Elementary Schools in Custer School District 16-1

The Custer School District 16-1 in South Dakota is home to two elementary schools: Custer Elementary - 02 and Hermosa Elementary - 04. Based on the available data, Custer Elementary - 02 stands out as the high-performing school in the district, consistently outperforming the district and state averages on Smarter Balanced Assessments in both English Language Arts and Mathematics.

Custer Elementary - 02 has a higher statewide school ranking, placing 43rd out of 300 South Dakota elementary schools and earning a 4-star rating from SchoolDigger. In contrast, Hermosa Elementary - 04 has a lower statewide ranking, placing 164th out of 300 schools and earning a 2-star rating. While both schools have similar student-teacher ratios, Hermosa Elementary - 04 has a higher per-student spending, raising questions about the efficient allocation of resources and the need to evaluate the effectiveness of spending at that school.

The data also reveals that both schools have higher-than-average chronic absenteeism rates, which may be impacting student learning and achievement. Additionally, the free and reduced lunch rates at both schools suggest the presence of socioeconomic challenges that could contribute to the performance differences between the two schools. Overall, the analysis highlights the strong performance of Custer Elementary - 02 and the need for improvement at Hermosa Elementary - 04 within the Custer School District 16-1.