The top reported proficiency rate is 62% in Science. The lowest is 44% in English language arts.
Original Research by School Decision on Clear Lake Middle School - 04
Clear Lake Middle School sits in the heart of Deuel County, a small rural county-seat town that blends residential life with retail and agricultural commerce. The school serves grades six through eight as part of Deuel School District 19-4, which educates students from pre-school through twelfth grade across central Deuel County. The enrollment is small, spread across three grade levels, which means students learn in a setting where classmates and teachers know one another well. The student body is predominantly white, with a small share of students from other racial or ethnic backgrounds. A modest portion of students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, well below what many rural schools see, which points to a relatively stable economic base among families served here.
On South Dakota's state assessments, the most recent results paint a mixed but broadly solid picture. Math proficiency sits just above the halfway mark, with roughly half of tested students meeting or exceeding state standards. English language arts lands lower, with fewer than half of students reaching proficiency, and a parent may want to look into this further with the school to understand what supports are in place for reading and writing growth. Science stands out as the strongest subject, with a clear majority of tested students proficient, though the science results reflect a smaller testing group since only certain middle grades are assessed in that subject. Every student participated in testing, which means the results give a full picture of where the school stands rather than a partial one. The state did not report average scale scores, and no multi-year trend data was available, so there is no way to compare these results against prior years to see whether performance is rising or falling.
Information on students with individualized education programs and English learners was not reported, so the picture of how the school serves special populations is incomplete. The same gap applies to staffing, course access, discipline, and attendance data, none of which were available. Without those pieces, a family looking to understand classroom climate, teacher workload, or program offerings will need to ask the school directly.
The town of Clear Lake is a compact grid-layout community rooted in its railroad-founding history and agricultural economy. Civic life centers on the Deuel County Courthouse, a community center that hosts receptions, graduations, and pancake feeds, and parks on both the east and north edges of town. Ulven Park offers camping, fishing, boating, a disc golf course, and walking trails. The Crystal Springs Ranch Rodeo at the end of June draws thousands for a few days each summer, giving the town a burst of seasonal energy. No public library or transit system was identified. Key employers include Sanford Clear Lake Medical Center, the school district itself, and a range of small businesses tied to agriculture and retail. The town describes itself as growing modestly, though population figures have fluctuated only slightly over recent census counts.
Housing in the Clear Lake zip code is affordable relative to both state and national benchmarks. Typical home values sit below the South Dakota statewide median and well below the national figure, and the price-to-income ratio suggests that homeownership remains within reach for working families in the area. Recent years have brought a sharp increase in home values, so the market is appreciating even in this rural setting. No specific new housing developments were identified, and rental data was not available.
The broader district context includes a major capital construction project undertaken in the 2022-2023 fiscal year, a substantial infrastructure investment for a district of this size. Local revenue makes up a large share of the district's total funding, so capital projects of that magnitude likely carry property tax implications for residents. For a family considering the area, this suggests the district has recently invested in its physical facilities, though the specific nature of the construction was not detailed in available sources.
What Clear Lake Middle School offers is a small, stable, rural middle school experience in a close-knit community where the school is a civic anchor. Academic performance is strongest in science and math, with English language arts trailing. The gaps in reported data on special populations, staffing, and programs mean families will need to go directly to the school for a fuller sense of how it supports individual learners.
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