Enrollment
269
Elementary
DISTRICT 225 · STATE 204
SCHOOL COMMUNITY·CUSTER SCHOOL DISTRICT 16-1·NCES 461695000154
Custer Elementary - 02
1415 Wildcat Ln, Custer, SD 57730 · (605) 673-4483 · Custer County
GRADES PK–06ELEMENTARY42-RURALREGULAR SCHOOL269 STUDENTS
A-
allk12 Grade
Scored higher than 79% of South Dakota public elementary schools
- A-Test scores Share of students meeting the state standard in reading, math, and other tested subjects, 2023-24 and 2024-25.
- A-Beats expectations How far test scores land above or below what the share of low-income students predicts for a school in this state.
- ·Three-year trend Not available for this school, so the grade uses the other parts.
Grades compare a school only with schools in the same state, because every state gives its own test. How grades work · Top-graded South Dakota public elementary schools
Student : Teacher
10.3:1
26 FTE teachers
DISTRICT 11.0:1 · STATE 15.4:1
Free / Reduced Lunch
34%
92 students
DISTRICT 29% · STATE 42%
Community
0
0 members
Enrollment and student:teacher ratio compared against other elementary schools. Free/Reduced Lunch and demographics compared against all schools.
Enrollment by grade, 2024-25
| Grade | Students | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Pre-K | 7 | 3% |
| Kindergarten | 38 | 14% |
| Grade 1 | 33 | 12% |
| Grade 2 | 36 | 13% |
| Grade 3 | 33 | 12% |
| Grade 4 | 39 | 14% |
| Grade 5 | 40 | 15% |
| Grade 6 | 43 | 16% |
This year's kindergarten class (38) is 12% smaller than its 6th grade class (43).
Student demographics
28%Diversity index
The chance that two students picked at random belong to different racial or ethnic groups.
DISTRICT 25% · STATE 53% · US 70%
Student head counts by race/ethnicity from federal NCES enrollment data. District, state, and US figures are each group's share of all public school students in that area (US excludes territories). Very small groups may be suppressed in the source, so categories do not always sum exactly to total enrollment.
Gender split
Test scores
SD Smarter Balanced 2024-25 . % ProficientEnglish Language Arts
64.4%
SD avg 50.3% . +12.4pp since 2022
Math
61.7%
SD avg 47.5% . +1.6pp since 2022
What this means: On the SD Smarter Balanced, South Dakota's statewide test, about 64 of every 100 students at this school read and write at grade level and about 62 of 100 do math at grade level. Across all South Dakota schools, those numbers are about 50 and 47. Reading and writing scores are up about 12 points since 2022, while math scores are up about 2 points.
SD Smarter Balanced results by year
| School year | English Language Arts | Math |
|---|---|---|
| 2024-25 | 64.4% | 61.7% |
| 2023-24 | 59.2% | 57.9% |
| 2022-23 | 52.0% | 60.1% |
% Proficient, all students and all tested grades.
Source: SD Smarter Balanced. All students, all grades. See all years and grades →
BeatsExpectations
Demographically-adjusted score · methodologyTier
AS EXPECTED
Performing as predicted given the school's student profile
Actual proficiency
57.4%
composite math + reading, all grades
Predicted
49.0%
based on SD schools with similar FRL share
Beats by
+8.3pp
above demographic expectation
What this means: About 57% of students here test proficient in math and reading, compared with the roughly 49% typical for South Dakota schools with a similar share of low-income students. BeatsExpectations measures results against demographically similar schools rather than by raw scores, and this school falls within the typical range, neither among South Dakota's top nor bottom 10%.
BeatsExpectations runs a per-state regression of proficiency on free/reduced-lunch share, then scores each school by residual. How this is calculated →
Schools most like Custer Elementary - 02
Custer Elementary - 02's state test result (57.4% proficient) is higher than 4 of the 5 schools below with a result.
| School | Students | Low-income | Proficient |
|---|---|---|---|
| Custer Elementary - 02 this school | 269 | 34.2% | 57.4% |
| Black Hawk Elementary - 03 Black Hawk | 305 | 34.1% | 29.9% |
| Beresford Elementary - 02 Beresford | 273 | 28.9% | 54.9% |
| Redfield Elementary - 03 Redfield | 271 | 33.6% | 45.8% |
| Webster Area Elementary - 03 Webster | 274 | 33.6% | 62.4% |
| Clark Elementary - 02 Clark | 212 | 26.4% | 49.0% |
Matched among South Dakota elementary schools on enrollment, the share of students from low-income families (eligible for free or reduced-price lunch), and racial and ethnic makeup. Proficient is the average share of students meeting the state standard across all of the school's state tests in 2023-24 and 2024-25, the same combined score our test-score rankings use. Online schools and schools serving specialized populations are not matched.
Where Custer Elementary - 02 ranks
Among elementary schools| Measure | This school | In South Dakota |
|---|---|---|
| State test proficiency ranked highest first | 57.4% | #52 of 193 |
| Math proficiency ranked highest first | 61.7% | #57 of 199 ▲ 12 |
| Reading proficiency ranked highest first | 64.4% | #33 of 202 ▲ 16 |
| Enrollment ranked largest first | 269 | #114 of 331 |
| Students per teacher ranked fewest first | 10.3:1 | #8 of 131 |
| Diversity index ranked most diverse first | 28.3% | #93 of 131 |
| Free and reduced lunch ranked highest share first | 34.2% | #108 of 209 |
| Enrollment change since 2017-18 ranked steepest decline first | -22.3% | #16 of 87 |
Ranked against other public elementary schools. Online schools are left out of every list, and test-score lists leave out schools that serve specialized populations. Each rank links to the full list. Arrows under a test-score rank show places moved since the prior test year, among schools tested both years.
4-year change
SY 2020-21 vs SY 2024-25Enrollment
269
-2 (-1%) vs 2020
-42% since 1990-91, when it was 467
Student : Teacher
10.3:1
was 10.4:1
Source: NCES Common Core of Data
Enrollment and staffing by year
| School year | Students | Teachers (FTE) | Students per teacher | Free and reduced lunch |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024-25 | 269 | 26 | 10.3:1 | 34% (92) |
| 2023-24 | 293 | 26 | 11.3:1 | 24% (71) |
| 2022-23 | 304 | 26 | 11.7:1 | 19% (58) |
| 2020-21 | 271 | 26 | 10.4:1 | 23% (63) |
| 2017-18 | 346 | 26 | 13.3:1 | 35% (120) |
| 2015-16 | 343 | 26 | 13.2:1 | 41% (139) |
| 2010-11 | 273 | 23 | 11.9:1 | 41% (113) |
| 2000-01 | 334 | 23 | 14.5:1 | 32% (106) |
| 1990-91 | 467 | 29 | 16.1:1 | N/A |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data. Rows are the federal collections on file for Custer Elementary - 02.
Since 2017-18: students down 22% (346 to 269); teachers unchanged (26 to 26).
About Custer Elementary - 02
In Custer, South Dakota, part of Custer County, Custer Elementary - 02 is an elementary school. Students in pre-K through 6 attend, and enrollment is 269 students. The typical figure for elementary schools in South Dakota is about 204 students.
The 6 schools of Custer School District 16-1, including Custer Elementary - 02, enroll 887 students.
Federal enrollment data show Custer Elementary - 02 is 84% White. Other groups include 9% Hispanic, 5% multiracial, and 2% Native American. Custer Elementary - 02's diversity index is 28%, against a US figure of 70%.
Custer Elementary - 02's 26 full-time-equivalent teachers put its ratio at 10.3:1. On average, elementary schools in South Dakota have 15.4:1, compared with 10.3:1 here. The school's rate of free or reduced-price lunch eligibility is 34%.
The allk12 Grade for Custer Elementary - 02 is A-. Compared with South Dakota public elementary schools, the school scored higher than 79% on a mix of test scores, poverty-adjusted results, and recent trend.
The model predicts 49.0% for a school in South Dakota with Custer Elementary - 02's free or reduced-price lunch share. Custer Elementary - 02 posts 57.4%.
Custer Elementary - 02 is located in Custer County, where the median household income is $84,112, the share of adults with a bachelor's degree or higher is 32%, and roughly 7% of residents are in poverty. Besides Custer Elementary - 02, Custer County has 7 other public schools.
The nearest other public school, Custer Jr. High - 05, is less than a tenth of a mile away. Inside a five-mile radius, there are 3 other public schools. The average proficiency across nearby scored schools is 46.9%; Custer Elementary - 02's is 57.4%, ranking 2nd of 6.
Custer Elementary - 02 is coded as Rural: Distant in federal locale data.
The school's size has been steady, with 271 students in 2020-21 and 269 in 2024-25.
Posts about school events, clubs, and volunteer needs are welcome on this page. Reviews and ratings from people who know the school are welcome.
Custer County at a glance
View full county profilePopulation
8,892
Census ACS
Median income
$84,112
Household, ACS
Bachelor's+
32%
Adults 25+
Poverty rate
7%
Below federal line
Schools in county
8
903 students
Quick facts
Related schools
Other schools in Custer School District 16-1
- Custer High School - 01High · 272 students
- Hermosa Elementary - 04Elementary · 181 students
- Custer Jr. High - 05Middle · 101 students
- Hermosa Middle School - 07Middle · 48 students
- A.C.E. High Academy - 06High · 16 students
Other schools in Custer
- Custer High School - 01High · 272 students
- Custer Jr. High - 05Middle · 101 students
- A.C.E. High Academy - 06High · 16 students
Other Custer Elementary schools
5 other US public schools in 5 states are named Custer Elementary. Custer Elementary - 02 is the 4th largest of the 6.
- Custer Elementary SchoolMONROE, MI · 769 students
- Custer ElemCuster, WA · 392 students
- Custer Elementary SchoolLakewood, WA · 358 students
- Custer Elementary SchoolCuster, KY · 178 students
- CUSTER ELEMENTARY SCHOOLMandan, ND · 126 students
Nearby schools
- Custer Jr. High - 050.1 mi · 101
- Custer High School - 010.1 mi · 272
- A.C.E. High Academy - 061.0 mi · 16
- Hill City High School - 0111.3 mi · 158
- Hill City Middle School - 0411.4 mi · 115
- Hill City Elementary - 0211.5 mi · 247
Frequently asked questions
About Custer Elementary - 02How many students attend Custer Elementary - 02?
Custer Elementary - 02 enrolls approximately 269 students in grades PK-06.
What grades does Custer Elementary - 02 serve?
Custer Elementary - 02 serves grades PK-06.
How many students per teacher at Custer Elementary - 02?
Approximately 10.3:1 students per teacher at Custer Elementary - 02.
What is the racial breakdown of students at Custer Elementary - 02?
At Custer Elementary - 02, the student body is approximately 84% White, 9% Hispanic, 5% Two or more.
Who oversees Custer Elementary - 02?
Custer Elementary - 02 is overseen by Custer School District 16-1 in Custer County.
Data sourceSchool profile facts are sourced from the NCES. Community content is posted by allk12 members.