Best Public Schools in Williston, ND

Summary:

The city of Williston, North Dakota is home to 11 schools, including 8 elementary schools, 1 middle school, and 2 high schools. The schools in this area serve students from diverse socioeconomic backgrounds, with free and reduced-price lunch rates ranging from 13.64% to 34.57% across the district.

While some schools in Williston perform well, a few stand out as underperforming. Williston Middle School Central Campus ranks 26th out of 26 North Dakota middle schools, with only 31% of students proficient in math and 32% in reading. Similarly, Williston High School ranks 13th out of 14 North Dakota high schools, with just 13% of students proficient in math. These low-performing schools also have high dropout rates of 4% and chronic absenteeism rates of 20%.

In contrast, Hagan Elementary School, McVay Elementary School, and Rickard Elementary School appear to be performing better, with higher test scores and lower chronic absenteeism rates. The district's Williston Basin 7 should focus on addressing the challenges faced by the underperforming middle and high schools to ensure all students in Williston receive a quality education.

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
Hagan Elementary School	Public	PK, KG-4	2501 29th St	Williston	58801	Williams County	Williston Basin 7	(n/a)	(n/a)	No	Yes	(701) 572-4960	486	31	15.6	38.7%	252 (51.9%)	51 (10.5%)	125 (25.7%)	4 (0.8%)	13 (2.7%)	1 (0.2%)	40 (8.2%)	5.5	216^th of 216 public elementary schools	0.0%		5.5	215^th of 217 public elementary schools	0.9%	1	19.0	19.0						24.0	19.0	14.0						18.0	9.0			9.0	$16,405	$1,018	$15,387
Lewis And Clark Elementary School	Public	PK, KG-4	704 17th Ave W	Williston	58801	Williams County	Williston Basin 7	(n/a)	(n/a)	No	No	(701) 572-6331	303	24	12.6	17.5%	241 (79.5%)	13 (4.3%)	26 (8.6%)	0 (0.0%)	1 (0.3%)	1 (0.3%)	21 (6.9%)	31.9	165^th of 216 public elementary schools	23.6%		27.1	181^st of 217 public elementary schools	16.6%	16	44.0	29.0						39.0	49.0	24.0						30.5	24.0			24.0	$17,004	$335	$16,669
Rickard Elementary School	Public	K-4	1224 1st Ave E	Williston	58801	Williams County	Williston Basin 7	(n/a)	(n/a)	No	No	(701) 572-5412	319	31	10.2	21.9%	212 (66.5%)	10 (3.1%)	54 (16.9%)	5 (1.6%)	8 (2.5%)	3 (0.9%)	27 (8.5%)	30	169^th of 216 public elementary schools	21.8%		27.3	180^th of 217 public elementary schools	17.1%	11	34.0	39.0						34.0	34.0	24.0						28.0	39.0			39.0	$15,889	$335	$15,554
Wilkinson Elementary School	Public	K-4	1200 9th Ave NW	Williston	58801	Williams County	Williston Basin 7	(n/a)	(n/a)	No	Yes	(701) 572-6532	301	27	11.3	32.9%	187 (62.1%)	23 (7.6%)	55 (18.3%)	3 (1.0%)	7 (2.3%)	3 (1.0%)	23 (7.6%)	16.7	203^rd of 216 public elementary schools	6.0%		30.3	173^rd of 217 public elementary schools	20.3%	30	14.0	39.0						24.0	14.0	29.0						23.0	29.0			29.0	$15,472	$1,042	$14,430
McVay Elementary School	Public	K-4	420 University Ave	Williston	58801	Williams County	Williston Basin 7	(n/a)	(n/a)	No	Yes	(701) 572-9104	449	20	22.4	44.8%	242 (53.9%)	40 (8.9%)	96 (21.4%)	2 (0.4%)	6 (1.3%)	1 (0.2%)	62 (13.8%)	13.2	207^th of 216 public elementary schools	4.2%		9.5	212^th of 217 public elementary schools	2.3%	5	24.0	19.0						19.0	29.0	19.0						25.5	29.0			29.0	$17,108	$1,470	$15,638
Williston High School	Public	9-12	4200 32nd St W	Williston	58802	Williams County	Williston Basin 7	(n/a)	(n/a)	No	No	(701) 572-0967	1,370	98	13.9	26.5%	857 (62.6%)	83 (6.1%)	255 (18.6%)	21 (1.5%)	17 (1.2%)	4 (0.3%)	133 (9.7%)	19.7	107^th of 125 public high schools	14.4%		16.1	109^th of 122 public high schools	10.7%	2							14.0	14.0							34.0	34.0			20.0	20.0	$19,232	$335	$18,897
Del Easton Alternative High School	Public	10-12	2304 11th Ave W	Williston	58801	Williams County	Williston Basin 7	(n/a)	(n/a)	No	No	(701) 572-1055	37	5	7.4		20 (54.1%)	1 (2.7%)	9 (24.3%)	0 (0.0%)	3 (8.1%)	1 (2.7%)	3 (8.1%)								(n/a)																					$18,293	$335	$17,957
Garden Valley Elementary School	Public	K-4	13565 60th St NW	Williston	58801	Williams County	Williston Basin 7	(n/a)	(n/a)	No	No	(701) 826-4261	178	13	13.6	37.6%	117 (65.7%)	1 (0.6%)	37 (20.8%)	2 (1.1%)	4 (2.2%)	0 (0.0%)	17 (9.6%)	23.8	182^nd of 216 public elementary schools	15.7%					(n/a)	29.0	39.0						39.0	29.5	29.5						34.0	29.0			29.0	$16,596	$1,240	$15,355
Missouri Ridge Elementary School	Public	K-5	5640 140th Ave NW	Williston	58801	Williams County	Williston Basin 7	(n/a)	(n/a)	No	Yes	(701) 875-2041	397	27	14.7	37.5%	239 (60.2%)	16 (4.0%)	95 (23.9%)	3 (0.8%)	2 (0.5%)	4 (1.0%)	38 (9.6%)	6	215^th of 216 public elementary schools	0.5%		13.8	206^th of 217 public elementary schools	5.1%	9	19.0	4.0	19.0					15.5	19.0	14.0	19.0					18.0	24.0			24.0	$16,249	$1,226	$15,022
Williston Middle School Central Campus	Public	5-8	501 14th St W	Williston	58801	Williams County	Williston Basin 7	(n/a)	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(701) 572-5618	1,536	103	14.9	31.8%	943 (61.4%)	89 (5.8%)	302 (19.7%)	17 (1.1%)	26 (1.7%)	6 (0.4%)	153 (10.0%)	20.3	49^th of 59 public middle schools	16.9%		12.7	54^th of 57 public middle schools	5.3%	5			36.0	25.0	30.0	33.0		31.0			30.0	27.0	41.0	31.0		32.0		35.0		35.0	$13,040	$617	$12,423

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 Williston

City	Distance	# of Schools	Statewide Rank
Grenora	14.96 mi	2	68^th
Trenton	23.85 mi	2	123^rd
Ray	30.48 mi	2	78^th
Fairview	40.04 mi	2	25^th
Tioga	40.17 mi	2	115^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.