Beta You're viewing our redesigned school list. Prefer the classic layout?

Best Public Schools in Marion, SD

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

Be the first to know when we post new rankings!

At a glance

Schools

208

Students

Top rankedMarion High School - 0172^nd of 130 South Dakota high schools

▲

Biggest riser

Marion High School - 01 up 63 spots statewide this year

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

Summary:

Marion, South Dakota, has three schools serving 208 students from prekindergarten through grade 12: Marion Elementary - 02, Marion Middle School - 03 and Marion High School - 01. The clearest shared pattern is stronger math than English language arts (ELA): elementary and middle math averaged 53% proficient in 2025–26, 9 points above the state average, while their ELA averaged 41%, 8 points below the state. The high school’s 11th-grade math was 8 points above the state, while its ELA was 15 points below. Overall, math is the strongest common academic result, and ELA is the clearest area of concern.

Marion Middle School - 03 had the highest all-grades math result, at 53%, just above the elementary school’s 53%; both exceeded the state’s 44% by 9 points. The elementary school’s fourth-grade math was a particular bright spot at 73%, 24 points above the state, while fifth-grade math was 31%, 11 points below. Middle-school ELA varied by grade: eighth grade was 6 points above the state, but sixth grade was 21 points below. At the high school, graduation was 100%, compared with 88% statewide, and dropout was 2%, below the state’s 2%. SchoolDigger ranks the elementary school 144th of 203 (29th percentile, 1 star), the middle school 91st of 151 (40th percentile, 2 stars), and the high school 72nd of 130 (45th percentile, 2 stars).

Recent results moved in different directions: the elementary and middle schools’ average math proficiency rose 8 points from 2024–25 to 2025–26, while their average ELA fell 8 points. Science is a notable exception to the math strength: fifth-grade elementary science dropped 29 points year over year, and eighth-grade middle science fell 47 points. Context differs across schools: student-teacher ratios were 9.4 at the elementary school, 11.7 at the middle school and 8.9 at the high school; free/reduced lunch eligible shares in 2024–25 were 38%, 52% and 48%, respectively. These context measures do not explain achievement differences. The high school’s test changed between years, and school-wide results cover different grade spans, so some comparisons are not like-for-like.

Load more schools when map is moved

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
Marion Elementary - 02	Public	PK, KG-5	100 S Cedar St	Marion	57043	Turner County	Marion School District 60-3	(n/a)	(n/a)	No	Yes	(605) 648-3615	100	11	9.4	38.0%	94 (94.0%)	0 (0.0%)	4 (4.0%)	0 (0.0%)	1 (1.0%)	0 (0.0%)	1 (1.0%)	37.9	144^th of 203 public elementary schools	29.1%		56.2	143^rd of 300 public elementary schools	52.3%	1				46.2	45.5	25.0				37.5	61.5	72.7	31.3				52.5	25.0		100%	0%	$16,013	$657	$15,356
Marion High School - 01	Public	9-12	100 S Cedar St	Marion	57043	Turner County	Marion School District 60-3	(n/a)	(n/a)	No	No	(605) 648-3615	62	7	8.9	48.4%	51 (82.3%)	0 (0.0%)	6 (9.7%)	1 (1.6%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	4 (6.5%)	47.9	72^nd of 130 public high schools	44.6%		28.9	135^th of 166 public high schools	18.7%	63	33.3	41.7	50.0																			$16,522	$92	$16,430
Marion Middle School - 03	Public	6-8	100 S Cedar St	Marion	57043	Turner County	Marion School District 60-3	(n/a)	(n/a)	No	No	(605) 648-3615	46	4	11.7	52.2%	38 (82.6%)	0 (0.0%)	5 (10.9%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	3 (6.5%)	43.9	91^st of 151 public middle schools	39.7%		62.6	85^th of 246 public middle schools	65.4%	6							27.3		57.1	44.1				45.5		50.0	53.0		21.4			$14,851	$36	$14,815

Cities Near Marion

City	Distance	# of Schools	Statewide Rank
Parker	6.34 mi	3	132^nd
Freeman	10.18 mi	3	79^th
Canistota	12.06 mi	3	61^st
Hurley	12.91 mi	1	76^th
Bridgewater	15.03 mi	2	13^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.