Best Public Schools in Simms, MT

Summary:

The city of Simms, Montana is home to two schools: Simms High School and Sun River Middle School. While both schools serve students in the Simms area, they exhibit contrasting performance levels based on key metrics such as test scores, school rankings, and spending per student.

Sun River Middle School emerges as the stronger performer of the two, with a 3-star rating from SchoolDigger and proficiency rates that exceed the state average in English Language Arts, Mathematics, and Science. In contrast, Simms High School has seen a concerning decline in its statewide ranking, dropping from 66th out of 124 high schools in 2022-2023 to 134th out of 182 high schools in 2024-2025. The high school also lags behind the state average in proficiency rates for ACT with Writing in English Language Arts, Mathematics, and Science.

Both schools serve a relatively high proportion of students from low-income families, with around 40% of students receiving free or reduced-price lunch. However, Simms High School spends more per student ($14,478) compared to Sun River Middle School ($12,808), suggesting a potential imbalance in resource allocation within the district. These factors, along with the contrasting performance levels, highlight the need for the district and community to address the challenges facing Simms High School and learn from the successes of Sun River Middle School.

Choose columns to see: Summary School Students/Teachers Ranking Test Scores Finance All

School													Students/Teachers											Ranking (2025)				Ranking (2024)				ACT with Writing English Language Arts (2025)	ACT with Writing Mathematics (2025)	ACT with Writing Science (2025)	MAST English Language Arts (2025)	MAST Mathematics (2025)	Per Pupil Expenditures (2024)
Name	Type	Grades	Address	City	Zip	County	District	Is Charter	Is Magnet	Is Virtual	Is Title I	Phone	Enrollment	Full-time Teachers	Student/ Teacher Ratio	Free/Discounted Lunch Recipients	White	Black	Hispanic	Asian	American Indian	Pacific Islander	Two or More Races	Average Standard Score (2025)	Statewide Rank (2025)	State Percentile (2025)	SchoolDigger Rating (2025)	Average Standard Score (2024)	Statewide Rank (2024)	State Percentile (2024)	Rank Change from Previous Year	ACT with Writing English Language Arts 11th Grade	ACT with Writing Mathematics 11th Grade	ACT with Writing Science 11th Grade	MAST English Language Arts All Grades	MAST Mathematics All Grades	Total
Sun River Middle School	Public	6-8	123 Walker Street	Simms	59477	Cascade County	Sun River Valley Elementary	(n/a)	(n/a)	No	Yes	(406) 264-5110	55	5	11.8	41.8%	45 (81.8%)	0 (0.0%)	1 (1.8%)	1 (1.8%)	5 (9.1%)	0 (0.0%)	3 (5.5%)	60.1	81^st of 222 public middle schools	63.5%		64.5	38^th of 123 public middle schools	69.1%	43				50.0	36.0	$15,601
Simms High School	Public	9-12	123 Walker Street	Simms	59477	Cascade County	Simms High School	(n/a)	(n/a)	No	Yes	(406) 264-5110	91	10	9.1	39.6%	76 (83.5%)	0 (0.0%)	3 (3.3%)	1 (1.1%)	5 (5.5%)	0 (0.0%)	6 (6.6%)	33.7	134^th of 182 public high schools	26.4%		40.5	70^th of 122 public high schools	42.6%	64	33.3	26.7	13.3			$20,517

Cities Near Simms

City	Distance	# of Schools	Statewide Rank
Fort Shaw	5.07 mi	1	32^nd
Sun River	6.43 mi	1	9^th
Fairfield	8.54 mi	6	17^th
Ulm	15.46 mi	3
Vaughn	18.25 mi	2

See the top MT Montana cities

SchoolDigger data sources: National Center for Education Statistics, U.S. Department of Education, the U.S. Census Bureau and the Montana Office of Public Instruction.

IMPORTANT DISCLAIMERS: Not all boundaries are included. We make every effort to ensure that boundaries are up-to-date. But it's important to note that these are approximations and are for general informational purposes only. To verify legal descriptions of boundaries or school locations, contact your local tax assessor's office and/or school district.