South Dakota · NCES CCD 2024-25

Best-Resourced Public Schools in South Dakota

Top 50 schools ranked by resource quality score, based on student-teacher ratio, counselor access, gifted programs, and attendance.

Compiled from official source data by .
67/100
Top score
B-
Top grade
57/100
Avg score (top 50)
50
Schools ranked

The ranking in one line

Mckinley Elementary - 06 in Watertown is South Dakota's top-resourced public school, scoring 67/100 on the NCES resource index.

67/100
top score (grade B-)
2
schools at the top grade (B-)
57/100
average across the top 50
#SchoolGradeScore
1Mckinley Elementary - 06WatertownB-67
2Tri-Valley Elementary - 02ColtonB-67
3Harrisburg North Middle School - 08Sioux FallsC+63
4Montrose Elementary - 02MontroseC+62
5Kimball Elementary - 02KimballC+62
6Irene - Wakonda Elementary - 02WakondaC+61
7Burke Elementary - 02BurkeC+61
8Dakota Valley Upper Elementary - 04North Sioux CityC+60
9Wolsey Wessington Elementary - 02WolseyC+60
10Plankinton Elementary - 02PlankintonC+60
11Kadoka Elementary - 02KadokaC+60
12Iroquois Elementary - 04IroquoisC+60
13Timber Lake Elementary - 02Timber LakeC59
14Highmore Elementary - 02HighmoreC59
15Scotland Elementary - 02ScotlandC59
16Custer Jr. High - 05CusterC59
17Wessington Springs Elementary - 02Wessington SpringsC58
18Timber Lake High School - 01Timber LakeC58
19Brandon Valley Middle School - 02BrandonC57
20Custer Elementary - 02CusterC57
21Hanson Elementary - 06AlexandriaC57
22All City Elementary - 50Sioux FallsC57
23Warner Elementary - 02WarnerC57
24Mount Vernon Elementary - 02Mount VernonC57
25Buffalo Elementary - 02BuffaloC57
26Dell Rapids Middle School - 03Dell RapidsC56
27Laura B. Anderson Elementary - 10Sioux FallsC56
28Platte - Geddes Elementary - 02PlatteC56
29Ethan Elementary - 02EthanC56
30Chester Elementary -02ChesterC56
31Armour Elementary - 02ArmourC56
32Roosevelt Elementary - 08WatertownC55
33Clark Elementary - 02ClarkC55
34Faulkton Elementary - 02FaulktonC55
35Chester High School - 01ChesterC55
36Florence High School - 01FlorenceC55
37Miller Elementary - 02MillerC-54
38Woonsocket Elementary - 03WoonsocketC-54
39Renberg Elementary - 42RennerC-54
40Canistota Elementary - 02CanistotaC-54
41Hitchcock-Tulare Elementary - 05HitchcockC-54
42Baltic Middle School - 03BalticC-54
43Sturgis Elementary - 03SturgisC-53
44Camelot Intermediate - 06BrookingsC-53
45Piedmont Valley Elementary - 05PiedmontC-53
46Tea Area Venture Elementary - 06TeaC-53
47Hill City Elementary - 02Hill CityC-53
48Hill City High School - 01Hill CityC-53
49Castlewood Elementary - 02CastlewoodC-53
50Clark High School - 01ClarkC-53

Frequently Asked Questions

What are the best public schools in South Dakota? ▼

The highest-ranked school in South Dakota is Mckinley Elementary - 06 in Watertown with a quality score of 67/100 (grade B-). Rankings are based on student-teacher ratio, counselor availability, gifted programs, and attendance rates from NCES data.

How are school quality scores calculated? ▼

Quality scores (0-100) are computed from NCES data across 4 metrics: student-teacher ratio (lower is better, national avg ~16:1), counselor availability (ASCA recommends 250:1), gifted program availability, and chronic absenteeism rate (lower is better). This measures school resources, not test scores.

Explore More for South Dakota

All Schools → Largest Schools → Absenteeism Data → Highest Spending → National Ranking →

Methodology

Quality scores (0-100) are computed from NCES Common Core of Data (CCD) 2024-25 metrics: student-teacher ratio, school counselor availability, gifted program access, and chronic absenteeism rates. Schools must have at least 50 students and data for one or more metrics. This measures resource quality, not test scores. Higher scores indicate smaller class sizes, better counselor access, and lower absenteeism.

Read our methodology - how this data is sourced, computed, and verified.