Prairie County Schools & Education
Prairie County, Montana
NCES 2022-23 public school data and FY 2022 school-finance dataSchool Score
85/100
Percentile-style score
Score Band
Higher Signal
Graduation Rate
—
National avg 87.5%
Education Statistics
Graduation Rate
N/A
National avg 87.5%
Per-Pupil Spending
$9,783
National avg $13,239
State avg $9,334
School Score
85/100
Percentile-style score
State avg 55/100
State Score Position
#7
of 56 counties by score
Education Data Brief: Prairie County
Measured School Summary
Prairie County has a strong school score of 85/100. Graduation rate data is not available.
Funding Context
Prairie County spends $9,783 per student, which is on the lower end of adequate and may require careful resource allocation to maintain quality.
Neighbor Context
Its school score is 54% above the Montana average, while per-pupil spending is 5% higher than the state norm.
School Data Brief
How to read Prairie 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
3 public schools and 1 district 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
85/100
Higher measured signal. Ranks #7 of 56 Montana counties with school score data.
Completion
Not reported
Graduation-rate comparison is unavailable for this county.
Funding context
$9,783
$449 above the state average
School coverage
3
1 district represented in the county school list.
Start with measured county context
This county screens well on the combined school metrics available here. Compare the score, graduation rate, and spending together rather than treating any single metric as final.
Check the local school mix
Prairie County has 3 public schools across 1 district, 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.
What Prairie 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.
Small-system county
Prairie County has a compact public-school footprint. A single school change, boundary rule, or district update can move the lived experience more than the county score suggests.
State position
#7
of 56 Montana counties with school score data. The county score is 30 points above the state average.
Data confidence
Usable
2 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.
Terry K-12 Schools
Elementary to high school visible
145 students
3 listed schools in this county slice.
District reality check
Terry K-12 Schools is the largest listed district slice, with 3 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 Prairie County?
Which attendance zones, transfer rules, and transportation policies apply inside the local district?
What changes at the elementary-to-middle and middle-to-high transitions in the district pathway we would likely use?
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?
Data Story
Prairie County Consolidated Under Single District for 145 Students
Education data brief for Prairie County, Montana.
Prairie County's educational landscape is defined by its consolidation into a single district, the Terry K-12 Schools, which manages all three rural schools in the county. This district serves 145 students, with Terry Elementary being the largest school with 80 students. The county’s per-pupil expenditure of $9,783 is higher than the Montana state average of $9,334, though it remains below the national average of $13,000. Prairie County’s composite school score is 84.8, which far exceeds the state average of 55.0 and the national median of 50.0. Graduation rate data is not available for this period. All schools are classified as rural, and the average school size in the county is 48 students. No charter schools are present in the county. See the NCES Common Core of Data for school-level records.
Sources
- NCES Common Core of Data
- U.S. Census Bureau ACS
School Overview
Total Schools
3
in Prairie County
Reported Enrollment
145
3 schools reporting
School Districts
1
district
Charter Schools
0
0% of total
School Level Breakdown
1 School District in Prairie County
Terry K-12 Schools
3 Public Schools in Prairie County
Sorted by reported enrollment. Every NCES public school remains listed here; no school-level profile pages are included in the current generated coverage for this county.
NCES 2022-23 public school data and FY 2022 school-finance dataLevel
Showing 3 of 3 matching schools
| School Name | Profile | District | Location | Grades | Type / Flags | Reported Enrollment |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Terry School | Record | Terry K-12 Schools | Terry, 59349Rural: Remote | PK–6 | Primary | 80 |
| Terry High School | Record | Terry K-12 Schools | Terry, 59349Rural: Remote | 9–12 | High | 33 |
| Terry Middle School | Record | Terry K-12 Schools | Terry, 59349Rural: Remote | 7–8 | Middle | 32 |
Education Funding Detail
Annual Per-Pupil Expenditure
$9,783
State avg $9,334
Compare Nearby Counties
Review Prairie County against other counties using the same NCES-backed metrics.
Open CompareBrowse Public Schools
See school-level enrollment, grade ranges, school type, and district affiliation.
View SchoolsFrequently Asked Questions
Which Montana counties have the highest graduation rates?
What is per-pupil spending like in Montana?
How should I read the school score in Prairie County?
How much does Prairie County spend per student?
Counties with Similar School Profile
Data Sources
Education data sourced from the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) Common Core of Data and School District Finance Survey. School scores are derived composite metrics based on available NCES graduation-rate and school-finance signals.
Data is informational only. Coverage varies by county and reporting year. Not for use as the sole basis for educational decisions.