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Watertown High School - 01

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

Watertown High School - 01 ranks 42 nd of 130 South Dakota high schools. SchoolDigger rates this school 3 stars out of 5.

Public Grades 9-12

42^nd

SchoolDigger Rank ?

of 130 South Dakota High Schools

Better than 68% of South Dakota high schools

Summary

Watertown High School - 01 serves grades 9–12 in Watertown, South Dakota, and enrolls 1,222 students, far more than the nearby high schools, which have 54 to 226 students. Its results show a clear mix of strengths and challenges. The clearest concern is all-grades Smarter Balanced math: in 2024–25, 29% of students were proficient, compared with 43% statewide and 47% in the district—gaps of 14 and 18 percentage points, respectively.

The latest 11th-grade ACT results are a brighter picture: Watertown is above the state in ELA, math, and science, and its district results are the same. In 2025–26, 54% were proficient in ELA versus 48% statewide, 38% in math versus 34%, and 51% in science versus 45%. Among Watertown and nearby schools with results, Watertown ranked third in ELA, second in math, and first in science; its science result was 11 percentage points above the nearby-school average. Graduation is more mixed: the 2025–26 rate was 90%, above the state’s 88% but below the four nearby schools with reported rates, which ranged from 91% to 100%. Henry’s school-level ACT results are suppressed.

Over three years, all-grades math proficiency fell 7 percentage points, from 36% in 2022–23 to 29% in 2024–25, while its gap to the state widened from 5 points below to 14 points below. ELA remained strong at 66% in 2024–25, and science was 49%, both above the state; ELA’s state advantage narrowed from 18 to 15 points, while science’s narrowed from 9 to 6. SchoolDigger ranks Watertown 42nd of 130 statewide, at the 68th percentile with 3 stars, up from the 47th percentile in 2023–24. Its 2024–25 student-teacher ratio was 16.8:1, the highest reported nearby. In 2024–25, 30% of students were free/reduced lunch eligible, compared with a nearby-school average of 25%; this is context, not an explanation of results. SchoolDigger’s statewide measure of how well the school serves “Multi-racial Students” rose to the 92nd percentile in 2025–26, while its “Hispanic Students” measure was at the 12th percentile, compared with the school’s overall 68th percentile.

1,222

Students ?

16.8

Student/teacher ratio ?

$10,121

Per pupil spending ?

30.1%

Free/reduced lunch eligible (2024-25) ?

200 NE 9th St
Watertown, SD 57201

(605) 882-6316

District: Watertown School District 14-4

Racial breakdown:

White:

81.6%

Hispanic:

8.1%

Two or more races:

5.6%

See top rated South Dakota high schools

Compare Watertown High School - 01 to nearby high schools!

At a glance

▲ Ranking trend: Improving — 57th percentile in 2016 → 68th in 2026

Strengths

✓Test scores above the South Dakota average (48% vs 42% meeting standards)

✓Ranking is trending up — up 11 percentile points since 2016

✓Above the South Dakota median (68th percentile)

Worth a look

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

Students meeting standards (2025-2026) ?

This school48%

District avg48%

South Dakota avg42%

42^nd of 130

South Dakota public high schools ?

Top 32%▲ up 11 pts since 2016

From top 43% (2016) to top 32% (2026)

See the entire ranking list of South Dakota High Schools →

★★★★★

SchoolDigger rating ?

46^th of 126Watertown School District 14-4 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
2026	62.4	42 of 130	67.7%	★★★☆☆
2025	56.5	81 of 166	51.2%	★★★☆☆
2024	50.2	75 of 141	46.8%	★★☆☆☆
2023	54.7	70 of 138	49.3%	★★★☆☆
2022	58.5	65 of 134	51.5%	★★★☆☆
2021	60.3	55 of 140	60.7%	★★★☆☆
2019	81.2	19 of 135	85.9%	★★★★☆
2018	69.0	41 of 138	70.3%	★★★★☆
2017	63.4	52 of 137	62.0%	★★★☆☆
2016	57.1	61 of 141	56.7%	★★★☆☆
2015	54.1	62 of 133	53.4%	★★★☆☆
2013	62.4	63 of 144	56.3%	★★★☆☆
2012	76.8	26 of 143	81.8%	★★★★☆
2011	69.5	46 of 141	67.4%	★★★☆☆
2010	49.4	94 of 150	37.3%	★★☆☆☆
2009	38.4	99 of 144	31.3%	★★☆☆☆
2008	53.9	68 of 135	49.6%	★★★☆☆
2007	80.8	17 of 141	87.9%	★★★★☆
2006	46.0	82 of 136	39.7%	★★☆☆☆
2005	33.5	106 of 137	22.6%	★☆☆☆☆
2004	47.0	80 of 132	39.4%	★★☆☆☆
2003	67.1	46 of 133	65.4%	★★★☆☆

Asian

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	South Dakota percentile	Rating
2025	71.5	6 of 31	80.6%	★★★★☆

English Language Learner

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	South Dakota percentile	Rating
2025	54.4	9 of 45	80.0%	★★★★☆

Female

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	South Dakota percentile	Rating
2026	52.6	43 of 96	55.2%	★★★☆☆
2025	58.6	74 of 164	54.9%	★★★☆☆
2024	47.7	56 of 93	39.8%	★★☆☆☆
2023	52.1	50 of 95	47.4%	★★★☆☆
2022	50.3	44 of 84	47.6%	★★★☆☆
2021	64.6	33 of 89	62.9%	★★★☆☆
2019	78.8	10 of 83	88.0%	★★★★☆
2018	64.4	31 of 82	62.2%	★★★☆☆

Hispanic

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	South Dakota percentile	Rating
2026	21.4	14 of 16	12.5%	★☆☆☆☆
2025	32.7	56 of 81	30.9%	★★☆☆☆
2024	7.4	17 of 17	0.0%	☆☆☆☆☆
2023	28.2	10 of 15	33.3%	★★★☆☆
2022	28.4	8 of 11	27.3%	★★☆☆☆
2021	41.1	5 of 9	44.4%	★★★☆☆

Low Socio Economic Status

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	South Dakota percentile	Rating
2026	67.8	12 of 40	70.0%	★★★★☆
2025	41.0	89 of 154	42.2%	★★☆☆☆
2024	37.1	30 of 48	37.5%	★★☆☆☆
2023	32.6	37 of 46	19.6%	★☆☆☆☆
2022	50.2	13 of 25	48.0%	★★★☆☆
2021	60.9	10 of 37	73.0%	★★★★☆
2019	58.3	13 of 44	70.5%	★★★★☆
2018	50.5	27 of 53	49.1%	★★★☆☆

Male

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	South Dakota percentile	Rating
2026	70.0	23 of 95	75.8%	★★★★☆
2025	50.2	79 of 162	51.2%	★★★☆☆
2024	50.9	55 of 107	48.6%	★★★☆☆
2023	52.0	53 of 96	44.8%	★★☆☆☆
2022	58.5	35 of 87	59.8%	★★★☆☆
2021	51.5	44 of 89	50.6%	★★★☆☆
2019	80.6	13 of 88	85.2%	★★★★☆
2018	71.6	22 of 90	75.6%	★★★★☆

Migrant

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	South Dakota percentile	Rating
2025	29.9	5 of 11	54.5%	☆☆☆☆☆

Multi-racial

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	South Dakota percentile	Rating
2026	94.7	1 of 12	91.7%	★★★★★
2025	54.6	35 of 89	60.7%	★★★☆☆
2024	17.7	12 of 14	14.3%	★☆☆☆☆

Native American

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	South Dakota percentile	Rating
2025	34.8	54 of 83	34.9%	★★☆☆☆
2021	29.8	15 of 17	11.8%	★☆☆☆☆
2018	46.7	11 of 19	42.1%	★★☆☆☆

Special Education

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	South Dakota percentile	Rating
2025	41.4	72 of 140	48.6%	★★☆☆☆
2024	47.7	10 of 19	47.4%	★★★☆☆
2023	39.6	7 of 10	30.0%	★★☆☆☆
2018	55.7	6 of 17	64.7%	★★★★☆

White

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	South Dakota percentile	Rating
2026	59.4	48 of 121	60.3%	★★★☆☆
2025	54.0	78 of 158	50.6%	★★★☆☆
2024	50.1	69 of 125	44.8%	★★☆☆☆
2023	48.2	70 of 121	42.1%	★★☆☆☆
2022	57.7	56 of 123	54.5%	★★★☆☆
2021	57.3	52 of 129	59.7%	★★★☆☆
2019	77.6	24 of 123	80.5%	★★★★☆
2018	65.9	37 of 123	69.9%	★★★★☆

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)

Multi-racial (2026)92nd percentile+24 vs school

Asian (2025)81st percentile+29 vs school

English Language Learner (2025)80th percentile+29 vs school

Male (2026)76th percentile+8 vs school

Low Socio Economic Status (2026)70th percentile~ school

White (2026)60th percentile-7 vs school

Female (2026)55th percentile-12 vs school

Migrant (2025)55th percentile+3 vs school

Special Education (2025)49th percentile-3 vs school

Native American (2025)35th percentile-16 vs school

Hispanic (2026)12th percentile-55 vs school

By subject vs South Dakota (2025-2026) ?

English Language Arts54%+6 vs state

Science51%+6 vs state

Mathematics38%+4 vs state

1.0

1 rating · 1 written review

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What people are saying

by a parent
Wednesday, March 29, 2017

Administration talks at you. Does not want to integrate parental solutions to ongoing poor behavior patterns. Simply continues to lower the bar so graduation rate appears decent. Passing with all D's is good enough and proficient is only 75. Uggh! Close Quote

Schools Near Watertown High School - 01

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Ranking:

E Elementary M Middle H High A Alternative P Private

Choose columns to see: Summary School Students/Teachers Ranking Test Scores Finance All

School													Students/Teachers											Ranking (2026)				Ranking (2025)				SD ACT English Language Arts (2026)	SD ACT Mathematics (2026)	SD ACT Science (2026)	Smarter Balanced Assessments English Language Arts (2026)	Smarter Balanced Assessments Mathematics (2026)	Smarter Balanced Assessments Science (2026)	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/reduced lunch (2024-25)	White	Black	Hispanic	Asian	American Indian	Pacific Islander	Two or More Races	Average Standard Score (2026)	Statewide Rank (2026)	State Percentile (2026)	SchoolDigger Rating (2026)	Average Standard Score (2025)	Statewide Rank (2025)	State Percentile (2025)	Rank Change from Previous Year	SD ACT English Language Arts 11th Grade	SD ACT Mathematics 11th Grade	SD ACT Science 11th Grade	Smarter Balanced Assessments English Language Arts All Grades	Smarter Balanced Assessments Mathematics All Grades	Smarter Balanced Assessments Science All Grades	Per Pupil Expenditures Total	Sub-total from Federal Funds	Sub-total from State/Local Funds
Watertown High School - 01	Public	9-12	200 NE 9th St	Watertown	57201	Codington County	Watertown School District 14-4	(n/a)	(n/a)	No	No	(605) 882-6316	1,222	73	16.8	30.1%	997 (81.6%)	5 (0.4%)	99 (8.1%)	8 (0.7%)	44 (3.6%)	0 (0.0%)	69 (5.6%)	62.4	42^nd of 130 public high schools	67.7%		56.5	81^st of 166 public high schools	51.2%	39	54.3	37.9	51.3				$10,121	$410	$9,711
Waverly-South Shore High School - 01	Public	9-12	319 Mary Pl	Waverly	57201	Codington County	Waverly School District 14-5	(n/a)	(n/a)	No	No	(605) 886-9174	86	7	12.2	22.1%	77 (89.5%)	0 (0.0%)	3 (3.5%)	0 (0.0%)	5 (5.8%)	0 (0.0%)	1 (1.2%)	57.4	52^nd of 130 public high schools	60.0%		31.6	129^th of 166 public high schools	22.3%	77	60.0	35.0	45.0				$13,223	$00	$13,223
Castlewood High School - 01	Public	9-12	310 E Harry St	Castlewood	57223	Hamlin County	Castlewood School District 28-1	(n/a)	(n/a)	No	No	(605) 793-2497	112	7	16.2	14.3%	102 (91.1%)	0 (0.0%)	7 (6.3%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	3 (2.7%)	68.1	34^th of 130 public high schools	73.8%		63.2	62^nd of 166 public high schools	62.7%	28	56.7	43.3	50.0				$11,478	$147	$11,330
Florence High School - 01	Public	9-12	515 Main Ave	Florence	57235	Codington County	Florence School District 14-1	(n/a)	(n/a)	No	No	(605) 758-2412	102	9	10.8	25.5%	99 (97.1%)	0 (0.0%)	1 (1.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	2 (2.0%)	31.1	93^rd of 130 public high schools	28.5%		30.1	132^nd of 166 public high schools	20.5%	39	40.0	33.3	36.7				$11,539	$00	$11,539
Henry High School - 01	Public	9-12	111 N Cedar	Henry	57243	Codington County	Henry School District 14-2	(n/a)	(n/a)	No	No	(605) 532-5364	54	5	10.8	38.9%	54 (100.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)								(n/a)
Hamlin High School - 01	Public	9-12	44577 188th St	Hayti	57241	Hamlin County	Hamlin School District 28-3	(n/a)	(n/a)	No	No	(605) 783-3644	226	19	12.2	25.7%	204 (90.3%)	1 (0.4%)	15 (6.6%)	1 (0.4%)	3 (1.3%)	0 (0.0%)	2 (0.9%)	11.8	121^st of 130 public high schools	6.9%		75.5	30^th of 166 public high schools	81.9%	91	33.3	19.6	29.4				$15,439	$89	$15,350

Frequently Asked Questions about Watertown High School - 01

How many students attend Watertown High School - 01?

In the 2024-25 school year, 1,222 students attended Watertown High School - 01.

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

Students at Watertown High School - 01 are 82% White, 8% Hispanic, 6% Two or more races, 4% American Indian.

What schools feed into Watertown High School - 01?

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

Elementary : Jefferson Elementary - 09
Elementary : Lincoln Elementary - 05
Elementary : McKinley Early Childhood Center - 06
Elementary : Mellette Elementary - 07
Middle : Watertown Intermediate School - 13
Middle : Watertown Middle School - 02

What district is Watertown High School - 01 in?

Watertown School District 14-4

Is Watertown High School - 01 a good school?

Watertown High School - 01 ranks 42^nd of 130 South Dakota high schools. SchoolDigger rates this school 3 stars out of 5.

Rate Watertown High School - 01!

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Latest South Dakota data All new data »

2025–26 attendance data, dropout rates & graduation ratesNewNov 6, 2026

2025–26 SD ACT & Smarter Balanced Assessments scoresNewNov 6, 2026

2024–25 attendance data & graduation rates (updated)NewNov 1, 2026

2025–26 immunization ratesOct 24, 2026

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.