Area Schools Lead Academic Progress as South Dakota Records Decade-High Graduation Rate

Steve Jurrens
5 hours ago
3 min read

Area schools excel as South Dakota achieves a record-high graduation rate, showcasing significant academic progress.

Northeast Radio SD News - Watertown, SD - The South Dakota Department of Education (DOE) released its 2024-25 Report Card, revealing improvements in academic performance across the state, including the highest high school graduation rate in ten years. Within this context of overall progress, several local school districts demonstrated exceptional performance, particularly in student growth and math proficiency.

The statewide graduation rate rose two points to 86 percent. Overall, the percentage of students performing at grade level in English Language Arts (ELA) rose by one percentage point to 52 percent, while Mathematics proficiency remained at 44 percent.

Secretary of Education Dr. Joseph Graves praised the student achievements, stating, “We should celebrate the students who have demonstrated their mastery over a grade-level body of knowledge and readiness to move on to more advanced concepts, showing they are on track for college and career-level content”.

Local Districts Surpass State Benchmarks

Analysis of local district data shows several schools significantly exceeding state averages, especially in demonstrating student progress (growth) from the prior school year. The state averages for student growth were 56 percent in ELA and 51 percent in Math.

Milbank School District stood out with strong performance across all metrics. The district recorded 65 percent of students meeting their ELA growth targets, dramatically surpassing the state average of 56 percent. Milbank's Math proficiency reached 53 percent, and ELA proficiency was 52 percent, matching the state ELA average.

Webster Area School District excelled in both proficiency and growth, with Math proficiency at 52 percent and ELA proficiency matching the state at 52 percent. Notably, 63 percent of Webster students met their ELA growth targets.

Watertown School District continued its positive trajectory. The district's ELA proficiency reached 57 percent, and Math proficiency was 48 percent, both above the state averages. The district also showed substantial progress, with 60 percent of students meeting their ELA growth targets.

Castlewood School District reported a high ELA proficiency rate of 56 percent, four points above the state average.

Deuel School District matched the state average for Math proficiency at 44 percent, and showcased substantial growth in Math, with 57 percent of students meeting their Math growth targets.

Waverly School District demonstrated strong non-core subject performance with a College and Career Readiness rate of 63 percent, exceeding the state's 55 percent. Furthermore, the district's attendance rate was 95 percent, significantly higher than the overall state rate of 87 percent.

Challenges and Forward-Looking Initiatives

While many districts thrived, the report also highlighted the need for improvement in others. Several area schools posted scores below state averages, reinforcing the DOE's message that "more remains to be done".

Wilmot School District reported ELA proficiency at 39 percent and Math proficiency at 26 percent.

Willow Lake School District showed ELA proficiency at 39 percent and Math proficiency at 39 percent.

Clark School District reported 38 percent proficiency in ELA and 35 percent in Math.

Henry School District posted the lowest proficiency scores among the area schools, with ELA at 31 percent and Math at 23 percent.

Waverly School District reported ELA proficiency at 38 percent and Math proficiency at 28 percent.

The DOE is optimistic that a more dramatic increase in ELA proficiencies will occur over the next few years as the Science of Reading is restored in elementary schools. New math standards are also under consideration and could improve numeracy.

The report also highlighted student attendance as a critical factor in academic achievement. While the overall state attendance rate is 87 percent, the chronic absenteeism rate remains stubbornly unchanged at 20 percent, which the DOE notes will require an "all-hands-on-deck response" from everyone involved in the lives of South Dakota’s children.