Best Public Schools in Salem, SD

Salem, South Dakota, has four schools: two elementary schools, one middle school and one high school, with enrollment ranging from 28 to 225 students and 455 students total. Across the three schools with comparable 2025–26 all-grades assessment results, average proficiency was 41% in English language arts (ELA) and 31% in math, below state averages of 49% and 44%. The clearest area-wide finding is that performance varies considerably by school, and the average gap to the state is larger in math than in ELA.

McCook Central Elementary is the strongest of those three schools: 53% were proficient in ELA and 46% in math, respectively 4 and 2 percentage points above state results. At the other end, Goldenview Colony had the lowest results, at 25% in ELA and 19% in math—24 and 25 points below state rates. McCook Central Middle was between them in ELA (46%, 3 points below state), but its math result was 29%, 15 points below state. The high school’s 11th-grade ACT results were mixed: McCook Central High was 1 point above state in math, but 14 points below in ELA and 23 below in science. Its completion measures were stronger: graduation was 100% versus 88% statewide, and dropout was 1% versus 2%.

Recent trends also differ: from 2024–25 to 2025–26, average ELA results at the elementary and middle schools rose about 1 point, while math fell 3 points; Elementary improved in both subjects, Middle improved in ELA but slipped in math, and Goldenview declined in both. SchoolDigger’s latest statewide ranking percentiles were 42 for Elementary, 27 for Middle and 17 for High; Goldenview’s supplied 2024–25 percentile was 25. Ratios range from 12.5:1 at Elementary and High to 23.3:1 at Goldenview. The reported free/reduced lunch eligible figures are for 2024–25: 25% at Elementary, 26% at Middle and 17% at High; Goldenview’s 12% figure is from 2022–23. The high school’s scores are not a year-over-year test comparison because its assessment changed from SBA to ACT.