Summary:
Zip code 57016 has one listed middle school, [Chester Middle School - 03](https://www.schooldigger.com/go/SD/schools/1230000832/school.aspx), serving grades 6–8, so families have no other listed local middle school to compare it with. In 2025–2026, Chester’s all-grade English Language Arts (ELA) proficiency was 62%, 13 percentage points above South Dakota, and math was 49%, 5 points above the state. The clearest concern is grade 8 science: proficiency fell to 26%, 14 points below the state rate.
Chester is both the highest- and lowest-performing school in this one-school list; that does not show how it compares with other nearby schools. Against the state, its strongest results were in ELA: the school was above state rates in every reported grade, with gaps of 10 points in grade 6, 17 in grade 7, and 6 in grade 8. Math was also above the state in grades 6–8, by 6, 8, and 4 points, respectively. Grade 8 science was the exception, at 26% compared with 41% statewide. SchoolDigger ranks Chester 55th of 151 statewide, in the 64th percentile, with 3 stars; it ranks the [Chester Area School District 39-1](https://www.schooldigger.com/go/SD/district/12300/search.aspx) 100th of 126, in the 21st percentile, with 1 star.
Across the two reported years, Chester’s ELA advantage over the state remained essentially unchanged at about 13 points, even as its score dipped from 64% to 62%. Its math advantage narrowed from 7 points to 5: Chester’s result fell from 51% to 49%, while the state rose from 43% to 44%. Science showed a much sharper decline: grade 8 proficiency dropped from 42% to 26%, while the state slipped from 43% to 41%. Other context includes an 11.2:1 student-teacher ratio in 2024–2025 and 19% free/reduced lunch eligible that school year. Chronic absenteeism in 2025–2026 was 6.6%, nearly matching the district’s 6.7% and below the state’s 19.8%.
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