South Dakota schools ranked by test score
Latest SD Smarter Balanced year (2024-25). 142 schools with reported English Language Arts scores. State average: 50.4%.
| Rank | School | Level | English Language Arts | vs state |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Herreid Middle School - 03 Herreid · Herreid School District 10-1 | Middle | 81.3% | +30.9pp |
| 2 | Ipswich Middle School - 04 Ipswich · Ipswich Public School District 22-6 | Middle | 77.4% | +27.0pp |
| 3 | Hanson Middle School - 02 Alexandria · Hanson School District 30-1 | Middle | 76.5% | +26.1pp |
| 4 | Warner Middle School - 03 Warner · Warner School District 06-5 | Middle | 75.9% | +25.5pp |
| 5 | Lake Preston Middle School - 03 Lake Preston · Lake Preston School District 38-3 | Middle | 75.8% | +25.4pp |
| 6 | Brandon Valley Intermediate - 07 Brandon · Brandon Valley School District 49-2 | Middle | 74.7% | +24.3pp |
| 7 | Brandon Valley Middle School - 02 Brandon · Brandon Valley School District 49-2 | Middle | 73.6% | +23.2pp |
| 8 | Lennox Jr. High - 08 Lennox · Lennox School District 41-4 | Middle | 73.2% | +22.8pp |
| 9 | Selby Middle School - 03 Selby · Selby Area School District 62-5 | Middle | 72.5% | +22.1pp |
| 10 | Dakota Valley Middle School - 03 North Sioux City · Dakota Valley School District 61-8 | Middle | 71.5% | +21.1pp |
| 11 | Mount Vernon Middle School - 03 Mount Vernon · Mount Vernon School District 17-3 | Middle | 71.4% | +21.0pp |
| 12 | Dell Rapids Middle School - 03 Dell Rapids · Dell Rapids School District 49-3 | Middle | 70.7% | +20.3pp |
| 13 | Harrisburg North Middle School - 08 Sioux Falls · Harrisburg School District 41-2 | Middle | 69.5% | +19.1pp |
| 14 | Lennox Intermediate - 09 Lennox · Lennox School District 41-4 | Middle | 69.4% | +19.0pp |
| 15 | Ethan Jr. High - 03 Ethan · Ethan School District 17-1 | Middle | 69.2% | +18.8pp |
| 16 | Southwest Middle School - 38 Rapid City · Rapid City Area School District 51-4 | Middle | 68.5% | +18.1pp |
| 17 | Kadoka Middle School - 03 Kadoka · Kadoka Area School District 35-2 | Middle | 68.1% | +17.7pp |
| 18 | De Smet Middle School - 03 De Smet · De Smet School District 38-2 | Middle | 67.8% | +17.4pp |
| 19 | Sully Buttes Middle School - 06 Onida · Agar-Blunt-Onida School District 58-3 | Middle | 67.7% | +17.3pp |
| 20 | Miller Jr. High - 04 Miller · Miller School District 29-4 | Middle | 67.1% | +16.7pp |
| 21 | Highmore Jr. High - 03 Highmore · Highmore-Harrold School District 34-2 | Middle | 66.7% | +16.3pp |
| 22 | Northwestern Middle School - 02 Mellette · Northwestern Area School District 56-7 | Middle | 66.7% | +16.3pp |
| 23 | Custer Jr. High - 05 Custer · Custer School District 16-1 | Middle | 66.0% | +15.6pp |
| 24 | Webster Area Middle School - 02 Webster · Webster Area School District 18-5 | Middle | 65.7% | +15.3pp |
| 25 | Faulkton Middle School - 08 Faulkton · Faulkton Area Schools 24-4 | Middle | 65.4% | +15.0pp |
| 26 | Montrose Middle School - 03 Montrose · Montrose School District 43-2 | Middle | 65.4% | +15.0pp |
| 27 | Timber Lake Middle School - 03 Timber Lake · Timber Lake School District 20-3 | Middle | 65.2% | +14.8pp |
| 28 | Chester Middle School - 03 Chester · Chester Area School District 39-1 | Middle | 64.2% | +13.8pp |
| 29 | Milbank Middle School - 02 Milbank · Milbank School District 25-4 | Middle | 64.2% | +13.8pp |
| 30 | Wall Middle School - 06 Wall · Wall School District 51-5 | Middle | 63.6% | +13.2pp |
| 31 | Watertown Middle School - 02 Watertown · Watertown School District 14-4 | Middle | 63.6% | +13.2pp |
| 32 | Howard Jr. High - 05 Howard · Howard School District 48-3 | Middle | 63.4% | +13.0pp |
| 33 | Holgate Middle School - 02 Aberdeen · Aberdeen School District 06-1 | Middle | 63.2% | +12.8pp |
| 34 | Jones County Middle School - 04 Murdo · Jones County School District 37-3 | Middle | 63.0% | +12.6pp |
| 35 | Harrisburg South Middle School - 03 Harrisburg · Harrisburg School District 41-2 | Middle | 62.6% | +12.2pp |
| 36 | Patrick Henry Middle School - 07 Sioux Falls · Sioux Falls School District 49-5 | Middle | 62.3% | +11.9pp |
| 37 | Memorial Middle School - 04 Sioux Falls · Sioux Falls School District 49-5 | Middle | 61.9% | +11.5pp |
| 38 | Baltic Middle School - 03 Baltic · Baltic School District 49-1 | Middle | 61.7% | +11.3pp |
| 39 | Centerville Middle School - 03 Centerville · Centerville School District 60-1 | Middle | 61.4% | +11.0pp |
| 40 | Gettysburg Middle School - 03 Gettysburg · Gettysburg School District 53-1 | Middle | 61.1% | +10.7pp |
| 41 | Harding County Middle School - 03 Buffalo · Harding County School District 31-1 | Middle | 61.0% | +10.6pp |
| 42 | Canton Middle School - 04 Canton · Canton School District 41-1 | Middle | 60.4% | +10.0pp |
| 43 | Lemmon Jr. High - 06 Lemmon · Lemmon School District 52-4 | Middle | 60.4% | +10.0pp |
| 44 | Sioux Valley Middle School - 04 Volga · Sioux Valley School District 05-5 | Middle | 59.4% | +9.0pp |
| 45 | Vermillion Middle School - 02 Vermillion · Vermillion School District 13-1 | Middle | 59.4% | +9.0pp |
| 46 | Madison Middle School - 02 Madison · Madison Central School District 39-2 | Middle | 59.3% | +8.9pp |
| 47 | Ben Reifel Middle School - 68 Sioux Falls · Sioux Falls School District 49-5 | Middle | 59.0% | +8.6pp |
| 48 | Bridgewater-Emery Middle School - 04 Emery · Bridgewater-Emery 30-3 | Middle | 58.8% | +8.4pp |
| 49 | Mobridge Middle School - 02 Mobridge · Mobridge-Pollock School District 62-6 | Middle | 58.8% | +8.4pp |
| 50 | Irene - Wakonda Jr. High - 04 Irene · Irene - Wakonda School District 13-3 | Middle | 58.7% | +8.3pp |
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About this ranking
Schools are ranked by the percentage of students who scored at or above the SD Smarter Balanced % Proficient threshold on the latest available SD Smarter Balanced English Language Arts test (school year 2024-25). A higher percentage is better.
Only public schools with a reasonable cohort size are included (at least 50 total students enrolled, since the source file does not include per-subject student counts), so very small programs and special-purpose centers are filtered out.
The state average shown above is enrollment-weighted: we multiply each school's score by how many of its students tested, sum those across every public school in South Dakota, and divide by the total students tested. This way a big school counts more than a tiny one in the typical-student average.