Schools · Helena

Helena, MT schools

Helena’s public schools score above Montana’s averages: 51% of students are proficient in reading against 46.2% statewide, and 86% of high schoolers graduate on time against 84.9%. Kids attend one of 8 elementary schools through grade 5, then Helena P.A.L..

Grades, test scores, graduation, spending and every school, from U.S. Department of Education data.

B+School Grade #11Best schools in MT (of 40)#17Highest graduation rate in MT (of 36)

TownTapestry School GradeNew

B⁺

Helena’s School Grade: B+

The public schools Helena’s kids attend, from kindergarten through graduation, outperform 66% of Montana’s districts on state tests and graduation. Among towns with similar incomes, they sit near the middle.

B+Test scoresB-Graduation

Montana school districts we grade (237)Better than 66%

Lower resultsHigher results

Montana towns with similar household incomes (158)Better than 59%

High confidence. Built on 3,486 tested students and a graduating class of 702; ordinary year-to-year swings are unlikely to change the grade.

How the School Grade works

Results, not inputs. Math and reading proficiency on Montana’s state tests, each against the state average, plus the four-year graduation rate. Spending and class size are shown below but don’t count toward the grade. Tests: 2020–21; graduation: class of 2020.
The whole path. A town’s grade follows its kids: every district that serves it, weighted by the number of students tested in each. Tests count 60% and graduation 40%.
Graded within the state. Each state writes its own tests, so districts are lined up against the rest of Montana only. A+ top 5%A next 10%A- next 10%B B+ to B−, next 30%C C+ to C−, next 30%D D and D−, bottom 15%
Individual schools are graded the same way on their own test results, against every public school in Montana with 25+ students. Private schools aren’t graded: they don’t take the state tests.
What a grade can’t tell you. Test results track family income closely, so a high grade partly reflects who lives in a town. That’s why we also compare towns with similar incomes. Visit, ask other parents, and read neighbor reviews. It’s our own summary of U.S. Department of Education data, not an official rating.

School path

Where Helena kids go to school

Grades PK–5

8 elementary schoolsDepends on your address · see the list Helena Elementary School District

Grades 9–12

Helena P.A.L. 58 students · Helena Helena High School District

Based on district boundaries from the U.S. Department of Education. Check with the district before you enroll.

Test scores · 2020–21

Well above the state in reading

Reading (grades 9–12, Helena High)54%

State average 46.2%

Reading (grades PK–5, Helena Elementary)51%

State average 46.2%

Math (grades 9–12, Helena High)34%

State average 34.6%

Math (grades PK–5, Helena Elementary)34%

State average 34.6%

Graduation · class of 2020

86% graduate on time

Graduation rate

86%

MT: 84.9%

Graduating class

702

students

The share of students who started ninth grade together and earned a regular diploma within four years. #17 of 36 MT towns →

Districts

Two districts serve Helena

Helena High School DistrictGrades 9–12 · 4 schools · 2,373 students

$13,476 per studentMT $13,570B+🏫

Helena Elementary School DistrictGrades PK–8 · 16 schools · 5,100 students

$13,260 per studentMT $13,570B+

Each district’s own page has its spending, test scores, enrollment and every school.

Every school

All 22 schools in Helena

Level

All 22 Elementary 10 Middle 3 High 4 Other 5

Type

All 22 Public 17 Private 5

Showing 1–22 of 22 schools

Four Georgians SchoolElementary · Grades PK–5 · 482 students

Bryant SchoolElementary · Grades PK–5 · 288 students

Jefferson SchoolElementary · Grades PK–5 · 245 students

Central SchoolElementary · Grades PK–5 · 242 students

Kessler Elementary SchoolElementary · Grades PK–5 · 235 students

Smith SchoolElementary · Grades PK–5 · 217 students

Broadwater SchoolElementary · Grades PK–5 · 207 students

Helena Montessori Charter SchlElementary · Grades K–5 · 198 students

Hawthorne SchoolElementary · Grades PK–5 · 183 students

Mount Ascension Learning Ac ELElementary · Grades K–5

C R Anderson Middle SchlMiddle · Grades 6–8 · 962 students

Helena Middle SchoolMiddle · Grades 6–8 · 701 students

Mount Ascension Learning Ac MSMiddle · Grades 6–8 · 22 students

Capital High SchoolHigh · Grades 9–12 · 1,293 students

Helena High SchoolHigh · Grades 9–12 · 979 students

Helena P.A.L.High · Grades 9–12 · 58 students

Mount Ascension Learning Ac HSHigh · Grades 9–12 · 43 students

BLOOM MONTESSORI SCHOOL

INTERMOUNTAIN

MOUNTAINSIDE MONTESSORI

SHODAIR CHILDREN'S HOSPITAL

ST ANDREW SCHOOL

School data from the U.S. Department of Education (NCES). Ratings are from neighbors on TownTapestry.