May 5-9, 2025, is Teacher Appreciation Week, and Newell School District teachers have worked extremely hard to enhance the education of our students. The Newell School District is proud to announce some great accomplishments with our Smarter Balance test scores for this school year.
Fifth, eighth, and eleventh graders at the Newell School District performed above the state average. Science students in South Dakota scored an average of 41% proficient in fifth grade, 43% proficient in eighth grade, and 48% proficient in the eleventh grade. The Newell students scored 47% for fifth grade, 67% for eighth grade, and 50% for eleventh grade. This is the first year since 2021 that 11th graders outperformed the state average in science.
English Language Arts (ELA) exhibited great advancements as well. Fourth, 7th, and 8th graders at Newell outperformed the state average. Sixty-three percent of 4th graders in Newell scored proficient and advanced, whereas the state average is 48% at that level. Seventh grade cleared the state average of 53%, with Newell scoring 57% of students scoring proficient and advanced. The seventh graders exhibited a 44% increase in the percentage of seventh graders scoring proficient and advanced compared to the performance of the class when they were fifth graders. Eighth graders match the state average of 50% to 50% of Newell students scoring proficient and advanced.
Great academic achievement was also observed in Mathematics in the 4th, 7th, and 8th grades. Fourth-grade students in Newell scored 68% proficiency, compared to 49% for the state average. Seventh graders had a 30% increase in students scoring proficient and advanced since the fifth grade. Newell seventh graders with 57% of students scoring proficient and advanced, compared to 44% for the state average. In addition, 56% of Newell eighth graders were performing proficient and advanced, whereas the state average was 40%.
Third-grade ELA and fifth-grade math were within 2% of the state average. Eleventh-grade ELA scored 50% proficiency, 14% higher than the prior three years. The Newell School District was identified as an RDA school district for Special Education, which has since dropped due to the advancement in test scores.
Newell School District commits to the education of our students. Grand advancements have been made this year and will continue in the future. We are Newell!