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

No. Use the Marshall 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 Marshall 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 Marshall County?

Start with the 13 listed public schools and 2 district entries, then compare similar grade bands and confirm the address-level rules locally.

Marshall County Schools & Education

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

Marshall County, South Dakota

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

School Score

25/100

Percentile-style score

Score Band

Lower Signal

Graduation Rate

84.3%

National avg 87.5%

Education Statistics

Graduation Rate

84.3%

National avg 87.5%

State avg 82.4%

Per-Pupil Spending

$6,573

National avg $13,239

State avg $7,409

School Score

25/100

Percentile-style score

State avg 38/100

State Score Position

#51

of 65 counties by score

Education Data Brief: Marshall County

Measured School Summary

Marshall County faces educational challenges with a school score of 25/100 and a graduation rate of 84.3%, falling below typical benchmarks.

Funding Context

At $6,573 per pupil, Marshall County operates with limited funding, which may constrain staffing, materials, and extracurricular offerings.

Neighbor Context

Its school score is 36% below the South Dakota average, and its graduation rate exceeds the state average by 1.9 percentage points, while per-pupil spending is 11% lower than the state norm.

School Data Brief

How to read Marshall 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

13 public schools and 2 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

25/100

Lower measured signal. Ranks #51 of 65 South Dakota counties with school score data.

Completion

84.3%

1.9 pts above the state average

Funding context

$6,573

$836 below the state average

School coverage

2 districts represented in the county school list.

Start with measured county context

The county-level signal is lower, so review individual schools and local records before interpreting the score. Compare the score, graduation rate, and spending together rather than treating any single metric as final.

Check the local school mix

Marshall County has 13 public schools across 2 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 Marshall 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.

Choice-program county

Marshall County has a visible charter, magnet, or virtual-school layer in NCES records. The practical question is eligibility, lottery timing, and transportation, not just whether a school appears nearby.

State position

#51

of 65 South Dakota counties with school score data. The county score is 13 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.

Britton-Hecla School District 45-4

Elementary to high school visible

476 students

Elementary 3Middle 1High 2Other 0

6 listed schools in this county slice.

Langford Area 45-5

Elementary to high school visible

242 students

Elementary 3Middle 2High 2Other 0

7 listed schools in this county slice.

District reality check

Langford Area 45-5 is the largest listed district slice, with 7 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 Marshall County?

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

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

Which charter, magnet, or virtual options require a lottery, application window, separate transportation plan, or address eligibility check?

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

Data Story

Marshall County Maintains Network of Thirteen Small Rural Schools

Education data brief for Marshall County, South Dakota.

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

Lead metric:District structure

Marshall County is characterized by a high number of schools relative to its student population, with 13 public schools serving just 718 students. This results in an average school size of 55 students, a significant departure from larger districts across the state. These 13 rural schools are split between two districts: Britton-Hecla School District 45-4, which is the largest with 476 students, and Langford Area 45-5. The county’s graduation rate is 84.3%, which is higher than the state average of 82.4% but lower than the national average of 87.0%. Educational funding is recorded at $6,573 per pupil, which is below the state average of $7,409 and approximately half of the national average of $13,000. The composite school score for the county is 24.5, trailing the state average of 38.3. Compare district boundaries before drawing conclusions.

Sources

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

School Overview

Total Schools

in Marshall County

Reported Enrollment

718

13 schools reporting

School Districts

districts

Charter Schools

0% of total

School Level Breakdown

Elementary6

Middle3

High4

Other0

2 School Districts in Marshall County

Britton-Hecla School District 45-4

6 schools

476 students

Langford Area 45-5

7 schools

242 students

13 Public Schools in Marshall 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

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Showing 13 of 13 matching schools

Public schools in Marshall County, including district, location, profile availability, grades, type, and enrollment.
School Name	Profile	District	Location	Grades	Type / Flags	Reported Enrollment
Britton-Hecla Elementary - 02	Record	Britton-Hecla School District 45-4	Britton, 57430Rural: Remote	KG–5	Primary	174
Britton-Hecla High School - 01	Record	Britton-Hecla School District 45-4	Britton, 57430Rural: Remote	9–12	High	130
Britton-Hecla Middle School - 03	Record	Britton-Hecla School District 45-4	Britton, 57430Rural: Remote	6–8	Middle	104
Langford Area Elementary - 02	Record	Langford Area 45-5	Langford, 57454Rural: Remote	PK–5	Primary	102
Langford Area High School - 01	Record	Langford Area 45-5	Langford, 57454Rural: Remote	9–12	High	47
Langford Area Middle School - 03	Record	Langford Area 45-5	Langford, 57454Rural: Remote	6–8	Middle	42
Newport Colony Elementary - 04	Record	Langford Area 45-5	Langford, 57454Rural: Remote	KG–8	Primary	41
Westwood Rural Elementary - 05	Record	Britton-Hecla School District 45-4	Britton, 57430Rural: Remote	KG–8	Primary	34
Sunset Colony Elementary - 04	Record	Britton-Hecla School District 45-4	Britton, 57430Rural: Remote	KG–8	Primary	24
Sunset Colony High School - 06	Record	Britton-Hecla School District 45-4	Britton, 57430Rural: Remote	9–12	High	10
Premier Learning Academy High School - 92	Record	Langford Area 45-5	Langford, 57454Rural: Remote	9–12	Virtual	8
Premier Learning Academy Elementary - 94	Record	Langford Area 45-5	Langford, 57454Rural: Remote	KG–5	Virtual	1
Premier Learning Academy Middle School - 93	Record	Langford Area 45-5	Langford, 57454Rural: Remote	6–8	Virtual	1

Britton-Hecla Elementary - 02

Britton-Hecla School District 45-4

Britton, 57430 / Rural: Remote

RecordKG–5Primary174 students

Britton-Hecla High School - 01

Britton-Hecla School District 45-4

Britton, 57430 / Rural: Remote

Record9–12High130 students

Britton-Hecla Middle School - 03

Britton-Hecla School District 45-4

Britton, 57430 / Rural: Remote

Record6–8Middle104 students

Langford Area Elementary - 02

Langford Area 45-5

Langford, 57454 / Rural: Remote

RecordPK–5Primary102 students

Langford Area High School - 01

Langford Area 45-5

Langford, 57454 / Rural: Remote

Record9–12High47 students

Langford Area Middle School - 03

Langford Area 45-5

Langford, 57454 / Rural: Remote

Record6–8Middle42 students

Newport Colony Elementary - 04

Langford Area 45-5

Langford, 57454 / Rural: Remote

RecordKG–8Primary41 students

Westwood Rural Elementary - 05

Britton-Hecla School District 45-4

Britton, 57430 / Rural: Remote

RecordKG–8Primary34 students

Sunset Colony Elementary - 04

Britton-Hecla School District 45-4

Britton, 57430 / Rural: Remote

RecordKG–8Primary24 students

Sunset Colony High School - 06

Britton-Hecla School District 45-4

Britton, 57430 / Rural: Remote

Record9–12High10 students

Premier Learning Academy High School - 92

Langford Area 45-5

Langford, 57454 / Rural: Remote

Record9–12Virtual8 students

Premier Learning Academy Elementary - 94

Langford Area 45-5

Langford, 57454 / Rural: Remote

RecordKG–5Virtual1 students

Premier Learning Academy Middle School - 93

Langford Area 45-5

Langford, 57454 / Rural: Remote

Record6–8Virtual1 students

Education Funding Detail

Annual Per-Pupil Expenditure

$6,573

State avg $7,409

Compare Nearby Counties

Review Marshall 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 Marshall County?

Marshall County has a school score of 25/100, which is a lower 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 Marshall County?

The high school graduation rate in Marshall County is 84.3%, 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 Marshall County spend per student?

Marshall County spends $6,573 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

Brule County

South Dakota

+0 pts

25/100

School score

Minnehaha County

South Dakota

-0 pts

24/100

School score

Hanson County

South Dakota

+4 pts

28/100

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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