Enrollment
145
Elementary
DISTRICT 55 · STATE 204
SCHOOL COMMUNITY·WESSINGTON SPRINGS SCHOOL DISTRICT 36-2·NCES 467746000732
Wessington Springs Elementary - 02
904 2nd St NE, Wessington Springs, SD 57382 · (605) 539-1754 · Jerauld County
GRADES PK–06ELEMENTARY43-RURALTITLE IREGULAR SCHOOL145 STUDENTS
B+
allk12 Grade
Scored higher than 71% of South Dakota public elementary schools
- B+Test 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 elementary schools
Student : Teacher
11.0:1
13 FTE teachers
DISTRICT 175.7:1 · STATE 15.4:1
Free / Reduced Lunch
41%
60 students
DISTRICT 21% · 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 | 12 | 8% |
| Kindergarten | 27 | 19% |
| Grade 1 | 17 | 12% |
| Grade 2 | 22 | 15% |
| Grade 3 | 13 | 9% |
| Grade 4 | 21 | 14% |
| Grade 5 | 18 | 12% |
| Grade 6 | 15 | 10% |
This year's kindergarten class (27) is 80% larger than its 6th grade class (15).
Student demographics
9%Diversity index
The chance that two students picked at random belong to different racial or ethnic groups.
DISTRICT 15% · 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
Wessington Springs Elementary - 02→Wessington Springs Jr. High - 04→Wessington Springs High School - 01
Based on grade levels within Wessington Springs School District 36-2. Attendance zones can vary; confirm enrollment with the district.
QUIET COMMUNITY
Be the first to start a discussion at Wessington Springs Elementary - 02.
START A DISCUSSIONTest scores
SD Smarter Balanced 2024-25 . % ProficientEnglish Language Arts
66.2%
SD avg 50.3% . +20.4pp since 2022
Math
55.4%
SD avg 47.5% . +16.5pp since 2022
What this means: On the SD Smarter Balanced, South Dakota's statewide test, about 66 of every 100 students at this school read and write at grade level and about 55 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 20 points since 2022, while math scores are up about 17 points.
SD Smarter Balanced results by year
| School year | English Language Arts | Math |
|---|---|---|
| 2024-25 | 66.2% | 55.4% |
| 2023-24 | 61.8% | 51.5% |
| 2022-23 | 45.8% | 38.9% |
% Proficient, all students and all tested grades.
Source: SD Smarter Balanced. All students, all grades. See all years and grades →
BeatsExpectations
Demographically-adjusted score · methodologyTier
AS EXPECTED
Performing as predicted given the school's student profile
Actual proficiency
54.1%
composite math + reading, all grades
Predicted
46.1%
based on SD schools with similar FRL share
Beats by
+8.1pp
above demographic expectation
What this means: About 54% of students here test proficient in math and reading, compared with the roughly 46% 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 Wessington Springs Elementary - 02
Wessington Springs Elementary - 02's state test result (54.1% proficient) is higher than 3 of the 5 schools below with a result.
| School | Students | Low-income | Proficient |
|---|---|---|---|
| Wessington Springs Elementary - 02 this school | 145 | 41.4% | 54.1% |
| Woonsocket Elementary - 03 Woonsocket | 181 | 40.3% | 44.8% |
| Whitewood Elementary - 04 Whitewood | 138 | 47.1% | 74.3% |
| Willow Lake Elementary - 02 Willow Lake | 153 | 48.4% | 40.4% |
| Tyndall Elementary - 04 Tyndall | 188 | 38.3% | 71.6% |
| Marion Elementary - 02 Marion | 100 | 38.0% | 48.2% |
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 Wessington Springs Elementary - 02 ranks
Among elementary schools| Measure | This school | In South Dakota |
|---|---|---|
| State test proficiency ranked highest first | 54.1% | #73 of 193 |
| Math proficiency ranked highest first | 55.4% | #82 of 199 ▲ 16 |
| Reading proficiency ranked highest first | 66.2% | #26 of 202 ▲ 11 |
| Enrollment ranked largest first | 145 | #173 of 331 |
| Free and reduced lunch ranked highest share first | 41.4% | #75 of 209 |
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
145
-1 (-1%) vs 2020
-41% since 1990-91, when it was 246
Student : Teacher
11.0:1
was 10.4:1
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 | 145 | 13.2 | 11.0:1 | 41% (60) |
| 2023-24 | 140 | 13.6 | 10.3:1 | 37% (52) |
| 2022-23 | 152 | 14.3 | 10.6:1 | 34% (52) |
| 2020-21 | 146 | 14 | 10.4:1 | 29% (43) |
| 2017-18 | 180 | 14.4 | 12.5:1 | 28% (51) |
| 2015-16 | 196 | 12 | 16.3:1 | 31% (61) |
| 2010-11 | 143 | 12 | 11.9:1 | 43% (62) |
| 2000-01 | 74 | 9 | 8.2:1 | 53% (39) |
| 1990-91 | 246 | 22 | 11.2:1 | N/A |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data. Rows are the federal collections on file for Wessington Springs Elementary - 02.
Since 2017-18: students down 19% (180 to 145); teachers down 8% (14.4 to 13.2).
About Wessington Springs Elementary - 02
In Wessington Springs, South Dakota, part of Jerauld County, Wessington Springs Elementary - 02 is an elementary school. It teaches 145 students in pre-K through 6. It has 29% fewer students than the average for elementary schools in South Dakota (about 204).
Across its 7 schools, Wessington Springs School District 36-2 enrolls 461 students. Wessington Springs Elementary - 02 is one of those schools.
A large majority of enrollment at Wessington Springs Elementary - 02 is White, at 95%. Other reported shares: 4% Hispanic. Among Jerauld County residents, the White share is about 91%. On the diversity index, which measures the chance that two random students are from different groups, Wessington Springs Elementary - 02 scores 9%.
The school has 13.2 full-time-equivalent teachers and a ratio of 11.0 students per teacher. Elementary schools in South Dakota have an average ratio of 15.4:1. The school reported 41% of students eligible for free or reduced-price lunch in 2024-25. That is higher than the 21% average for public schools in Jerauld County.
Wessington Springs Elementary - 02 earns a B+ on the allk12 Grade, which blends test scores, results against poverty-based expectations, and the three-year trend. It scored higher than 71% of South Dakota public elementary schools.
On a poverty-adjusted basis, Wessington Springs Elementary - 02 falls in the middle 80% of South Dakota schools: 54.1% actual against 46.1% predicted.
For Jerauld County, Census Bureau data show the median household earns about $73,750 a year, 21% of adults hold a bachelor's degree or higher, and about 6% of residents live below the federal poverty line. Public schools in Jerauld County number 7, with about 461 students.
Among nearby public schools, Wessington Springs Elementary Cyber School - 94 is closest at less than a tenth of a mile. Wessington Springs Elementary - 02 is one of several public schools in the area, with 5 others within five miles.
Wessington Springs Elementary - 02 falls in the Rural: Remote locale category, used for schools in rural territory far from an urban area.
Over 4 years, enrollment stayed close to where it was, going from 146 to 145.
This community page is for conversations about fundraisers, report cards, and school supplies. You can also rate the school on this page.
Jerauld County at a glance
View full county profilePopulation
1,772
Census ACS
Median income
$73,750
Household, ACS
Bachelor's+
21%
Adults 25+
Poverty rate
6%
Below federal line
Schools in county
7
461 students
Quick facts
Related schools
Other schools in Wessington Springs School District 36-2
- Wessington Springs High School Cyber School - 92High · 138 students
- Wessington Springs High School - 01High · 94 students
- Wessington Springs Jr. High - 04Middle · 41 students
- Wessington Springs Middle School Cyber School - 93Middle · 22 students
- Spring Valley Colony Elementary - 05Elementary · 16 students
- Wessington Springs Elementary Cyber School - 94Elementary · 5 students
Other schools in Wessington Springs
- Wessington Springs High School Cyber School - 92High · 138 students
- Wessington Springs High School - 01High · 94 students
- Wessington Springs Jr. High - 04Middle · 41 students
- Wessington Springs Middle School Cyber School - 93Middle · 22 students
- Spring Valley Colony Elementary - 05Elementary · 16 students
- Wessington Springs Elementary Cyber School - 94Elementary · 5 students
Nearby schools
- Wessington Springs Elementary Cyber School - 940.0 mi · 5
- Wessington Springs Middle School Cyber School - 930.5 mi · 22
- Wessington Springs Jr. High - 040.5 mi · 41
- Wessington Springs High School Cyber School - 920.5 mi · 138
- Wessington Springs High School - 010.5 mi · 94
- Woonsocket High School - 0114.0 mi · 91
Frequently asked questions
About Wessington Springs Elementary - 02How large is Wessington Springs Elementary - 02?
Wessington Springs Elementary - 02 enrolls approximately 145 students in grades PK-06.
What age range does Wessington Springs Elementary - 02 serve?
Wessington Springs Elementary - 02 serves students from grade PK through grade 06.
How many students per teacher at Wessington Springs Elementary - 02?
Approximately 11.0:1 students per teacher at Wessington Springs Elementary - 02.
What is the racial breakdown of students at Wessington Springs Elementary - 02?
At Wessington Springs Elementary - 02, the student body is approximately 95% White, 4% Hispanic.
Who oversees Wessington Springs Elementary - 02?
Wessington Springs Elementary - 02 is overseen by Wessington Springs School District 36-2 in Jerauld County.
Data sourceSchool profile facts are sourced from the NCES. Community content is posted by allk12 members.