The bulletin board for America's public schools. Parents, teachers, students, and staff. One community per school.
SCHOOL COMMUNITY·RAPID CITY AREA SCHOOL DISTRICT 51-4·NCES 465982000533

South Middle School - 36

2 Indiana St, Rapid City, SD 57701 · (605) 394-4024 · Pennington County
GRADES 06–08MIDDLE13-CITYTITLE IREGULAR SCHOOL618 STUDENTS
C-
allk12 Grade
Scored higher than 16% of South Dakota public middle schools
  • DTest scores Share of students meeting the state standard in reading, math, and other tested subjects, 2023-24 and 2024-25.
  • C-Beats expectations How far test scores land above or below what the share of low-income students predicts for a school in this state.

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

Enrollment
618
Middle
DISTRICT 571 · STATE 187
Student : Teacher
13.7:1
45 FTE teachers
DISTRICT 14.6:1 · STATE 13.4:1
Free / Reduced Lunch
61%
374 students
DISTRICT 48% · 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

GradeStudentsShare
Grade 622136%
Grade 720233%
Grade 819532%
Student demographics
70%Diversity index
The chance that two students picked at random belong to different racial or ethnic groups.
DISTRICT 61% · STATE 53% · US 70%
White
28045%
DISTRICT 58% · STATE 66% · US 43%
Hispanic
7312%
DISTRICT 11% · STATE 9% · US 30%
Black
122%
DISTRICT 1% · STATE 3% · US 15%
Asian
61%
DISTRICT 1% · STATE 2% · US 6%
Two+
10617%
DISTRICT 12% · STATE 6% · US 5%
Native American
14123%
DISTRICT 17% · STATE 14% · US 1%
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
Male
34155%
Female
27745%

Discussions

+ POST

Test scores

SD Smarter Balanced 2024-25 . % Proficient
English Language Arts
38.0%
SD avg 50.3% . +0.6pp since 2022
Math
22.2%
SD avg 47.5% . -2.7pp since 2022

What this means: On the SD Smarter Balanced, South Dakota's statewide test, about 38 of every 100 students at this school read and write at grade level and about 22 of 100 do math at grade level. Across all South Dakota schools, those numbers are about 50 and 47. Reading and writing scores have held steady since 2022, while math scores are down about 3 points.

SD Smarter Balanced results by year

School yearEnglish Language ArtsMath
2024-2538.0%22.2%
2023-2438.0%21.0%
2022-2337.4%24.9%
% Proficient, all students and all tested grades.
Source: SD Smarter Balanced. All students, all grades. See all years and grades →

BeatsExpectations

Demographically-adjusted score · methodology
Tier
AS EXPECTED
Performing as predicted given the school's student profile
Actual proficiency
30.4%
composite math + reading, all grades
Predicted
38.2%
based on SD schools with similar FRL share
Beats by
-7.9pp
below demographic expectation

What this means: About 30% of students here test proficient in math and reading, compared with the roughly 38% 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 South Middle School - 36

South Middle School - 36's state test result (30.4% proficient) is higher than 2 of the 5 schools below with a result.

SchoolStudentsLow-incomeProficient
South Middle School - 36 this school61860.5%30.4%
Flandreau Middle School - 03
Flandreau
19352.3%29.9%
Sisseton Middle School - 02
Sisseton
28165.5%28.8%
East Middle School - 30
Rapid City
61341.4%37.5%
Chamberlain Jr. High - 02
Chamberlain
20851.0%39.2%
Douglas Middle School - 01
Box Elder
63337.8%36.1%
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 South Middle School - 36 ranks

Among middle schools
MeasureThis schoolIn South DakotaIn Pennington County
State test proficiency
ranked highest first
30.4%#59 of 64#6 of 7
Math proficiency
ranked highest first
22.2%#60 of 64
▼ 2
#6 of 7
no change
Reading proficiency
ranked highest first
38.0%#58 of 65
▼ 4
#5 of 7
no change
Enrollment
ranked largest first
618#13 of 165#2 of 9
Students per teacher
ranked fewest first
13.7:1#14 of 42#2 of 6
Diversity index
ranked most diverse first
69.9%#3 of 42#1 of 6
Free and reduced lunch
ranked highest share first
60.5%#9 of 65#2 of 7
Enrollment change since 2017-18
ranked steepest decline first
-8.0%#15 of 26#5 of 6
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 2024-25
Enrollment
618
+25 (+4%) vs 2020
+3% since 1990-91, when it was 600
Student : Teacher
13.7:1
was 14.1:1
Source: NCES Common Core of Data

Enrollment and staffing by year

School yearStudentsTeachers (FTE)Students per teacherFree and reduced lunch
2024-2561845.113.7:161% (374)
2023-2450241.212.2:144% (221)
2022-2355342.213.1:147% (262)
2020-215934214.1:1100% (593)
2017-1867243.115.6:143% (289)
2015-166564016.4:153% (348)
2010-116694514.9:137% (246)
2000-016504713.8:129% (188)
1990-916003318.2:1N/A
Source: NCES Common Core of Data. Rows are the federal collections on file for South Middle School - 36.

Since 2017-18: students down 8% (672 to 618); teachers up 5% (43.1 to 45.1).

About South Middle School - 36

South Middle School - 36 is a large middle school. Its address is in Rapid City, South Dakota. It reports enrollment of 618 students in grades 6 through 8. Across middle schools in South Dakota, the average enrollment is about 187.

The Rapid City Area School District 51-4 system has 26 schools and 12,610 students.

No group is above 50% at South Middle School - 36; the largest is White, at 45%. It is also 23% Native American, 17% multiracial, and 12% Hispanic. Pennington County's residents are about 79% White, 34 points above the school's share. On the diversity index, which measures the chance that two random students are from different groups, South Middle School - 36 scores 70%.

South Middle School - 36 has 45.1 full-time-equivalent teachers on staff and a student-to-teacher ratio of 13.7:1. That is in line with the 13.4:1 average for middle schools in South Dakota. At South Middle School - 36, 61% of students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch in 2024-25. That is 20 points above the 41% average for public schools in Pennington County.

Among South Dakota public middle schools, South Middle School - 36 outscored 16%, which works out to a C- on the allk12 Grade.

South Middle School - 36's actual average proficiency rate across its state test results (30.4%) and its predicted rate (38.2%) put it outside the top and bottom 10% of South Dakota schools.

For the population of Pennington County, median household income comes to about $74,517, roughly 35% of adults have a four-year degree or more, and the share of residents below the poverty line is 7%. Pennington County counts 41 public schools with about 16,186 students.

South Park Elementary - 16 is the nearest public school to South Middle School - 36, about 0.3 miles away. South Middle School - 36 is one of several public schools in the area, with at least 8 others within five miles. Among 5 nearby schools that report test results, South Middle School - 36 ranks 3rd on proficiency.

Its location is classified as City: Small by the National Center for Education Statistics.

Over the 4 years from 2020-21 to 2024-25, enrollment increased 4%.

On allk12, people connected to South Middle School - 36 can post about athletics, class schedules, and weather closures. Current and former families are welcome to add their experience.

Pennington County at a glance

View full county profile
Population
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

School name
South Middle School - 36
District
Rapid City Area School District 51-4
Address
2 Indiana St, Rapid City, SD 57701
Phone
(605) 394-4024
County
Pennington County
Level
Middle
Grade range
06–08
Total enrollment
618
Teachers (FTE)
45
Student–teacher ratio
13.7:1
Free and reduced lunch
374 (61%)
Locale
13-City: Small
NCES ID
465982000533
Charter school
No
Virtual school
No

Related schools

Other schools in Rapid City Area School District 51-4
Other schools in Rapid City
Other South Middle schools

17 other US public schools in 14 states are named South Middle. South Middle School - 36 is the 10th largest of the 18.

Nearby schools

Frequently asked questions

About South Middle School - 36
What is the total enrollment at South Middle School - 36?
South Middle School - 36 enrolls approximately 618 students in grades 06-08.
What grades does South Middle School - 36 serve?
South Middle School - 36 serves grades 06-08.
What is the student-teacher ratio at South Middle School - 36?
The student-to-teacher ratio at South Middle School - 36 is approximately 13.7:1 (45 FTE teachers).
What is the racial breakdown of students at South Middle School - 36?
At South Middle School - 36, the student body is approximately 45% White, 12% Hispanic, 2% Black, 1% Asian, 17% Two or more.
Is South Middle School - 36 public or private?
South Middle School - 36 is a public K-12 school, overseen by Rapid City Area School District 51-4.
Data sourceSchool profile facts are sourced from the NCES. Community content is posted by allk12 members.
+ Post