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Elementary Schools in Chester Area School District 39-1

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

DistrictChester Area School District 39-1100^th of 126 South Dakota districtsFull district overview →

Schools

218

Students

Top rankedChester Elementary -02137^th of 203 South Dakota elementary schools

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Summary:

The three elementary schools in Chester Area School District 39-1 serve children from prekindergarten through eighth grade: Chester Elementary -02 serves PK–5, while Rustic Acres Colony Elementary - 04 and Gracevale Colony Elementary - 07 serve K–8. The latest reported all-grades results show a sharp difference between the two schools with results in both subjects, especially in math.

Chester Elementary -02 stands out among schools with reported 2025–2026 all-grades results: 48% were proficient in ELA and 44% in math, close to the state rates of 49% and 44%. Rustic Acres Colony Elementary - 04 was lower, at 29% in ELA and 10% in math—about 20 and 34 percentage points below the state. The gap between these schools was about 20 points in ELA and 35 in math. At Chester, fourth-grade ELA was a brighter spot at 65%, while fifth-grade science was 28%, about 14 points below the state. Gracevale’s current all-grades results are suppressed, so it cannot be ranked alongside them.

Recent trends differ by school and subject: from 2024–2025 to 2025–2026, Chester’s ELA fell about 8 points and math about 13, while Rustic Acres’ ELA rose about 4 points but math fell about 7. SchoolDigger’s statewide ranking for Chester also moved from the 63rd percentile in 2024–2025 to the 33rd in 2025–2026; Rustic Acres and Gracevale were at the 16th and 9th percentiles in 2024–2025. School size and ratios do not give a simple guide to results: Chester enrolled 154 students, with 15.4 students per teacher, compared with 41 and 13.6 at Rustic Acres and 23 and 11.5 at Gracevale. Reported free/reduced lunch eligible figures were 20% for Chester in 2024–2025 and 8% for Rustic Acres and 20% for Gracevale in 2022–2023. These figures are context, not an explanation for test results.

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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)				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 (2022-23)	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	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	Smarter Balanced Assessments Science All Grades	Vaccination: Kindergartners immunized against measles (MMR)	Vaccination: Exemption rate	Per Pupil Expenditures Total	Sub-total from Federal Funds	Sub-total from State/Local Funds
Chester Elementary -02	Public	PK, KG-5	102 2nd Ave	Chester	57016	Lake County	Chester Area School District 39-1	(n/a)	(n/a)	No	Yes	(605) 489-2411	154	10	15.4	—	146 (94.8%)	0 (0.0%)	5 (3.2%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	1 (0.6%)	2 (1.3%)	39.7	137^th of 203 public elementary schools	32.5%		64.1	110^th of 300 public elementary schools	63.3%	27	37.5	65.0	38.9				48.2	50.0	45.0	38.9				44.4	27.8			100%	0%	$12,218	$1,052	$11,166
Rustic Acres Colony Elementary - 04	Public	K-8	24243 456th Ave	Madison	57016	Lake County	Chester Area School District 39-1	(n/a)	(n/a)	No	No	(605) 489-2411	41	3	13.6	8.3%	41 (100.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)								(n/a)							28.6							9.5				30%	70%	$10,858	$417	$10,441
Gracevale Colony Elementary - 07	Public	K-8	23843 - 446A Ave	Winfred	57076	Lake County	Chester Area School District 39-1	(n/a)	(n/a)	No	No	(605) 256-2267	23	2	11.5	20.0%	23 (100.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)								(n/a)																		0%	100%	$12,045	$417	$11,628

Districts nearby

District	Distance	# of Schools	Statewide Rank
Colman-Egan School District 50-5	8.19 mi	3	106^th
Dell Rapids School District 49-3	11.45 mi	3	4^th
Tri-Valley School District 49-6	11.53 mi	4	55^th
Madison Central School District 39-2	11.77 mi	3	49^th
Oldham-Ramona-Rutland School District 39-6	13.23 mi	5	60^th

See the top SD South Dakota districts

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.