Best Middle Schools in Zip Code 57382

ZIP code 57382 has one listed middle school, Wessington Springs Junior High - 04, serving grades 7–8 with 41 students. In 2025–2026, 32% of students were proficient in all-grades ELA and 22% in math, below both the Wessington Springs School District 36-2 (40% and 31%) and South Dakota (49% and 44%). The most important takeaway is that recent results improved, but the school’s all-grades proficiency remained notably below state results in both subjects.

There is no within-ZIP comparison: Wessington Springs Junior High - 04 is both the area’s top and bottom school by default. Its grade-level results were stronger relative to the district than its all-grades scores suggest: it was ahead by 1 point in grade 8 ELA, 1 point in grade 7 math, 2 points in grade 8 math, and 2 points in grade 8 science, while grade 7 ELA was 1 point below. However, it remained below the state in every grade-and-subject comparison, by 17 to 23 points.

All-grades ELA rose 14 points from 2024–2025 to 2025–2026, and math rose 6 points; the gap to the state narrowed by 16 points in ELA and 5 points in math. Grade 8 science was nearly unchanged, increasing by less than 1 point. SchoolDigger’s reported standing fell from the 21st percentile in 2023–2024 to the 7th percentile in 2025–2026, with its rating shifting from 1 star to 0. As context, the school’s student–teacher ratio was 11.8 in 2024–2025, and 29% of students were free/reduced lunch eligible that year; chronic absenteeism was 13% in 2025–2026, compared with 14% districtwide and 20% statewide. Because there is only one listed school, these figures cannot show how it compares with similar schools in the ZIP code.