Best Elementary Schools in Montana

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Find the best Montana elementary schools with SchoolDigger.com! Focused on test scores for accurate rankings, our user-friendly site simplifies your search. Empower your decisions by exploring top-rated schools, only on SchoolDigger.com - the ultimate guide to K-12 schools!

Year after year, SchoolDigger is always the first to publish Montana test scores and rankings. Other sites use stale test score data that are several years old! Be in the know with the very latest performance metrics.

The list is updated annually upon the release of the Montana Science Assessment and MAST test scores by the Montana Office of Public Instruction. The most recent update was on Monday, February 16, 2026.

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School														Students/Teachers											Per Pupil Expenditures (2024)							Ranking (2025 vs 2024)					ID
Rank (of 401)	School	Type	Grades	Address	City	Zip	County	District	Is Charter	Is Magnet	Is Virtual	Is Title I	Phone	# Students	Full-time Teachers	Student/ Teacher Ratio	Free/Disc Lunch Recipients	White	Black	Hispanic	Asian	American Indian	Pacific Islander	Two or More Races	Per Pupil Expenditures: Total	Personnel from Federal Funds	Non-Personnel from Federal Funds	Total from Federal Funds	Personnel from State and Local Funds	Non-Personnel from State and Local Funds	Total from State and Local Funds	Average Standard Score (2025)	Average Standard Score (2024)	Rank (2024)	Rank Change from 2024	SchoolDigger Rating (2025)	ID
271	Lockwood Intermediate	Public	3-5	1932 US Highway 87 E.	Billings	59101	Yellowstone County	Lockwood K-12	(n/a)	(n/a)	No	Yes	(406) 248-3239	321	26	12.2	96.3%	238 (74.1%)	1 (0.3%)	48 (15.0%)	0 (0.0%)	13 (4.0%)	0 (0.0%)	21 (6.5%)								35.8			(n/a)		300065600529
272	Custer School	Public	PK, KG-6	304 4th Avenue	Custer	59024	Yellowstone County	Custer K-12 Schools	(n/a)	(n/a)	No	Yes	(406) 856-4117	49	6	8.8	53.1%	46 (93.9%)	0 (0.0%)	1 (2.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	2 (4.1%)	$23,322							35.7	41.9	137	135		300813000231
273	West Elementary School	Public	PK, KG-6	800 S Emmett	Butte	59701	Silver Bow County	Butte Elementary	(n/a)	(n/a)	No	Yes	(406) 533-2700	503	31	16.3	100.0%	416 (82.7%)	9 (1.8%)	43 (8.5%)	2 (0.4%)	14 (2.8%)	0 (0.0%)	19 (3.8%)	$12,321							35.5			(n/a)		300528000906
274	Denton School	Public	PK, KG-5	1200 Lehman	Denton	59430	Fergus County	Denton Elementary	(n/a)	(n/a)	No	Yes	(406) 567-2270	36	5	7.7	44.4%	33 (91.7%)	1 (2.8%)	2 (5.6%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	$18,231							35.1			(n/a)		300886000253
275	Elliston School	Public	PK, KG-8	205 W Main St	Elliston	59728	Powell County	Elliston Elementary	(n/a)	(n/a)	No	Yes	(406) 492-7676	19	3	6.3	15.8%	18 (94.7%)	0 (0.0%)	1 (5.3%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	$13,497							35.1	21.6	177	98		300978000274
276	Central Heights School	Public	PK, KG-5	120 Lexington	Billings	59102	Yellowstone County	Billings Elementary	(n/a)	(n/a)	No	No	(406) 281-6209	285	19	15.4	58.2%	179 (62.8%)	1 (0.4%)	55 (19.3%)	1 (0.4%)	30 (10.5%)	1 (0.4%)	18 (6.3%)	$12,270							35	53.5	115	161		300387000067
277	Franklin School	Public	PK, KG-5	1910 S. 11th St	Missoula	59801	Missoula County	Missoula Elementary	(n/a)	(n/a)	No	Yes	(406) 542-4020	274	23	11.9	80.3%	197 (71.9%)	12 (4.4%)	32 (11.7%)	5 (1.8%)	15 (5.5%)	1 (0.4%)	12 (4.4%)	$16,619							34.6	63	89	188		301857000569
278	Garfield School	Public	K-5	1015 Milwaukee	Miles City	59301	Custer County	Miles City Elementary	(n/a)	(n/a)	No	Yes	(406) 234-4310	210	17	12.3	66.7%	181 (86.2%)	5 (2.4%)	7 (3.3%)	2 (1.0%)	15 (7.1%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	$11,973							34.6	27.6	170	108		301841000823
279	Pine Grove School	Public	PK, KG-8	9 Seven Blackfoot Road	Brusett	59318	Garfield County	Pine Grove Elementary	(n/a)	(n/a)	No	Yes	(406) 557-2782	8	1	8		8 (100.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	$19,789							34.3			(n/a)		302069000620
280	Arrowhead Elementary	Public	PK, KG-4	1489 East River Rd	Pray	59065	Park County	Arrowhead Elementary	(n/a)	(n/a)	No	Yes	(406) 333-4359	46	4	10.7	58.7%	39 (84.8%)	0 (0.0%)	2 (4.3%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	5 (10.9%)								34.1			(n/a)		300230000022

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About our rankings:

Schooldigger calculates school rankings based on MAST English Language Arts, MAST Mathematics, Montana Science Assessment Science test scores released by the Montana Office of Public Instruction.
These rankings were last updated on February 16, 2026, and are based on the most recent test scores available. We update rankings as we receive new test scores from the Montana Office of Public Instruction, usually on a yearly basis.
Our sources of data include the National Center for Education Statistics, U.S. Department of Education and the Montana Office of Public Instruction.
For more information about our ranking process, please see our Ranking FAQ. Details about our methodology are here.

Educational resources:

Public School Districts and Their Services: A Comprehensive Guide

No Child Left Behind (NCLB): A Comprehensive Analysis of Its Impact on Education