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

No. Use the Dewey 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 Dewey 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 Dewey County?

Start with the 8 listed public schools and 1 district entry, then compare similar grade bands and confirm the address-level rules locally.

Dewey County Schools & Education

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

Dewey County, South Dakota

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

School Score

68/100

Percentile-style score

Score Band

Midrange Signal

Graduation Rate

90.0%

National avg 87.5%

Education Statistics

Graduation Rate

90.0%

National avg 87.5%

State avg 82.4%

Per-Pupil Spending

$9,756

National avg $13,239

State avg $7,409

School Score

68/100

Percentile-style score

State avg 38/100

State Score Position

of 65 counties by score

Education Data Brief: Dewey County

Measured School Summary

Dewey County performs at an average level with a school score of 68/100 and a solid graduation rate of 90.0%.

Funding Context

Dewey County spends $9,756 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 79% above the South Dakota average, and its graduation rate exceeds the state average by 7.6 percentage points, while per-pupil spending is 32% higher than the state norm.

School Data Brief

How to read Dewey 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

8 public schools and 1 district 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

68/100

Mixed county signal. Ranks #4 of 65 South Dakota counties with school score data.

Completion

90.0%

7.6 pts above the state average

Funding context

$9,756

$2,347 above the state average

School coverage

1 district 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

Dewey County has 8 public schools across 1 district, 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 Dewey 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.

Small-system county

Dewey County has a compact public-school footprint. A single school change, boundary rule, or district update can move the lived experience more than the county score suggests.

State position

of 65 South Dakota counties with school score data. The county score is 30 points above 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.

Timber Lake School District 20-3

Elementary to high school visible

362 students

Elementary 1Middle 1High 1Other 0

3 listed schools in this county slice.

District reality check

Timber Lake School District 20-3 is the largest listed district slice, with 3 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 Dewey County?

Which attendance zones, transfer rules, and transportation policies apply inside the local district?

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

Dewey County School Score Exceeds State and National Norms

Education data brief for Dewey County, South Dakota.

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

Lead metric:School score

Dewey County maintains a composite school score of 68.0, notably higher than the South Dakota state average of 38.3 and the national median of 50.0. The county's 90.0% graduation rate also sits above the state average of 82.4% and the national average of 87.0%. Per-pupil expenditure is $9,756, which is higher than the state-wide $7,409 average but remains lower than the national figure of $13,000. Public education is decentralized across eight schools with an average enrollment of just 69 students per facility. The Timber Lake School District 20-3 is the largest district, serving 362 students. The school mix includes two alternative schools and a blend of town and rural locales. Total public school enrollment across the county is 482 students. See the NCES Common Core of Data for school-level records.

Sources

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

School Overview

Total Schools

in Dewey County

Reported Enrollment

482

8 schools reporting

School Districts

district

Charter Schools

0% of total

School Level Breakdown

Elementary2

Middle3

High3

Other0

1 School District in Dewey County

Timber Lake School District 20-3

3 schools

362 students enrolled

8 Public Schools in Dewey 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 8 of 8 matching schools

Public schools in Dewey County, including district, location, profile availability, grades, type, and enrollment.
School Name	Profile	District	Location	Grades	Type / Flags	Reported Enrollment
Timber Lake Elementary - 02	Record	Timber Lake School District 20-3	Timber Lake, 57656Rural: Remote	PK–5	Primary	168
Timber Lake High School - 01	Record	Timber Lake School District 20-3	Timber Lake, 57656Rural: Remote	9–12	High	113
Eagle Butte Primary - 02	Record	Eagle Butte School District 20-1	Eagle Butte, 57625Town: Remote	KG–2	Primary	96
Timber Lake Middle School - 03	Record	Timber Lake School District 20-3	Timber Lake, 57656Rural: Remote	6–8	Middle	81
Eagle Butte High School - 01	Record	Eagle Butte School District 20-1	Eagle Butte, 57625Town: Remote	9–12	High	13
Eagle Butte Jr. High - 06	Record	Eagle Butte School District 20-1	Eagle Butte, 57625Town: Remote	7–8	Middle	10
E. A. G. L. E. Center High School - 07	Record	Eagle Butte School District 20-1	Eagle Butte, 57625Town: Remote	9–12	Alternative	1
E.A.G.L.E. Center - 09	Record	Eagle Butte School District 20-1	Eagle Butte, 57625Town: Remote	5–8	Alternative	0

Timber Lake Elementary - 02

Timber Lake School District 20-3

Timber Lake, 57656 / Rural: Remote

RecordPK–5Primary168 students

Timber Lake High School - 01

Timber Lake School District 20-3

Timber Lake, 57656 / Rural: Remote

Record9–12High113 students

Eagle Butte Primary - 02

Eagle Butte School District 20-1

Eagle Butte, 57625 / Town: Remote

RecordKG–2Primary96 students

Timber Lake Middle School - 03

Timber Lake School District 20-3

Timber Lake, 57656 / Rural: Remote

Record6–8Middle81 students

Eagle Butte High School - 01

Eagle Butte School District 20-1

Eagle Butte, 57625 / Town: Remote

Record9–12High13 students

Eagle Butte Jr. High - 06

Eagle Butte School District 20-1

Eagle Butte, 57625 / Town: Remote

Record7–8Middle10 students

E. A. G. L. E. Center High School - 07

Eagle Butte School District 20-1

Eagle Butte, 57625 / Town: Remote

Record9–12Alternative1 students

E.A.G.L.E. Center - 09

Eagle Butte School District 20-1

Eagle Butte, 57625 / Town: Remote

Record5–8Alternative0 students

Education Funding Detail

Annual Per-Pupil Expenditure

$9,756

State avg $7,409

Compare Nearby Counties

Review Dewey 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 South Dakota counties have the highest graduation rates?

Deuel County (95.0%), Stanley County (95.0%), and Hamlin County (92.8%) currently lead South Dakota 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 South Dakota?

Across South Dakota counties with available NCES district-finance data, average per-pupil spending is $7,409. The highest current county values are Ziebach County ($13,420), Corson County ($10,486), and Sully County ($10,373). Compare counties in the table before treating the statewide average as representative of a local district.

How should I read the school score in Dewey County?

Dewey County has a school score of 68/100, 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 Dewey County?

The high school graduation rate in Dewey County is 90.0%, which is above 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 Dewey County spend per student?

Dewey County spends $9,756 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

Jackson County

South Dakota

+1 pts

69/100

School score

Lyman County

South Dakota

-1 pts

67/100

School score

Harding County

South Dakota

-2 pts

66/100

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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