Summary:
Sisseton School District 54-2 has three schools serving PK through grade 12: Westside Elementary (PK–4, 380 students), Sisseton Middle (grades 5–8, 281 students), and Sisseton High (grades 9–12, 304 students). The most important difference for families is the sharp divide between elementary and middle-school results, particularly in math.
Westside stands out above Sisseton Middle in the comparable 2025–26 all-grades Smarter Balanced results: 40% versus 26% in ELA, a 14-point gap, and 46% versus 16% in math, a 30-point gap. Middle is also well below state results in every reported grade and subject; its grade 8 math proficiency was 11%, compared with 43% statewide. Westside’s all-grades math result was 2 points above the state, though its grade 3 and grade 4 results were below their respective state comparisons. Sisseton High’s grade 11 ACT proficiency was below state results in all three subjects, with the largest gap in math: 13% versus 34% statewide.
Recent results show different directions at the two schools with comparable tests: Westside rose 6 points in ELA and 8 in math from 2024–25, while Middle fell 7 points in each. The high school’s current ACT results cannot be compared as a year-over-year trend with its prior Smarter Balanced results. SchoolDigger rates Westside 1 star (149th of 203; 27th percentile), Middle 0 stars (141st of 151; 7th percentile), and High 0 stars (118th of 130; 9th percentile). In 2024–25, free/reduced lunch eligible students made up 74% at Westside, 66% at Middle, and 53% at High; student-teacher ratios were 11.6, 11.3, and 14.8, respectively. These figures describe different school contexts but do not by themselves explain the differences in results.
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