BROOKINGS South Dakota schools regularly hand out report cards, but once a year the districts receive one with the release of the state Department of Educations annual district report cards.
The results are posted on the departments website for the 2024-25 school year.
According the website, student progress portion of the report is measured by assessment tests administered to grades 3-8 and 11 for English language arts and mathematics and grades 5, 8 and 11 for science.
Brookings progress numbers are close to the state levels. In English, the district had 53% of its test takers at or above the state expectations for the subject. This compares to the state average of 52%. In math Brookings had 43% at or above the state proficiency mark, just one percentage percent below the state average.
In science, the Brookings district matched the state average of 44% at or above the proficiency mark.
In the high school completion section, Brookings matches the state with an 86% on-time graduation rate and was five percentage points better than the state average with a 96% completion rate.
And, according to the state report, 64% of BHS students move on to higher education.
Brookings Superintendent Summer Schultz responded to the report via email to the Brookings Register.
Latest assessment data indicate that our students are performing in line with the South Dakota state average in ELA, math, and science; we are committed to exceeding this benchmark. This fall marks the second year of our district-wide literacy framework, aligned with the Science of Reading,” she wrote.
“While literacy is the anchor, this work is designed to elevate achievement across all content areas by strengthening Tier 1 instruction, vocabulary, and background knowledge, as well as comprehension skills that directly support success in math, science, and other subjects,” Schultz continued. “We recognize that many factors influence student outcomes, attendance, high-quality instruction and interventions, social-emotional well-being, and strong school-family partnerships.”
Brookings numbers in the educator qualifications were impressive, with an average of 13.8 years of experience for the school districts teachers and just 14.5% with three years or less in the classroom.
The Brookings community is extremely supportive of our district, and I believe the collective respect for education and importance of a strong educational foundation is felt by teachers who work in this educational community,” Schultz wrote. “We are just starting a Hometown Legacy recognition program that will recognize and celebrate staff members who are alumnus of the Brookings School District.”
Also, according to the report, Brookings had and attendance average of 87%, equaling the state average.
The percentage of chronic absenteeism” for the district was 24%, four percentage points above the state average.
This particular metric is unique as high schools are not included in the measure, and districts have autonomy to determine their own attendance policies, so district comparisons are difficult. Regardless, our goal is always 100% attendance, because when students are present, they engage more deeply, build relationships, and maximize their learning opportunities,” Schultz wrote. “At the same time, this isnt just a school problem, its a community problem. Thats why our local Communities That Care coalition has student attendance as a priority goal. It takes more than teachers and schools families, community organizations, and support systems all play a role.
Results from other school districts in the area:
Sioux Valley
The Sioux Valley School District was among the best-performing districts in the Register coverage area, with English, math and science scores at 63, 60 and 53 percentage points, all 9 points or better than the state average.
Sioux Valley Superintendent Laura Schuster said the results are a credit to the students, staff, teachers and parents int the district.
“We do have strong feelings on the importance of academics we have to give credit to our team, she said. We do a lot to prepare the students and make sure they know about the importance of the tests.
She added Were happy with the results, but we will always strive to do better in fhe future.
The district had a 97% high school completion rate and 93% on-time graduation rate.
According to the state report, 70% of Cossack graduates moved on to higher education.
The district also ranked well in the teacher experience category with an average of 11 years in the classroom.
We have a loyal staff that like to call Sioux Valley home. They want to work here and want to raise their families here, Schuster said.
Sioux Valley also bested state averages with a 97% attendance average and a chronic absenteeism rate of just 5%.
Arlington
Arlington also placed highly in the student performance part of the report with English, math and science proficiency percentages of 67, 73 and 50, all well above the state average. The school district also had an on-time graduation percentage and high school completion average of 95%.
Cardinal students had a 97% attendance rate and a chronic absenteeism rate of 4%.
The districts teachers have an average of 15.6 years of experience.
Deubrook
The Deubrook Area School District percentages in the student progress proficiency percentages were English, 43, math, 47, and science, 43, all at or near state averaged. According to the state report had an on-time graduation rate of 100% and 80% of the districts graduates were moving on to higher education.
Deubrook’s teachers had an average of 10.3 years of experience.
Colman-Egan
The Colman-Egan district had student proficiency rages of 49% in English, 43% in math and 41% in science, all close to the state average.
The district had an on-time graduation rate of 96% and high school completion rate of 100%.
According to the report, 82% of the schools graduates went on to higher education and the districts teachers had an average of 11.1 years.
Elkton-Lake Benton
In the student performance section, percentages of students at or above state proficiency levels were 39% in English, 33% in math and 21% in science.
The district had a 93% on-time graduation rate and 62% of the schools graduates moved on to higher education.
The districts teachers had an average of 7.5 years experience and 42.2% of the teachers had three years or fewer years in the classroom.
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