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What do students at West High School actually talk about outside of class?
Community prompt from u/allk12. Replies below.
Enrollment
1,702
High
DISTRICT 755 · STATE 373
SCHOOL COMMUNITY·ANCHORAGE SCHOOL DISTRICT·NCES 020018000120
West High School
1700 Hillcrest Dr, Anchorage, AK 99517 · (907) 742-2500 · Anchorage Municipality
GRADES 09–12HIGH11-CITYREGULAR SCHOOL1,702 STUDENTS
Student : Teacher
21.9:1
78 FTE teachers
DISTRICT 24.1:1 · STATE 17.0:1
Free / Reduced Lunch
38%
641 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 | 462 | 27% |
| Grade 10 | 480 | 28% |
| Grade 11 | 401 | 24% |
| Grade 12 | 359 | 21% |
Student demographics
80%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
39.1%
AK avg 36.1% . -3.7pp since 2023
Math
25.8%
AK avg 34.6% . +1.5pp since 2023
What this means: On the AK STAR + Alaska Science, Alaska's statewide test, about 39 of every 100 students at this school read and write at grade level and about 26 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 4 points since 2023, while math scores are up about 2 points.
AK STAR + Alaska Science results by year
| School year | English Language Arts | Math |
|---|---|---|
| 2024-25 | 39.1% | 25.8% |
| 2023-24 | 42.8% | 24.3% |
% 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
32.8%
composite math + reading, all grades
Predicted
40.4%
based on AK schools with similar FRL share
Beats by
-7.6pp
below demographic expectation
What this means: About 33% of students here test proficient in math and reading, compared with the roughly 40% 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 West High School
West High School's state test result (32.8% proficient) is higher than 4 of the 5 schools below with a result.
| School | Students | Low-income | Proficient |
|---|---|---|---|
| West High School this school | 1,702 | 37.7% | 32.8% |
| Lathrop High School Fairbanks | 788 | 32.2% | 29.2% |
| Service High School Anchorage | 1,518 | 28.3% | 25.2% |
| Dimond High School Anchorage | 1,373 | 27.9% | 24.8% |
| Eagle River High School Eagle River | 771 | 14.0% | 40.3% |
| Bettye Davis East Anchorage High School Anchorage | 1,636 | 73.2% | 17.4% |
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 West High School ranks
Among high schools| Measure | This school | In Alaska | In Anchorage Municipality |
|---|---|---|---|
| State test proficiency ranked highest first | 32.8% | #17 of 39 | #4 of 7 |
| Math proficiency ranked highest first | 25.8% | #14 of 43 ▲ 3 | #4 of 9 ▲ 2 |
| Reading proficiency ranked highest first | 39.1% | #18 of 44 ▼ 6 | #5 of 9 ▼ 2 |
| Enrollment ranked largest first | 1,702 | #1 of 72 | #1 of 13 |
| Students per teacher ranked fewest first | 21.9:1 | #35 of 38 | #7 of 10 |
| Diversity index ranked most diverse first | 80.2% | #3 of 38 | #3 of 10 |
| Free and reduced lunch ranked highest share first | 37.7% | #19 of 45 | #3 of 8 |
| Enrollment change since 2017-18 ranked steepest decline first | -5.7% | #21 of 28 | #6 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
1,702
-50 (-3%) vs 2020
+27% since 1990-91, when it was 1,338
Student : Teacher
21.9:1
was 22.5:1
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 | 1,702 | 77.6 | 21.9:1 | 38% (641) |
| 2023-24 | 1,768 | 84.8 | 20.8:1 | 35% (612) |
| 2022-23 | 1,763 | 82.6 | 21.4:1 | 40% (699) |
| 2020-21 | 1,752 | 78 | 22.5:1 | N/A |
| 2017-18 | 1,805 | 83.9 | 21.5:1 | 46% (839) |
| 2015-16 | 1,880 | 87 | 21.6:1 | 40% (751) |
| 2010-11 | 1,836 | 85 | 21.6:1 | 45% (822) |
| 2000-01 | 1,729 | 87 | 19.9:1 | N/A |
| 1990-91 | 1,338 | 59 | 22.7:1 | N/A |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data. Rows are the federal collections on file for West High School.
Since 2017-18: students down 6% (1,805 to 1,702); teachers down 8% (83.9 to 77.6).
About West High School
West High School is a large high school with an address in Anchorage, Alaska. The grade span is 9 through 12, and enrollment is 1,702 students. An average school in this group (high schools in Alaska) has about 373 students.
Anchorage School District, which runs West High School, has 92 schools and 40,587 students.
By race and ethnicity, the largest group at West High School is White (35%). Other students are 16% Hispanic, 13% multiracial, 11% Pacific Islander, and 11% Asian. That is lower than the 57% White share among all Anchorage Municipality residents. By the diversity index, West High School comes in at 80%.
The school has about 21.9 students per teacher and 77.6 full-time-equivalent teachers. The average ratio among high schools in Alaska is 17.0:1, lower than at this school. About 38% of enrolled students meet the income rules for free or reduced-price lunch. That rate is below the 49% average among public schools in Anchorage Municipality.
When test results are adjusted for free or reduced-price lunch eligibility, West High School is 7.6 points below its prediction. Actual: 32.8%. Predicted: 40.4%.
Census Bureau estimates for Anchorage Municipality show that median household income is about $103,284, 39% of adults hold a bachelor's degree or higher, and about 5% of residents live below the federal poverty line. A total of 99 public schools operate in Anchorage Municipality, serving about 41,241 students.
The nearest other public school, Romig Middle School, is about 0.2 miles away. The count of other public schools within five miles is at least 8. Compared with its nearest neighbors, West High School ranks 3rd of 4 on average proficiency.
Its NCES locale code is City: Large: the school is inside a principal city with a population of 250,000 or more.
Enrollment was 1,752 in 2020-21 and 1,702 in 2024-25, a decrease of 50 students.
Topics for discussion here include sports tryouts, band and choir, and theater. Alumni can share how the school prepared them.
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
- 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
- South Anchorage High SchoolHigh · 1,239 students
- Romig Middle SchoolMiddle · 1,138 students
Other schools in Anchorage
- 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
- South Anchorage High SchoolHigh · 1,239 students
- Romig Middle SchoolMiddle · 1,138 students
Other West High schools
20 other US public schools in 11 states are named West High. West High School is the 5th largest of the 21.
- West HighSALT LAKE CITY, UT · 2,503 students
- West HighMadison, WI · 2,222 students
- West HighBakersfield, CA · 2,159 students
- West HighTorrance, CA · 1,775 students
- West High SchoolWaterloo, IA · 1,696 students
Nearby schools
- Romig Middle School0.2 mi · 1,138
- Aquarian Charter School0.6 mi · 365
- Inlet View Elementary0.7 mi · 190
- North Star Elementary0.8 mi · 317
- Steller Secondary School0.8 mi · 305
- Frontier Charter School1.0 mi · 689
Frequently asked questions
About West High SchoolHow many students attend West High School?
West High School enrolls approximately 1,702 students in grades 09-12.
What grades does West High School serve?
West High School serves grades 09-12.
How many students per teacher at West High School?
Approximately 21.9:1 students per teacher at West High School.
How diverse is West High School?
West High School reports a student body of 35% White, 16% Hispanic, 6% Black, 11% Asian, 13% Two or more.
Who oversees West High School?
West High School is overseen by Anchorage School District in Anchorage Municipality.
Data sourceSchool profile facts are sourced from the NCES. Community content is posted by allk12 members.