Best High Schools in South Dakota

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Find the best South Dakota high schools with SchoolDigger.com! Focused on test scores for accurate rankings, our user-friendly site simplifies your search. Empower your decisions by exploring top-rated schools, only on SchoolDigger.com - the ultimate guide to K-12 schools!

Year after year, SchoolDigger is always the first to publish South Dakota test scores and rankings. Other sites use stale test score data that are several years old! Be in the know with the very latest performance metrics.

The list is updated annually upon the release of the Smarter Balanced Assessments test scores by the South Dakota Department of Education. The most recent update was on Thursday, October 30, 2025.

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School														Students/Teachers											Per Pupil Expenditures (2025)							Ranking (2025 vs 2024)					ID
Rank (of 166)	School	Type	Grades	Address	City	Zip	County	District	Is Charter	Is Magnet	Is Virtual	Is Title I	Phone	# Students	Full-time Teachers	Student/ Teacher Ratio	Free/Disc Lunch Recipients	White	Black	Hispanic	Asian	American Indian	Pacific Islander	Two or More Races	Per Pupil Expenditures: Total	Personnel from Federal Funds	Non-Personnel from Federal Funds	Total from Federal Funds	Personnel from State and Local Funds	Non-Personnel from State and Local Funds	Total from State and Local Funds	Average Standard Score (2025)	Average Standard Score (2024)	Rank (2024)	Rank Change from 2024	SchoolDigger Rating (2025)	ID
41	Mitchell High School - 01	Public	9-12	920 N Capital St	Mitchell	57301	Davison County	Mitchell School District 17-2	(n/a)	(n/a)	No	No	(605) 995-3034	879	51	17	35.9%	698 (79.4%)	9 (1.0%)	81 (9.2%)	10 (1.1%)	51 (5.8%)	0 (0.0%)	30 (3.4%)	$11,510			$392			$11,118	69.5	57.2	64	23		464839000442
42	Timber Lake High School - 01	Public	9-12	500 Main St	Timber Lake	57656	Dewey County	Timber Lake School District 20-3	(n/a)	(n/a)	No	Yes	(605) 865-3654	117	9	12.8	36.8%	59 (50.4%)	1 (0.9%)	2 (1.7%)	0 (0.0%)	55 (47.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	$17,217			$797			$16,420	69.3	79.1	23	19		467188000665
43	Montrose High School - 01	Public	9-12	309 S Church Ave	Montrose	57048	McCook County	Montrose School District 43-2	(n/a)	(n/a)	No	No	(605) 363-5025	63	6	11.2	17.5%	62 (98.4%)	0 (0.0%)	1 (1.6%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	$15,121			$261			$14,859	69.1	61.9	49	6		464878000452
44	Spearfish High School - 01	Public	9-12	1725 N Main	Spearfish	57783	Lawrence County	Spearfish School District 40-2	(n/a)	(n/a)	No	No	(605) 717-1212	787	47	16.8	16.1%	675 (85.8%)	9 (1.1%)	36 (4.6%)	11 (1.4%)	24 (3.0%)	2 (0.3%)	30 (3.8%)	$9,838			$265			$9,574	68.9	59.3	58	14		466693000623
45	Jefferson High School - 67	Public	9-12	1600 N Marion Rd	Sioux Falls	57101	Minnehaha County	Sioux Falls School District 49-5	(n/a)	(n/a)	No	No	(605) 367-6184	1,888	117	16.1	48.5%	1,038 (55.0%)	205 (10.9%)	425 (22.5%)	25 (1.3%)	55 (2.9%)	5 (0.3%)	135 (7.2%)	$11,645			$596			$11,050	68.7	61.4	52	7		466627001412
46	Bridgewater-Emery High School - 01	Public	9-12	130 N 6th St	Emery	57332	Hanson County	Bridgewater-Emery 30-3	(n/a)	(n/a)	No	No	(605) 449-4271	100	10	9.6	34.0%	91 (91.0%)	1 (1.0%)	3 (3.0%)	1 (1.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	4 (4.0%)	$17,066			$381			$16,684	68.2	50.1	76	30		462142000074
47	Hanson Colony Alternative High School - 07	Public, Virtual	9-12	41659 256th St	Mitchell	57301	Hanson County	Hanson School District 30-1	(n/a)	(n/a)	Yes	No	(605) 239-4387	4	0	19		4 (100.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)								67.5			(n/a)		460264001272
48	Canton High School - 01	Public	9-12	800 N Main St	Canton	57013	Lincoln County	Canton School District 41-1	(n/a)	(n/a)	No	No	(605) 764-2706	283	19	14.9	20.5%	255 (90.1%)	4 (1.4%)	9 (3.2%)	2 (0.7%)	6 (2.1%)	0 (0.0%)	7 (2.5%)	$11,432			$00			$11,432	66.9	68.8	38	10		461056000109
49	Selby High School - 01	Public	9-12	108 E Dakota St	Selby	57472	Walworth County	Selby Area School District 62-5	(n/a)	(n/a)	No	No	(605) 649-7818	55	8	7	18.2%	50 (90.9%)	0 (0.0%)	2 (3.6%)	0 (0.0%)	2 (3.6%)	0 (0.0%)	1 (1.8%)	$18,781			$357			$18,424	66.6	62.1	48	1		460102801028
50	Madison High School - 01	Public	9-12	800 NE 9th St	Madison	57042	Lake County	Madison Central School District 39-2	(n/a)	(n/a)	No	No	(605) 256-7706	384	26	14.8	20.1%	322 (83.9%)	2 (0.5%)	41 (10.7%)	3 (0.8%)	5 (1.3%)	0 (0.0%)	11 (2.9%)	$11,493			$343			$11,151	66.4	45.3	80	30		463960000363

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New! SchoolDigger ranking lists for SD student subgroups:

Female Students Male Students Asian Students African American Students Hispanic Students Native American Students White Students Multi-racial Students English Language Learner Students Special Education Students Low Socio Economic Status Students Migrant Students Homeless Students Foster Care Students Military Connected Students

About our rankings:

Schooldigger calculates school rankings based on Smarter Balanced Assessments English Language Arts, Smarter Balanced Assessments Mathematics, Smarter Balanced Assessments Science test scores released by the South Dakota Department of Education.
These rankings were last updated on October 30, 2025, and are based on the most recent test scores available. We update rankings as we receive new test scores from the South Dakota Department of Education, usually on a yearly basis.
Our sources of data include the National Center for Education Statistics, U.S. Department of Education and the South Dakota Department of Education.
For more information about our ranking process, please see our Ranking FAQ. Details about our methodology are here.

Educational resources:

Girl in a wheelchair raising her hand in a classroom setting

Understanding an IEP: The Ultimate Guide for Parents and Educators

Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA): Transforming Education in America

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.