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Chester High School - 01

Q: Is Chester High School - 01 a good school?

Chester High School - 01 ranks 18 th of 166 South Dakota high schools. SchoolDigger rates this school 4 stars out of 5.

Public Grades 9-12

18^th

SchoolDigger Rank ?

of 166 South Dakota High Schools

Better than 89% of South Dakota high schools

Summary

Chester High School - 01 is a public high school in Chester, South Dakota, serving 103 students in grades 9-12. The school is part of the Chester Area School District 39-1, which is ranked 108 out of 147 school districts in the state and has a 1-star rating from SchoolDigger.

Chester High School - 01 has consistently performed well academically, ranking 18th out of 166 high schools in South Dakota and receiving a 4-star rating from SchoolDigger in the 2024-2025 school year. The school has shown strong performance across various student subgroups, ranking among the top high schools in the state for female, male, white, special education, and low socioeconomic status students. Chester High School - 01 has maintained high graduation rates, with a 4-year graduation rate of 86.4% in the 2024-2025 school year, and relatively low dropout rates.

While Chester High School - 01 is the highest-performing school in the immediate vicinity, there are several other high-performing schools within a reasonable distance, such as Montrose High School - 01, West Central High School - 01, and Baltic High School - 01. The Chester Area School District also includes two virtual high schools, Chester Area Cyber School - 92 and High Plains - 06, which have lower academic performance compared to Chester High School - 01.

107

Students ?

10.6

Student/teacher ratio ?

$13,027

Per pupil spending ?

14%

Free/discounted lunch ?

102 2nd Ave
Chester, SD 57016

(605) 489-2411

District: Chester Area School District 39-1

Feeder schools for Chester High School - 01:

Elementary:	Chester Elementary -02
	Rustic Acres Elementary - 04
Middle:	Chester Middle School - 03

Racial breakdown:

White:

95.3%

Two or more races:

4.7%

See top rated South Dakota high schools

Compare Chester High School - 01 to nearby high schools!

At a glance

▬ Ranking trend: Holding steady — 86th percentile in 2015 → 89th in 2025

Strengths

✓Test scores above the South Dakota average (66% vs 50% meeting standards)

✓Ranks in the top 11% of South Dakota high schools

✓100% graduate in 4 years — above the South Dakota average (86%)

Worth a look

!Some student groups rank well below the school's overall statewide standing

Students meeting standards (2024-2025) ?

This school66%

District avg46%

South Dakota avg50%

18^th of 166

South Dakota public high schools ?

Top 11%▲ up 3 pts since 2015

From top 14% (2015) to top 11% (2025)

See the entire ranking list of South Dakota High Schools →

★★★★★

SchoolDigger rating ?

1^st of 3High Schools in the Chester Area School District 39-1

108^th of 147Chester Area School District 39-1 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

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	South Dakota percentile	Rating
2025	82.3	18 of 166	89.2%	★★★★☆
2024	86.6	12 of 141	91.5%	★★★★★
2023	62.1	51 of 138	63.0%	★★★☆☆
2022	78.3	26 of 134	80.6%	★★★★☆
2021	77.3	18 of 140	87.1%	★★★★☆
2019	83.7	16 of 135	88.1%	★★★★☆
2018	65.2	50 of 138	63.8%	★★★☆☆
2017	55.5	63 of 137	54.0%	★★★☆☆
2016	44.4	94 of 141	33.3%	★★☆☆☆
2015	83.1	19 of 133	85.7%	★★★★☆
2013	60.1	66 of 144	54.2%	★★★☆☆
2012	45.0	93 of 143	35.0%	★★☆☆☆
2011	21.0	124 of 141	12.1%	★☆☆☆☆
2010	38.6	114 of 150	24.0%	★☆☆☆☆
2009	51.8	82 of 144	43.1%	★★☆☆☆
2008	34.7	101 of 135	25.2%	★☆☆☆☆
2007	33.3	111 of 141	21.3%	★☆☆☆☆
2006	17.9	123 of 136	9.6%	★☆☆☆☆
2005	75.1	26 of 137	81.0%	★★★★☆
2004	24.2	111 of 132	15.9%	★☆☆☆☆
2003	18.1	118 of 133	11.3%	★☆☆☆☆

Female

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	South Dakota percentile	Rating
2025	74.9	27 of 164	83.5%	★★★★☆
2024	80.6	12 of 93	87.1%	★★★★☆
2023	56.7	42 of 95	55.8%	★★★☆☆
2022	93.9	2 of 84	97.6%	★★★★★
2019	78.1	12 of 83	85.5%	★★★★☆
2018	48.6	50 of 82	39.0%	★★☆☆☆

Low Socio Economic Status

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	South Dakota percentile	Rating
2025	85.5	8 of 154	94.8%	★★★★★

Male

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	South Dakota percentile	Rating
2025	81.4	24 of 162	85.2%	★★★★☆
2022	43.9	54 of 87	37.9%	★★☆☆☆
2021	82.2	9 of 89	89.9%	★★★★★
2018	77.0	10 of 90	88.9%	★★★★☆

Special Education

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	South Dakota percentile	Rating
2025	53.5	39 of 140	72.1%	★★★★☆

White

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	South Dakota percentile	Rating
2025	76.9	24 of 158	84.8%	★★★★☆
2024	81.7	14 of 125	88.8%	★★★★☆
2023	51.8	62 of 121	48.8%	★★☆☆☆
2022	69.9	39 of 123	68.3%	★★★★☆
2021	71.2	28 of 129	78.3%	★★★★☆
2019	82.7	15 of 123	87.8%	★★★★☆
2018	56.5	56 of 123	54.5%	★★★☆☆

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)95th percentile+6 vs school

Male (2025)85th percentile-4 vs school

White (2025)85th percentile-4 vs school

Female (2025)84th percentile-6 vs school

Special Education (2025)72nd percentile-17 vs school

By subject vs South Dakota (2024-2025) ?

English Language Arts70%+6 vs state

Science65%+16 vs state

Mathematics62%+26 vs state

★

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Schools Near Chester High School - 01

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 11th Grade	Smarter Balanced Assessments English Language Arts 12th Grade	Smarter Balanced Assessments English Language Arts All Grades	Smarter Balanced Assessments Mathematics 11th Grade	Smarter Balanced Assessments Mathematics 12th Grade	Smarter Balanced Assessments Mathematics All Grades	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
Chester High School - 01	Public	9-12	102 2nd Ave	Chester	57016	Lake County	Chester Area School District 39-1	(n/a)	(n/a)	No	No	(605) 489-2411	107	10	10.6	14.0%	102 (95.3%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	5 (4.7%)	82.3	18^th of 166 public high schools	89.2%		86.6	12^th of 141 public high schools	91.5%	6	70.3			62.2			64.9		$13,027	$417	$12,610
Chester Area Cyber School - 92	Public, Virtual	9-12	500 5th St	Chester	57016	Lake County	Chester Area School District 39-1	(n/a)	(n/a)	Yes	No	(605) 489-2411	106	4	25.1		106 (100.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	34.9	122^nd of 166 public high schools	26.5%		32.5	102^nd of 141 public high schools	27.7%	20	62.5	50.0	60.0	6.3	25.0	10.0	31.3	35.0	$10,891	$417	$10,474
High Plains - 06	Public, Virtual	9-12	500 5th St	Chester	57016	Lake County	Chester Area School District 39-1	(n/a)	(n/a)	Yes	No	(605) 489-2411	84	0	700.0	11.9%	79 (94.0%)	0 (0.0%)	2 (2.4%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	3 (3.6%)	13.8	153^rd of 166 public high schools	7.8%		6.8	130^th of 141 public high schools	7.8%	23	20.0	42.9	27.3	0.0	0.0	0.0	6.7	9.1	$6,423	$417	$6,006
Colman-Egan High School - 01	Public	9-12	200 S Loban Ave	Colman	57017	Moody County	Colman-Egan School District 50-5	(n/a)	(n/a)	No	No	(605) 534-3534	100	7	14.5	18.0%	85 (85.0%)	3 (3.0%)	7 (7.0%)	1 (1.0%)	2 (2.0%)	0 (0.0%)	2 (2.0%)	59.9	73^rd of 166 public high schools	56.0%		34.6	96^th of 141 public high schools	31.9%	23	76.5			17.7			58.8		$12,142	$355	$11,788
Tri-Valley High School - 01	Public	9-12	46474 252nd St	Colton	57018	Minnehaha County	Tri-Valley School District 49-6	(n/a)	(n/a)	No	No	(605) 446-3538	297	20	15.2	14.5%	263 (88.6%)	13 (4.4%)	15 (5.1%)	0 (0.0%)	2 (0.7%)	0 (0.0%)	4 (1.3%)	52.4	88^th of 166 public high schools	47.0%		62.6	47^th of 141 public high schools	66.7%	41	60.8			33.8			44.6		$12,269	$232	$12,037
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%)	66.4	50^th of 166 public high schools	69.9%		45.3	80^th of 141 public high schools	43.3%	30	70.6	100.0	71.2	36.7	50.0	36.9	54.1	55.0	$11,493	$343	$11,151
Dell Rapids High School - 01	Public	9-12	1216 N Garfield Ave	Dell Rapids	57022	Minnehaha County	Dell Rapids School District 49-3	(n/a)	(n/a)	No	No	(605) 428-5473	315	19	16.3	16.5%	285 (90.5%)	0 (0.0%)	20 (6.3%)	1 (0.3%)	1 (0.3%)	0 (0.0%)	8 (2.5%)	45.2	99^th of 166 public high schools	40.4%		32.9	101^st of 141 public high schools	28.4%	2	64.4			37.0			24.7		$10,841	$401	$10,440
Oldham-Ramona-Rutland High School	Public	9-12	102 School St	Rutland	57054	Lake County	Oldham-Ramona-Rutland School District 39-6	(n/a)	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(605) 586-4352	77	7	11.1	32.5%	72 (93.5%)	2 (2.6%)	2 (2.6%)	0 (0.0%)	1 (1.3%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	39.3	112^th of 166 public high schools	32.5%					(n/a)	52.9			17.7			47.1		$16,752	$1,098	$15,654
Baltic High School - 01	Public	9-12	1 Bulldog Ave	Baltic	57003	Minnehaha County	Baltic School District 49-1	(n/a)	(n/a)	No	No	(605) 529-5461	151	11	14.1	11.9%	132 (87.4%)	2 (1.3%)	7 (4.6%)	2 (1.3%)	3 (2.0%)	0 (0.0%)	5 (3.3%)	96.3	3^rd of 166 public high schools	98.2%		89.1	10^th of 141 public high schools	92.9%	7	96.7			66.7			83.3		$17,138	$1,798	$15,340
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%)	69.1	43^rd of 166 public high schools	74.1%		61.9	49^th of 141 public high schools	65.2%	6	73.3			40.0			53.3		$15,121	$261	$14,859

Frequently Asked Questions about Chester High School - 01

What is the racial makeup of Chester High School - 01?

Students at Chester High School - 01 are 95% White, 5% Two or more races.

What schools feed into Chester High School - 01?

Chester High School - 01 is fed by the following schools:

Elementary : Chester Elementary -02
Elementary : Rustic Acres Elementary - 04
Middle : Chester Middle School - 03

Is Chester High School - 01 a good school?

Chester High School - 01 ranks 18^th of 166 South Dakota high schools. SchoolDigger rates this school 4 stars out of 5.

What district is Chester High School - 01 in?

Chester Area School District 39-1

How many students attend Chester High School - 01?

In the 2024-25 school year, 107 students attended Chester High School - 01.

Rate Chester High School - 01!

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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.