Waubay School District 18-3

Summary:

The Waubay School District 18-3 in South Dakota is home to three schools: Waubay Elementary - 02, Waubay High School - 01, and Waubay Middle School - 03. These schools serve students from pre-kindergarten through 12th grade and provide a range of educational opportunities in the Waubay area.

Among the standout schools in the district, Waubay Elementary - 02 has consistently outperformed the district and state averages in both English Language Arts and Mathematics on the Smarter Balanced Assessments. In the 2024-2025 school year, 5th-grade students at Waubay Elementary - 02 achieved 66.66% proficiency in ELA and 66.67% proficiency in Mathematics, significantly higher than the district and state averages. The school has also maintained a relatively low chronic absenteeism rate of 20.2%. In contrast, Waubay High School - 01 has shown impressive improvement, moving from a 0-star rating in 2021-2022 to a 5-star rating in 2023-2024, with a high 4-year graduation rate of 86.4% in the 2024-2025 school year, outperforming the district and state. However, the school's test scores in ELA and Mathematics for 11th and 12th-grade students are significantly lower than the district and state averages, indicating an area for improvement.

Across the district, the schools share some common challenges, such as a relatively high percentage of students eligible for free or reduced-price lunch, ranging from 48.15% to 61.76% in the 2023-2024 school year. The student-teacher ratios also vary, with Waubay Elementary - 02 having the lowest ratio at 6.8 students per teacher and Waubay High School - 01 having the highest ratio at 12.3 students per teacher. These factors may contribute to the differences in academic performance observed across the district.

District Detail

202 W School Rd
Waubay, SD 57273

(605) 947-4529

SchoolDigger Rank:
118^th of 147 South Dakota districts

See the 2025 South Dakota District rankings!

Grades served: PK, KG-12
Students: 177

Primary Schools: 1
Middle Schools: 1
High Schools: 1
Alternative Schools: 0

Choose columns to see: Summary School Students/Teachers Ranking Test Scores Finance All

School													Students/Teachers											Ranking (2025)				Ranking (2024)				Smarter Balanced Assessments English Language Arts (2025)									Smarter Balanced Assessments Mathematics (2025)									Smarter Balanced Assessments Science (2025)				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/Discounted Lunch Recipients	White	Black	Hispanic	Asian	American Indian	Pacific Islander	Two or More Races	Average Standard Score (2025)	Statewide Rank (2025)	State Percentile (2025)	SchoolDigger Rating (2025)	Average Standard Score (2024)	Statewide Rank (2024)	State Percentile (2024)	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 11th Grade	Smarter Balanced Assessments English Language Arts 12th 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 11th Grade	Smarter Balanced Assessments Mathematics 12th Grade	Smarter Balanced Assessments Mathematics All Grades	Smarter Balanced Assessments Science 5th Grade	Smarter Balanced Assessments Science 8th Grade	Smarter Balanced Assessments Science 11th Grade	Smarter Balanced Assessments Science All Grades	Per Pupil Expenditures Total	Sub-total from Federal Funds	Sub-total from State/Local Funds
Waubay Elementary - 02	Public	PK, KG-6	202 W School Rd	Waubay	57273	Day County	Waubay School District 18-3	(n/a)	(n/a)	No	Yes	(605) 947-4529	88	11	7.7	64.8%	53 (60.2%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	22 (25.0%)	1 (1.1%)	12 (13.6%)	56.4	142^nd of 300 public elementary schools	52.7%		58.1	83^rd of 201 public elementary schools	58.7%	59	27.3	52.9	66.7	33.3					43.5	45.5	52.9	66.7	50.0					52.2	50.0				$17,598	$2,189	$15,409
Waubay High School - 01	Public	9-12	202 W School Rd	Waubay	57273	Day County	Waubay School District 18-3	(n/a)	(n/a)	No	No	(605) 947-4529	65	6	10.7	63.1%	34 (52.3%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	28 (43.1%)	0 (0.0%)	3 (4.6%)	20.5	145^th of 166 public high schools	12.7%		92.2	4^th of 141 public high schools	97.2%	141							30.8	100.0	35.7							15.4	0.0	14.3			30.8	28.6	$16,388	$509	$15,879
Waubay Middle School - 03	Public	7-8	202 W School Rd	Waubay	57273	Day County	Waubay School District 18-3	(n/a)	(n/a)	No	No	(605) 947-4529	24	3	8.5	62.5%	16 (66.7%)	0 (0.0%)	1 (4.2%)	0 (0.0%)	6 (25.0%)	0 (0.0%)	1 (4.2%)	38.1	171^st of 246 public middle schools	30.5%		21.1	124^th of 147 public middle schools	15.6%	47					50.0	26.7			34.8					37.5	33.3			34.8		20.0			$20,495	$217	$20,277

Districts nearby

District	Distance	# of Schools	Statewide Rank
Enemy Swim Day School	6.02 mi	1
Webster Area School District 18-5	10.27 mi	3	35^th
Summit School District 54-6	13.24 mi	2	138^th
Watertown School District 14-4	14.34 mi	8	99^th
Tiospa Zina Tribal School	18.96 mi	1

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.