Middle Schools in Watertown School District 14-4

The Watertown School District 14-4 in South Dakota is home to two middle schools: Watertown Middle School - 02 and Watertown Intermediate School - 13. Based on the available data, Watertown Middle School - 02 stands out as the top-performing middle school in the district, consistently ranking among the top 30-32 middle schools in the state and earning a 4-star rating from SchoolDigger.

Watertown Middle School - 02 outperforms the district and state averages in both English Language Arts (ELA) and Mathematics proficiency across all grade levels. For example, in the 2023-2024 school year, 58.73% of students at Watertown Middle School - 02 were proficient or better in ELA, compared to 56.43% for the district and 50.04% for the state. In Mathematics, 53.6% of students at Watertown Middle School - 02 were proficient or better, compared to 50.47% for the district and 42.95% for the state. In contrast, Watertown Intermediate School - 13 has lower proficiency rates than the district and state averages in both ELA and Mathematics.

While Watertown Intermediate School - 13 has a lower student-teacher ratio and similar spending per student compared to Watertown Middle School - 02, it has a higher percentage of students receiving free or reduced-price lunch, which may contribute to its lower academic performance. The higher chronic absenteeism rate at Watertown Middle School - 02 is also a concern that the school district should investigate and address. Overall, the data highlights the strong performance of Watertown Middle School - 02 within the district and the state, while also revealing potential areas of concern for Watertown Intermediate School - 13 that warrant further investigation and targeted interventions.