Best Public Schools in Ray, ND

Summary:

The city of Ray, North Dakota is home to two schools - Ray Elementary School and Ray High School, both part of the Nesson 2 school district. While the elementary school has shown steady improvement in its statewide ranking, the high school has had a more inconsistent performance over the years.

Ray Elementary School has moved from the bottom 10% of North Dakota elementary schools in 2015-2016 to the top 35% in 2024-2025, with a 2-star rating from SchoolDigger. The school performs slightly above the state average in math proficiency but below average in reading proficiency. However, it faces challenges with a high chronic absenteeism rate of 20.0%, which is higher than the state average. The school spends $12,915 per student, on par with the state average, and has a student-teacher ratio of 18.8, slightly higher than the state average.

In contrast, Ray High School has had a more fluctuating performance, ranking as high as 42nd out of 125 schools in 2015-2016 but dropping to 48th out of 52 schools in 2016-2017, with a 0-star rating from SchoolDigger. The high school maintains a 84.2% four-year graduation rate, slightly below the state average, and has a free/reduced lunch rate of 15.25%, slightly higher than the elementary school. The high school spends the same amount per student as the elementary school and has a lower student-teacher ratio of 12.7.

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

School													Students/Teachers											Ranking (2025)				Ranking (2024)				A-Plus Math (2025)								A-Plus Reading (2025)								A-Plus Science (2025)				Per Pupil Expenditures (2025)
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	A-Plus Math 3rd Grade	A-Plus Math 4th Grade	A-Plus Math 5th Grade	A-Plus Math 6th Grade	A-Plus Math 7th Grade	A-Plus Math 8th Grade	A-Plus Math 10th Grade	A-Plus Math All Grades	A-Plus Reading 3rd Grade	A-Plus Reading 4th Grade	A-Plus Reading 5th Grade	A-Plus Reading 6th Grade	A-Plus Reading 7th Grade	A-Plus Reading 8th Grade	A-Plus Reading 10th Grade	A-Plus Reading All Grades	A-Plus Science 4th Grade	A-Plus Science 8th Grade	A-Plus Science 10th Grade	A-Plus Science All Grades	Per Pupil Expenditures Total	Sub-total from Federal Funds	Sub-total from State/Local Funds
Ray Elementary School	Public	PK, KG-8	224 2nd Ave W	Ray	58849	Williams County	Nesson 2	(n/a)	(n/a)	No	Yes	(701) 568-3301	324	17	18.6	15.7%	278 (85.8%)	4 (1.2%)	18 (5.6%)	0 (0.0%)	2 (0.6%)	0 (0.0%)	22 (6.8%)	58.6	75^th of 216 public elementary schools	65.3%		68.5	47^th of 217 public elementary schools	78.3%	28	34.0	69.0	59.0	39.0	39.0	49.0		44.0	29.0	59.5	49.5	39.5	39.5	19.5		35.0	59.0	49.0		49.0	$14,548	$303	$14,244
Ray High School	Public	9-12	224 2nd Ave W	Ray	58849	Williams County	Nesson 2	(n/a)	(n/a)	No	No	(701) 568-3301	119	10	11.6	16.0%	99 (83.2%)	0 (0.0%)	7 (5.9%)	0 (0.0%)	2 (1.7%)	0 (0.0%)	11 (9.2%)	56.1	49^th of 125 public high schools	60.8%		38.3	80^th of 122 public high schools	34.4%	31							39.5	39.5							39.5	39.5			29.5	29.5	$14,548	$303	$14,244

IMPORTANT NOTE: North Dakota does not publish exact assessment percentages; instead, results are reported as ranges (e.g., 20-29%) to protect student privacy in smaller groups. The proficiency rates displayed on SchoolDigger are calculated using midpoint imputation—the center value of each reported range. Actual values may differ by up to 5 percentage points from the figures shown.

Cities Near Ray

City	Distance	# of Schools	Statewide Rank
Tioga	12.75 mi	2	115^th
Williston	19.43 mi	11	138^th
Powers Lake	30.62 mi	2	47^th
Trenton	33.95 mi	2	123^rd
Watford City	35.94 mi	7	130^th

See the top ND North Dakota cities

SchoolDigger data sources: National Center for Education Statistics, U.S. Department of Education, the U.S. Census Bureau and the North Dakota Department of Public Instruction.

About North Dakota Assessment Data: To protect student privacy, the North Dakota Department of Public Instruction reports assessment results as percentage ranges rather than exact values. SchoolDigger calculates proficiency rates using midpoint imputation, which uses the center value of each reported range. For example, a reported range of 20-29% is represented as 24.5%. As a result, the proficiency rates shown may vary by approximately ±5 percentage points from actual values. This variance is most significant for individual grade/subject combinations and diminishes when data is aggregated across multiple grades or subjects.

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.