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Best High Schools in South Dakota

The top 50 high schools (grades 9-12) in South Dakota, ranked by enrollment from NCES data with EDFacts proficiency rates where available. Average proficiency across this list is 66%.

#SchoolCityEnrollmentProficiency
1Washington High School - 01Sioux Falls, SD1,91055%
2Lincoln High School - 02Sioux Falls, SD1,88365%
3Central High School - 41Rapid City, SD1,76846%
4Jefferson High School - 67Sioux Falls, SD1,74963%
5Roosevelt High School - 03Sioux Falls, SD1,71357%
6Stevens High School - 42Rapid City, SD1,68670%
7Harrisburg High School - 01Harrisburg, SD1,61365%
8Central High School - 01Aberdeen, SD1,38854%
9Brandon Valley High School - 01Brandon, SD1,34564%
10Watertown High School - 01Watertown, SD1,22070%
11Brookings High School - 01Brookings, SD1,05065%
12Sturgis Brown High School - 01Sturgis, SD84271%
13T F Riggs High School - 01Pierre, SD84273%
14Spearfish High School - 01Spearfish, SD79662%
15Tea Area High School - 03Tea, SD61060%
16Dakota Valley High School - 01North Sioux City, SD44864%
17Vermillion High School - 01Vermillion, SD43063%
18West Central High School - 01Hartford, SD40360%
19Milbank High School - 01Milbank, SD35969%
20Dell Rapids High School - 01Dell Rapids, SD29069%
21Custer High School - 01Custer, SD28471%
22Canton High School - 01Canton, SD28372%
23Tri-Valley High School - 01Colton, SD27669%
24Hot Springs High School - 01Hot Springs, SD25566%
25Hamlin High School - 01Hayti, SD23366%
26Beresford High School - 01Beresford, SD22771%
27Sioux Valley High School - 01Volga, SD22463%
28Elk Point-Jefferson High School - 01Elk Point, SD21465%
29Flandreau High School - 01Flandreau, SD21066%
30Baltic High School - 01Baltic, SD16276%
31Redfield High School - 01Redfield, SD16267%
32Deuel High School - 01Clear Lake, SD16067%
33Parker High School - 01Parker, SD15775%
34Miller High School - 01Miller, SD13365%
35Hanson High School - 01Alexandria, SD13162%
36Garretson High School - 01Garretson, SD12877%
37McCook Central High School - 01Salem, SD12873%
38Chester Area Cyber School - 92Chester, SD12364%
39Parkston High School - 01Parkston, SD12268%
40Platte - Geddes High School - 01Platte, SD11971%
41Viborg-Hurley High School - 01Viborg, SD11962%
42Chester High School - 01Chester, SD11673%
43Ipswich High School - 01Ipswich, SD11463%
44Deubrook High School - 01White, SD11376%
45Timber Lake High School - 01Timber Lake, SD11362%
46Howard High School - 01Howard, SD11070%
47Wolsey Wessington High School - 01Wolsey, SD11063%
48Clark High School - 01Clark, SD10264%
49Wessington Springs High School Cyber School - 92Wessington Springs, SD9261%
50Faulkton High School - 01Faulkton, SD7760%

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Frequently Asked Questions

What is the best high school in South Dakota?

The largest high school in South Dakota is Washington High School - 01 in Sioux Falls with 1,910 students and a 55% proficiency rate. Rankings are based on NCES Common Core of Data enrollment and EDFacts proficiency results.

How many high schools are in South Dakota?

This page shows the top 50 high schools (grades 9-12) in South Dakota by enrollment. Browse the full state directory to see all schools.

What does the proficiency rate measure?

Proficiency rate is the percentage of students meeting grade-level standards on combined math and reading assessments, as reported by EDFacts. Data is district-level and applied to each school in the district.

Where does this data come from?

Enrollment and school characteristics come from the NCES Common Core of Data. Proficiency rates come from EDFacts assessment results. Both are official federal datasets published by the U.S. Department of Education.

The this entity category groups every U.S. K-12 school outcomes and enrollment entity sharing this attribute. The list above is the data; the paragraphs below explain what the grouping means against the broader NCES Common Core of Data and EDFacts distribution and how to read the relative rankings within the category.

For readers using this category as a starting point, the per-entity detail pages linked from the table above carry the underlying NCES Common Core of Data and EDFacts data in full. The category-level view is the filter; the per-entity pages are the actual answer.

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Schools are ranked by enrollment within the state. Proficiency rates come from EDFacts assessment results, district-level figures applied to each school in the district.

Source: NCES Common Core of Data, 2026.