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Harding County Middle School - 03

Public Grades 6-8
40th
SchoolDigger Rank ?
of 246 South Dakota Middle Schools
Better than 84% of South Dakota middle schools
Summary

Harding County Middle School - 03 is a public middle school in Buffalo, South Dakota, serving 58 students in grades 6-8. The school is part of the Harding County School District 31-1, which is ranked 22 out of 147 districts in the state and has a 4-star rating.

Harding County Middle School - 03 consistently performs above the state average in Smarter Balanced Assessments for English Language Arts and Mathematics across all grade levels. In the 2024-2025 school year, the school's proficiency rates were 60% in ELA and 56.66% in Math, compared to the state averages of 50.93% and 43.49%, respectively. The school's performance is particularly strong in 8th grade, where the proficiency rates were 75% in ELA and 70% in Math, significantly higher than the state averages. Compared to the Harding County School District 31-1, the school generally performs on par or slightly better in both ELA and Math assessments.

The school has seen a significant decrease in chronic absenteeism, from 20.2% in the 2024-2025 school year to 3.8% in the 2023-2024 school year, which is a positive indicator for the school's overall performance and engagement. However, the school's special education students struggle, ranking 140th out of 181 South Dakota middle schools in the 2024-2025 school year, while the school's low socioeconomic status (SES) students perform exceptionally well, ranking 12th out of 187 South Dakota middle schools in the same year. The school's per-student spending has remained relatively consistent, and the student-teacher ratio has fluctuated, which may impact the level of individual attention and support available to students.

60
Students ?
15.0
Student/teacher ratio ?
$15,120
Per pupil spending ?
33.3%
Free/discounted lunch ?
 12474 Tipperary St
       Buffalo, SD  57720

(605) 375-3241

District: Harding County School District 31-1


Students who attend Harding County Middle School - 03 usually attend:

High:    Harding County High School - 01
Racial breakdown:

White:
100.0%
 See top rated South Dakota middle schools

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At a glance
▲ Ranking trend: Improving — 7th percentile in 2015 → 84th in 2025
Strengths
✓Test scores above the South Dakota average (59% vs 47% meeting standards)
✓Ranks in the top 16% of South Dakota middle schools
✓Ranking is trending up — up 77 percentile points since 2015
Worth a look
!Some student groups rank well below the school's overall statewide standing
Students meeting standards (2024-2025) ?
This school59%
District avg57%
South Dakota avg47%
40th of 246
South Dakota public middle schools ?
Top 16%▲ up 77 pts since 2015
From bottom 7% (2015) to top 16% (2025)
See the entire ranking list of South Dakota Middle Schools →
★★★★★
SchoolDigger rating ?
22nd of 147Harding County School District 31-1 among South Dakota districts
Statewide rank percentile over time (100 = the top-ranked school in the state; click a legend item to add a student group)
Show full rank history (all student groups)

All Students

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankSouth Dakota percentileRating
202573.740 of 24683.7%★★★★☆
202459.753 of 14763.9%★★★☆☆
202373.727 of 15082.0%★★★★☆
202276.018 of 14387.4%★★★★☆
202160.054 of 14562.8%★★★☆☆
201961.752 of 14965.1%★★★☆☆
201835.3111 of 14724.5%★☆☆☆☆
201752.879 of 14645.9%★★☆☆☆
201653.365 of 14755.8%★★★☆☆
201510.2135 of 1456.9%☆☆☆☆☆
201335.1121 of 14516.6%★☆☆☆☆
201254.579 of 14645.9%★★☆☆☆
200830.2120 of 13611.8%★☆☆☆☆
200751.289 of 13634.6%★★☆☆☆
200646.297 of 14131.2%★★☆☆☆
200558.761 of 13655.1%★★★☆☆
200459.758 of 13456.7%★★★☆☆
200369.624 of 13382.0%★★★★☆

Female

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankSouth Dakota percentileRating
202559.486 of 22962.4%★★★☆☆
202455.148 of 10755.1%★★★☆☆
202362.542 of 11262.5%★★★☆☆
202150.061 of 11346.0%★★☆☆☆

Low Socio Economic Status

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankSouth Dakota percentileRating
202578.412 of 18793.6%★★★★★

Male

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankSouth Dakota percentileRating
202576.031 of 23386.7%★★★★☆
202368.024 of 11679.3%★★★★☆

Special Education

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankSouth Dakota percentileRating
202532.0140 of 18122.7%★☆☆☆☆

White

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankSouth Dakota percentileRating
202568.154 of 23076.5%★★★★☆
202451.565 of 13250.8%★★★☆☆
202368.133 of 13675.7%★★★★☆
202272.224 of 13281.8%★★★★☆
202156.754 of 13660.3%★★★☆☆
201954.457 of 13658.1%★★★☆☆
201821.8118 of 1319.9%★☆☆☆☆
How student groups rank statewide ? (each group's percentile vs the same group at other schools — higher is better; the +/- beside each compares the group with this school's overall percentile)
Low Socio Economic Status (2025)94th percentile+10 vs school
Male (2025)87th percentile+3 vs school
White (2025)77th percentile-7 vs school
Female (2025)62nd percentile-21 vs school
Special Education (2025)23rd percentile-61 vs school
By subject vs South Dakota (2024-2025) ?
English Language Arts60%+9 vs state
Science60%+17 vs state
Mathematics57%+13 vs state

★
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Frequently Asked Questions about Harding County Middle School - 03

Students at Harding County Middle School - 03 are 100% White.

Students who attend Harding County Middle School - 03 usually go on to attend Harding County High School - 01

In the 2024-25 school year, 60 students attended Harding County Middle School - 03.

Harding County Middle School - 03 ranks 40th of 246 South Dakota middle schools. SchoolDigger rates this school 4 stars out of 5.


Rate Harding County Middle School - 03!



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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.




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