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Best kept secret at Simmons Middle School - 03?
Community prompt from u/allk12. Replies below.
Enrollment
464
Middle
DISTRICT 481 · STATE 187
SCHOOL COMMUNITY·ABERDEEN SCHOOL DISTRICT 06-1·NCES 460207000011
Simmons Middle School - 03
1300 S 3rd St, Aberdeen, SD 57401 · (605) 725-7900 · Brown County
GRADES 06–08MIDDLE33-TOWNTITLE IREGULAR SCHOOL464 STUDENTS
C+
allk12 Grade
Scored higher than 42% of South Dakota public middle schools
- CTest scores Share of students meeting the state standard in reading, math, and other tested subjects, 2023-24 and 2024-25.
- B-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 middle schools
Student : Teacher
15.0:1
31 FTE teachers
DISTRICT 14.7:1 · STATE 13.4:1
Free / Reduced Lunch
48%
225 students
DISTRICT 43% · STATE 42%
Community
1
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 | 162 | 35% |
| Grade 7 | 144 | 31% |
| Grade 8 | 158 | 34% |
Student demographics
58%Diversity index
The chance that two students picked at random belong to different racial or ethnic groups.
DISTRICT 49% · 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
Simmons Middle School - 03→Central High School - 01
Based on grade levels within Aberdeen School District 06-1. Attendance zones can vary; confirm enrollment with the district.
Test scores
SD Smarter Balanced 2024-25 . % ProficientEnglish Language Arts
46.4%
SD avg 50.3% . +3.9pp since 2022
Math
45.1%
SD avg 47.5% . +8.8pp since 2022
What this means: On the SD Smarter Balanced, South Dakota's statewide test, about 46 of every 100 students at this school read and write at grade level and about 45 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 up about 9 points.
SD Smarter Balanced results by year
| School year | English Language Arts | Math |
|---|---|---|
| 2024-25 | 46.4% | 45.1% |
| 2023-24 | 49.4% | 42.6% |
| 2022-23 | 42.5% | 36.3% |
% 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
41.4%
composite math + reading, all grades
Predicted
43.1%
based on SD schools with similar FRL share
Beats by
-1.8pp
below demographic expectation
What this means: About 41% of students here test proficient in math and reading, compared with the roughly 43% 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 Simmons Middle School - 03
Simmons Middle School - 03's state test result (41.4% proficient) is higher than 3 of the 5 schools below with a result.
| School | Students | Low-income | Proficient |
|---|---|---|---|
| Simmons Middle School - 03 this school | 464 | 48.5% | 41.4% |
| East Middle School - 30 Rapid City | 613 | 41.4% | 37.5% |
| Holgate Middle School - 02 Aberdeen | 497 | 31.2% | 50.9% |
| Yankton Middle School - 02 Yankton | 608 | 39.8% | 49.4% |
| Douglas Middle School - 01 Box Elder | 633 | 37.8% | 36.1% |
| South Middle School - 36 Rapid City | 618 | 60.5% | 30.4% |
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 Simmons Middle School - 03 ranks
Among middle schools| Measure | This school | In South Dakota |
|---|---|---|
| State test proficiency ranked highest first | 41.4% | #49 of 64 |
| Math proficiency ranked highest first | 45.1% | #35 of 64 ▲ 3 |
| Reading proficiency ranked highest first | 46.4% | #50 of 65 ▼ 6 |
| Enrollment ranked largest first | 464 | #27 of 165 |
| Students per teacher ranked fewest first | 15.0:1 | #27 of 42 |
| Diversity index ranked most diverse first | 58.2% | #10 of 42 |
| Free and reduced lunch ranked highest share first | 48.5% | #12 of 65 |
| Enrollment change since 2017-18 ranked steepest decline first | -9.2% | #12 of 26 |
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
464
-83 (-15%) vs 2020
-13% since 1990-91, when it was 531
Student : Teacher
15.0:1
was 16.6:1
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 | 464 | 31 | 15.0:1 | 48% (225) |
| 2023-24 | 458 | 33 | 13.9:1 | 40% (185) |
| 2022-23 | 483 | 33.2 | 14.6:1 | 40% (192) |
| 2020-21 | 547 | 33 | 16.6:1 | 39% (214) |
| 2017-18 | 511 | 33.7 | 15.2:1 | 41% (211) |
| 2015-16 | 477 | 32 | 14.9:1 | 48% (229) |
| 2010-11 | 445 | 29 | 15.3:1 | 38% (170) |
| 2000-01 | 470 | 32 | 14.7:1 | 0% (0) |
| 1990-91 | 531 | 33 | 16.1:1 | N/A |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data. Rows are the federal collections on file for Simmons Middle School - 03.
Since 2017-18: students down 9% (511 to 464); teachers down 8% (33.7 to 31).
About Simmons Middle School - 03
Simmons Middle School - 03 is a large middle-grades school based in Aberdeen, South Dakota. The school covers grades 6 through 8 and reported 464 students in 2024-25. On average, middle schools in South Dakota enroll around 187, and this school is 148% larger than that mark.
In Aberdeen School District 06-1, 10 schools enroll a combined 4,241 students.
Of every 100 students at Simmons Middle School - 03, about 62 are White. The rest of enrollment is 11% Hispanic, 9% multiracial, 9% Native American, and 5% Asian. Among all residents of Brown County, the White share is about 85%. Measured by the diversity index, the student body scores 58%.
The school's 31 full-time-equivalent teachers translate to a student-to-teacher ratio of 15.0:1. Statewide, middle schools in South Dakota average 13.4:1. Income data for the school show 48% of students eligible for free or reduced-price lunch. Across public schools in Brown County, the average is 35%.
Simmons Middle School - 03 earns a C+ on the allk12 Grade, which blends test scores, results against poverty-based expectations, and the three-year trend. It scored higher than 42% of South Dakota public middle schools.
On BeatsExpectations, Simmons Middle School - 03 is 1.8 points below its prediction, a result in the middle 80% of South Dakota schools.
American Community Survey estimates for Brown County show that median household income comes to about $70,898, a bachelor's degree or higher is held by about 34% of adults, and the share of residents below the poverty line is 7%. Brown County counts 22 public schools with about 5,354 students.
Among nearby public schools, Simmons Elementary - 10 is closest at about 0.2 miles. There are at least 8 more public schools inside five miles. Simmons Middle School - 03 places 2nd of 5 on proficiency among the closest schools that report scores.
In the federal locale system, Simmons Middle School - 03 is coded Town: Remote, for schools in a town far from an urbanized area.
Over the 4 years from 2020-21 to 2024-25, enrollment fell 15%. The ratio was 16.6:1 in 2020-21 and 15.0:1 in 2024-25.
On allk12, people connected to Simmons Middle School - 03 can post about pickup and drop-off, after-school programs, and teacher feedback. Current and former families are welcome to add their experience.
Brown County at a glance
View full county profilePopulation
37,877
Census ACS
Median income
$70,898
Household, ACS
Bachelor's+
34%
Adults 25+
Poverty rate
7%
Below federal line
Schools in county
22
5,354 students
Quick facts
Related schools
Other schools in Aberdeen School District 06-1
- Central High School - 01High · 1,384 students
- Holgate Middle School - 02Middle · 497 students
- Simmons Elementary - 10Elementary · 386 students
- C C Lee Elementary - 05Elementary · 356 students
- May Overby Elementary - 09Elementary · 327 students
- O M Tiffany Elementary - 11Elementary · 304 students
Other schools in Aberdeen
- Central High School - 01High · 1,384 students
- Holgate Middle School - 02Middle · 497 students
- Simmons Elementary - 10Elementary · 386 students
- C C Lee Elementary - 05Elementary · 356 students
- May Overby Elementary - 09Elementary · 327 students
- O M Tiffany Elementary - 11Elementary · 304 students
Other Simmons Middle schools
One other US public school is named Simmons Middle. Simmons Middle School - 03 is the 2nd largest of the 2.
- Simmons Middle SchoolOak Lawn, IL · 725 students
Nearby schools
- Simmons Elementary - 100.2 mi · 386
- May Overby Elementary - 090.7 mi · 327
- SDSBVI Elementary - 010.7 mi · 10
- SDSBVI High School - 020.7 mi · 9
- Lincoln Elementary - 080.8 mi · 233
- New Beginnings - 891.8 mi · 8
Frequently asked questions
About Simmons Middle School - 03How large is Simmons Middle School - 03?
Simmons Middle School - 03 enrolls approximately 464 students in grades 06-08.
What age range does Simmons Middle School - 03 serve?
Simmons Middle School - 03 serves students from grade 06 through grade 08.
How many teachers does Simmons Middle School - 03 have?
Simmons Middle School - 03 employs 31 FTE teachers, for a student-to-teacher ratio of 15.0:1.
What is the racial breakdown of students at Simmons Middle School - 03?
At Simmons Middle School - 03, the student body is approximately 62% White, 11% Hispanic, 3% Black, 5% Asian, 9% Two or more.
What district is Simmons Middle School - 03 in?
Simmons Middle School - 03 is part of Aberdeen School District 06-1.
Data sourceSchool profile facts are sourced from the NCES. Community content is posted by allk12 members.