Enrollment
88
Elementary
DISTRICT 59 · STATE 204
SCHOOL COMMUNITY·WAUBAY SCHOOL DISTRICT 18-3·NCES 467668000719
Waubay Elementary - 02
202 W School Rd, Waubay, SD 57273 · (605) 947-4529 · Day County
GRADES PK–06ELEMENTARY43-RURALTITLE IREGULAR SCHOOL88 STUDENTS
A-
allk12 Grade
Scored higher than 75% of South Dakota public elementary schools
- BTest scores Share of students meeting the state standard in reading, math, and other tested subjects, 2023-24 and 2024-25.
- ABeats 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 elementary schools
Student : Teacher
7.8:1
11 FTE teachers
DISTRICT 9.0:1 · STATE 15.4:1
Free / Reduced Lunch
65%
57 students
DISTRICT 63% · STATE 42%
Community
0
0 members
Enrollment and student:teacher ratio compared against other elementary schools. Free/Reduced Lunch and demographics compared against all schools.
Enrollment by grade, 2024-25
| Grade | Students | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Pre-K | 11 | 13% |
| Kindergarten | 12 | 14% |
| Grade 1 | 11 | 13% |
| Grade 2 | 8 | 9% |
| Grade 3 | 11 | 13% |
| Grade 4 | 18 | 20% |
| Grade 5 | 6 | 7% |
| Grade 6 | 11 | 13% |
This year's kindergarten class (12) is 9% larger than its 6th grade class (11).
Student demographics
56%Diversity index
The chance that two students picked at random belong to different racial or ethnic groups.
DISTRICT 55% · 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
Based on grade levels within Waubay School District 18-3. Attendance zones can vary; confirm enrollment with the district.
Test scores
SD Smarter Balanced 2024-25 . % ProficientEnglish Language Arts
41.9%
SD avg 50.3% . -17.1pp since 2022
Math
51.2%
SD avg 47.5% . -12.9pp since 2022
What this means: On the SD Smarter Balanced, South Dakota's statewide test, about 42 of every 100 students at this school read and write at grade level and about 51 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 17 points since 2022, while math scores are down about 13 points.
SD Smarter Balanced results by year
| School year | English Language Arts | Math |
|---|---|---|
| 2024-25 | 41.9% | 51.2% |
| 2023-24 | 67.7% | 65.7% |
| 2022-23 | 59.0% | 64.1% |
% 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
OUTPERFORMING
Top 10% of SD schools after controlling for student poverty
Actual proficiency
53.3%
composite math + reading, all grades
Predicted
36.5%
based on SD schools with similar FRL share
Beats by
+16.8pp
above demographic expectation
What this means: About 53% of students here test proficient in math and reading, well above the roughly 36% typical for South Dakota schools with a similar share of low-income students. BeatsExpectations ranks schools against others at the same poverty level, not by raw scores, so a school can post high scores and still fall short of its prediction, or post lower scores and still beat it. This school clears its prediction by about 17 points, placing it in South Dakota's top 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 Waubay Elementary - 02
Waubay Elementary - 02's state test result (53.3% proficient) is higher than 1 of the 5 schools below with a result.
| School | Students | Low-income | Proficient |
|---|---|---|---|
| Waubay Elementary - 02 this school | 88 | 64.8% | 53.3% |
| Jones County Elementary - 02 Murdo | 74 | 59.5% | 76.4% |
| South Central Elementary - 03 Bonesteel | 52 | 69.2% | 56.3% |
| Colome Elementary - 02 Colome | 65 | 53.8% | 42.4% |
| Kadoka Elementary - 02 Kadoka | 118 | 51.7% | 63.6% |
| Big Stone City Elementary - 01 Big Stone City | 60 | 60.0% | 60.9% |
Matched among South Dakota elementary 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 Waubay Elementary - 02 ranks
Among elementary schools| Measure | This school | In South Dakota |
|---|---|---|
| Enrollment ranked largest first | 88 | #222 of 331 |
Ranked against other public elementary 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
88
+5 (+6%) vs 2020
-55% since 1990-91, when it was 195
Student : Teacher
7.8:1
was 8.3:1
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 | 88 | 11.3 | 7.8:1 | 65% (57) |
| 2023-24 | 77 | 11.3 | 6.8:1 | 49% (38) |
| 2022-23 | 87 | 10.9 | 8.0:1 | 59% (51) |
| 2020-21 | 83 | 10 | 8.3:1 | 61% (51) |
| 2017-18 | 108 | 10.1 | 10.7:1 | 66% (71) |
| 2015-16 | 95 | 10 | 9.5:1 | 63% (60) |
| 2010-11 | 80 | 10 | 8.0:1 | 69% (55) |
| 2000-01 | 119 | 11 | 10.8:1 | 70% (83) |
| 1990-91 | 195 | 10 | 19.5:1 | N/A |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data. Rows are the federal collections on file for Waubay Elementary - 02.
Since 2017-18: students down 19% (108 to 88); teachers up 12% (10.1 to 11.3).
About Waubay Elementary - 02
Waubay Elementary - 02 is a small elementary school in South Dakota, located in Waubay. It had 88 students in 2024-25, spanning pre-K through 6. That compares with an average of about 204 students for elementary schools in South Dakota.
Waubay School District 18-3 has 3 schools and 177 students, and Waubay Elementary - 02 is one of those schools.
Of every 100 students at Waubay Elementary - 02, about 60 are White. After that, the student body is 25% Native American and 14% multiracial. Among all residents of Day County, the White share is about 84%. The diversity index for Waubay Elementary - 02 is 56%. For US public schools as a whole it is 70%.
On staff are 11.3 full-time-equivalent teachers; the student-to-teacher ratio is 7.8:1. Elementary schools in South Dakota average 15.4:1, 7.6 more students per teacher than here. Waubay Elementary - 02 has a free or reduced-price lunch rate of 65%. The rate at public schools in Day County averages 48%, lower than here.
Waubay Elementary - 02 holds an A- allk12 Grade, placing it above 75% of South Dakota public elementary schools.
Waubay Elementary - 02 is 16.8 points above expectations on state tests, given its student poverty level, placing it in the top 10% in South Dakota.
Looking at the county, Day County, median household income comes to about $66,033, a bachelor's degree or higher is held by about 22% of adults, and the poverty rate is about 8%. The county has 7 public schools and about 881 students.
Waubay Middle School - 03, less than a tenth of a mile away, is the closest public school. Other public schools within five miles number 2. Compared with its nearest neighbors, Waubay Elementary - 02 ranks 2nd of 5 on average proficiency.
The National Center for Education Statistics classifies the school's location as Rural: Remote, meaning it is in rural territory far from an urban area.
From 2020-21 to 2024-25, enrollment increased from 83 to 88, a 6% rise.
Use the discussion section to ask about open houses, carpools, and field trips at Waubay Elementary - 02. Current and former families are welcome to add their experience.
Day County at a glance
View full county profilePopulation
5,437
Census ACS
Median income
$66,033
Household, ACS
Bachelor's+
22%
Adults 25+
Poverty rate
8%
Below federal line
Schools in county
7
881 students
Quick facts
Related schools
Other schools in Waubay School District 18-3
- Waubay High School - 01High · 65 students
- Waubay Middle School - 03Middle · 24 students
Other schools in Waubay
- Enemy Swim Day SchoolElementary · 158 students
- Waubay High School - 01High · 65 students
- Waubay Middle School - 03Middle · 24 students
Nearby schools
- Waubay Middle School - 030.0 mi · 24
- Waubay High School - 010.0 mi · 65
- Enemy Swim Day School6.0 mi · 158
- Webster Area High School - 0110.3 mi · 164
- Webster Area Elementary - 0310.3 mi · 274
- Webster Area Middle School - 0210.3 mi · 108
Frequently asked questions
About Waubay Elementary - 02How many students attend Waubay Elementary - 02?
Waubay Elementary - 02 enrolls approximately 88 students in grades PK-06.
What age range does Waubay Elementary - 02 serve?
Waubay Elementary - 02 serves students from grade PK through grade 06.
What is the student-teacher ratio at Waubay Elementary - 02?
The student-to-teacher ratio at Waubay Elementary - 02 is approximately 7.8:1 (11 FTE teachers).
What is the racial breakdown of students at Waubay Elementary - 02?
At Waubay Elementary - 02, the student body is approximately 60% White, 14% Two or more.
Is Waubay Elementary - 02 public or private?
Waubay Elementary - 02 is a public K-12 school, overseen by Waubay School District 18-3.
Data sourceSchool profile facts are sourced from the NCES. Community content is posted by allk12 members.