Enrollment
337
High
DISTRICT 468 · STATE 373
SCHOOL COMMUNITY·MATANUSKA-SUSITNA BOROUGH SCHOOL DISTRICT·NCES 020051000586
Houston High School
12501 W Hawk Lane, Big Lake, AK 99652 · (907) 892-9400 · Matanuska-Susitna Borough
GRADES 09–12HIGH42-RURALTITLE IREGULAR SCHOOL337 STUDENTS
B-
allk12 Grade
Scored higher than 53% of Alaska public high schools
- C+Test scores Share of students meeting the state standard in reading, math, and other tested subjects, 2023-24 and 2024-25.
- B+Beats expectations How far test scores land above or below what the share of low-income students predicts for a school in this state.
- ·Three-year trend Not available for this school, so the grade uses the other parts.
Grades compare a school only with schools in the same state, because every state gives its own test. How grades work · Top-graded Alaska public high schools
Student : Teacher
13.5:1
25 FTE teachers
DISTRICT 25.4:1 · STATE 17.0:1
Free / Reduced Lunch
61%
206 students
DISTRICT 53% · STATE 65%
Community
0
0 members
Enrollment and student:teacher ratio compared against other high schools. Free/Reduced Lunch and demographics compared against all schools.
Enrollment by grade, 2024-25
| Grade | Students | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Grade 9 | 101 | 30% |
| Grade 10 | 98 | 29% |
| Grade 11 | 65 | 19% |
| Grade 12 | 73 | 22% |
Student demographics
55%Diversity index
The chance that two students picked at random belong to different racial or ethnic groups.
DISTRICT 51% · STATE 71% · US 70%
Student head counts by race/ethnicity from federal NCES enrollment data. District, state, and US figures are each group's share of all public school students in that area (US excludes territories). Very small groups may be suppressed in the source, so categories do not always sum exactly to total enrollment.
Gender split
Test scores
AK STAR + Alaska Science 2024-25 . % Advanced + ProficientEnglish Language Arts
24.1%
AK avg 36.1% . -11.2pp since 2023
Math
6.5%
AK avg 34.6% . -6.4pp since 2023
What this means: On the AK STAR + Alaska Science, Alaska's statewide test, about 24 of every 100 students at this school read and write at grade level and about 7 of 100 do math at grade level. Across all Alaska schools, those numbers are about 36 and 35. Reading and writing scores are down about 11 points since 2023, while math scores are down about 6 points.
AK STAR + Alaska Science results by year
| School year | English Language Arts | Math |
|---|---|---|
| 2024-25 | 24.1% | 6.5% |
| 2023-24 | 35.3% | 12.9% |
% Advanced + Proficient, all students and all tested grades.
Source: AK STAR + Alaska Science. All students, all grades. See all years and grades →
BeatsExpectations
Demographically-adjusted score · methodologyTier
AS EXPECTED
Performing as predicted given the school's student profile
Actual proficiency
26.5%
composite math + reading, all grades
Predicted
32.2%
based on AK schools with similar FRL share
Beats by
-5.7pp
below demographic expectation
What this means: About 27% of students here test proficient in math and reading, compared with the roughly 32% typical for Alaska schools with a similar share of low-income students. BeatsExpectations measures results against demographically similar schools rather than by raw scores, and this school falls within the typical range, neither among Alaska's top nor bottom 10%.
BeatsExpectations runs a per-state regression of proficiency on free/reduced-lunch share, then scores each school by residual. How this is calculated →
Schools most like Houston High School
Houston High School's state test result (26.5% proficient) is higher than 1 of the 5 schools below with a result.
| School | Students | Low-income | Proficient |
|---|---|---|---|
| Houston High School this school | 337 | 61.1% | 26.5% |
| Susitna Valley High Talkeetna | 233 | 49.8% | 29.9% |
| Nikiski Middle/Senior High School Nikiski | 276 | 48.2% | 33.0% |
| Petersburg High School Petersburg | 144 | 60.4% | 44.9% |
| Haines High School Haines | 78 | 57.7% | 38.6% |
| Joe Redington Senior Jr/Sr High School Wasilla | 497 | 45.5% | 26.0% |
Matched among Alaska high schools on enrollment, the share of students from low-income families (eligible for free or reduced-price lunch), and racial and ethnic makeup. Proficient is the average share of students meeting the state standard across all of the school's state tests in 2023-24 and 2024-25, the same combined score our test-score rankings use. Online schools and schools serving specialized populations are not matched.
Where Houston High School ranks
Among high schools| Measure | This school | In Alaska | In Matanuska-Susitna Borough |
|---|---|---|---|
| State test proficiency ranked highest first | 26.5% | #26 of 39 | #6 of 7 |
| Math proficiency ranked highest first | 6.5% | #38 of 43 ▼ 2 | #7 of 7 no change |
| Reading proficiency ranked highest first | 24.1% | #36 of 44 ▼ 15 | #7 of 7 ▼ 3 |
| Enrollment ranked largest first | 337 | #27 of 72 | #6 of 9 |
| Students per teacher ranked fewest first | 13.5:1 | #5 of 38 | #1 of 8 |
| Diversity index ranked most diverse first | 55.4% | #20 of 38 | #3 of 8 |
| Free and reduced lunch ranked highest share first | 61.1% | #12 of 45 | #2 of 8 |
| Enrollment change since 2017-18 ranked steepest decline first | -8.9% | #17 of 28 | #4 of 6 |
Ranked against other public high schools. Online schools are left out of every list, and test-score lists leave out schools that serve specialized populations. Each rank links to the full list. Arrows under a test-score rank show places moved since the prior test year, among schools tested both years.
4-year change
SY 2020-21 vs SY 2024-25Enrollment
337
-42 (-11%) vs 2020
-31% since 1990-91, when it was 489
Student : Teacher
13.5:1
was 8.8:1
Source: NCES Common Core of Data
Enrollment and staffing by year
| School year | Students | Teachers (FTE) | Students per teacher | Free and reduced lunch |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024-25 | 337 | 25 | 13.5:1 | 61% (206) |
| 2023-24 | 372 | 26 | 14.3:1 | 42% (156) |
| 2022-23 | 358 | 24 | 14.9:1 | 57% (203) |
| 2020-21 | 379 | 43 | 8.8:1 | N/A |
| 2017-18 | 370 | 22.4 | 16.5:1 | 60% (223) |
| 2015-16 | 388 | 22 | 17.6:1 | 51% (196) |
| 2010-11 | 388 | 27 | 14.4:1 | 51% (196) |
| 2000-01 | 559 | 30 | 18.6:1 | 30% (170) |
| 1990-91 | 489 | 26 | 18.8:1 | N/A |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data. Rows are the federal collections on file for Houston High School.
Since 2017-18: students down 9% (370 to 337); teachers up 12% (22.4 to 25).
About Houston High School
Houston High School serves students in Big Lake, Alaska, as a medium-sized high school. Its 337 students are spread across grades 9 through 12.
Matanuska-Susitna Borough School District is the local district for Houston High School. It runs 49 schools with 19,495 students.
At 63%, White students outnumber all other groups at Houston High School combined. Other students are 20% multiracial, 10% Native American, and 5% Hispanic. By comparison, Matanuska-Susitna Borough residents are about 77% White. Houston High School has a diversity index of 55%, compared with 70% for all US public school students.
Teachers at Houston High School total 25 full-time equivalents, and the ratio is 13.5:1. For comparison, high schools in Alaska average 17.0:1. Federal records put free or reduced-price lunch eligibility at 61%. It compares with 45% for public schools in Matanuska-Susitna Borough.
Houston High School is graded B- by allk12, scoring above 53% of Alaska public high schools once test results, poverty-adjusted performance, and the recent trend are combined.
Houston High School's average proficiency rate on state tests of 26.5% is 5.7 points below the 32.2% the model predicts from its lunch-eligibility share.
Across Matanuska-Susitna Borough, median household income is about $94,031, roughly 24% of adults have a four-year degree or more, and the share of residents below the poverty line is 7%. The public schools of Matanuska-Susitna Borough number 49 and enroll about 19,495.
Houston Middle School is the public school closest to Houston High School, about 0.2 miles away. Houston High School has 4 other public schools within five miles. Local comparison: Houston High School ranks 3rd of 6 nearby schools, at 26.5% versus a 31.7% average.
For locale, NCES codes Houston High School as Rural: Distant.
Houston High School had 379 students in 2020-21 and 337 in 2024-25, an 11% decrease. The student-to-teacher ratio went up from 8.8:1 to 13.5:1.
Community posts for Houston High School can cover sports schedules, lunch menus, and spirit week. Alumni can share how the school prepared them.
Matanuska-Susitna Borough at a glance
View full county profilePopulation
112,988
Census ACS
Median income
$94,031
Household, ACS
Bachelor's+
24%
Adults 25+
Poverty rate
7%
Below federal line
Schools in county
49
19,495 students
Quick facts
Related schools
Other schools in Matanuska-Susitna Borough School District
- Mat-Su Central SchoolCombined · 2,780 students
- Colony High SchoolHigh · 1,046 students
- Wasilla High SchoolHigh · 816 students
- Colony Middle SchoolElementary · 771 students
- Mat-Su Career & Tech Ed High SchoolHigh · 705 students
- Teeland Middle SchoolElementary · 643 students
Other Houston High schools
5 other US public schools in 6 states are named Houston High. Houston High School is the 5th largest of the 6.
- Houston High SchoolGermantown, TN · 1,806 students
- Houston High SchoolSAN ANTONIO, TX · 800 students
- Houston High SchoolHouston, MS · 529 students
- HOUSTON HIGHHOUSTON, MO · 359 students
- Houston High SchoolHouston, OH · 326 students
Nearby schools
- Houston Middle School0.2 mi · 318
- Big Lake Elementary3.9 mi · 362
- Midnight Sun Family Learning Center4.5 mi · 189
- American Charter Academy4.5 mi · 193
- Meadow Lakes Elementary5.1 mi · 308
- Goose Bay Elementary6.2 mi · 305
Frequently asked questions
About Houston High SchoolHow large is Houston High School?
Houston High School enrolls approximately 337 students in grades 09-12.
Is Houston High School an elementary, middle, or high school?
Houston High School is a high school covering grades 09-12.
How many teachers does Houston High School have?
Houston High School employs 25 FTE teachers, for a student-to-teacher ratio of 13.5:1.
How diverse is Houston High School?
Houston High School reports a student body of 63% White, 5% Hispanic, 1% Black, 1% Asian, 20% Two or more.
Is Houston High School public or private?
Houston High School is a public K-12 school, overseen by Matanuska-Susitna Borough School District.
Data sourceSchool profile facts are sourced from the NCES. Community content is posted by allk12 members.