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Watertown Middle School - 02

Q: Is Watertown Middle School - 02 a good school?

Watertown Middle School - 02 ranks 57 th of 246 South Dakota middle schools. SchoolDigger rates this school 4 stars out of 5.

Public Grades 7-8

57^th

SchoolDigger Rank ?

of 246 South Dakota Middle Schools

Better than 77% of South Dakota middle schools

Summary

Watertown Middle School - 02 is a public middle school serving grades 7-8 in Watertown, South Dakota, with 587 students. It is part of the Watertown School District 14-4, which is ranked 99 out of 147 districts in the state and has a 2-star rating from SchoolDigger. However, Watertown Middle School - 02 has consistently ranked among the top 30-50 middle schools in South Dakota over the past decade, earning a 4-star rating from SchoolDigger.

The school's academic performance is a standout, consistently outperforming the state and district averages in Smarter Balanced Assessments for English Language Arts and Mathematics. In 2024-2025, the school had 62.64% of students proficient or better in ELA, compared to 56.45% for the district and 50.93% for the state. In Mathematics, the school had 50.91% proficiency, compared to 46.93% for the district and 43.49% for the state. Additionally, the school has strong performance across various student subgroups, ranking in the top 50 middle schools in the state for Female Students, Male Students, Native American Students, and Special Education Students in both ELA and Mathematics.

While Watertown Middle School - 02 is the primary middle school in the district, there are several other middle schools within a 20-mile radius, including Henry Middle School - 03, Florence Middle School - 03, Castlewood Middle School - 03, Waverly-South Shore Middle School - 03, and Watertown Intermediate School - 13. This proximity to other middle schools in the region presents opportunities for collaboration and shared learning.

575

Students ?

14.8

Student/teacher ratio ?

$10,878

Per pupil spending ?

35%

Free/discounted lunch ?

1700 11th St NE
Watertown, SD 57201

(605) 882-6370

District: Watertown School District 14-4

Students who attend Watertown Middle School - 02 usually attend:

High:

Watertown High School - 01

Racial breakdown:

White:

82.3%

Hispanic:

7.1%

Two or more races:

6.6%

See top rated South Dakota middle schools

Compare Watertown Middle School - 02 to nearby middle schools!

At a glance

▼ Ranking trend: Declining — 93rd percentile in 2015 → 77th in 2025

Strengths

✓Test scores above the South Dakota average (53% vs 47% meeting standards)

✓Ranks in the top 23% of South Dakota middle schools

Worth a look

!Ranking has slipped — down 16 percentile points since 2015

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

Students meeting standards (2024-2025) ?

This school53%

District avg51%

South Dakota avg47%

57^th of 246

South Dakota public middle schools ?

Top 23%▼ down 16 pts since 2015

From top 7% (2015) to top 23% (2025)

See the entire ranking list of South Dakota Middle Schools →

★★★★★

SchoolDigger rating ?

99^th of 147Watertown 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
2025	69.0	57 of 246	76.8%	★★★★☆
2024	69.8	30 of 147	79.6%	★★★★☆
2023	71.8	32 of 150	78.7%	★★★★☆
2022	72.8	24 of 143	83.2%	★★★★☆
2021	65.9	34 of 145	76.6%	★★★★☆
2019	70.8	34 of 149	77.2%	★★★★☆
2018	63.5	48 of 147	67.3%	★★★☆☆
2017	73.9	30 of 146	79.5%	★★★★☆
2016	80.6	14 of 147	90.5%	★★★★★
2015	85.7	10 of 145	93.1%	★★★★★
2013	72.1	27 of 145	81.4%	★★★★☆
2012	70.4	34 of 146	76.7%	★★★★☆
2011	71.8	24 of 140	82.9%	★★★★☆
2010	65.3	48 of 139	65.5%	★★★☆☆
2009	73.1	20 of 139	85.6%	★★★★☆
2008	78.1	7 of 136	94.9%	★★★★★
2007	71.2	25 of 136	81.6%	★★★★☆
2006	68.4	38 of 141	73.0%	★★★★☆
2005	59.8	59 of 136	56.6%	★★★☆☆
2004	54.1	82 of 134	38.8%	★★☆☆☆
2003	53.4	70 of 133	47.4%	★★☆☆☆

African American

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	South Dakota percentile	Rating
2025	48.2	17 of 47	63.8%	★★★☆☆

English Language Learner

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	South Dakota percentile	Rating
2025	36.2	75 of 117	35.9%	★★☆☆☆

Female

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	South Dakota percentile	Rating
2025	68.0	47 of 229	79.5%	★★★★☆
2024	66.7	24 of 107	77.6%	★★★★☆
2023	62.7	40 of 112	64.3%	★★★☆☆
2022	69.6	23 of 102	77.5%	★★★★☆
2021	60.1	41 of 113	63.7%	★★★☆☆
2019	71.4	22 of 107	79.4%	★★★★☆
2018	62.4	34 of 99	65.7%	★★★☆☆

Foster Care

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	South Dakota percentile	Rating
2025	48.6	17 of 47	63.8%	★★★☆☆

Hispanic

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	South Dakota percentile	Rating
2025	38.4	76 of 117	35.0%	★★☆☆☆
2024	41.2	16 of 26	38.5%	★★☆☆☆
2023	63.1	7 of 24	70.8%	★★★★☆
2022	42.0	12 of 19	36.8%	★★☆☆☆
2021	39.4	13 of 23	43.5%	★★★☆☆
2019	33.7	14 of 21	33.3%	★★☆☆☆

Low Socio Economic Status

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	South Dakota percentile	Rating
2025	48.8	92 of 187	50.8%	★★★☆☆
2024	58.1	23 of 65	64.6%	★★★☆☆
2023	78.1	6 of 70	91.4%	★★★★★
2022	67.9	9 of 46	80.4%	★★★★☆
2021	55.0	23 of 63	63.5%	★★★☆☆
2019	60.7	23 of 79	70.9%	★★★★☆
2018	66.5	22 of 71	69.0%	★★★★☆

Male

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	South Dakota percentile	Rating
2025	64.6	65 of 233	72.1%	★★★★☆
2024	70.0	26 of 115	77.4%	★★★★☆
2023	76.8	17 of 116	85.3%	★★★★☆
2022	71.3	20 of 104	80.8%	★★★★☆
2021	68.0	25 of 115	78.3%	★★★★☆
2019	67.9	32 of 110	70.9%	★★★★☆
2018	60.4	41 of 111	63.1%	★★★☆☆

Migrant

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	South Dakota percentile	Rating
2025	32.8	8 of 17	52.9%	★★★☆☆

Military Connected

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	South Dakota percentile	Rating
2025	50.5	13 of 32	59.4%	★★★☆☆

Multi-racial

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	South Dakota percentile	Rating
2025	39.4	82 of 115	28.7%	★★☆☆☆
2024	22.7	18 of 22	18.2%	★☆☆☆☆
2023	64.8	6 of 21	71.4%	★★★★☆
2022	64.1	5 of 19	73.7%	★★★★☆
2021	51.7	10 of 18	44.4%	★★★☆☆

Native American

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	South Dakota percentile	Rating
2025	55.0	27 of 111	75.7%	★★★★☆
2024	94.4	2 of 31	93.5%	★★★★★
2018	74.9	4 of 30	86.7%	★★★★☆

Special Education

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	South Dakota percentile	Rating
2025	57.9	45 of 181	75.1%	★★★★☆
2024	76.6	2 of 29	93.1%	★★★★★
2023	62.1	6 of 27	77.8%	★★★★☆
2022	57.8	8 of 25	68.0%	★★★★☆
2018	68.8	5 of 32	84.4%	★★★★☆

White

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	South Dakota percentile	Rating
2025	70.6	47 of 230	79.6%	★★★★☆
2024	71.5	26 of 132	80.3%	★★★★☆
2023	68.5	31 of 136	77.2%	★★★★☆
2022	71.0	27 of 132	79.5%	★★★★☆
2021	64.4	36 of 136	73.5%	★★★★☆
2019	68.4	33 of 136	75.7%	★★★★☆
2018	54.9	55 of 131	58.0%	★★★☆☆

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)

White (2025)80th percentile+3 vs school

Female (2025)79th percentile+3 vs school

Native American (2025)76th percentile~ school

Special Education (2025)75th percentile~ school

Male (2025)72nd percentile-5 vs school

Foster Care (2025)64th percentile-13 vs school

African American (2025)64th percentile-13 vs school

Military Connected (2025)59th percentile-17 vs school

Migrant (2025)53rd percentile-24 vs school

Low Socio Economic Status (2025)51st percentile-26 vs school

English Language Learner (2025)36th percentile-41 vs school

Hispanic (2025)35th percentile-42 vs school

Multi-racial (2025)29th percentile-48 vs school

By subject vs South Dakota (2024-2025) ?

English Language Arts63%+12 vs state

Mathematics51%+7 vs state

Science39%-3 vs state

★

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Schools Near Watertown Middle School - 02

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 5th Grade	Smarter Balanced Assessments English Language Arts 6th Grade	Smarter Balanced Assessments English Language Arts 7th Grade	Smarter Balanced Assessments English Language Arts 8th Grade	Smarter Balanced Assessments English Language Arts All Grades	Smarter Balanced Assessments Mathematics 5th Grade	Smarter Balanced Assessments Mathematics 6th Grade	Smarter Balanced Assessments Mathematics 7th Grade	Smarter Balanced Assessments Mathematics 8th Grade	Smarter Balanced Assessments Mathematics All Grades	Smarter Balanced Assessments Science 5th Grade	Smarter Balanced Assessments Science 8th Grade	Per Pupil Expenditures Total	Sub-total from Federal Funds	Sub-total from State/Local Funds
Watertown Middle School - 02	Public	7-8	1700 11th St NE	Watertown	57201	Codington County	Watertown School District 14-4	(n/a)	(n/a)	No	No	(605) 882-6370	575	39	14.8	35.0%	473 (82.3%)	2 (0.3%)	41 (7.1%)	2 (0.3%)	19 (3.3%)	0 (0.0%)	38 (6.6%)	69	57^th of 246 public middle schools	76.8%		69.8	30^th of 147 public middle schools	79.6%	27			62.6	62.7	62.6			53.3	48.6	50.9		39.5	$10,878	$410	$10,468
Watertown Intermediate School - 13	Public	5-6	601 11th St NE	Watertown	57201	Codington County	Watertown School District 14-4	(n/a)	(n/a)	No	No	(605) 882-6355	532	37	14.3	38.5%	423 (79.5%)	1 (0.2%)	46 (8.6%)	4 (0.8%)	18 (3.4%)	0 (0.0%)	40 (7.5%)								(n/a)	61.6	55.6			58.5	47.2	48.1			47.7	50.4		$10,958	$410	$10,548
Waverly-South Shore Middle School - 03	Public	6-8	319 Mary Pl	Waverly	57201	Codington County	Waverly School District 14-5	(n/a)	(n/a)	No	No	(605) 886-9174	69	4	15.3	37.7%	66 (95.7%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	1 (1.4%)	0 (0.0%)	2 (2.9%)	41.8	164^th of 246 public middle schools	33.3%		22.4	122^nd of 147 public middle schools	17.0%	42		45.0	33.3	42.3	40.0		35.0	12.5	30.8	25.7		42.3	$12,273	$00	$12,273
Castlewood Middle School - 03	Public	6-8	310 E Harry St	Castlewood	57223	Hamlin County	Castlewood School District 28-1	(n/a)	(n/a)	No	No	(605) 793-2497	76	4	18.2	18.4%	69 (90.8%)	0 (0.0%)	5 (6.6%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	2 (2.6%)	40.5	168^th of 246 public middle schools	31.7%		48.1	81^st of 147 public middle schools	44.9%	87		28.0	48.2	41.7	39.5		36.0	33.3	16.7	29.0		33.3	$11,116	$121	$10,995
Florence Middle School - 03	Public	6-8	515 Main Ave	Florence	57235	Codington County	Florence School District 14-1	(n/a)	(n/a)	No	No	(605) 758-2412	71	4	19.1	32.4%	70 (98.6%)	0 (0.0%)	1 (1.4%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	24.2	195^th of 246 public middle schools	20.7%		24.4	120^th of 147 public middle schools	18.4%	75		16.7	38.9	36.4	28.6		16.7	27.8	13.6	18.6		9.1	$10,890	$00	$10,890
Henry Middle School - 03	Public	6-8	111 N Cedar	Henry	57243	Codington County	Henry School District 14-2	(n/a)	(n/a)	No	No	(605) 532-5364	45	4	12.6	42.2%	45 (100.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	18.7	211^th of 246 public middle schools	14.2%		6.8	140^th of 147 public middle schools	4.8%	71		35.7	21.4	12.5	22.7		28.6	14.3	0.0	13.6		0.0	$15,297	$00	$15,297

Frequently Asked Questions about Watertown Middle School - 02

How many students attend Watertown Middle School - 02?

In the 2024-25 school year, 575 students attended Watertown Middle School - 02.

What high school do graduates of Watertown Middle School - 02 attend?

Students who attend Watertown Middle School - 02 usually go on to attend Watertown High School - 01

What is the racial makeup of Watertown Middle School - 02?

Students at Watertown Middle School - 02 are 82% White, 7% Hispanic, 7% Two or more races, 3% American Indian.

Is Watertown Middle School - 02 a good school?

Watertown Middle School - 02 ranks 57^th of 246 South Dakota middle schools. SchoolDigger rates this school 4 stars out of 5.

What district is Watertown Middle School - 02 in?

Watertown School District 14-4

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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.