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Best Public Schools in Burke, SD

New rankings! South Dakota test scores for the 2025-26 school year were just released — SchoolDigger posted updated rankings this week.

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At a glance

Schools

261

Students

Districts

Top rankedBurke Elementary - 0227^th of 203 South Dakota elementary schools

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Biggest riser

Burke Middle School - 04 up 45 spots statewide this year

Compare South Dakota cities →See the top-ranked South Dakota schools →

Summary:

Burke, South Dakota, has three public schools serving prekindergarten through grade 12, with 261 students across Burke Elementary (PK–5), Burke Middle (grades 6–8), and Burke High (grades 9–12). The clearest school-wide academic comparison is between Elementary and Middle: in 2025–26, both were above state proficiency in ELA and math, but Elementary’s advantage was larger—15 points in ELA and 26 in math, compared with Middle’s 7 and 12 points. The most important overall finding is that Elementary has the strongest directly comparable results, especially in math.

Burke Elementary stands out at the top of the comparable results, with 64% proficient in ELA and 70% in math, versus 56% in both subjects at Burke Middle—an 8-point ELA lead and a 14-point math lead. Middle’s school-wide results conceal a grade-level split: grade 6 ELA was 26 points above the state, while grades 7 and 8 were 3 and 18 points below; its math results exceeded the state in all three grades. Burke High is the lower-ranked school by SchoolDigger’s 2025–26 statewide percentile, at the 34th percentile, versus the 87th for Elementary and 75th for Middle. Its grade 11 ACT results were mixed: ELA was 2 points above the state, but math was 2 points below and science 9 points below. Its graduation rate was 100%, compared with 88% statewide.

Recent changes offer some encouraging signs: from 2024–25 to 2025–26, grade 5 science at Elementary rose 18 points, moving from 12 points below the state to 6 points above; grade 8 science at Middle rose 19 points, moving from 12 below to 10 above. SchoolDigger’s statewide ranking percentiles also rose between 2023–24 and 2025–26 for Elementary, from the 71st to the 87th, and Middle, from the 54th to the 75th, while High fell from the 60th to the 34th. Staffing and income figures provide context, not explanations: 2024–25 student-teacher ratios were 11.2 at Elementary, 15.5 at Middle, and 12.1 at High; free/reduced lunch eligible rates that year were 37% at Elementary, 41.9% at Middle, and 41.5% at High.

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Ranking:

E Elementary M Middle H High A Alternative P Private

Choose columns to see: Summary School Students/Teachers Ranking Test Scores Vaccination Finance All

School													Students/Teachers											Ranking (2026)				Ranking (2025)				SD ACT English Language Arts (2026)	SD ACT Mathematics (2026)	SD ACT Science (2026)	Smarter Balanced Assessments English Language Arts (2026)							Smarter Balanced Assessments Mathematics (2026)							Smarter Balanced Assessments Science (2026)		Vaccination (2025-26)		Per Pupil Expenditures (2025)
Name	Type	Grades	Address	City	Zip	County	District	Is Charter	Is Magnet	Is Virtual	Is Title I	Phone	Enrollment	Full-time Teachers	Student/ Teacher Ratio	Free/reduced lunch (2024-25)	White	Black	Hispanic	Asian	American Indian	Pacific Islander	Two or More Races	Average Standard Score (2026)	Statewide Rank (2026)	State Percentile (2026)	SchoolDigger Rating (2026)	Average Standard Score (2025)	Statewide Rank (2025)	State Percentile (2025)	Rank Change from Previous Year	SD ACT English Language Arts 11th Grade	SD ACT Mathematics 11th Grade	SD ACT Science 11th Grade	Smarter Balanced Assessments English Language Arts 3rd Grade	Smarter Balanced Assessments English Language Arts 4th Grade	Smarter Balanced Assessments English Language Arts 5th Grade	Smarter Balanced Assessments English Language Arts 6th Grade	Smarter Balanced Assessments English Language Arts 7th Grade	Smarter Balanced Assessments English Language Arts 8th Grade	Smarter Balanced Assessments English Language Arts All Grades	Smarter Balanced Assessments Mathematics 3rd Grade	Smarter Balanced Assessments Mathematics 4th Grade	Smarter Balanced Assessments Mathematics 5th Grade	Smarter Balanced Assessments Mathematics 6th Grade	Smarter Balanced Assessments Mathematics 7th Grade	Smarter Balanced Assessments Mathematics 8th Grade	Smarter Balanced Assessments Mathematics All Grades	Smarter Balanced Assessments Science 5th Grade	Smarter Balanced Assessments Science 8th Grade	Vaccination: Kindergartners immunized against measles (MMR)	Vaccination: Exemption rate	Per Pupil Expenditures Total	Sub-total from Federal Funds	Sub-total from State/Local Funds
Whole Grade Sharing with Burke - 04	Public	6-12	900 Washington St	Burke	57523	Gregory County	South Central School District 26-5	(n/a)	(n/a)	No	No	(605) 775-2645	0	0		—	0 ()	0 ()	0 ()	0 ()	0 ()	0 ()	0 ()								(n/a)
Burke Elementary - 02	Public	PK, KG-5	933 Lincoln St	Burke	57523	Gregory County	Burke School District 26-2	(n/a)	(n/a)	No	Yes	(605) 775-2246	105	9	11.2	37.1%	101 (96.2%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	3 (2.9%)	0 (0.0%)	1 (1.0%)	77.7	27^th of 203 public elementary schools	86.7%		74.2	58^th of 300 public elementary schools	80.7%	31				65.0	53.8	70.6				64.0	75.0	61.5	70.6				70.0	47.1		55.6%	22.2%	$18,458	$1,423	$17,035
Burke High School - 01	Public	9-12	900 Washington St	Burke	57523	Gregory County	Burke School District 26-2	(n/a)	(n/a)	No	No	(605) 775-2645	94	8	12.1	41.5%	88 (93.6%)	1 (1.1%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	5 (5.3%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	38.1	86^th of 130 public high schools	33.8%		57	79^th of 166 public high schools	52.4%	7	50.0	31.8	36.4																			$18,397	$626	$17,771
Burke Middle School - 04	Public	6-8	900 Washington St	Burke	57523	Gregory County	Burke School District 26-2	(n/a)	(n/a)	No	No	(605) 775-2645	62	4	15.5	41.9%	53 (85.5%)	0 (0.0%)	1 (1.6%)	0 (0.0%)	7 (11.3%)	0 (0.0%)	1 (1.6%)	68.4	38^th of 151 public middle schools	74.8%		63.4	83^rd of 246 public middle schools	66.3%	45							73.9	50.0	33.3	56.1				56.5	50.0	66.7	56.1		50.0			$17,761	$914	$16,847

Cities Near Burke

City	Distance	# of Schools	Statewide Rank
Gregory	9.29 mi	3	73^rd
Academy	16.56 mi	1	147^th
Bonesteel	18.59 mi	1	68^th
Platte	22.37 mi	4	35^th
Colome	24.21 mi	3	99^th

See the top SD South Dakota cities

SchoolDigger data sources: National Center for Education Statistics, U.S. Department of Education, the U.S. Census Bureau and the South Dakota Department of Education.

IMPORTANT DISCLAIMERS: Not all boundaries are included. We make every effort to ensure that boundaries are up-to-date. But it's important to note that these are approximations and are for general informational purposes only. To verify legal descriptions of boundaries or school locations, contact your local tax assessor's office and/or school district.