South Dakota’s 148 public school districts, consisting of 682 schools and 137,759 students, saw marginal improvement in school attendance.
The South Dakota Department of Education released its annual report Friday morning and the data shows that attendance in the 2023-2024 school year was 1 percentage point higher than the previous school year.
The percentage of students attending 90% of school days was 87% statewide, compared to 86% the previous school year. Before the COVID-19 pandemic, that attendance rate was 92% statewide.
“We are pleased with this positive momentum,” DOE Secretary Joe Graves said in the release. “We have been emphasizing in recent years on addressing attendance rates at the state and district levels. It is promising to see that our efforts are paying off.”
Last year’s report: South Dakota public schools report 21% of students still chronically absent in 2022-2023
Meanwhile, the state’s chronic absenteeism rate was 21%, matching last year’s figure. This figure looks at students who have attended school for more than ten days, but who have also missed 10% or more of the registered days within the school year.
The state’s public schools as a whole are 70% white, 10% Native American, 9% Latino, 6% multiracial, 3% black, 2% Asian, and less than 1% Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islander.
Thirty-four percent of South Dakota’s public elementary and middle school students are economically disadvantaged, 16% have a disability, 5% are English language learners, 2% are homeless, just over 1% have military ties, 1% are in foster care, and less than 1% are migrants.
Here’s how each student demographic group fared in attending 90% of school days, or how many of them were considered chronically absent statewide last school year:
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48% of homeless students attended 90% of school days; 59% were chronically absent.
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58% of Native American students attended 90% of school days; 51% were chronically absent.
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73% of Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islander students attended 90% of school days; 42% were chronically absent.
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75% of economically disadvantaged students attended 90% of school days; 34% were chronically absent.
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77% of students in foster care attended 90% of school days; 28% were chronically absent
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78% of Latino students attended 90% of school days; 31% were chronically absent
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82% of students with disabilities attended 90% of school days; 22% were chronically absent
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83% of multiracial students attended 90% of school days; 26% were chronically absent
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85% of black students attended 90% of school days; 26% were chronically absent
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85% of migrant students attended 90% of school days; 24% were chronically absent
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88% of English-speaking students attended 90% of school days; 20% were chronically absent
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91% of military-connected students attended 90% of school days; 15% were chronically absent
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92% of Asian students attended 90% of school days; 12% were chronically absent
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92% of white students attended 90% of school days; 13% were chronically absent
Sioux Falls School District Statistics
By comparison, in the Sioux Falls School District there are 24,358 students, and 57% of students are white, 16% are Latino, 13% are black, 8% are multiracial, 5% are Native American, 2% are Asian, and less than 1% are Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islanders.
In the Sioux Falls School District, 41% of students are economically disadvantaged, 16% have a disability, 12% are English language learners, 5% are homeless, 1% have military ties, 1% are in foster care, and 1% are immigrants.
More: How the Sioux Falls School District is using a $1.5 million grant to address chronic absenteeism
The district’s overall attendance rate was 85% and the chronic absenteeism rate was 26%. Here’s how each student demographic group did by attending 90% of school days, or how many students were considered chronically absent in the district last school year:
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47% of homeless students attended 90% of school days; 58% were chronically absent.
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53% of Native American students attended 90% of school days; 49% were chronically absent.
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54% of Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islander students attended 90% of school days; 49% were chronically absent.
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74% of students in foster care attended 90% of school days; 37% were chronically absent.
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76% of students considered economically disadvantaged attended 90% of school days; 36% were chronically absent.
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77% of Latino students attended 90% of school days; 35% were chronically absent.
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78% of multiracial students attended 90% of school days; 34% were chronically absent.
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79% of students with disabilities attended 90% of school days; 27% were chronically absent.
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81% of migrant students attended 90% of school days; 30% were chronically absent.
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85% of English-speaking students attended 90% of school days; 26% were chronically absent.
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86% of black students attended 90% of school days; 28% were chronically absent.
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88% of military-connected students attended 90% of school days; 22% were chronically absent.
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91% of white students attended 90% of school days; 18% were chronically absent.
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92% of Asian students attended 90% of school days; 16% were chronically absent.
The Sioux Falls School District is in the second year of the DOE’s three-year, $1.5 million grant to address chronic absenteeism, focusing on six schools: Garfield, Hawthorne, Hayward and Terry Redlin elementary schools, and George McGovern and Whittier middle schools. schools.
The district also recently launched a “Show Up” campaign, which it hopes will increase school attendance and inspire community members to participate in solutions to help children get into school.
More: Sioux Falls School District encourages the community to “stand up” for its students
Academics
In a news release about the report card, the DOE highlighted “academic growth” in English Language Arts (ELA) and math scores as both grew by 1 percentage point from the previous school year. The test scores on the report card come from students in groups 3 to 8 and 11.
Statewide, ELA scores were 51% in the 2023-2024 school year, up from 50% the year before. Statewide, math scores were 44% in the 2023-2024 school year, up from 43% the year before.
Graves said in the release that he expects to see more growth in ELA proficiency “as teachers become more knowledgeable about research and best practices” in the “science of reading.” The DOE has provided free training on the science to K-12 teachers and is working with the South Dakota Board of Regents to put more science of reading concepts into education programs.
More: How Secretary of Education Joe Graves plans to improve literacy rates in South Dakota
Meanwhile, science test scores in grades 5, 8 and 11 were 43% in the 2023-2024 school year, up from 43% last year.
The scores for the Sioux Falls School District were close to the state average: less than 1 percentage point at 50% for ELA, similar to 44% for math and five percentage points higher at 48% for science.
College and career readiness
Enrollment in Advanced Placement (AP) courses was 3,557 statewide, with 1,354 from the Sioux Falls School District alone.
Ninety-one percent of students statewide, and 89% districtwide, complete high school by age 21. Eighty-four percent of students statewide, and 86% of students in the district, graduate on time. The dropout rate for both the state and the Sioux Falls School District was 3%.
Statewide, 60% of graduates enter higher education, with 15% pursuing a two-year degree and 45% pursuing a four-year degree. Of those who attend college, 39% choose an in-state public university, 6% choose an in-state private university, and 15% go out-of-state.
The most popular colleges among South Dakota high school graduates continue to be South Dakota State University, the University of South Dakota, Lake Area Technical College, and Southeast Technical College.
Statewide, 72% of students are considered ready for college courses, 58% are assessment ready, and 54% are college and career ready.
The average ACT score among the 6,097 South Dakota students who took the exam last school year was 21.1, and the average ACT score in the Sioux Falls School District was 24, compared to the current national average of 20.6 of all candidates from all over public education. and non-public schools. South Dakota’s public universities require a score of 18 for general college admission.
More: South Dakota scores above neighboring states, national average on ACT
The ACT is currently optional for students considering higher education, but by spring 2026, all South Dakota juniors will take the ACT test during the school day as it will replace the previous state standardized assessment that juniors took.
This article originally appeared on Sioux Falls Argus Leader: South Dakota school attendance improves 1% in ‘positive momentum’
