English Language Arts
55.3%
State avg 50.3%
District avg 57.2%
County avg 51.6%
-6.7pp since 2022-23
District avg 57.2%
County avg 51.6%
-6.7pp since 2022-23
Test scores
See how it ranks: all South Dakota schools by score · Spink County schools by score
SD Smarter Balanced + SD Science, SY 2024-25
All grades, all students. % Proficient.Mathematics
48.9%
State avg 47.5%
District avg 47.5%
County avg 47.9%
-11.1pp since 2022-23
District avg 47.5%
County avg 47.9%
-11.1pp since 2022-23
Science
38.5%
State avg 44.3%
District avg 48.3%
County avg 39.6%
-7.0pp since 2022-23
District avg 48.3%
County avg 39.6%
-7.0pp since 2022-23
What this means: On the SD Smarter Balanced + SD Science, South Dakota's statewide test, about 55 of every 100 students at this school read and write at grade level, about 49 of 100 do math at grade level, and about 39 of 100 are at grade level in science. Across all South Dakota schools, those numbers are about 50, 47, and 44. Reading and writing scores are down about 7 points since 2022, while math scores are down about 11 points and science scores are down about 7 points.
BeatsExpectations
Demographically-adjusted score · methodologyTier
AS EXPECTED
Performing as predicted given the school's student profile
Actual proficiency
52.8%
composite math + reading, all grades
Predicted
55.1%
based on SD schools with similar FRL share
Beats by
-2.3pp
below demographic expectation
What this means: About 53% of students here test proficient in math and reading, compared with the roughly 55% 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 →
By grade, SY 2024-25
School score vs state average per tested grade.| Grade | English Language Arts | Mathematics | Science | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| School | State | n tested | School | State | n tested | School | State | n tested | |
| Grade ALL | 55.3% | 50.3% | 47 | 48.9% | 47.5% | 47 | 38.5% | 44.3% | 13 |
3-year history
All grades, all students. Northwestern South Dakota avgEnglish Language Arts
| Year | School | District | County | State |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| SY 2024-25 | 55.3% | 57.2% | 51.6% | 50.3% |
| SY 2023-24 | 59.2% | 54.2% | 50.1% | 49.6% |
| SY 2022-23 | 62.0% | 54.1% | 45.6% | 49.0% |
Mathematics
| Year | School | District | County | State |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| SY 2024-25 | 48.9% | 47.5% | 47.9% | 47.5% |
| SY 2023-24 | 55.1% | 50.8% | 47.9% | 46.7% |
| SY 2022-23 | 60.0% | 47.5% | 43.8% | 45.6% |
Science
| Year | School | District | County | State |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| SY 2024-25 | 38.5% | 48.3% | 39.6% | 44.3% |
| SY 2023-24 | 60.0% | 71.4% | 40.2% | 42.7% |
| SY 2022-23 | 45.5% | 42.6% | 34.9% | 40.8% |
How to read these scores
What is SD Smarter Balanced + SD Science?
SD Smarter Balanced + SD Science is the statewide standardized test administered by South Dakota public schools.
What does "% Proficient" mean?
It is the share of students at the school who performed at grade level or above on the test, summed across the top two of four performance levels. A higher number is better.
What does 55.3% mean for English Language Arts at Northwestern Elementary - 04?
It means about 55.3 percent of students tested at Northwestern Elementary - 04 performed at grade level or above on the SD Smarter Balanced + SD Science English Language Arts test in 2024-25. The statewide average for South Dakota that year was 50.3%. The other students fell into the lower performance levels.
How is the state average calculated?
It is a weighted average, not a simple average of each school's number. We multiply each public school's score by how many of its students tested, add those together for all schools in South Dakota, and divide by the total students tested that year. This way a big school with 1,500 students counts more than a small school with 50 students, which is the right way to ask "how did the typical student do this year?". District and county averages on this page use the same method, just scoped to that district or county.
Where does this data come from?
South Dakota Department of Education, Smarter Balanced (ELA + Math) + SD Science Assessment. School-level All Students subgroup, current-year column from the SD Report Card MicroStrategy export. Headline metric is the cumulative SBAC Level 3+4 / SD Science Proficient+Advanced rate.
How often is it updated?
SD Smarter Balanced + SD Science is administered once a year (spring). Results are released by the state in the summer or early fall. We refresh this page after each annual release.