Lemmon Elementary - 02

Lemmon Elementary - 02 serves 139 students in kindergarten through grade 5 in Lemmon, South Dakota, where no other schools are listed within 20 miles. In 2025–2026, its all-grades English language arts (ELA) and math proficiency were above both district and state results, and fifth-grade science was especially strong. The most important finding is that the school is currently ahead of the state and Lemmon School District 52-4 in both all-grades tested subjects.

The school’s strongest current comparison is fifth-grade science: 70% were proficient, compared with 41% statewide; the reported district result was also 70%. All-grades ELA was 62%, versus 58% for the district and 49% for the state, while math was 51%, compared with 44% for both. Grade-level results show a clear area to watch: fourth-grade ELA was 47%, just below the state’s 48%, and fourth-grade math was 47%, below the state’s 49%. Third and fifth grades were above the state in both subjects. No results for nearby schools were supplied, so these comparisons are with the district and state, not neighboring schools.

All-grades ELA and math have risen since 2022–2023, by 4 and 5 percentage points, respectively, though science has fluctuated considerably across the years. Chronic absenteeism was lower than both comparison benchmarks in the latest year: 7% at the school, versus 12% for the district and 20% statewide. SchoolDigger ranked the school 63rd of 203 South Dakota schools, at the 69th percentile with 4 stars, in 2025–2026. Its subgroup rankings differ: female students were at the 86th percentile that year, above the school’s overall percentile, while male students were at the 38th percentile in 2024–2025, below the overall 63rd percentile. The student-teacher ratio was 12.6 in 2024–2025, and 48% of students were free/reduced lunch eligible that school year; these figures provide context, not explanations for results.