South Sioux City Middle School, So Sioux City NE

Original Research by School Decision on South Sioux City Middle School

South Sioux City Middle School is a regular public school serving sixth through eighth grade in the South Sioux City Community Schools district. The building sits in a small city on the Nebraska side of the Missouri River, directly across from Sioux City, Iowa, and the surrounding metropolitan area gives the community a family-oriented residential base mixed with industrial and commercial development.

The school enrolls several hundred students, with roughly equal numbers in each grade. A substantial majority of students qualify for free or reduced-price meals, placing the school in a high-poverty context. The student body is predominantly Hispanic, with a smaller share of white students and the remainder distributed among Black, American Indian or Alaska Native, Asian, Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander, and multiracial groups. Data on students with disabilities and English learners was not reported.

On state assessments administered in the 2024-25 school year, math results clustered around half of students meeting proficiency expectations in each grade, with slight variation. English language arts results were softer: about one-third of sixth and seventh graders met the bar, while eighth graders posted a higher rate, though still below half. Eighth-grade science results showed roughly half of students proficient. Multi-year trend data was limited to a single year, so no direction of change could be established. Overall proficiency across tested subjects and grades placed the school in the bottom quarter relative to the two districts in Dakota County that could be compared. A parent may want to ask the school about specific supports in English language arts, particularly for the younger middle grades.

No high school grade levels are served here, so no graduation rate applies. Chronic absenteeism, discipline, staffing, and course access data were not available. The school is not a charter or magnet, and its Title I status was not reported in the available records.

South Sioux City itself is relatively flat, with Dakota Avenue as the main commercial corridor. A twenty-mile recreational bike trail runs through the area, and local bus service connects the city to the larger Sioux City metro. The Roth Industrial Park, with substantial acreage near an interstate, anchors the local industrial employment base. Home values in the area are below both the state and national medians, reflecting a more affordable housing market, while rental costs have risen in line with national trends. The district brief turned up no major recent changes or initiatives that would affect a family’s day-to-day experience.

For a family considering this middle school, the picture is one of a high-needs, majority-Hispanic student body with math performance at roughly half proficient and English language arts performance trailing further. The community is compact and offers industrial employment, basic transit, and low housing costs relative to the state. The school’s standing among its county peers is low, and the absence of program or support data means a parent should inquire directly about intervention offerings, enrichment, and how the school addresses its academic gaps.

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Academic performance

How students perform on state tests, by grade, set against the district.

Math

Grade 648%

School 48% · District 33% · ▲ 15 pts above district

▲ 48 pts above state median

Grade 750%

School 50% · District 45% · ▲ 5 pts above district

▲ 50 pts above state median

Grade 848%

School 48% · District 42% · ▲ 7 pts above district

▲ 48 pts above state median

English language arts

Grade 637%

School 37% · District 46% · ▼ 10 pts below district

▲ 30 pts above state median

Grade 736%

School 36% · District 46% · ▼ 10 pts below district

▲ 36 pts above state median

Grade 847%

School 47% · District 50% · ▼ 3 pts below district

▲ 47 pts above state median

Science

Grade 852%

School 52% · District 70% · ▼ 18 pts below district

▲ 52 pts above state median

This schoolSO SIOUX CITY COMMUNITY SCHS, same grade

Graduation rate (ACGR) reflects the federally published Adjusted Cohort Graduation Rate for the most recent year available. We refresh this data annually at the close of each academic year in June. The federal source publishes a banded rate (for example, "90-94%") instead of an exact number for cohorts small enough to risk identifying individual students. The state distribution chart, where shown, plots every school in the state with a published rate or band; schools whose rate is federally suppressed are excluded. Where the federal source publishes a band rather than an exact rate, the school is placed within its band using a stable, ID-derived offset, so its position is consistent across visits.

Proficiency by household income

English language arts

Grade 7Lower-income43%Higher-income54%11 pp gap

Grade 8Lower-income47%Higher-income58%12 pp gap

Mathematics

Grade 6Lower-income31%Higher-income38%6 pp gap

Grade 7Lower-income45%Higher-income44%0 pp gap

Grade 8Lower-income38%Higher-income53%16 pp gap