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What's the most underrated thing about South Anchorage High School that outsiders don't know?
Community prompt from u/allk12. Replies below.
Enrollment
1,239
High
DISTRICT 755 · STATE 373
SCHOOL COMMUNITY·ANCHORAGE SCHOOL DISTRICT·NCES 020018000454
South Anchorage High School
13400 Elmore Rd, Anchorage, AK 99516 · (907) 742-6200 · Anchorage Municipality
GRADES 09–12HIGH11-CITYREGULAR SCHOOL1,239 STUDENTS
A
allk12 Grade
Scored higher than 89% of Alaska public high schools
- ATest scores Share of students meeting the state standard in reading, math, and other tested subjects, 2023-24 and 2024-25.
- A-Beats expectations How far test scores land above or below what the share of low-income students predicts for a school in this state.
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
22.6:1
55 FTE teachers
DISTRICT 24.1:1 · STATE 17.0:1
Free / Reduced Lunch
16%
199 students
DISTRICT 53% · STATE 65%
Community
6
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 | 316 | 26% |
| Grade 10 | 318 | 26% |
| Grade 11 | 317 | 26% |
| Grade 12 | 288 | 23% |
Student demographics
57%Diversity index
The chance that two students picked at random belong to different racial or ethnic groups.
DISTRICT 78% · 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
49.0%
AK avg 36.1% . +8.7pp since 2023
Math
40.7%
AK avg 34.6% . +2.6pp since 2023
What this means: On the AK STAR + Alaska Science, Alaska's statewide test, about 49 of every 100 students at this school read and write at grade level and about 41 of 100 do math at grade level. Across all Alaska schools, those numbers are about 36 and 35. Reading and writing scores are up about 9 points since 2023, while math scores are up about 3 points.
AK STAR + Alaska Science results by year
| School year | English Language Arts | Math |
|---|---|---|
| 2024-25 | 49.0% | 40.7% |
| 2023-24 | 40.3% | 38.1% |
% 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
43.8%
composite math + reading, all grades
Predicted
47.9%
based on AK schools with similar FRL share
Beats by
-4.1pp
below demographic expectation
What this means: About 44% of students here test proficient in math and reading, compared with the roughly 48% 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 South Anchorage High School
South Anchorage High School's state test result (43.8% proficient) is higher than 5 of the 5 schools below with a result.
| School | Students | Low-income | Proficient |
|---|---|---|---|
| South Anchorage High School this school | 1,239 | 16.1% | 43.8% |
| Chugiak High School Chugiak | 928 | 18.3% | 36.5% |
| West Valley High School Fairbanks | 782 | 21.1% | 37.2% |
| Juneau-Douglas High School: Yadaa.at Kale Juneau | 1,018 | 13.6% | 33.4% |
| North Pole High School North Pole | 695 | 22.4% | 26.6% |
| Mat-Su Career & Tech Ed High School Wasilla | 705 | 25.0% | 40.9% |
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 South Anchorage High School ranks
Among high schools| Measure | This school | In Alaska | In Anchorage Municipality |
|---|---|---|---|
| State test proficiency ranked highest first | 43.8% | #4 of 39 | #1 of 7 |
| Math proficiency ranked highest first | 40.7% | #5 of 43 ▲ 1 | #2 of 9 no change |
| Reading proficiency ranked highest first | 49.0% | #5 of 44 ▲ 10 | #1 of 9 ▲ 4 |
| Enrollment ranked largest first | 1,239 | #5 of 72 | #5 of 13 |
| Students per teacher ranked fewest first | 22.6:1 | #36 of 38 | #8 of 10 |
| Diversity index ranked most diverse first | 57.2% | #17 of 38 | #7 of 10 |
| Free and reduced lunch ranked highest share first | 16.1% | #41 of 45 | #7 of 8 |
| Enrollment change since 2017-18 ranked steepest decline first | -12.2% | #11 of 28 | #3 of 8 |
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
1,239
-4 (0%) vs 2020
-19% since 2010-11, when it was 1,528
Student : Teacher
22.6:1
was 21.8:1
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 | 1,239 | 54.9 | 22.6:1 | 16% (199) |
| 2023-24 | 1,286 | 57.8 | 22.3:1 | 14% (177) |
| 2022-23 | 1,318 | 56.5 | 23.3:1 | 13% (172) |
| 2020-21 | 1,243 | 57 | 21.8:1 | N/A |
| 2017-18 | 1,411 | 62.3 | 22.6:1 | 14% (197) |
| 2015-16 | 1,500 | 64 | 23.4:1 | 14% (211) |
| 2010-11 | 1,528 | 75 | 20.4:1 | 10% (151) |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data. Rows are the federal collections on file for South Anchorage High School.
Since 2017-18: students down 12% (1,411 to 1,239); teachers down 12% (62.3 to 54.9).
About South Anchorage High School
South Anchorage High School sits in Anchorage, Alaska, and is classified as a high school. It offers grades 9 through 12 and has 1,239 students enrolled. That is 232% larger than the average of about 373 students for high schools in Alaska.
Anchorage School District is responsible for 92 schools, South Anchorage High School included, with 40,587 students in all.
More than half of the students at South Anchorage High School are White (63%). Beyond that, enrollment is 13% multiracial, 9% Hispanic, 6% Native American, and 5% Asian. Measured by the diversity index, the student body scores 57%.
The school's 54.9 full-time-equivalent teachers translate to a student-to-teacher ratio of 22.6:1. The average for high schools in Alaska is 17.0:1, so this school has more students per teacher. At South Anchorage High School, 16% of students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch in 2024-25. By comparison, the figure for public schools in Anchorage Municipality is 49%.
South Anchorage High School holds an A allk12 Grade, placing it above 89% of Alaska public high schools.
On BeatsExpectations, South Anchorage High School is 4.1 points below its prediction, a result in the middle 80% of Alaska schools.
In Anchorage Municipality, home to about 288,976 people, median household income comes to about $103,284, the share of adults with a bachelor's degree or higher is 39%, and about 5% of people live in poverty. Anchorage Municipality's 99 public schools enroll about 41,241 students and include South Anchorage High School.
Huffman Elementary, about 0.8 miles away, is the closest public school. A five-mile radius around the school includes at least 8 other public schools. Among the 9 closest schools with test data, this one included, South Anchorage High School ranks 7th on average proficiency.
NCES lists the school's locale as City: Large. That means it sits inside a principal city with a population of 250,000 or more.
Enrollment has been fairly stable: 1,243 in 2020-21 and 1,239 in 2024-25.
People can post here about open houses, carpools, and field trips and other school topics. Parents, students, alumni, and staff are welcome to post.
Anchorage Municipality at a glance
View full county profilePopulation
288,976
Census ACS
Median income
$103,284
Household, ACS
Bachelor's+
39%
Adults 25+
Poverty rate
5%
Below federal line
Schools in county
99
41,241 students
Quick facts
Related schools
Other schools in Anchorage School District
- West High SchoolHigh · 1,702 students
- Bettye Davis East Anchorage High SchoolHigh · 1,636 students
- Service High SchoolHigh · 1,518 students
- Bartlett High SchoolCombined · 1,431 students
- Dimond High SchoolHigh · 1,373 students
- Romig Middle SchoolMiddle · 1,138 students
Other schools in Anchorage
- West High SchoolHigh · 1,702 students
- Bettye Davis East Anchorage High SchoolHigh · 1,636 students
- Service High SchoolHigh · 1,518 students
- Bartlett High SchoolCombined · 1,431 students
- Dimond High SchoolHigh · 1,373 students
- Romig Middle SchoolMiddle · 1,138 students
Nearby schools
- Huffman Elementary0.8 mi · 268
- Rabbit Creek Elementary0.9 mi · 288
- Bowman Elementary1.6 mi · 536
- O'Malley Elementary1.9 mi · 350
- Hanshew Middle School2.2 mi · 822
- Bear Valley Elementary2.3 mi · 316
Frequently asked questions
About South Anchorage High SchoolWhat is the total enrollment at South Anchorage High School?
South Anchorage High School enrolls approximately 1,239 students in grades 09-12.
Is South Anchorage High School an elementary, middle, or high school?
South Anchorage High School is a high school covering grades 09-12.
What is the student-teacher ratio at South Anchorage High School?
The student-to-teacher ratio at South Anchorage High School is approximately 22.6:1 (55 FTE teachers).
What is the racial breakdown of students at South Anchorage High School?
At South Anchorage High School, the student body is approximately 63% White, 9% Hispanic, 2% Black, 5% Asian, 13% Two or more.
What district is South Anchorage High School in?
South Anchorage High School is part of Anchorage School District.
Data sourceSchool profile facts are sourced from the NCES. Community content is posted by allk12 members.