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
31	Columbus Elementary School	Public	PK, KG-5	218 E 1st Ave N	Columbus	59019	Stillwater County	Columbus Elementary	(n/a)	(n/a)	No	Yes	(406) 322-5372	278	19	14.8	34.2%	248 (89.2%)	4 (1.4%)	13 (4.7%)	2 (0.7%)	7 (2.5%)	0 (0.0%)	4 (1.4%)	$17,627							85.9			(n/a)		300719000204
32	Salmon Prairie School	Public	PK, KG-8	40224 Salmon Prairie Rd	Swan Lake	59911	Lake County	Swan Lake-Salmon Elementary	(n/a)	(n/a)	No	Yes	(406) 754-2245	4	1	3.2		4 (100.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	$35,391							85.9			(n/a)		301593000489
33	Lustre School	Public	PK, KG-8	282 Lustre Road	Frazer	59225	Valley County	Lustre Elementary	(n/a)	(n/a)	No	Yes	(406) 392-5725	42	4	12	50.0%	39 (92.9%)	2 (4.8%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	1 (2.4%)	$15,635							85.1	75.9	56	23		301734000539
34	Wisdom School	Public	PK, KG-8	408 Elm Street	Wisdom	59761	Beaverhead County	Wisdom Elementary	(n/a)	(n/a)	No	No	(406) 689-3227	9	2	4.5		8 (88.9%)	0 (0.0%)	1 (11.1%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	$17,060							84.9			(n/a)		302850000793
35	Pine Creek School	Public	PK, KG-5	2575 East River Rd	Livingston	59047	Park County	Pine Creek Elementary	(n/a)	(n/a)	No	Yes	(406) 222-0059	29	3	11.4		27 (93.1%)	0 (0.0%)	1 (3.4%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	1 (3.4%)	$14,737							83.9			(n/a)		302067000619
36	Whitehall Elementary	Public	PK, KG-5	401 N Division	Whitehall	59759	Jefferson County	Whitehall Elementary	(n/a)	(n/a)	No	Yes	(406) 287-3882	192	18	10.7	53.6%	168 (87.5%)	2 (1.0%)	9 (4.7%)	2 (1.0%)	5 (2.6%)	1 (0.5%)	5 (2.6%)	$12,992							83.8			(n/a)		302781000777
37	Cardwell School	Public	PK, KG-8	80 Highway 359	Cardwell	59721	Jefferson County	Cardwell Elementary	(n/a)	(n/a)	No	Yes	(406) 287-3321	35	5	7	57.1%	28 (80.0%)	0 (0.0%)	2 (5.7%)	0 (0.0%)	2 (5.7%)	0 (0.0%)	3 (8.6%)	$17,366							83.7	81.9	33	4		300555000161
38	Springhill School	Public	PK, KG-8	6020 Springhill Comm Road	Belgrade	59714	Gallatin County	Springhill Elementary	(n/a)	(n/a)	No	No	(406) 586-6485	16	2	8		10 (62.5%)	0 (0.0%)	4 (25.0%)	1 (6.3%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	1 (6.3%)	$13,038							83.6			(n/a)		302481000713
39	Jordan Elementary School	Public	PK, KG-6	324 Marguerite St	Jordan	59337	Garfield County	Jordan Elementary	(n/a)	(n/a)	No	Yes	(406) 557-2259	84	8	10	52.4%	80 (95.2%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	1 (1.2%)	3 (3.6%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	$14,158							83.4	90.6	19	20		301534000467
40	Lone Rock School	Public	PK, KG-5	1112 Three Mile Creek Rd	Stevensville	59870	Ravalli County	Lone Rock Elementary	(n/a)	(n/a)	No	Yes	(406) 777-3314	203	16	12.6	37.4%	185 (91.1%)	1 (0.5%)	12 (5.9%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	1 (0.5%)	4 (2.0%)	$10,316							83.4	93.5	14	26		301719000538

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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:

Student-Teacher Ratios and their Impact on Class Sizes & School Selection

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