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Watford City Middle School

Q: Is Watford City Middle School a good school?

Watford City Middle School ranks in the bottom 10.2% of North Dakota middle schools.

Q: How many students attend Watford City Middle School?

In the 2024-25 school year, 509 students attended Watford City Middle School.

Q: What is the racial makeup of Watford City Middle School?

Students at Watford City Middle School are 64% White, 26% Hispanic, 4% American Indian, 2% African American, 2% Two or more races, 1% Asian, 1% Pacific Islander.

Public Grades 6-8

53^rd

SchoolDigger Rank ?

of 59 North Dakota Middle Schools

Better than 10% of North Dakota middle schools

Summary

Watford City Middle School is a public middle school in Watford City, North Dakota, serving 466 students in grades 6-8. The school is part of the McKenzie County 1 School District, which is ranked 22 out of 23 districts in the state and has a 0-star rating from SchoolDigger.

Watford City Middle School has consistently ranked in the bottom half of North Dakota middle schools, with a 1-2 star rating out of 5 from SchoolDigger over the past several years. The school's performance has been relatively stagnant, and it has struggled with high dropout rates ranging from 4% to 6% and chronic absenteeism rates from 20% to 27%, both significantly above the state average. Academically, the school's proficiency rates in math and reading have consistently lagged behind the state and district averages, with only 27-39% of students proficient or better in recent years.

While the school has seen an increase in per-student spending, from $7,843 in 2018-2019 to $14,503 in 2020-2021, this has not yet translated into improved academic outcomes. The school also has a relatively high percentage of students eligible for free or reduced-price lunch, ranging from 17.86% to 33.19% in recent years. The district and school will need to carefully examine the root causes of these challenges and implement targeted interventions to improve student engagement, attendance, and academic performance.

509

Students ?

14.1

Student/teacher ratio ?

$13,730

Per pupil spending ?

37.7%

Free/discounted lunch ?

100 Third St NE
Watford City, ND 58854

(701) 444-3626

District: McKenzie County 1

Racial breakdown:

White:

64.0%

Hispanic:

26.1%

American Indian:

4.1%

See top rated North Dakota middle schools

Compare Watford City Middle School to nearby middle schools!

At a glance

▬ Ranking trend: Holding steady — 7th percentile in 2018 → 10th in 2025

Worth a look

!Test scores below the North Dakota average (28% vs 40% meeting standards)

!In the lower quartile statewide (10th percentile)

!Science scores 14 pts below the North Dakota average

Students meeting standards (2024-2025) ?

This school28%

District avg31%

North Dakota avg40%

53^rd of 59

North Dakota public middle schools ?

Bottom 10%▲ up 3 pts since 2018

See the entire ranking list of North Dakota Middle Schools →

★★★★★

SchoolDigger rating ?

118^th of 134McKenzie County 1 among North Dakota 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	North Dakota percentile	Rating
2025	14.6	53 of 59	10.2%	★☆☆☆☆
2024	30.5	41 of 57	28.1%	★★☆☆☆
2023	33.8	42 of 61	31.1%	★★☆☆☆
2022	37.1	39 of 61	36.1%	★★☆☆☆
2021	29.7	50 of 60	16.7%	★☆☆☆☆
2020	31.1	47 of 55	14.5%	★☆☆☆☆
2019	30.9	47 of 55	14.5%	★☆☆☆☆
2018	23.1	51 of 55	7.3%	☆☆☆☆☆

English Language Learner

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	North Dakota percentile	Rating
2025	56.6	4 of 12	66.7%	★★★★☆
2024	77.7	2 of 11	81.8%	★★★★★
2023	68.0	3 of 9	66.7%	★★★★☆
2022	69.3	1 of 9	88.9%	★★★★★
2021	63.3	2 of 7	71.4%	★★★★☆
2020	76.5	2 of 7	71.4%	★★★★☆
2019	76.5	2 of 7	71.4%	★★★★☆

Female

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	North Dakota percentile	Rating
2025	18.4	31 of 37	16.2%	★☆☆☆☆
2024	24.7	31 of 36	13.9%	★☆☆☆☆
2023	43.5	21 of 39	46.2%	★★☆☆☆
2022	40.2	24 of 37	35.1%	★★☆☆☆
2021	41.5	26 of 37	29.7%	★★☆☆☆
2020	39.2	26 of 34	23.5%	★☆☆☆☆
2019	39.0	26 of 34	23.5%	★☆☆☆☆
2018	20.8	29 of 31	6.5%	☆☆☆☆☆

Hispanic

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	North Dakota percentile	Rating
2025	32.9	10 of 14	28.6%	★★☆☆☆
2024	49.3	8 of 14	42.9%	★★★☆☆
2023	46.3	8 of 14	42.9%	★★★☆☆
2022	53.2	5 of 13	61.5%	★★★★☆
2021	40.7	7 of 10	30.0%	★★☆☆☆
2020	36.9	9 of 12	25.0%	★★☆☆☆
2019	36.6	9 of 13	30.8%	★★☆☆☆
2018	33.1	8 of 10	20.0%	★☆☆☆☆

Homeless

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	North Dakota percentile	Rating
2025	27.0	2 of 2	0.0%	★★★★☆
2024	30.0	2 of 3	33.3%	★★★★☆
2023	56.1	1 of 1	0.0%	★★★★★
2020	51.4	1 of 1	0.0%	★★★★★
2019	51.4	1 of 1	0.0%	★★★★★

Low Socio Economic Status

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	North Dakota percentile	Rating
2025	16.9	29 of 31	6.5%	☆☆☆☆☆
2024	38.7	18 of 28	35.7%	★★☆☆☆
2023	44.0	13 of 28	53.6%	★★★☆☆
2022	64.1	4 of 24	83.3%	★★★★☆
2021	42.6	15 of 24	37.5%	★★☆☆☆
2020	42.8	13 of 26	50.0%	★★★☆☆
2019	42.2	13 of 26	50.0%	★★★☆☆
2018	28.8	21 of 25	16.0%	★☆☆☆☆

Male

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	North Dakota percentile	Rating
2025	11.0	36 of 37	2.7%	☆☆☆☆☆
2024	31.7	27 of 36	25.0%	★★☆☆☆
2023	23.8	35 of 39	10.3%	★☆☆☆☆
2022	31.5	30 of 37	18.9%	★☆☆☆☆
2021	23.0	32 of 37	13.5%	★☆☆☆☆
2020	27.0	30 of 34	11.8%	★☆☆☆☆
2019	26.7	30 of 34	11.8%	★☆☆☆☆
2018	25.3	28 of 31	9.7%	★☆☆☆☆

White

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	North Dakota percentile	Rating
2025	9.6	22 of 23	4.3%	☆☆☆☆☆
2024	32.7	20 of 24	16.7%	★☆☆☆☆
2023	29.6	18 of 22	18.2%	★☆☆☆☆
2022	38.7	18 of 24	25.0%	★★☆☆☆
2021	27.9	21 of 22	4.5%	☆☆☆☆☆
2020	20.1	20 of 21	4.8%	☆☆☆☆☆
2019	20.1	20 of 21	4.8%	☆☆☆☆☆
2018	14.5	20 of 20	0.0%	☆☆☆☆☆

How student groups rank statewide ? (each group's percentile vs the same group at other schools — higher is better; the +/- beside each compares the group with this school's overall percentile)

English Language Learner (2025)67th percentile+56 vs school

Hispanic (2025)29th percentile+18 vs school

Female (2025)16th percentile+6 vs school

Low Socio Economic Status (2025)6th percentile-4 vs school

White (2025)4th percentile-6 vs school

Male (2025)3rd percentile-7 vs school

Homeless (2025)<1st percentile-10 vs school

By subject vs North Dakota (2024-2025) ?

Math32%-9 vs state

Reading27%-13 vs state

Science24%-14 vs state

★

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Schools Near Watford City Middle School

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 6th Grade	A-Plus Math 7th Grade	A-Plus Math 8th Grade	A-Plus Math All Grades	A-Plus Reading 6th Grade	A-Plus Reading 7th Grade	A-Plus Reading 8th Grade	A-Plus Reading All Grades	A-Plus Science 8th Grade	A-Plus Science All Grades	Per Pupil Expenditures Total	Sub-total from Federal Funds	Sub-total from State/Local Funds
Watford City Middle School	Public	6-8	100 Third St NE	Watford City	58854	McKenzie County	McKenzie County 1	(n/a)	(n/a)	No	No	(701) 444-3626	509	36	14.1	37.7%	326 (64.0%)	8 (1.6%)	133 (26.1%)	7 (1.4%)	21 (4.1%)	6 (1.2%)	8 (1.6%)	14.6	53^rd of 59 public middle schools	10.2%		30.5	41^st of 57 public middle schools	28.1%	12	29.0	34.0	34.0	32.0	23.0	33.0	25.5	27.0	24.0	24.0	$13,730	$2,332	$11,397

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.

Frequently Asked Questions about Watford City Middle School

What is the racial makeup of Watford City Middle School?

Students at Watford City Middle School are 64% White, 26% Hispanic, 4% American Indian, 2% African American, 2% Two or more races, 1% Asian, 1% Pacific Islander.

Is Watford City Middle School a good school?

Watford City Middle School ranks in the bottom 10.2% of North Dakota middle schools.

What district is Watford City Middle School in?

McKenzie County 1

How many students attend Watford City Middle School?

In the 2024-25 school year, 509 students attended Watford City Middle School.

Rate Watford City Middle School!

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Schools in Watford City, ND

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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.