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

No. Use the Tripp 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 Tripp 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 Tripp County?

Start with the 6 listed public schools and 2 district entries, then compare similar grade bands and confirm the address-level rules locally.

Tripp County Schools & Education

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

Tripp County, South Dakota

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

School Score

33/100

Percentile-style score

Score Band

Lower Signal

Graduation Rate

85.4%

National avg 87.5%

Education Statistics

Graduation Rate

85.4%

National avg 87.5%

State avg 82.4%

Per-Pupil Spending

$7,081

National avg $13,239

State avg $7,409

School Score

33/100

Percentile-style score

State avg 38/100

State Score Position

#42

of 65 counties by score

Education Data Brief: Tripp County

Measured School Summary

Tripp County faces educational challenges with a school score of 33/100 and a graduation rate of 85.4%, falling below typical benchmarks.

Funding Context

At $7,081 per pupil, Tripp County operates with limited funding, which may constrain staffing, materials, and extracurricular offerings.

Neighbor Context

Its school score is 13% below the South Dakota average, and its graduation rate exceeds the state average by 3.0 percentage points, while per-pupil spending is 4% lower than the state norm.

School Data Brief

How to read Tripp 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

6 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

33/100

Lower measured signal. Ranks #42 of 65 South Dakota counties with school score data.

Completion

85.4%

3.0 pts above the state average

Funding context

$7,081

$328 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

Tripp County has 6 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 Tripp 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

Tripp 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

#42

of 65 South Dakota counties with school score data. The county score is 5 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.

Winner School District 59-2

Elementary to high school visible

814 students

Elementary 1Middle 1High 1Other 0

3 listed schools in this county slice.

Colome Consolidated 59-3

Elementary to high school visible

170 students

Elementary 1Middle 1High 1Other 0

3 listed schools in this county slice.

District reality check

Colome Consolidated 59-3 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 Tripp County?

Do the neighborhoods we like fall inside the same district, or are we comparing different Tripp 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

Tripp County Educational Enrollment Divided Between Two Primary Districts

Education data brief for Tripp County, South Dakota.

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

Lead metric:District structure

Education in Tripp County is divided between two distinct administrative units: the Winner School District 59-2, which enrolls 814 students, and the Colome Consolidated 59-3, which serves 170 students. The total county enrollment of 984 is spread across six schools, with a mix of town and rural locales. The largest school is Winner Elementary, which serves 444 students. The county graduation rate is 85.4%, slightly higher than the South Dakota state average of 82.4% but lower than the national average of 87.0%. Per-pupil spending is $7,081, which is below the state average of $7,409 and significantly lower than the national average of $13,000. The county's composite school score is 33.2, which is lower than both the state average of 38.3 and the national median of 50.0. There are no charter schools in operation. Compare district boundaries before drawing conclusions.

Sources

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

School Overview

Total Schools

in Tripp County

Reported Enrollment

984

6 schools reporting

School Districts

districts

Charter Schools

0% of total

School Level Breakdown

Elementary2

Middle2

High2

Other0

2 School Districts in Tripp County

Winner School District 59-2

3 schools

814 students

Colome Consolidated 59-3

4 schools

170 students

6 Public Schools in Tripp 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 6 of 6 matching schools

Public schools in Tripp County, including district, location, profile availability, grades, type, and enrollment.
School Name	Profile	District	Location	Grades	Type / Flags	Reported Enrollment
Winner Elementary - 04	Record	Winner School District 59-2	Winner, 57580Town: Remote	PK–5	Primary	444
Winner High School - 01	Record	Winner School District 59-2	Winner, 57580Town: Remote	9–12	High	210
Winner Middle School - 02	Record	Winner School District 59-2	Winner, 57580Town: Remote	6–8	Middle	160
Colome Elementary - 02	Record	Colome Consolidated 59-3	Colome, 57528Rural: Distant	PK–5	Primary	81
Colome High School - 01	Record	Colome Consolidated 59-3	Colome, 57528Rural: Distant	9–12	High	59
Colome Middle School - 03	Record	Colome Consolidated 59-3	Colome, 57528Rural: Distant	6–8	Middle	30

Winner Elementary - 04

Winner School District 59-2

Winner, 57580 / Town: Remote

RecordPK–5Primary444 students

Winner High School - 01

Winner School District 59-2

Winner, 57580 / Town: Remote

Record9–12High210 students

Winner Middle School - 02

Winner School District 59-2

Winner, 57580 / Town: Remote

Record6–8Middle160 students

Colome Elementary - 02

Colome Consolidated 59-3

Colome, 57528 / Rural: Distant

RecordPK–5Primary81 students

Colome High School - 01

Colome Consolidated 59-3

Colome, 57528 / Rural: Distant

Record9–12High59 students

Colome Middle School - 03

Colome Consolidated 59-3

Colome, 57528 / Rural: Distant

Record6–8Middle30 students

Education Funding Detail

Annual Per-Pupil Expenditure

$7,081

State avg $7,409

Compare Nearby Counties

Review Tripp 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 Tripp County?

Tripp County has a school score of 33/100, 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 Tripp County?

The high school graduation rate in Tripp County is 85.4%, 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 Tripp County spend per student?

Tripp County spends $7,081 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

Lincoln County

South Dakota

+1 pts

34/100

School score

Spink County

South Dakota

+1 pts

34/100

School score

Jones County

South Dakota

+2 pts

36/100

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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