Beta You're viewing our redesigned school page. Prefer the classic layout?

Yellowstone Academy 7-8

Public Grades 7-8

203^rd

SchoolDigger Rank ?

of 222 Montana Middle Schools

Better than 9% of Montana middle schools

Summary

Yellowstone Academy 7-8 is a small public middle school in Billings, Montana, serving just 16 students in grades 7-8. The school is part of the Yellowstone Academy Elementary District, which is ranked 361 out of 387 districts in the state and has a 0-star rating from SchoolDigger. Over the past 5 years, Yellowstone Academy 7-8 has consistently ranked in the bottom quarter of Montana middle schools, with a ranking between 114 and 203 out of around 200 schools.

Yellowstone Academy 7-8 faces significant challenges in terms of academic performance. The school has significantly lower proficiency rates compared to the state and nearby schools across all subject areas. For example, in the 2024-2025 school year, only 7.14% of Yellowstone Academy 7-8 students were proficient or better in English Language Arts and Mathematics, compared to the state averages of 43.09% and 36.77%, respectively. The school also has a very high percentage of students receiving free or reduced-price lunch, ranging from 50% to 68.75% over the past few years, which is significantly higher than the nearby Riverside Middle School and Will James Middle School, which have free/reduced lunch rates ranging from 20.97% to 68.12%.

Despite the school's low academic performance and high socioeconomic challenges, Yellowstone Academy 7-8 has a very low student-teacher ratio, ranging from 2.2 to 2.6 over the past few years, much lower than the nearby schools, which have ratios ranging from 12.3 to 21 students per teacher. Additionally, the school has a very high per-student spending of $58,145 for the 2018-2019 school year, significantly higher than the $10,513 and $9,482 spent per student at Riverside Middle School and Will James Middle School, respectively. These findings raise questions about the effective allocation of resources and the school's ability to translate increased funding into improved student outcomes.

Students ?

2.6

Student/teacher ratio ?

$126,292

Per pupil spending ?

68.8%

Free/discounted lunch ?

1750 Ray of Hope Lane
Billings, MT 59106

(406) 656-2198

District: Yellowstone Academy Elementary

Students who attend Yellowstone Academy 7-8 usually attend:

High:

Billings West High School

Feeder schools for Yellowstone Academy 7-8:

Elementary:

Yellowstone Academy Elementary

Racial breakdown:

White:

75.0%

Two or more races:

18.8%

American Indian:

6.3%

See top rated Montana middle schools

Compare Yellowstone Academy 7-8 to nearby middle schools!

At a glance

▬ Ranking trend: Holding steady — 5th percentile in 2021 → 9th in 2025

Strengths

✓Small classes — about 3 students per teacher

Worth a look

!Test scores below the Montana average (9% vs 40% meeting standards)

!In the lower quartile statewide (9th percentile)

!English Language Arts scores 36 pts below the Montana average

Students meeting standards (2024-2025) ?

This school9%

District avg9%

Montana avg40%

203^rd of 222

Montana public middle schools ?

Bottom 9%▲ up 4 pts since 2021

From bottom 5% (2021) to bottom 9% (2025)

See the entire ranking list of Montana Middle Schools →

★★★★★

SchoolDigger rating ?

361^st of 387Yellowstone Academy 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	9.8	203 of 222	8.6%	☆☆☆☆☆
2024	6.0	114 of 123	7.3%	☆☆☆☆☆
2023	4.7	177 of 187	5.3%	☆☆☆☆☆
2022	13.3	169 of 190	11.1%	★☆☆☆☆
2021	5.0	190 of 200	5.0%	☆☆☆☆☆

By subject vs Montana (2024-2025) ?

Science25%-13 vs state

English Language Arts7%-36 vs state

Mathematics7%-30 vs state

★

No ratings yet

Be the first to rate Yellowstone Academy 7-8 and help other families decide.

Rate Yellowstone Academy 7-8

Have first-hand experience? A quick rating - and a sentence or two about what stands out (teachers, academics, safety, communication) - helps other families know what to expect.

Takes about a minute. We email you a link to verify your review - your address is never shown publicly.

Tap a star to rate

Reviews

No written reviews yet. If you know this school, be the first to share what stands out.

Schools Near Yellowstone Academy 7-8

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
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
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
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
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
Laurel Middle School	Public	5-8	725 Washington Avenue	Laurel	59044	Yellowstone County	Laurel Elementary	(n/a)	(n/a)	No	Yes	(406) 628-6919	506	34	14.8	44.9%	451 (89.1%)	1 (0.2%)	23 (4.5%)	3 (0.6%)	11 (2.2%)	0 (0.0%)	17 (3.4%)	43.5	130^th of 222 public middle schools	41.4%		31.8	92^nd of 123 public middle schools	25.2%	38	41.7	28.6	$11,751
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
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
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
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

Frequently Asked Questions about Yellowstone Academy 7-8

Is Yellowstone Academy 7-8 a good school?

Yellowstone Academy 7-8 ranks in the bottom 8.6% of Montana middle schools.

How many students attend Yellowstone Academy 7-8?

In the 2024-25 school year, 16 students attended Yellowstone Academy 7-8.

What district is Yellowstone Academy 7-8 in?

Yellowstone Academy Elementary

What is the racial makeup of Yellowstone Academy 7-8?

Students at Yellowstone Academy 7-8 are 75% White, 19% Two or more races, 6% American Indian.

What high school do graduates of Yellowstone Academy 7-8 attend?

Students who attend Yellowstone Academy 7-8 usually go on to attend Billings West High School

Rate Yellowstone Academy 7-8!

Other helpful SchoolDigger resources...

Compare to nearby schools

MTMontana Middle School Rankings

MTMontana District Rankings

Schools in Billings, MT

Sign up for updates!

Be the first to know when there is an update for Yellowstone Academy 7-8!

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.