Enrollment
96
South Dakota · 2024-25 NCES data
High school (grades 9-12) · Howard, SD
Howard High School - 01
Federal NCES profile for Howard High School - 01, including enrollment, faculty, free-lunch eligibility, demographics, and resource indicators - Resource Investment Index 40/100.
2024-25 NCES dataHigh school (grades 9-12)NCES 460002500305
👥 S:T ratio 57
📚 AP courses 10
🌟 Gifted program 30
📋 Attendance 61
Scored 0–100 from federal NCES and CRDC indicators, resource allocation, not test scores. Full methodology →
The verdict
Howard High School - 01 earns 40/100 on the Resource Investment Index, with class sizes smaller than 74% of South Dakota schools.
- #1 of 3
- public schools in Howard · Resource Index
- 40
- Resource Index · Typical
- 10.7:1
- small classes for South Dakota
- 3.6%
- free-lunch eligible
Howard High School - 01 has class sizes smaller than 74% of South Dakota schools. Computed live against every South Dakota school reporting to NCES.
By Resource Investment Index, Howard High School - 01 ranks #1 of 3 public schools in Howard, SD.
School address
District: Howard School District 48-3 · South Dakota
NCES ID 460002500305 Verify on NCES CCD record →
Teachers (FTE)
9.0
Federal CCD staff survey
Students per teacher
10.7:1
vs 13.6:1 South Dakota avg
-21% vs state
Free-lunch eligible
3.6%
vs 28.8% South Dakota avg
-88% vs state
Student-teacher ratio in context
How Howard High School - 01 compares with South Dakota and U.S. medians
What stands out at Howard High School - 01
Howard High School - 01 is a lower-poverty, mid-sized high school in Howard, South Dakota, enrolling 96 students.
Class sizes run a bit leaner than typical: 10.7:1 puts it in the smaller third of South Dakota schools by student-teacher ratio.
Comparatively few students face economic hardship here, 3.6% free-meal eligibility runs 88% below the South Dakota average.
With 96 students, its enrollment sits close to the South Dakota median campus size.
Its Resource Investment Index sits near the middle of the pack among 691 scored South Dakota schools.
Against 108 statewide peers matched on enrollment and economic need, it ranks mid-pack at #65.
Its student body is predominantly White (96% of enrollment) (diversity index 8/100).
No Advanced Placement courses are reported for this campus in the federal data.
15.6% of students were chronically absent in the 2021-22 collection, in line with the post-pandemic national range.
Howard School District 48-3 also operates Howard Elementary - 02 (158 students) and Howard Jr. High - 05 (75 students) alongside Howard High School - 01.
Sourced from NCES CCD, CRDC, and F-33 (federal records, not a quality verdict). How we source and compute this.
Source: National Center for Education Statistics Common Core of Data + CRDC + F-33 · 2024-25
How Howard High School - 01 compares
Howard High School - 01 on the metrics families compare, against South Dakota and U.S. means.
| Metric | This school | vs South Dakota | South Dakota avg | U.S. avg |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Students per teacher | 10.7:1 | ▼ 21% | 13.6:1 | 15.7:1 |
| Free-lunch eligible | 3.6% | ▼ 88% | 28.8% | 51.7% |
| Enrollment | 96 | top 51% | - | - |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data School-level CCD + state/national means from Public School Universe · 2024-25
10.7:1
Leaner classes than 85% of US schools, among the more generously staffed nationally.
96
Bigger than 10% of US schools by enrollment, a small campus.
Equity indicators (what these measure)
Economic need
3.6%
free-lunch eligible
- 88% below the South Dakota average of 28.8%
Below the 40% Title I threshold, among the lower-need profiles in the state; federal aid targets individual qualifying students rather than schoolwide programs.
Staffing depth
10.7:1
students per teacher
- 21% below state mean
Top 26% in South Dakota - lower ratio than 74% of state schools
Well under the widely cited 15:1 individualized-attention benchmark, among the leaner class loads nationally.
Engagement
15.6%
chronically absent (missed 10%+ of school days)
In the 15-20% range, nearing the "high" absenteeism threshold.
Funding equity
$13,336
per pupil, district-wide
- below South Dakota avg of $13,477
Somewhat below the U.S. average per-pupil spend; funding constraints may affect programs, facilities, and staffing.
Support staff
Counselors0.0 FTE
Student-support staffing from the Civil Rights Data Collection.
Discipline context
11
in-school suspensions + 0 out-of-school
Suspension rate: 11.5 per 100 students. Combined in-school and out-of-school rate: 11.5 per 100 students. Reported via the Civil Rights Data Collection.
Overview
- Common Core of Data (June 2026): enrollment, staffing, and the student-teacher ratio above.
- Civil Rights Data Collection: discipline counts and program access (AP, gifted, special education).
- F-33 School District Finance Survey: the district-wide per-pupil spending figures below.
Three separate federal collections, each on its own reporting cadence - which is why this school's numbers line up on a consistent basis against every other school and state on this site, rather than mixing figures pulled from different survey years.
Student demographics
White 95.8%
American Indian / Alaska Native 2.1%
African American 1.0%
Hispanic or Latino 1.0%
Largest group: White at 95.8% of enrollment.
Student-body diversity index 8.2/100
Simpson diversity index - at 8.2, Howard High School - 01 is less mixed than the South Dakota school average of 27.6.
Programs
AP program Not offered
Funding & spending
District-wide per-pupil expenditure for Howard School District 48-3, which includes Howard High School - 01.
$13,336
Per student
-1%
vs South Dakota
Avg $13,477
-20%
vs U.S.
Avg $16,593
Revenue mix
Local 73.7%
State 12.6%
Federal 13.7%
Source: NCES F-33 School District Finance Survey District-level finance · FY 2021-22 Per-pupil expenditure reflects the district-wide average. Individual school budgets are not reported at the federal level.
How Howard High School - 01 Compares to District-Mates
| School | Enrollment | Economic Profile | Student-Teacher Ratio |
|---|---|---|---|
| Howard Elementary - 02 | Larger | Similar economic need | Higher S:T ratio |
| Howard Jr. High - 05 | Similar size | Similar economic need | Higher S:T ratio |
| Shannon Colony Elementary - 08 | Smaller | No free-lunch data | Higher S:T ratio |
Comparisons are relative to Howard High School - 01's own figures; each column derives from NCES Common Core of Data.
Other Schools in This District
- Enrollment
- 158
- Students per teacher
- 15.8:1
- Resource Index
- 48/100
- Enrollment
- 75
- Students per teacher
- 18.8:1
- Resource Index
- 45/100
- Enrollment
- 27
- Students per teacher
- 13.5:1
- Resource Index
- 56/100
Similar high schools statewide
Matched by enrollment size and by staffing ratio across all of South Dakota, not just this city - a different peer set than the local comparisons above.
Similar enrollment (~96 students)
Similar student-teacher ratio (~10.7:1)
Next steps
Verify locally before acting on Howard High School - 01's federal record.
- Compare Howard High School - 01 against another school. Compare schools
- Howard School District 48-3's spending and staffing shape this school. District profile
- Confirm current enrollment and boundaries with the school. Choosing guide
Federal record (CCD 2024-25, CRDC 2021-22) - PlainSchools assigns no subjective rating; the composite quality score is a transparent, reproducible index computed from this cited federal data.
Frequently asked questions about Howard High School - 01
How many students attend Howard High School - 01?
Howard High School - 01 has 96 students enrolled. It is a high school in Howard, SD.
What is the student-teacher ratio at Howard High School - 01?
The student-teacher ratio at Howard High School - 01 is 10.7:1, which is 21% lower than the South Dakota average of 13.6:1 and 32% lower than the national average of 15.7:1. Lower ratios generally mean more individual attention per student.
What percentage of students receive free lunch at Howard High School - 01?
3.6% of students at Howard High School - 01 are eligible for free lunch, compared to the South Dakota average of 28.8%.
What is the racial and ethnic makeup of Howard High School - 01?
The largest demographic group at Howard High School - 01 is White at 95.8% of enrollment, in Howard, SD.
What is the Resource Investment Index for Howard High School - 01?
Howard High School - 01 has a Resource Investment Index of 40/100 (typical reported resources relative to schools nationally) based on 4 factors: student-teacher ratio, attendance rates. Not a test-score or academic measure (national median ~41/100, see methodology).
How does Howard High School - 01 rank among public schools in Howard?
By Resource Investment Index, Howard High School - 01 ranks #1 of 3 public schools in Howard, SD. This compares federal resource and staffing data among local peers; it is not a test-score or academic ranking. See all public schools in Howard on the city page.
Is Howard High School - 01 a good school?
Howard High School - 01 earns 40/100 on the Resource Investment Index, with class sizes smaller than 74% of South Dakota schools. This is a resource snapshot, not an academic rating; see the Resource Investment Index question above for what the number does and doesn't measure.
What other schools are in Howard School District 48-3?
Besides Howard High School - 01, Howard School District 48-3 also operates Howard Elementary - 02 (158 students), Howard Jr. High - 05 (75 students), and Shannon Colony Elementary - 08 (27 students). See the Howard School District 48-3 district page for the complete list.
Related tools
Every figure on PlainSchools is rendered directly from the source NCES, CRDC and F-33 federal records, no number is typed in by an editor. Each school's figures reflect its most recent NCES/CRDC submission on file. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error. Data current as of June 2026.