Best Public Schools in Howard, SD

Summary:

The city of Howard, South Dakota is home to three schools that serve students from elementary through high school: Howard Elementary - 02, Howard High School - 01, and Howard Junior High - 05. The Howard School District 48-3 is ranked 10th out of 147 districts in the state and has a 5-star rating, indicating a strong commitment to educational excellence.

Among the three schools, Howard High School - 01 stands out as the top performer, consistently ranking among the top 5 high schools in South Dakota and earning a 5-star rating from SchoolDigger. The school's exceptional test scores, with 95.65% of 11th graders proficient or better in English Language Arts and 86.96% proficient or better in Mathematics, far surpass the state averages. Additionally, the school boasts a high 4-year graduation rate of 86.4% and a low dropout rate of 2.6%.

While Howard Elementary - 02 and Howard Junior High - 05 also perform well, earning 4-star ratings from SchoolDigger and ranking in the top third of their respective school types in the state, their test scores, while still above the state averages, are not as dominant as the high school's. The district may want to investigate and address the noticeable gap in performance between the high school and the lower grade levels to ensure a more consistent level of excellence across all grade levels.

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

School													Students/Teachers											Ranking (2025)				Ranking (2024)				Smarter Balanced Assessments English Language Arts (2025)								Smarter Balanced Assessments Mathematics (2025)								Smarter Balanced Assessments Science (2025)			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/Discounted Lunch Recipients	White	Black	Hispanic	Asian	American Indian	Pacific Islander	Two or More Races	Average Standard Score (2025)	Statewide Rank (2025)	State Percentile (2025)	SchoolDigger Rating (2025)	Average Standard Score (2024)	Statewide Rank (2024)	State Percentile (2024)	Rank Change from Previous Year	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 11th 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 11th Grade	Smarter Balanced Assessments Mathematics All Grades	Smarter Balanced Assessments Science 5th Grade	Smarter Balanced Assessments Science 8th Grade	Smarter Balanced Assessments Science 11th Grade	Per Pupil Expenditures Total	Sub-total from Federal Funds	Sub-total from State/Local Funds
Howard Elementary - 02	Public	PK, KG-5	201 N Minnie St	Howard	57349	Miner County	Howard School District 48-3	(n/a)	(n/a)	No	Yes	(605) 772-4443	158	12	13.0	16.5%	151 (95.6%)	2 (1.3%)	2 (1.3%)	0 (0.0%)	3 (1.9%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	80.1	31^st of 300 public elementary schools	89.7%		79.3	28^th of 201 public elementary schools	86.1%	3	77.8	47.1	64.3					63.3	88.9	64.7	85.7					79.6	50.0			$14,225	$1,182	$13,042
Howard High School - 01	Public	9-12	500 N Section Line	Howard	57349	Miner County	Howard School District 48-3	(n/a)	(n/a)	No	No	(605) 772-5515	96	10	9.9	12.5%	92 (95.8%)	1 (1.0%)	1 (1.0%)	0 (0.0%)	2 (2.1%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	97.4	2^nd of 166 public high schools	98.8%		95.5	1^st of 141 public high schools	99.3%	1							95.7								87.0				82.6	$18,296	$426	$17,870
Howard Junior High - 05	Public	6-8	500 N Section Line	Howard	57349	Miner County	Howard School District 48-3	(n/a)	(n/a)	No	No	(605) 772-5515	75	5	16.4	17.3%	69 (92.0%)	1 (1.3%)	5 (6.7%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	78.5	26^th of 246 public middle schools	89.4%		63.4	46^th of 147 public middle schools	68.7%	20				60.0	70.0	64.0		64.3				44.0	65.0	72.0		60.0		64.0		$13,287	$426	$12,861

Cities Near Howard

City	Distance	# of Schools	Statewide Rank
Winfred	5.78 mi	2	114^th
Madison	20.23 mi	4	112^th
Salem	21.06 mi	4	129^th
Montrose	21.15 mi	4	22^nd
Arlington	23.48 mi	6	117^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.