Montana is the fourth largest state in the United States and has an estimated population of 1.09 million as of 2019. It is divided into 56 counties and one independent city, Helena. Each county is further divided into school districts, with a total of 294 public school districts and over 250 private schools across the state. The Montana Office of Public Instruction (OPI) oversees all public schools in Montana. OPI also provides financial assistance to students from low-income families who attend private schools as well as regulating private schools.
The majority of school districts in Montana are classified as small to mid-size districts, with less than 10,000 students enrolled in each district. These smaller school districts often operate on a much tighter budget than larger urban school districts, which can make it difficult to provide quality education to students without additional assistance from the state or federal government. However, these small school districts often have a strong sense of community that larger urban areas lack, which can be beneficial for student learning outcomes and overall school performance.
In addition to traditional public schools, there are also several charter schools located throughout Montana that provide specialized instruction and alternative education programs for students in grades K-12. These charter schools receive funding from both the state and local governments but are able to operate independently from local school boards or other governmental entities. As a result, charter schools are able to offer innovative educational programs tailored specifically to meet their student’s needs more effectively than traditional public schools can typically provide.
There are many public and private high schools in the state of Montana. It is rather difficult for you to choose one that fits you most. In order for you to better evaluate your choice, we have ranked these high schools based on latest SAT/ACT scores, graduation rates, and state test scores from the Montana Department of Education. See below for top 12 high schools throughout the state of Montana.
| # | High Schools | Honor |
| 1 |
Big Sandy High School
Big Sandy High School School District Chouteau County 398 First Ave Big Sandy, MT 59520 Telephone: (406) 378-2502 |
Bronze |
| 2 |
Bridger High School
Bridger K-12 School District Carbon County 429 West Park Avenue Bridger, MT 59014 Telephone: (406) 662-3533 |
Bronze |
| 3 |
Cascade High School
Cascade High School School District Cascade County 321 Central Ave W Cascade, MT 59421 Telephone: (406) 468-2267 |
Bronze |
| 4 |
Charlo High School
Charlo High School School District Lake County 404 1st Ave West Charlo, MT 59824 Telephone: (406) 644-2206 |
Bronze |
| 5 |
Choteau High School
Choteau High School School District Teton County 204 7th Ave NW Choteau, MT 59422 Telephone: (406) 466-5303 |
Bronze |
| 6 |
Libby High School
Libby K-12 School District Lincoln County 150 Education Way Libby, MT 59923 Telephone: (406) 293-8802 |
Bronze |
| 7 |
Lincoln High School
Lincoln K-12 School District Lewis and Clark County 808 Main Street Lincoln, MT 59639 Telephone: (406) 362-4201 |
Bronze |
| 8 |
Shields Valley High School
Shields Valley High School School District Park County 405 1st St E Clyde Park, MT 59018 Telephone: (406) 686-4621 |
Bronze |
| 9 |
Simms High School
Simms High School School District Cascade County 123 Walker Street Simms, MT 59477 Telephone: (406) 264-5110 |
Bronze |
| 10 |
St. Ignatius High School
Saint Ignatius K-12 School District Lake County 76 3rd Avenue Saint Ignatius, MT 59865 Telephone: (406) 745-3811 |
Bronze |
| 11 |
Victor High School
Victor K-12 School District Ravalli County 425 4th Avenue Victor, MT 59875 Telephone: (406) 642-3221 |
Bronze |
| 12 |
West Yellowstone High School
West Yellowstone K-12 School District Gallatin County 411 N Geyser West Yellowstone, MT 59758 Telephone: (406) 646-7617 |
Bronze |
Nature of Montana
The state of Montana is located in the Western United States and belongs to the mountainous states of the United States. Territory of the state – 381,156 km 2, Montana ranks fourth in terms of area among the US states (after Alaska, Texas and California) and is the largest landlocked state.
Montana borders the states of North Dakota to the east, South Dakota to the southeast, Wyoming to the south, and Idaho to the southwest and west. To the north, Montana borders Canada.
According to the features of the relief, the state of Montana can be divided into two large areas: mountains in the west of the state and plains in the east.
Almost all of western Montana is occupied by mountains; it is not for nothing that the state gets its name from the Spanish montana (“mountain”). These are the numerous ranges of the northern part of the Rocky Mountains: the Bitterroot, Lewis, Anaconda and many others. Montana’s highest point, Granite Peak (3,904 meters above sea level), is located in the south of the state in the Beartooth Mountains.
The mountains of Montana are mostly covered with coniferous forests (one of the symbols of Montana is the Oregon pine), here you can see grizzly bears, elk, elk deer and many other animals.
Between the mountain ranges of Montana, there are many fertile and picturesque plains, such as Paradise Valley (“Paradise Valley”) in the southwest of the state.
Almost two-thirds of Montana’s territory, its entire eastern part, is the vast prairies of the Great Plains. Numerous areas of “badlands”, “bad lands”, arid and ravine-cut regions with clay soils are also located here. Rocky outcrops are also found on the plains, the most famous and picturesque of which are the “Missouri cliffs” in the central part of Montana, which have the status of a national monument and are protected by the US government.
Rivers flow through the territory of Montana, belonging to three basins – the Atlantic, Pacific and Arctic oceans. The crossing point of the watersheds is Triple Divide Peak in the north of the state. Montana is sometimes referred to as the “original state” because it is here that the headwaters of the Missouri (the longest tributary of the Mississippi) and the Columbia (the largest river in the northwestern United States) are located. There are many lakes in Montana, the largest of which (and the largest in the Western United States) is Flathead Lake.