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Leola Junior High - 03

Public Grades 6-8
150th
SchoolDigger Rank ?
of 246 South Dakota Middle Schools
Better than 39% of South Dakota middle schools
Summary

Leola Junior High - 03 is a public middle school in Leola, South Dakota, serving grades 6-8 with a total enrollment of 27 students. The school is part of the Leola School District 44-2, which is ranked 67 out of 147 school districts in the state and has a 3-star rating from SchoolDigger.

Leola Junior High - 03 has consistently underperformed compared to the state and its own district in academic assessments, with proficiency rates in 2024-2025 of 29.17% in English Language Arts and 50% in Math, while the state and district averages were around 50% in both subjects. The school's performance has fluctuated over the years, with a high ranking of 3 out of 146 South Dakota middle schools in 2011-2012 and a low ranking of 150 out of 246 in 2024-2025. Additionally, the school has experienced a concerning increase in chronic absenteeism, rising from 4.0% in 2024-2025 to 20.2% in the same school year, significantly higher than the state average.

In comparison, the nearby Ipswich Middle School - 04, located about 19.5 miles away, consistently outperforms Leola Junior High - 03 in academic assessments, with proficiency rates around 70% in both English Language Arts and Math, and has a higher 5-star rating from SchoolDigger, compared to Leola's 2-star rating. The Leola school district should prioritize addressing the challenges faced by Leola Junior High - 03, including the declining academic performance and high chronic absenteeism, and consider implementing best practices from the higher-performing Ipswich Middle School - 04.

22
Students ?
5.6
Student/teacher ratio ?
$20,901
Per pupil spending ?
40.9%
Free/discounted lunch ?
 820 Leola Ave
       Leola, SD  57456

(605) 439-3477

District: Leola School District 44-2


Students who attend Leola Junior High - 03 usually attend:

High:    Leola High School - 01

Feeder schools for Leola Junior High - 03:

Elementary:    Grassland Colony Elementary - 06
    Leola Elementary - 02
    Long Lake Colony Elementary - 05
    Spring Creek Colony Elementary - 04
Racial breakdown:

White:
100.0%
 See top rated South Dakota middle schools

 Compare Leola Junior High - 03 to nearby middle schools!
At a glance
▼ Ranking trend: Declining — 84th percentile in 2004 → 39th in 2025
Strengths
✓Small classes — about 6 students per teacher
Worth a look
!Test scores below the South Dakota average (38% vs 47% meeting standards)
!Ranking has slipped — down 45 percentile points since 2004
!Science scores 23 pts below the South Dakota average
Students meeting standards (2024-2025) ?
This school38%
District avg51%
South Dakota avg47%
150th of 246
South Dakota public middle schools ?
Bottom 39%▼ down 49 pts since 2019
From top 12% (2019) to bottom 39% (2025)
See the entire ranking list of South Dakota Middle Schools →
★★★★★
SchoolDigger rating ?
67th of 147Leola School District 44-2 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
202544.8150 of 24639.0%★★☆☆☆
202250.974 of 14348.3%★★☆☆☆
202142.292 of 14536.6%★★☆☆☆
201977.618 of 14987.9%★★★★☆
201371.528 of 14580.7%★★★★☆
201284.03 of 14697.9%★★★★★
200767.635 of 13674.3%★★★★☆
200672.222 of 14184.4%★★★★☆
200570.527 of 13680.1%★★★★☆
200470.622 of 13483.6%★★★★☆
200362.346 of 13365.4%★★★☆☆

Female

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankSouth Dakota percentileRating
202545.1140 of 22938.9%★★☆☆☆

Low Socio Economic Status

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankSouth Dakota percentileRating
202535.4133 of 18728.9%★★☆☆☆

Male

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankSouth Dakota percentileRating
202546.7134 of 23342.5%★★☆☆☆

White

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankSouth Dakota percentileRating
202539.5161 of 23030.0%★★☆☆☆
202259.948 of 13263.6%★★★☆☆
201970.129 of 13678.7%★★★★☆
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)
Male (2025)42nd percentile+3 vs school
Female (2025)39th percentile~ school
White (2025)30th percentile-9 vs school
Low Socio Economic Status (2025)29th percentile-10 vs school
By subject vs South Dakota (2024-2025) ?
Mathematics50%+7 vs state
English Language Arts29%-22 vs state
Science20%-23 vs state

★
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Frequently Asked Questions about Leola Junior High - 03

Students who attend Leola Junior High - 03 usually go on to attend Leola High School - 01

Leola Junior High - 03 ranks 150th of 246 South Dakota middle schools. SchoolDigger rates this school 2 stars out of 5.

Students at Leola Junior High - 03 are 100% White.

In the 2024-25 school year, 22 students attended Leola Junior High - 03.


Rate Leola Junior High - 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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