Enrollment
115
Middle
DISTRICT 173 · STATE 187
SCHOOL COMMUNITY·HILL CITY SCHOOL DISTRICT 51-2·NCES 463336000848
Hill City Middle School - 04
341 Main St, Hill City, SD 57745 · (605) 574-3025 · Pennington County
GRADES 06–08MIDDLE42-RURALREGULAR SCHOOL115 STUDENTS
C+
allk12 Grade
Scored higher than 37% of South Dakota public middle schools
- C+Test scores Share of students meeting the state standard in reading, math, and other tested subjects, 2023-24 and 2024-25.
- CBeats 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
21.1:1
5 FTE teachers
DISTRICT 15.8:1 · STATE 13.4:1
Free / Reduced Lunch
29%
33 students
DISTRICT 26% · 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 | 48 | 42% |
| Grade 7 | 26 | 23% |
| Grade 8 | 41 | 36% |
Student demographics
51%Diversity index
The chance that two students picked at random belong to different racial or ethnic groups.
DISTRICT 45% · 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
Hill City Middle School - 04→Hill City High School - 01
Feeds from
Based on grade levels within Hill City School District 51-2. Attendance zones can vary; confirm enrollment with the district.
QUIET COMMUNITY
Be the first to start a discussion at Hill City Middle School - 04.
START A DISCUSSIONTest scores
SD Smarter Balanced 2024-25 . % ProficientEnglish Language Arts
56.3%
SD avg 50.3% . -2.8pp since 2022
Math
35.9%
SD avg 47.5% . +0.2pp since 2022
What this means: On the SD Smarter Balanced, South Dakota's statewide test, about 56 of every 100 students at this school read and write at grade level and about 36 of 100 do math at grade level. Across all South Dakota schools, those numbers are about 50 and 47. Reading and writing scores are down about 3 points since 2022, while math scores have held steady.
SD Smarter Balanced results by year
| School year | English Language Arts | Math |
|---|---|---|
| 2024-25 | 56.3% | 35.9% |
| 2023-24 | 61.5% | 30.3% |
| 2022-23 | 59.1% | 35.7% |
% 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
44.6%
composite math + reading, all grades
Predicted
51.3%
based on SD schools with similar FRL share
Beats by
-6.6pp
below demographic expectation
What this means: About 45% of students here test proficient in math and reading, compared with the roughly 51% 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 Hill City Middle School - 04
Hill City Middle School - 04's state test result (44.6% proficient) is higher than 2 of the 5 schools below with a result.
| School | Students | Low-income | Proficient |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hill City Middle School - 04 this school | 115 | 28.7% | 44.6% |
| Estelline Middle School - 03 Estelline | 60 | 36.7% | 42.3% |
| Milbank Middle School - 02 Milbank | 222 | 26.6% | 53.0% |
| Madison Middle School - 02 Madison | 270 | 23.3% | 49.5% |
| Yankton Middle School - 02 Yankton | 608 | 39.8% | 49.4% |
| Alcester-Hudson Jr. High - 03 Alcester | 53 | 37.7% | 35.4% |
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 Hill City Middle School - 04 ranks
Among middle schools| Measure | This school | In South Dakota | In Pennington County |
|---|---|---|---|
| State test proficiency ranked highest first | 44.6% | #41 of 64 | #2 of 7 |
| Math proficiency ranked highest first | 35.9% | #51 of 64 ▲ 2 | #4 of 7 ▲ 1 |
| Reading proficiency ranked highest first | 56.3% | #31 of 65 ▼ 21 | #2 of 7 no change |
| Enrollment ranked largest first | 115 | #55 of 165 | #7 of 9 |
| Free and reduced lunch ranked highest share first | 28.7% | #34 of 65 | #5 of 7 |
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
115
+5 (+5%) vs 2020
-14% since 1990-91, when it was 133
Student : Teacher
21.1:1
was 22.0:1
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 | 115 | 5.4 | 21.1:1 | 29% (33) |
| 2023-24 | 118 | 6.1 | 19.3:1 | 38% (45) |
| 2022-23 | 120 | 6.5 | 18.6:1 | 30% (36) |
| 2020-21 | 110 | 5 | 22.0:1 | 28% (31) |
| 2017-18 | 126 | 8.1 | 15.6:1 | 33% (41) |
| 2015-16 | 116 | 7 | 16.6:1 | 46% (53) |
| 2010-11 | 112 | 7 | 16.0:1 | 35% (39) |
| 2000-01 | 175 | 11 | 15.9:1 | 44% (77) |
| 1990-91 | 133 | 8 | 16.6:1 | N/A |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data. Rows are the federal collections on file for Hill City Middle School - 04.
Since 2017-18: students down 9% (126 to 115); teachers down 33% (8.1 to 5.4).
About Hill City Middle School - 04
Hill City Middle School - 04, located in Hill City, South Dakota, is a low-enrollment middle school. The school covers grades 6 through 8 and reported 115 students in 2024-25. On average, middle schools in South Dakota enroll around 187, and this school is 39% below that mark.
Hill City Middle School - 04 falls under Hill City School District 51-2, which has 3 schools enrolling 520 students.
Federal enrollment data show Hill City Middle School - 04 is 66% White. The next largest groups are 23% Hispanic, 7% multiracial, and 3% Asian. The school's White share is 13 points below the 79% share among Pennington County residents. A diversity index of 51% means there is a 51% chance two randomly chosen students at Hill City Middle School - 04 are from different groups.
Teacher count: 5.4 full-time equivalents. Student-to-teacher ratio: 21.1:1. The average for middle schools in South Dakota, 13.4:1, is lower. Roughly 29% of students come from households that qualify for free or reduced-price lunch. Among public schools in Pennington County, the average eligibility rate is 41%.
On the allk12 Grade, Hill City Middle School - 04 lands at C+, ahead of 37% of South Dakota public middle schools.
After adjusting for student poverty, Hill City Middle School - 04 lands between the top and bottom 10% of South Dakota schools. Its average proficiency rate across its state test results is 44.6%; the prediction is 51.3%.
American Community Survey estimates for Pennington County show that the median household earns about $74,517 a year, the share of adults with a bachelor's degree or higher is 35%, and about 7% of people live in poverty. Pennington County has 41 public schools with about 16,186 students, including Hill City Middle School - 04.
Hill City Middle School - 04's nearest public school is Hill City Elementary - 02 (less than a tenth of a mile). In all, 2 other public schools sit within five miles of Hill City Middle School - 04. Among the 6 closest schools with test data, this one included, Hill City Middle School - 04 ranks 6th on average proficiency.
Federal records code the school's setting as Rural: Distant.
Enrollment in 2024-25 stood at 115, compared with 110 in 2020-21.
You can use this page to share news and ask questions about fundraisers, report cards, and school supplies. Current and former families are welcome to add their experience.
Pennington County at a glance
View full county profilePopulation
113,512
Census ACS
Median income
$74,517
Household, ACS
Bachelor's+
35%
Adults 25+
Poverty rate
7%
Below federal line
Schools in county
41
16,186 students
Quick facts
Related schools
Other schools in Hill City School District 51-2
- Hill City Elementary - 02Elementary · 247 students
- Hill City High School - 01High · 158 students
Other schools in Hill City
- Hill City Elementary - 02Elementary · 247 students
- Hill City High School - 01High · 158 students
Other Hill City Middle schools
One other US public school is named Hill City Middle. Hill City Middle School - 04 is the largest of the 2.
- Hill City Middle SchoolHILL CITY, MN · 83 students
Nearby schools
- Hill City Elementary - 020.1 mi · 247
- Hill City High School - 010.1 mi · 158
- A.C.E. High Academy - 0611.1 mi · 16
- Custer High School - 0111.4 mi · 272
- Custer Jr. High - 0511.4 mi · 101
- Custer Elementary - 0211.4 mi · 269
Frequently asked questions
About Hill City Middle School - 04What is the total enrollment at Hill City Middle School - 04?
Hill City Middle School - 04 enrolls approximately 115 students in grades 06-08.
Is Hill City Middle School - 04 an elementary, middle, or high school?
Hill City Middle School - 04 is a middle school covering grades 06-08.
How many students per teacher at Hill City Middle School - 04?
Approximately 21.1:1 students per teacher at Hill City Middle School - 04.
How diverse is Hill City Middle School - 04?
Hill City Middle School - 04 reports a student body of 66% White, 23% Hispanic, 3% Asian, 7% Two or more.
Who oversees Hill City Middle School - 04?
Hill City Middle School - 04 is overseen by Hill City School District 51-2 in Pennington County.
Data sourceSchool profile facts are sourced from the NCES. Community content is posted by allk12 members.