Enrollment
60
Middle
DISTRICT 76 · STATE 187
SCHOOL COMMUNITY·HARDING COUNTY SCHOOL DISTRICT 31-1·NCES 460930000887
Harding County Middle School - 03
12474 Tipperary St, Buffalo, SD 57720 · (605) 375-3241 · Harding County
GRADES 06–08MIDDLE43-RURALREGULAR SCHOOL60 STUDENTS
B+
allk12 Grade
Scored higher than 67% of South Dakota public middle schools
- BTest scores Share of students meeting the state standard in reading, math, and other tested subjects, 2023-24 and 2024-25.
- BBeats 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 middle schools
Student : Teacher
15.0:1
4 FTE teachers
DISTRICT 11.7:1 · STATE 13.4:1
Free / Reduced Lunch
33%
20 students
DISTRICT 27% · STATE 42%
Community
0
0 members
Enrollment and student:teacher ratio compared against other middle schools. Free/Reduced Lunch and demographics compared against all schools.
Enrollment by grade, 2024-25
| Grade | Students | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Grade 6 | 21 | 35% |
| Grade 7 | 18 | 30% |
| Grade 8 | 21 | 35% |
Student demographics
0%Diversity index
The chance that two students picked at random belong to different racial or ethnic groups.
DISTRICT 5% · 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
School pathway
Students here typically continue to
Harding County Middle School - 03→Harding County High School - 01
Feeds from
Based on grade levels within Harding County School District 31-1. Attendance zones can vary; confirm enrollment with the district.
QUIET COMMUNITY
Be the first to start a discussion at Harding County Middle School - 03.
START A DISCUSSIONTest scores
SD Smarter Balanced 2024-25 . % ProficientEnglish Language Arts
61.0%
SD avg 50.3% . +3.9pp since 2022
Math
57.6%
SD avg 47.5% . -3.1pp since 2022
What this means: On the SD Smarter Balanced, South Dakota's statewide test, about 61 of every 100 students at this school read and write at grade level and about 58 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 4 points since 2022, while math scores are down about 3 points.
SD Smarter Balanced results by year
| School year | English Language Arts | Math |
|---|---|---|
| 2024-25 | 61.0% | 57.6% |
| 2023-24 | 59.7% | 49.1% |
| 2022-23 | 57.1% | 60.7% |
% 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
50.4%
composite math + reading, all grades
Predicted
49.4%
based on SD schools with similar FRL share
Beats by
+1.0pp
above demographic expectation
What this means: About 50% 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 Harding County Middle School - 03
Harding County Middle School - 03's state test result (50.4% proficient) is higher than 4 of the 5 schools below with a result.
| School | Students | Low-income | Proficient |
|---|---|---|---|
| Harding County Middle School - 03 this school | 60 | 33.3% | 50.4% |
| Florence Middle School - 03 Florence | 71 | 32.4% | 25.5% |
| Waverly-South Shore Middle School - 03 Waverly | 69 | 37.7% | 32.4% |
| Faulkton Middle School - 08 Faulkton | 53 | 28.3% | 58.3% |
| Willow Lake Middle School - 03 Willow Lake | 54 | 38.9% | 46.0% |
| Bon Homme Middle School - 02 Tyndall | 108 | 28.7% | 47.6% |
Matched among South Dakota middle 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 Harding County Middle School - 03 ranks
Among middle schools| Measure | This school | In South Dakota |
|---|---|---|
| Enrollment ranked largest first | 60 | #101 of 165 |
Ranked against other public middle 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
60
+13 (+28%) vs 2020
+82% since 1990-91, when it was 33
Student : Teacher
15.0:1
was 11.8:1
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 | 60 | 4 | 15.0:1 | 33% (20) |
| 2023-24 | 58 | 3.8 | 15.3:1 | 31% (18) |
| 2022-23 | 60 | 3.7 | 16.2:1 | 28% (17) |
| 2020-21 | 47 | 4 | 11.8:1 | 23% (11) |
| 2017-18 | 37 | 4.8 | 7.8:1 | 27% (10) |
| 2015-16 | 45 | 4 | 11.3:1 | 22% (10) |
| 2010-11 | 22 | 2 | 11.0:1 | 36% (8) |
| 2000-01 | 25 | 1 | 25.0:1 | 20% (5) |
| 1990-91 | 33 | 2 | 16.5:1 | N/A |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data. Rows are the federal collections on file for Harding County Middle School - 03.
Since 2017-18: students up 62% (37 to 60); teachers down 16% (4.8 to 4).
About Harding County Middle School - 03
Among the schools in Buffalo, South Dakota, is Harding County Middle School - 03, a small middle-grades school. It serves 60 students in grades 6 through 8. For comparison, middle schools in South Dakota average about 187 students.
Harding County School District 31-1 includes 3 schools. Together they enroll 227 students.
About 100% of the student body at Harding County Middle School - 03 is White. Census estimates put the White share of Harding County's population at about 91%. The school's diversity index is 0%, meaning two students picked at random have a 0% chance of belonging to different racial or ethnic groups.
Teachers at the school number 4 full-time equivalents, and the ratio is 15.0:1. On average, middle schools in South Dakota have 13.4:1, compared with 15.0:1 here. The school's lunch program data list 33% of students as eligible for free or reduced-price meals.
Measured against South Dakota public middle schools, Harding County Middle School - 03 receives a B+. The grade weighs proficiency most heavily, then how results compare with what the school's low-income share predicts, then the three-year change.
Harding County Middle School - 03 sits between the top and bottom 10% of South Dakota schools on BeatsExpectations, with an actual average proficiency rate on state tests of 50.4% and a predicted 49.4%.
Harding County census figures show that the median household income is $80,441, about 30% of adults have at least a bachelor's degree, and roughly 4% of residents are in poverty. Harding County is home to 5 public schools and about 227 public school students.
Harding County High School - 01 is the public school closest to Harding County Middle School - 03, less than a tenth of a mile away. There are at least 2 other public schools within five miles.
By NCES locale, the school is Rural: Remote, or in rural territory far from an urban area.
2024-25 enrollment was 60, a 28% increase from 47 in 2020-21. The ratio was 11.8:1 in 2020-21 and 15.0:1 in 2024-25.
Community posts for Harding County Middle School - 03 can cover school safety, transportation, and start times. Questions from prospective families are welcome too.
Harding County at a glance
View full county profilePopulation
1,148
Census ACS
Median income
$80,441
Household, ACS
Bachelor's+
30%
Adults 25+
Poverty rate
4%
Below federal line
Schools in county
5
227 students
Quick facts
Related schools
Other schools in Harding County School District 31-1
- Buffalo Elementary - 02Elementary · 101 students
- Harding County High School - 01High · 66 students
- Camp Crook Elementary - 08Combined
- Ludlow Elementary - 06Combined
Other schools in Buffalo
- Buffalo Elementary - 02Elementary · 101 students
- Harding County High School - 01High · 66 students
Nearby schools
- Harding County High School - 010.0 mi · 66
- Buffalo Elementary - 020.0 mi · 101
Frequently asked questions
About Harding County Middle School - 03How many students attend Harding County Middle School - 03?
Harding County Middle School - 03 enrolls approximately 60 students in grades 06-08.
Is Harding County Middle School - 03 an elementary, middle, or high school?
Harding County Middle School - 03 is a middle school covering grades 06-08.
How many students per teacher at Harding County Middle School - 03?
Approximately 15.0:1 students per teacher at Harding County Middle School - 03.
How diverse is Harding County Middle School - 03?
Harding County Middle School - 03 reports a student body of 100% White.
Who oversees Harding County Middle School - 03?
Harding County Middle School - 03 is overseen by Harding County School District 31-1 in Harding County.
Data sourceSchool profile facts are sourced from the NCES. Community content is posted by allk12 members.