South Dakota Schools

    In the 2006 testing, South Dakota did not meet its Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP) requirements for the 2001 No Child Left Behind act, missing the mark due to certain demographics of students not testing high enough. AYP measures not only test scores, but participation in tests, attendance and graduation rates, and other factors. The number of schools needing improvement dropped by 17 to a total of 85 schools needing improvement in the 2006 testing.

In the 2006 fiscal year, South Dakota budgeted over $279 million for student education, spending more than $6000 per student enrolled in public school. In the 2007 fiscal year, South Dakota will receive over $432 million in federal funding through NCLB to implement reforms, help non-English speaking students learn the language, and help schools in low-income areas help those students that need help most.

South Dakota rose four spots to be ranked 18 out of 50 for the 2005-06 in the “Smartest State” rankings, based off of Morgan Quinto’s annual reference guide “Education State Rankings 2005-06.” Quinto rated each state on 21 positive and negative factors—removing spending per student from the consideration and focusing more on student performance and personal attention from teachers. Because South Dakota has the third lowest enrollment in the country after Wyoming and Alaska, the state’s average class size is quite small—which helps raise South Dakota’s ranking.

For more information on South Dakota’s schools, or the 2006 report card for a specific district or school, visit South Dakota’s Department of Education website at http://doe.sd.gov.