Schools · Shepherd

Shepherd, MT schools

Shepherd’s public schools score above Montana’s averages: 48% of students are proficient in reading against 46.2% statewide, and 95% of high schoolers graduate on time against 84.9%. Kids attend Shepherd Elementary through grade 5, then Shepherd Middle School and Shepherd High School.

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

C+School Grade

TownTapestry School GradeNew

C⁺

Shepherd’s School Grade: C+

The public schools Shepherd’s kids attend trail 57% of Montana’s districts on state tests. Among towns with similar incomes, they rank near the bottom.

C+Test scores

Montana school districts we grade (237)Better than 43%

Lower resultsHigher results

Montana towns with similar household incomes (145)Better than 32%

Good confidence. Built on 414 tested students; 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. 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.
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.