Can I use Dawes County's school score to choose a house?

No. Use the Dawes County school score as a first-pass county screen, then verify the exact district, attendance boundary, transfer rules, and grade pathway for any address you are considering.

Does SchoolsByCounty confirm school attendance boundaries in Dawes County?

No. SchoolsByCounty publishes NCES and Census-backed public-school records. Attendance zones, magnet eligibility, charter lotteries, transportation, and transfer rules must be confirmed with local districts.

How should parents compare public schools in Dawes County?

Start with the 7 listed public schools and 3 district entries, then compare similar grade bands and confirm the address-level rules locally.

Dawes County Schools & Education

Name: Dawes County, Nebraska Education Data
Creator: National Center for Education Statistics (NCES)
License: https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/

Dawes County, Nebraska

NCES 2022-23 public school data and FY 2022 school-finance data

School Score

41/100

Percentile-style score

Score Band

Midrange Signal

Graduation Rate

58.4%

National avg 87.5%

Education Statistics

Graduation Rate

58.4%

National avg 87.5%

State avg 86.9%

Per-Pupil Spending

$9,444

National avg $13,239

State avg $10,521

School Score

41/100

Percentile-style score

State avg 64/100

State Score Position

#88

of 93 counties by score

Education Data Brief: Dawes County

Measured School Summary

Dawes County has midrange measured school signals (score: 41/100) with a graduation rate of 58.4%, which warrants review in official state and district records.

Funding Context

Dawes County spends $9,444 per student, which is on the lower end of adequate and may require careful resource allocation to maintain quality.

Neighbor Context

Its school score is 35% below the Nebraska average, and its graduation rate trails the state average by 28.5 percentage points, while per-pupil spending is 10% lower than the state norm.

School Data Brief

How to read Dawes County before comparing districts

County-level education data is best used as a screening layer. It summarizes the local school environment, then points you toward the district and school records that matter for local review.

Local context that changes the interpretation

7 public schools and 3 districts are represented below. Use those school and district records to confirm whether the county-level context fits the neighborhoods you are actually considering.

Overall screen

41/100

Mixed county signal. Ranks #88 of 93 Nebraska counties with school score data.

Completion

58.4%

28.5 pts below the state average

Funding context

$9,444

$1,077 below the state average

School coverage

3 districts represented in the county school list.

Start with measured county context

This county needs a closer look at district mix, school level, and local context. Compare the score, graduation rate, and spending together rather than treating any single metric as final.

Check the local school mix

Dawes County has 7 public schools across 3 districts, so school-level fit can vary inside the county.

Verify local rules

Use this page as county-level context, then confirm attendance zones, transportation, special programs, and current school boundaries with local districts.

View Public Schools Compare Counties

Parent decision brief

What Dawes County school data means before you move

County averages are useful for screening, but parents choose addresses, grade pathways, and district rules. This brief turns the public data into the checks that matter before you sign a lease or mortgage.

Mixed school landscape

Dawes County has enough school-level records to compare the local mix, but no single county metric should be treated as the answer. Use district shape, grade span, and data coverage together.

State position

#88

of 93 Nebraska counties with school score data. The county score is 23 points below the state average.

Data confidence

Usable

3 of 5 county signals are present, and 100% of listed schools report enrollment. Compare schools, then verify missing fields locally.

K-12 continuity check

These are the largest visible district slices in the county data. They show whether elementary, middle, and high school records appear together or whether a family needs to investigate transition points.

CHADRON PUBLIC SCHOOLS

Elementary to high school visible

941 students

Elementary 2Middle 1High 1Other 0

4 listed schools in this county slice.

CRAWFORD PUBLIC SCHOOLS

Elementary and high visible

174 students

Elementary 1Middle 0High 1Other 0

2 listed schools in this county slice.

PINE RIDGE JOB CORPS

High school only in this slice

30 students

Elementary 0Middle 0High 1Other 0

1 listed school in this county slice.

District reality check

CHADRON PUBLIC SCHOOLS is the largest listed district slice, with 4 schools. County pages do not prove address assignment, so verify boundaries with local district tools.

What the data cannot tell you

NCES records do not confirm current attendance zones, private-school options, transfer approvals, program capacity, transportation, or whether a listed school is available to a specific address.

Questions to ask before choosing an address

Which district actually serves the addresses we are considering in Dawes County?

Do the neighborhoods we like fall inside the same district, or are we comparing different Dawes County district systems?

What changes at the elementary-to-middle and middle-to-high transitions in the district pathway we would likely use?

If we need a program not visible in the NCES flags, which district office can confirm current offerings?

Are the largest listed schools the ones our address can actually attend, or are they only county-level context?

Data Story

Dawes County Graduation Rate Falls Significantly Below State Benchmarks

Education data brief for Dawes County, Nebraska.

By Evan Brooks, Data EditorPublished Jul 7, 2026Reviewed by Evan Brooks, Data Editor

Lead metric:Graduation rate

Dawes County reports a high school graduation rate of 58.4%, which is approximately 28 percentage points lower than the Nebraska state average of 86.9% and the national average of 87.0%. The county's composite school score of 41.4 also trails the state average of 63.6. Per-pupil expenditure is recorded at $9,444, falling below the state average of $10,521 and the national level of $13,000. The county serves 1,145 students across seven public schools, with Chadron Public Schools being the largest district, enrolling 941 students. The largest individual facility is Chadron Middle School with 288 students. The school directory indicates a mix of four town-based and three rural schools, including one school associated with the Pine Ridge Job Corps. Compare district boundaries before drawing conclusions.

Sources

NCES Common Core of Data
U.S. Census Bureau ACS

School Overview

Total Schools

in Dawes County

Reported Enrollment

1,145

7 schools reporting

School Districts

districts

Charter Schools

0% of total

School Level Breakdown

Elementary3

Middle1

High3

Other0

3 School Districts in Dawes County

CHADRON PUBLIC SCHOOLS

4 schools

941 students

CRAWFORD PUBLIC SCHOOLS

2 schools

174 students

PINE RIDGE JOB CORPS

1 school

30 students

7 Public Schools in Dawes County

Sorted by reported enrollment. Every NCES public school remains listed here; no school-level profile pages are included in the current generated coverage for this county.

NCES 2022-23 public school data and FY 2022 school-finance data

Search schools

Level

Sort

Showing 7 of 7 matching schools

Public schools in Dawes County, including district, location, profile availability, grades, type, and enrollment.
School Name	Profile	District	Location	Grades	Type / Flags	Reported Enrollment
CHADRON MIDDLE SCHOOL	Record	CHADRON PUBLIC SCHOOLS	CHADRON, 69337Town: Remote	5–8	Middle	288
CHADRON SENIOR HIGH SCHOOL	Record	CHADRON PUBLIC SCHOOLS	CHADRON, 69337Town: Remote	9–12	High	267
CHADRON PRIMARY	Record	CHADRON PUBLIC SCHOOLS	CHADRON, 69337Town: Remote	PK–3	Primary	240
CHADRON INTERMEDIATE	Record	CHADRON PUBLIC SCHOOLS	CHADRON, 69337Town: Remote	3–4	Primary	146
CRAWFORD ELEMENTARY SCHOOL	Record	CRAWFORD PUBLIC SCHOOLS	CRAWFORD, 69339Rural: Remote	PK–6	Primary	102
CRAWFORD HIGH SCHOOL	Record	CRAWFORD PUBLIC SCHOOLS	CRAWFORD, 69339Rural: Remote	7–12	High	72
PINE RIDGE JOB CORPS	Record	PINE RIDGE JOB CORPS	CHADRON, 69337Rural: Distant	10–12	High	30

CHADRON MIDDLE SCHOOL

CHADRON PUBLIC SCHOOLS

CHADRON, 69337 / Town: Remote

Record5–8Middle288 students

CHADRON SENIOR HIGH SCHOOL

CHADRON PUBLIC SCHOOLS

CHADRON, 69337 / Town: Remote

Record9–12High267 students

CHADRON PRIMARY

CHADRON PUBLIC SCHOOLS

CHADRON, 69337 / Town: Remote

RecordPK–3Primary240 students

CHADRON INTERMEDIATE

CHADRON PUBLIC SCHOOLS

CHADRON, 69337 / Town: Remote

Record3–4Primary146 students

CRAWFORD ELEMENTARY SCHOOL

CRAWFORD PUBLIC SCHOOLS

CRAWFORD, 69339 / Rural: Remote

RecordPK–6Primary102 students

CRAWFORD HIGH SCHOOL

CRAWFORD PUBLIC SCHOOLS

CRAWFORD, 69339 / Rural: Remote

Record7–12High72 students

PINE RIDGE JOB CORPS

CHADRON, 69337 / Rural: Distant

Record10–12High30 students

Education Funding Detail

Annual Per-Pupil Expenditure

$9,444

State avg $10,521

Compare Nearby Counties

Review Dawes County against other counties using the same NCES-backed metrics.

Open Compare

Browse Public Schools

See school-level enrollment, grade ranges, school type, and district affiliation.

View Schools

Frequently Asked Questions

Which Nebraska counties have the highest graduation rates?

Washington County (96.3%), Seward County (96.2%), and Keith County (95.4%) currently lead Nebraska among counties with available NCES four-year adjusted cohort graduation-rate data. This answer is generated from the same dataset used in the county table and can change when federal data refreshes.

What is per-pupil spending like in Nebraska?

Across Nebraska counties with available NCES district-finance data, average per-pupil spending is $10,521. The highest current county values are Wheeler County ($19,491), Sioux County ($18,861), and Loup County ($18,703). Compare counties in the table before treating the statewide average as representative of a local district.

How should I read the school score in Dawes County?

Dawes County has a school score of 41/100, which is a midrange measured signal in this county-level index. This score is calculated from available NCES graduation-rate and school-finance data, with school-level records shown separately below.

What is the graduation rate in Dawes County?

The high school graduation rate in Dawes County is 58.4%, which is below the national average of 87.5%. This figure is based on NCES district-level data for public high schools in the county.

How much does Dawes County spend per student?

Dawes County spends $9,444 per pupil annually on public education, based on NCES district finance data. Current operating spending per fall enrollment, including instruction, support services, administration, transportation, and operations. It excludes capital outlays and debt service in the SchoolsByCounty methodology.

Counties with Similar School Profile

Colfax County

Nebraska

-2 pts

40/100

School score

Platte County

Nebraska

-2 pts

40/100

School score

Chase County

Nebraska

+2 pts

43/100

School score

By Evan Brooks, Data EditorUpdated Jul 7, 2026Reviewed by Evan Brooks, Data Editor

Data Sources

Education data sourced from the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) Common Core of Data and School District Finance Survey. School scores are derived composite metrics based on available NCES graduation-rate and school-finance signals.

Data is informational only. Coverage varies by county and reporting year. Not for use as the sole basis for educational decisions.

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