Mellette County Education Attainment Charts

This section of charts contains education data for Mellette County South Dakota based mainly on the latest year 2022 Census data using the American Community Survey but also the survey from Common Core Data available for Public Elementary through Secondary Schools. In Figure 1, the percent of all people aged 25 years or older, who have either graduated from high school or completed the Graduate Equivalency Degree (GED) or some equivalent certification/credential. Mellette County shows it has a High School Grad or higher of 81% which is the second smallest when ranked by percent high school graduates or better of all the other counties in the area. The county with the highest percent high school graduates or better in the area is Jones County which indicates a high school graduates of 94% (16.3% larger).

In Figure 2, the percentage of people aged 25 years or older who have graduated from college/university with at least a bachelor's degree is provided. Note that the bachelor's degree is also called a four-year degree because it normally takes four years of full-time study to finish the course curriculum required to obtain the degree. This chart portrays the proportion of the population in this region who are college graduates with at least a bachelor degree or higher. In many ways, this analysis alongside the prior chart are very quick measures of the level of education in any particular area. Mellette County shows it has a Bachelors Degree or higher of 15% which is less than most other counties in the metro area. The county with the highest percent with a bachelors degree or higher in the area is Jones County which indicates a percent with a bachelors degree of 39% (approximately 2.6 times bigger).

Figure 4 shows the percentage of people 25 years of age or older who either have no schooling at all or dropped out of school before being able to complete high school. Additionally, these are people who also do not have a Graduate Equivalency Degree (GED) or some other high school level type credential/student achievement. This analysis, along with the last two charts, provides another high level review and comparative data on the Mellette County South Dakota educational level. Mellette County shows it has a School Dropout Rate of 19% which is the second most percent who dropped out of school of all the counties in the greater Mellette County region. The county with the highest percent who dropped out of school in the area is Todd County which shows a percent who dropped out of school of 21% (12.6% larger).

Figure 5 provides a more detailed look at the educational attainment for Mellette County South Dakota. This chart provides the proportion of people aged 25 years of age or older and what was their level of educational attainment. The chart provides 5 broad categories including: No Education/No School, Some High School, High School or equivalent, Some college or Associates Degree, and Bachelors Degree or higher. Mellette County has one of the largest proportions of percent of people with no schooling at 17% of the total and is ranked #2. The only larger county being Todd County with 21%. Second, it has less than most other counties in the local area when ranked by percent of people with some college or an associates degree at 15% of the total.

The next chart shows a break down of people who have received a bachelor's degree or higher advanced degree generally in a campus learning environment. In particular, Figure 6, provides the proportional breakdown of all the people who have received a postsecondary education along with what the level of advanced degree that was obtained. Note that these categories do not include any type professional development type activities such as those related to maintaining professional credentials in workshop lessons. Note Professional Degree includes medical, dental, lawyers, etc. Mellette County has the percentage of percent of people with a bachelors degree in the mid range of other counties in the local area at 14% of the total.

The chart in Figure 7 shows the broad area of academic concentration or the discipline for people who have received a bachelors degree. This high level classification is essentially the field of study for which a degree was obtained. Mellette County has the largest proportion of percent of people with a science or engineering degree at 19.0% of the total and is ranked #1. Second, it has the smallest proportion of percent of people with a degree in a science or engineering related at 6.9% of the total. Third, it has the smallest proportion of percent of people with an arts, humanities, or other degree at 5.7% of the total. Also, it has the largest proportion of percent of people with a business degree at 41.4% of the total and is ranked #1.

The next chart (Figure 8) provides a more detailed deep dive on the category of major degree obtained for people aged 25 years or older who earned a bachelor's degree or higher. Specifically, this frequency distribution details out what the major field of study was the degree obtained. Mellette County has the largest proportion of percent of people with a degree in biological, agricultural, and environmental sciences at 8.0% of the total and is ranked #1. Second, it has the largest proportion of percent of people with a degree in social sciences at 3.4% of the total and is ranked #1. Third, it has the largest proportion of percent of people with a degree in multidisciplinary studies at 19.0% of the total and is ranked #1. Also, it has the smallest proportion of percent of people with a degree in science and engineering related fields at 5.7% of the total. In addition, it has the largest proportion of percent of people with a degree in business at 41.4% of the total and is ranked #1.

Figure 9 provides comparative data between the places in the greater Mellette County South Dakota region for broad educational attainment. This analysis uses provides five broad education attainment categories including: No Education/No School, Some High School, High School or equivalent, Some college or Associates Degree, and Bachelors Degree or higher. Mellette County has the percentage of percent of people with some college or an associates degree less than most other counties in the local area at 14.6% of the total.

A more detailed frequency distribution of educational attainment is provided in Figure 10. In particular this illustration breaks out the highest levels of university educational opportunities beyond the four year college degree. Included in the breakout are the relative proportion of masters degrees, PhD/Doctorate/Doctorial holders, and professional degrees such as medicine, dentistry, lawyers, etc. Mellette County has one of the largest proportions of percent of people with no schooling at 16.6% of the total and is ranked #2. The only larger county being Todd County with 21.3%. The next exhibit (Figure 11) provides detailed cross tabulation analysis that provides education success data broken out or cross tabulated by age group. Please note that the columns add to 100% and you must use the pagination buttons at the bottom of the table to see all the rows. Figure 12 is a cross tabulation analysis that shows large educational success categories and is broken out or cross tabulated by racial group. Please note that the columns add to 100% and you must use the pagination buttons at the bottom of the table to see all the rows.The final cross tabulation analysis is provided in Figure 13 and shows education success broken out by gender. Please note that the columns add to 100% and you must use the pagination buttons at the bottom of the table to see all the rows.

Mellette County School Enrollment Charts

The next section of chart resources look at school enrollment by a variety of educational institutions and are categorized into a number of other groupings. Figure 14 provides the overall school enrollment by broad range of school age/level groupings. Mellette County has the largest proportion of percent of children in kindergarten at 34.2% of the total and is ranked #1. Second, it has one of the largest proportions of percent of children in grade 1 to 4 at 38.2% of the total and is ranked #2. The only larger county being Jones County with 40.1%. Third, it has the smallest proportion of percent of children in grades 5 to 8 at 11.5% of the total.

Figure 15 provides a simple high level comparison of the proportion of students that are enrolled in public schools versus students enrolled in private schools in the Mellette County South Dakota region. Mellette County depicts percent enrolled in public schools very much bigger as the percent enrolled in private schools.

The next comparison provided in Figure 16 shows the proportion of students enrolled in private schools versus students enrolled public schools for students enrolled in Kindergarten through 8th grade (grade 8) or (K through 8). Mellette County depicts percent of children enrolled in public k-8 grades appreciably bigger as the percent of children enrolled in private k-8 grades.

The next chart (Figure 18) provides a similar analysis to the last chart but provides the data for public post secondary education versus private higher education colleges. Mellette County depicts percent enrolled in a public college appreciably bigger as the percent enrolled in a private college.

The next chart in this series of resources shown in Figure 20 looks at the total number of students enrolled in any educational institution for each place in the greater Mellette County region. (Total enrollment in this case includes all students from preschool all the way through students enrolled in graduate school.) Mellette County depicts it has a Total Enrolled of 539 which is the second smallest in order of total population enrolled in school of all the other counties in the local area. The county with the highest total population enrolled in school in the area is Todd County which shows a total population enrolled in school of 3,123 ( very much bigger). Comparing total population enrolled in school to the United States average of 81,076,829, Mellette County is only about 0.0% the size. Also, benchmarked against the state of South Dakota, total population enrolled in school of 217,474, Mellette County is only about 0.2% the size.

Mellette County Area Schools Charts

Figure 23 lists all the schools in the area along with the school district, county location and other program information/credential such as if they are a public charter school or private charter school or magnet school. Some of the Area Schools are: White River High School - 01, White River Middle School - 04, White River Elementary - 02, Wood Elementary - 05, and North Elementary - 13. The next illustration in Figure 24 shows the total child school enrollment for all grades (through 12th grade) at the school shown using NCES data (Common Core of Data, Public Elementary-Secondary School Universe Survey.) Looking at Enrollment for Area Schools we find that North Elementary - 13 ranks the largest with a value of 433 enrolled students. The next largest values are for: Todd County High School - 01 (415), Todd County Middle School - 10 (373), South Elementary - 15 (183), and White River Elementary - 02 (178). The difference between the highest value (North Elementary - 13) and the next highest (Todd County High School - 01) is that the enrolled students is about only about 4.3% larger.

Figure 25 show the ratio of the number of students to the number of teachers in the classroom. A good student to teacher ratio should be low because it indicates that there are less students for any one teacher to educate in a class and generally a better learning environment, better success and optimal teaching excellence. Teachers includes all educational staff such as special education teachers and any other educator. Note that distance learning (online learning/remote learning) is not included in these values. Looking at Student to Teacher Ratio for Area Schools we find that Norris Elementary - 08 ranks the largest with a value of 7.9 student to teacher ratio. The next largest values are for: Wood Elementary - 05 (8.0), Jones County Elementary - 02 (9.8), Jones County High School - 01 (9.9), and Todd County High School - 01 (10.1). The difference between the lowest value (Norris Elementary - 08) and the next lowest (Wood Elementary - 05) is that the student to teacher ratio is only slightly larger.

The next chart, Figure 26, shows the racial mix of students at each location in this district of the state of South Dakota department of education.