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B−
Schools in Brookings · Brookings School District 05-1

Brookings’s public schools beat 53% of South Dakota districts

The public schools Brookings’s kids attend, from kindergarten through graduation, outperform 53% of South Dakota’s districts on state tests and graduation. Among towns with similar incomes, they sit near the middle.

Math proficiency
41%
▼ 1 pts vs SD 42%
2020–21
Graduate on time
90%
▲ 6 pts vs SD 85%
class of 2020
Spent per student
$12.9K
▼ 1% vs SD $13.0K
FY2024
Students per teacher
15.3
SD 13.9
Schools
11
3,546 students
The School Grade

How Brookings compares

C+ Test scoresB Graduation
South Dakota school districts we grade (146)Better than 53%
Lower resultsHigher results
South Dakota towns with similar household incomes (296)Better than 53%
High confidence. Built on 1,732 tested students and a graduating class of 226; ordinary year-to-year swings are unlikely to change it.
How the School Grade works
  • Results, not inputs. Math and reading proficiency on South Dakota’s state tests against the state average, plus the four-year graduation rate. Spending and class size are shown but don’t count. Tests: 2020–21; graduation: class of 2020.
  • The whole path. A town’s grade follows its kids through every district that serves it, weighted by students tested. Tests count 60%, graduation 40%.
  • Graded within the state. Each state writes its own tests, so districts are compared with the rest of South Dakota only. A+ is the top 5%, A the next 10%, A− the next 10%, the B range the next 30%, the C range the next 30%, D the rest.
  • What a grade can’t tell you. Test results track family income, so we also compare towns with similar incomes. Visit, ask other parents, and read neighbor reviews. It’s our own summary of U.S. Department of Education data, not an official rating.

Where will my kid go?

Pick a grade. These are the public schools that serve Brookings.

The path, start to finish
PK–33 elementary schoolsDepends on your address
6–8George S. Mickelson Middle School - 02Brookings School District 05-1
9–12Brookings High School - 01Brookings School District 05-1

The district

Each district’s own page has its spending, test scores, enrollment and every school.

Test scores · 2020–21

How students score

Math41%
State average 42.2%

Brookings vs. its neighbors

Brookings’s schools rank 1st of 4 among the towns that share its borders. School Grade, by percentile among South Dakota districts.

Every school in Brookings

11 schools. Grades are ours, from state tests and graduation. Stars are from neighbors.

Elementary
Middle
High
Private & other

Parents talk

What Brookings families are saying about school.

Town Square →
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In town

Colleges in Brookings

1 college in Brookings, and 1 more within 30 miles.

Colleges →

Straight-line distance from the center of Brookings. Degree-granting colleges with students on campus · College Scorecard · IPEDS.

School data: U.S. Department of Education (NCES, EDFacts, F-33 school finance). The School Grade is our own summary of state test results and graduation rates, graded within South Dakota. Stars are from neighbors.

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