Can I use Cascade County's school score to choose a house?

No. Use the Cascade County school score as a first-pass county screen, then verify the exact district, attendance boundary, transfer rules, and grade pathway for any address you are considering.

Does SchoolsByCounty confirm school attendance boundaries in Cascade County?

No. SchoolsByCounty publishes NCES and Census-backed public-school records. Attendance zones, magnet eligibility, charter lotteries, transportation, and transfer rules must be confirmed with local districts.

How should parents compare public schools in Cascade County?

Start with the 44 listed public schools and 13 district entries, then compare similar grade bands and confirm the address-level rules locally.

Cascade County Schools & Education

Name: Cascade County, Montana Education Data
Creator: National Center for Education Statistics (NCES)
License: https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/

Cascade County, Montana

NCES 2022-23 public school data and FY 2022 school-finance data

School Score

30/100

Percentile-style score

Score Band

Lower Signal

Graduation Rate

83.4%

National avg 87.5%

Education Statistics

Graduation Rate

83.4%

National avg 87.5%

State avg 83.7%

Per-Pupil Spending

$7,113

National avg $13,239

State avg $9,334

School Score

30/100

Percentile-style score

State avg 55/100

State Score Position

#56

of 56 counties by score

Education Data Brief: Cascade County

Measured School Summary

Cascade County faces educational challenges with a school score of 30/100 and a graduation rate of 83.4%, falling below typical benchmarks.

Funding Context

At $7,113 per pupil, Cascade County operates with limited funding, which may constrain staffing, materials, and extracurricular offerings.

Neighbor Context

Its school score is 46% below the Montana average, and its graduation rate trails the state average by 0.3 percentage points, while per-pupil spending is 24% lower than the state norm.

School Data Brief

How to read Cascade County before comparing districts

County-level education data is best used as a screening layer. It summarizes the local school environment, then points you toward the district and school records that matter for local review.

Local context that changes the interpretation

44 public schools and 13 districts are represented below. Use those school and district records to confirm whether the county-level context fits the neighborhoods you are actually considering.

Overall screen

30/100

Lower measured signal. Ranks #56 of 56 Montana counties with school score data.

Completion

83.4%

0.3 pts below the state average

Funding context

$7,113

$2,221 below the state average

School coverage

13 districts represented in the county school list.

Start with measured county context

The county-level signal is lower, so review individual schools and local records before interpreting the score. Compare the score, graduation rate, and spending together rather than treating any single metric as final.

Check the local school mix

Cascade County has 44 public schools across 13 districts, so school-level fit can vary inside the county.

Verify local rules

Use this page as county-level context, then confirm attendance zones, transportation, special programs, and current school boundaries with local districts.

View Public Schools Compare Counties

Parent decision brief

What Cascade County school data means before you move

County averages are useful for screening, but parents choose addresses, grade pathways, and district rules. This brief turns the public data into the checks that matter before you sign a lease or mortgage.

Review-carefully county

Cascade County has a lower measured county-level school signal. Use the school table to look for specific districts or grade bands that may differ from the county average.

State position

#56

of 56 Montana counties with school score data. The county score is 25 points below the state average.

Data confidence

Usable

3 of 5 county signals are present, and 100% of listed schools report enrollment. Compare schools, then verify missing fields locally.

K-12 continuity check

These are the largest visible district slices in the county data. They show whether elementary, middle, and high school records appear together or whether a family needs to investigate transition points.

Great Falls Elem

Elementary and middle visible

7,032 students

Elementary 15Middle 2High 0Other 0

17 listed schools in this county slice.

Great Falls H S

High school only in this slice

3,095 students

Elementary 0Middle 0High 2Other 0

2 listed schools in this county slice.

Belt Elem

Elementary and middle visible

271 students

Elementary 2Middle 1High 0Other 0

3 listed schools in this county slice.

Centerville Elem

Elementary and middle visible

237 students

Elementary 4Middle 1High 0Other 0

5 listed schools in this county slice.

District reality check

Great Falls Elem is the largest listed district slice, with 17 schools. County pages do not prove address assignment, so verify boundaries with local district tools.

What the data cannot tell you

NCES records do not confirm current attendance zones, private-school options, transfer approvals, program capacity, transportation, or whether a listed school is available to a specific address.

Questions to ask before choosing an address

Which district actually serves the addresses we are considering in Cascade County?

Do the neighborhoods we like fall inside the same district, or are we comparing different Cascade County district systems?

Where do students transition after the visible grade band, and is that next school inside the same district path?

If we need a program not visible in the NCES flags, which district office can confirm current offerings?

Are the largest listed schools the ones our address can actually attend, or are they only county-level context?

Education Overview

About Schools in Cascade County, Montana

This context is screened for neutral school-data wording and should be read alongside the current metrics on this page. It is not school advice.

Montana's Major Educational Hub

Cascade County oversees 44 public schools and 13 districts, serving a massive enrollment of 11,728 students. The system includes 29 elementary schools and 15 secondary schools, including two specialized education facilities.

Great Falls Drives County Success

Great Falls Elementary is the primary district, managing 17 schools and 7,032 students. There are no charter schools in the county, with all 11,700+ students attending traditional public or special education schools.

Urban Centers Meet Rural Schools

The locale mix is split between 21 city-based schools and 23 rural schools, with an average enrollment of 267. Great Falls High School is the county's largest, serving 1,641 students in a vibrant urban setting.

School Overview

Total Schools

in Cascade County

Reported Enrollment

11,728

44 schools reporting

School Districts

districts

Charter Schools

0% of total

School Level Breakdown

Elementary29

Middle8

High7

Other0

13 School Districts in Cascade County

Great Falls Elem

Great Falls H S

2 schools

3,095 students

Belt Elem

3 schools

271 students

Centerville Elem

5 schools

237 students

Cascade Elem

2 schools

221 students

Sun River Valley Elem

3 schools

178 students

Vaughn Elem

3 schools

154 students

Ulm Elem

3 schools

138 students

Cascade H S

1 school

101 students

Simms H S

1 school

101 students

44 Public Schools in Cascade County

Sorted by reported enrollment. Dedicated profile pages are available for 2 high-enrollment schools; every NCES public school remains listed here.

NCES 2022-23 public school data and FY 2022 school-finance data

Search schools

Level

Sort

Showing 20 of 44 matching schools

Public schools in Cascade County, including district, location, profile availability, grades, type, and enrollment.
School Name	Profile	District	Location	Grades	Type / Flags	Reported Enrollment
Great Falls High School	Profile	Great Falls H S	Great Falls, 59403City: Small	9–12	High	1,641
C M Russell High School	Profile	Great Falls H S	Great Falls, 59403City: Small	9–12	High	1,454
East Middle School	Record	Great Falls Elem	Great Falls, 59403City: Small	7–8	Middle	788
North Middle School	Record	Great Falls Elem	Great Falls, 59403City: Small	7–8	Middle	724
Meadow Lark School	Record	Great Falls Elem	Great Falls, 59403City: Small	PK–6	Primary	555
West Elementary	Record	Great Falls Elem	Great Falls, 59403City: Small	PK–6	Primary	463
Mountain View School	Record	Great Falls Elem	Great Falls, 59403City: Small	PK–6	Primary	433
Giant Springs Elementary	Record	Great Falls Elem	Great Falls, 59403City: Small	PK–6	Primary	432
Riverview School	Record	Great Falls Elem	Great Falls, 59403City: Small	PK–6	Primary	427
Sunnyside School	Record	Great Falls Elem	Great Falls, 59403City: Small	PK–6	Primary	423
Sacajawea School	Record	Great Falls Elem	Great Falls, 59403City: Small	PK–6	Primary	407
Loy School	Record	Great Falls Elem	Great Falls, 59403City: Small	PK–6	Primary	389
Lincoln School	Record	Great Falls Elem	Great Falls, 59403City: Small	PK–6	Primary	360
Lewis & Clark School	Record	Great Falls Elem	Great Falls, 59403City: Small	PK–6	Primary	349
Longfellow School	Record	Great Falls Elem	Great Falls, 59403City: Small	PK–6	Primary	313
Valley View School	Record	Great Falls Elem	Great Falls, 59403City: Small	PK–6	Primary	296
Chief Joseph School	Record	Great Falls Elem	Great Falls, 59403City: Small	PK–6	Primary	268
Morningside School	Record	Great Falls Elem	Great Falls, 59403City: Small	PK–6	Primary	206
Whittier School	Record	Great Falls Elem	Great Falls, 59403City: Small	PK–6	Primary	199
Belt School	Record	Belt Elem	Belt, 59412Rural: Distant	PK–6	Primary	197

Great Falls High School

Great Falls H S