The top reported proficiency rate is 62% in English language arts. The lowest is 30% in Science.
Original Research by School Decision on Burke School District 26-2
Burke School District 26-2 is a small, single-community district in South Dakota serving students from pre-kindergarten through twelfth grade across three schools: Burke Elementary, Burke Middle School, and Burke High School. The enrollment is modest, with roughly two hundred students spread across all grade levels, which places it among the smaller districts in the state. The student body is predominantly white, with a small American Indian or Alaska Native presence and a handful of students identifying as Hispanic or multiracial. This is a rural district whose character flows from its size and setting; families here are choosing a place where most students know one another across grade levels.
On the most recent state assessments, administered under South Dakota's Smarter Balanced testing in math and English language arts, a clear majority of tested students in grades three through eight reached proficiency in both subjects. English language arts results ran slightly ahead of math, and participation was full among the students tested. Science results, measured through the state's SDSA assessment, were markedly weaker, with a substantially smaller portion of students reaching proficiency. The science test covered fewer grade levels and had far fewer test-takers, which can sharpen year-to-year swings in a district this size, but the gap between science and the other two subjects is wide enough that a parent may want to look into how science instruction is structured and supported across the grade levels.
No multi-year trend data was available, so it is not possible to say from the provided information whether these results represent improvement, decline, or stability. The state did not report average scale scores for any subject, which limits the picture to proficiency rates alone.
Several pieces of information a parent might look for were absent from the data we received. Free or reduced-price lunch counts were not reported, so the economic profile of the student body is not reflected here. Special education enrollment and English learner counts were also missing. No graduation rate was provided, though the district does serve high school grades, so a family with an older student would want to ask the district directly about completion and post-graduation outcomes. No civil rights data on discipline, course access, or staffing was available, and no program offerings such as advanced coursework, career and technical education, or dual-credit opportunities were listed. A parent weighing Burke against a larger district should ask specifically what electives, advanced classes, and extracurriculars are available, because the data we have does not speak to breadth of offerings.
The district brief identifies one parent-relevant financial detail. Burke maintains an opt-out of the general fund levy, which allows it to exceed the state's property tax cap and collect additional local revenue for school operations. Publicly reported district financial data confirms that local revenue makes up a substantial share of the district's total funding, reflecting a heavy reliance on local property taxes. For a family buying a home in the district, this means property tax bills may run higher than in districts without such an opt-out, and the trade-off is that the district retains more local control over school funding.
No locale brief or housing data was provided for the community Burke serves, so we cannot characterize home values, rental costs, or broader economic conditions from the assembled information. No neighbor comparison fact-set was available either, so the district's position relative to other South Dakota districts on enrollment, demographics, or academic outcomes could not be established.
What the data does show is a very small, rural, predominantly white district where elementary and middle-grade students are performing reasonably well in math and reading, where science is a clear soft spot, and where the community has chosen to tax itself above the state cap to fund its schools. For a family that values small class sizes and tight community identity, Burke offers that environment. For a family wanting a wide range of academic programs or detailed outcome data, the gaps in what is publicly available are worth probing directly with the district before making a decision.
See more original research from School Decision →