson SchoolBozeman	D	172	15.6:1	Anderson Elem	48
42	Fort Benton SchoolFort Benton	D	162	12.5:1	Fort Benton Elem	48
43	Amsterdam SchoolManhattan	D	149	12.4:1	Amsterdam Elem	48
44	Lodge Pole SchoolHays	D	144	14.4:1	Hays-Lodge Pole K-12 Schls	48
45	Rocky Boy High SchoolBox Elder	D	125	15.6:1	Rocky Boy H S	48
46	Emily Dickinson SchoolBozeman	D	531	16.1:1	Bozeman Elem	47
47	Monforton 6-8Bozeman	D	242	22:1	Monforton Elem	47
48	Plentywood SchoolPlentywood	D	179	11.9:1	Plentywood K-12 Schools	47
49	Cascade SchoolCascade	D	144	16:1	Cascade Elem	47
50	Meadowlark ElementaryBozeman	D	492	15.9:1	Bozeman Elem	46

Frequently Asked Questions

What are the best public schools in Montana? ▼

The highest-ranked school in Montana is Colstrip High School in Colstrip with a quality score of 60/100 (grade C+). Rankings are based on student-teacher ratio, counselor availability, gifted programs, and attendance rates from NCES data.

How are school quality scores calculated? ▼

Quality scores (0-100) are computed from NCES data across 4 metrics: student-teacher ratio (lower is better, national avg ~16:1), counselor availability (ASCA recommends 250:1), gifted program availability, and chronic absenteeism rate (lower is better). This measures school resources, not test scores.

Explore More for Montana

All Schools → Largest Schools → Absenteeism Data → Highest Spending → National Ranking →

Methodology

Quality scores (0-100) are computed from NCES Common Core of Data (CCD) 2024-25 metrics: student-teacher ratio, school counselor availability, gifted program access, and chronic absenteeism rates. Schools must have at least 50 students and data for one or more metrics. This measures resource quality, not test scores. Higher scores indicate smaller class sizes, better counselor access, and lower absenteeism.

Read our methodology - how this data is sourced, computed, and verified.