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Will James Middle School

Q: Is Will James Middle School a good school?

Will James Middle School ranks 142 nd of 222 Montana middle schools. SchoolDigger rates this school 2 stars out of 5.

Public Grades 6-8

142^nd

SchoolDigger Rank ?

of 222 Montana Middle Schools

Better than 36% of Montana middle schools

Summary

Will James Middle School is a public middle school serving grades 6-8 in Billings, Montana, with an enrollment of 634 students. The school is part of the Billings Elementary School District, which is ranked 243 out of 387 school districts in the state and has a 2-star rating from SchoolDigger.

Analysis of Will James Middle School reveals that it consistently underperforms the Billings Elementary District and the state of Montana in standardized test scores across all subjects and grade levels. For example, in the 2024-2025 school year, only 38.16% of students were proficient or better in English Language Arts, compared to 38.97% for the district and 43.09% for the state. In math, the school's proficiency rate was 29.17% compared to 33.7% for the district and 36.77% for the state. Additionally, the school's statewide ranking has declined over the past several years, dropping from 22nd out of 55 middle schools in 2016-2017 to 142nd out of 222 in 2024-2025, placing it in the bottom half of middle schools in Montana.

When comparing Will James Middle School to other middle schools in the Billings area, some interesting patterns emerge. Elysian Middle School and Ben Steele Middle School consistently outperform Will James Middle School in test scores and statewide rankings, while Riverside Middle School and Billings Multilingual Academy have significantly lower test scores and statewide rankings. The free/reduced lunch rates at Will James Middle School (45.74%) are lower than Riverside Middle School (68.12%) and Medicine Crow Middle School (60.74%), but higher than Elysian Middle School (30.41%) and Ben Steele Middle School (23.78%), suggesting that socioeconomic factors may be influencing academic performance.

634

Students ?

17.0

Student/teacher ratio ?

$12,124

Per pupil spending ?

45.7%

Free/discounted lunch ?

1200 30th Street West
Billings, MT 59102

(406) 281-6100

District: Billings Elementary

Students who attend Will James Middle School usually attend:

High:

Billings West High School

Feeder schools for Will James Middle School:

Elementary:	Arrowhead School
	Boulder School
	Burlington School
	Central Heights School
	More...
	Meadowlark School

Racial breakdown:

White:

72.9%

Hispanic:

8.8%

American Indian:

7.4%

See top rated Montana middle schools

Compare Will James Middle School to nearby middle schools!

At a glance

▼ Ranking trend: Declining — 63rd percentile in 2015 → 36th in 2025

Worth a look

!Test scores below the Montana average (34% vs 40% meeting standards)

!Ranking has slipped — down 27 percentile points since 2015

Students meeting standards (2024-2025) ?

This school34%

District avg36%

Montana avg40%

142^nd of 222

Montana public middle schools ?

Bottom 36%▼ down 27 pts since 2015

From top 37% (2015) to bottom 36% (2025)

See the entire ranking list of Montana Middle Schools →

★★★★★

SchoolDigger rating ?

3^rd of 7Middle Schools in the Billings Elementary

243^rd of 387Billings Elementary among Montana districts

Statewide rank percentile over time (100 = the top-ranked school in the state; click a legend item to add a student group)

Show full rank history (all student groups)

All Students

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Montana percentile	Rating
2025	40.5	142 of 222	36.0%	★★☆☆☆
2024	37.8	78 of 123	36.6%	★★☆☆☆
2023	35.7	133 of 187	28.9%	★★☆☆☆
2022	45.8	117 of 190	38.4%	★★☆☆☆
2021	50.3	102 of 200	49.0%	★★☆☆☆
2019	48.4	33 of 60	45.0%	★★☆☆☆
2018	43.3	33 of 58	43.1%	★★☆☆☆
2017	59.1	22 of 55	60.0%	★★★☆☆
2016	36.6	55 of 81	32.1%	★★☆☆☆
2015	53.7	58 of 156	62.8%	★★★☆☆
2013	83.4	6 of 159	96.2%	★★★★★
2012	70.6	35 of 156	77.6%	★★★★☆
2011	73.8	24 of 161	85.1%	★★★★☆
2010	79.7	11 of 156	92.9%	★★★★★
2009	77.5	15 of 147	89.8%	★★★★★
2008	86.3	3 of 149	98.0%	★★★★★
2007	84.6	5 of 147	96.6%	★★★★★
2006	83.8	8 of 146	94.5%	★★★★★
2005	87.2	10 of 164	93.9%	★★★★★
2004	88.5	11 of 171	93.6%	★★★★★

By subject vs Montana (2024-2025) ?

English Language Arts38%-5 vs state

Science36%-3 vs state

Mathematics29%-8 vs state

★

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Schools Near Will James Middle School

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

School													Students/Teachers											Ranking (2025)				Ranking (2024)				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	MAST English Language Arts All Grades	MAST Mathematics All Grades	Total
Will James Middle School	Public	6-8	1200 30th Street West	Billings	59102	Yellowstone County	Billings Elementary	(n/a)	(n/a)	No	No	(406) 281-6100	634	37	17.0	45.7%	462 (72.9%)	5 (0.8%)	56 (8.8%)	11 (1.7%)	47 (7.4%)	6 (0.9%)	47 (7.4%)	40.5	142^nd of 222 public middle schools	36.0%		37.8	78^th of 123 public middle schools	36.6%	64	38.2	29.2	$12,124
Lewis & Clark Middle School	Public	6-8	1315 Lewis Avenue	Billings	59101	Yellowstone County	Billings Elementary	(n/a)	(n/a)	No	No	(406) 281-5900	741	45	16.6	60.1%	536 (72.3%)	20 (2.7%)	65 (8.8%)	2 (0.3%)	63 (8.5%)	4 (0.5%)	51 (6.9%)	42.3	134^th of 222 public middle schools	39.6%					(n/a)	36.1	35.5
Elysian Middle School	Public	6-8	6416 Elysian Road	Billings	59101	Yellowstone County	Elysian Elementary	(n/a)	(n/a)	No	Yes	(406) 656-4101	148	9	17.4	30.4%	123 (83.1%)	3 (2.0%)	8 (5.4%)	3 (2.0%)	7 (4.7%)	0 (0.0%)	4 (2.7%)	71.5	40^th of 222 public middle schools	82.0%		81.5	19^th of 123 public middle schools	84.6%	21	52.1	50.0	$11,043
Ben Steele Middle School	Public	6-8	5640 Grand Avenue	Billings	59106	Yellowstone County	Billings Elementary	(n/a)	(n/a)	No	No	(406) 601-1600	740	40	18.4	23.8%	626 (84.6%)	3 (0.4%)	38 (5.1%)	8 (1.1%)	27 (3.6%)	1 (0.1%)	37 (5.0%)	62.3	68^th of 222 public middle schools	69.4%		68.1	35^th of 123 public middle schools	71.5%	33	47.8	45.4	$11,772
Billings Multilingual Academy	Public	6-8	415 North 30th St	Billings	59101	Yellowstone County	Billings Elementary	(n/a)	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(406) 281-5066	21	1	21.0	42.9%	0 (0.0%)	1 (4.8%)	17 (81.0%)	1 (4.8%)	2 (9.5%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	4.5	214^th of 222 public middle schools	3.6%					(n/a)	0.0	0.0
Riverside Middle School	Public	6-8	3700 Madison Avenue	Billings	59101	Yellowstone County	Billings Elementary	(n/a)	(n/a)	No	Yes	(406) 281-6000	436	35	12.3	68.1%	248 (56.9%)	13 (3.0%)	65 (14.9%)	2 (0.5%)	67 (15.4%)	3 (0.7%)	38 (8.7%)	12.9	201^st of 222 public middle schools	9.5%		13.3	108^th of 123 public middle schools	12.2%	93	18.2	13.5	$14,217
Elder Grove 7-8	Public	6-8	1532 South 64 Street W	Billings	59106	Yellowstone County	Elder Grove Elementary	(n/a)	(n/a)	No	No	(406) 656-2893	248	12	20.6	21.0%	215 (86.7%)	2 (0.8%)	10 (4.0%)	0 (0.0%)	6 (2.4%)	3 (1.2%)	12 (4.8%)	49.9	114^th of 222 public middle schools	48.6%		36.8	81^st of 123 public middle schools	34.1%	33	50.6	25.5	$10,850
Castle Rock Middle School	Public	6-8	1441 Governors Blvd	Billings	59105	Yellowstone County	Billings Elementary	(n/a)	(n/a)	No	No	(406) 281-5800	691	39	17.5	39.8%	545 (78.9%)	7 (1.0%)	40 (5.8%)	4 (0.6%)	35 (5.1%)	1 (0.1%)	59 (8.5%)	40.3	143^rd of 222 public middle schools	35.6%		44.7	67^th of 123 public middle schools	45.5%	76	38.6	32.4	$11,479
Canyon Creek 6-8	Public	6-8	3139 Duck Creek Road	Billings	59101	Yellowstone County	Canyon Creek Elementary	(n/a)	(n/a)	No	Yes	(406) 656-4471	69	5	14.9	37.7%	57 (82.6%)	0 (0.0%)	6 (8.7%)	0 (0.0%)	1 (1.4%)	0 (0.0%)	5 (7.2%)	35.6	151^st of 222 public middle schools	32.0%		75.2	25^th of 123 public middle schools	79.7%	126	39.1	23.4	$15,895
Yellowstone Academy 7-8	Public	7-8	1750 Ray of Hope Lane	Billings	59106	Yellowstone County	Yellowstone Academy Elementary	(n/a)	(n/a)	No	Yes	(406) 656-2198	16	6	2.6	68.8%	12 (75.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	1 (6.3%)	0 (0.0%)	3 (18.8%)	9.8	203^rd of 222 public middle schools	8.6%		6	114^th of 123 public middle schools	7.3%	89	7.1	7.1	$126,292

Frequently Asked Questions about Will James Middle School

Is Will James Middle School a good school?

Will James Middle School ranks 142^nd of 222 Montana middle schools. SchoolDigger rates this school 2 stars out of 5.

What is the racial makeup of Will James Middle School?

Students at Will James Middle School are 73% White, 9% Hispanic, 7% American Indian, 7% Two or more races, 2% Asian.

What high school do graduates of Will James Middle School attend?

Students who attend Will James Middle School usually go on to attend Billings West High School

How many students attend Will James Middle School?

In the 2024-25 school year, 634 students attended Will James Middle School.

What district is Will James Middle School in?

Billings Elementary

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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.