Summary:
The Sunburst K-12 Schools district in Montana has only one middle school, Sunburst 7 - 8, which serves grades 7-8 with a total enrollment of 26 students. While the school previously ranked highly in the state, its performance has declined significantly in recent years, dropping from 18th out of 187 middle schools in 2022-2023 to 158th out of 222 schools in 2024-2025, with a 1-star rating.
Academically, Sunburst 7 - 8's proficiency rates in MAST/English Language Arts, MAST/Mathematics, and Montana Science Assessment/Science are generally lower than the district and state averages. In the 2024-2025 school year, the school's proficiency rates were 34.78% in ELA, 34.78% in Math, and 7.14% in Science, compared to the district averages of 40%, 34.55%, and 18.18%, respectively, and the state averages of 43.09%, 36.77%, and 38.16%. Additionally, the school has a high percentage of students (100%) receiving free or reduced-price lunch, indicating significant socioeconomic challenges.
Despite the school's small size, with a student-teacher ratio of 8.9 to 1, and relatively high spending per student of $13,341, the declining performance and academic challenges at Sunburst 7 - 8 suggest the need for targeted interventions and a closer examination of resource allocation and utilization to support student success and address the factors contributing to the school's performance issues.
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