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Schools›District of Columbia›Washington
SCHOOL COMMUNITY·DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA PUBLIC SCHOOLS·NCES 110003000084

Ballou High School

3401 4th St. SE, Washington, DC 20032 · (202) 645-3400 · District of Columbia
GRADES 09–12HIGH11-CITYREGULAR SCHOOL597 STUDENTS
·
allk12 Grade
Not graded

This school has no state test results for 2023-24 or 2024-25 to grade, which is common for schools that end before third grade. How grades work

Enrollment
597
High
DISTRICT 695 · STATE 553
Student : Teacher
9.6:1
62 FTE teachers
DISTRICT 11.8:1 · STATE 11.2:1
Free / Reduced Lunch
,
Title I proxy
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

GradeStudentsShare
Grade 921736%
Grade 1015826%
Grade 1111720%
Grade 1210518%
Student demographics
8%Diversity index
The chance that two students picked at random belong to different racial or ethnic groups.
DISTRICT 62% · STATE 56% · US 70%
White
10%
DISTRICT 18% · STATE 13% · US 43%
Hispanic
224%
DISTRICT 22% · STATE 19% · US 30%
Black
57296%
DISTRICT 54% · STATE 62% · US 15%
Asian
10%
DISTRICT 2% · STATE 1% · US 6%
Two+
10%
DISTRICT 4% · STATE 4% · US 5%
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
Male
29549%
Female
30251%

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Test scores

DC CAPE 2024-25 . % Meeting + Exceeding
English Language Arts
14.0%
DC avg 37.9%

What this means: On the DC CAPE, District of Columbia's statewide test, about 14 of every 100 students at this school read and write at grade level. The District of Columbia average is about 38 of 100.

Source: DC CAPE. All students, all grades. See all years and grades →

Where Ballou High School ranks

Among high schools
MeasureThis schoolIn District of ColumbiaIn District of Columbia
Reading proficiency
ranked highest first
14.0%#32 of 36#32 of 36
Enrollment
ranked largest first
597#17 of 45#17 of 45
Students per teacher
ranked fewest first
9.6:1#14 of 41#14 of 41
Diversity index
ranked most diverse first
8.1%#31 of 39#31 of 39
Enrollment change since 2017-18
ranked steepest decline first
-32.2%#3 of 9#3 of 9
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 2024-25
Enrollment
597
-67 (-10%) vs 2020
-57% since 1990-91, when it was 1,377
Student : Teacher
9.6:1
was 12.3:1
Source: NCES Common Core of Data

Enrollment and staffing by year

School yearStudentsTeachers (FTE)Students per teacherFree and reduced lunch
2024-2559762.19.6:1N/A
2023-2458560.39.7:1N/A
2022-236576310.4:1N/A
2020-216645412.3:1N/A
2017-188807012.6:1N/A
2015-169337312.8:1100% (933)
2010-111,0648412.7:189% (949)
2000-019166713.7:187% (793)
1990-911,37710313.4:1N/A
Source: NCES Common Core of Data. Rows are the federal collections on file for Ballou High School.

About Ballou High School

Ballou High School is a mid-sized high school in Washington, District of Columbia, one of the schools in District of Columbia Public Schools. It offers grades 9 through 12 and has 597 students enrolled.

District of Columbia Public Schools has 117 schools; together they serve 52,030 students.

By race and ethnicity, Ballou High School is 96% Black. The next largest groups are 4% Hispanic. The school's Black share is 54 points above the 42% share among District of Columbia residents. Its diversity index, the chance that two randomly chosen students belong to different racial or ethnic groups, is 8%.

The school had 62.1 full-time-equivalent teachers in 2024-25. Its student-to-teacher ratio is 9.6:1. Across high schools in District of Columbia, the average ratio is 11.2:1.

District of Columbia is the school's county. There, the median household earns about $109,870 a year, roughly 64% of adults have a four-year degree or more, and the share of residents below the poverty line is 12%. Ballou High School shares District of Columbia with 246 other public schools.

Less than a tenth of a mile separates Ballou High School from the closest public school, Ballou STAY High School. The five-mile area around Ballou High School holds at least 8 other public schools.

Locale data from NCES put Ballou High School inside a principal city with a population of 250,000 or more (City: Large).

A 10% decline took enrollment from 664 in 2020-21 to 597 in 2024-25. The student-to-teacher ratio dropped from 12.3:1 in 2020-21 to 9.6:1 in 2024-25.

On allk12, people connected to Ballou High School can post about pickup and drop-off, after-school programs, and teacher feedback. Current and former families are welcome to add their experience.

District of Columbia at a glance

View full county profile
Population
681,294
Census ACS
Median income
$109,870
Household, ACS
Bachelor's+
64%
Adults 25+
Poverty rate
12%
Below federal line
Schools in county
247
94,385 students

Quick facts

School name
Ballou High School
District
District of Columbia Public Schools
Address
3401 4th St. SE, Washington, DC 20032
Phone
(202) 645-3400
County
District of Columbia
Level
High
Grade range
09–12
Total enrollment
597
Teachers (FTE)
62
Student–teacher ratio
9.6:1
Locale
11-City: Large
NCES ID
110003000084
Charter school
No
Virtual school
No

Related schools

Other schools in District of Columbia Public Schools
Other schools in Washington
Nearby schools

Frequently asked questions

About Ballou High School
How large is Ballou High School?
Ballou High School enrolls approximately 597 students in grades 09-12.
What age range does Ballou High School serve?
Ballou High School serves students from grade 09 through grade 12.
How many teachers does Ballou High School have?
Ballou High School employs 62 FTE teachers, for a student-to-teacher ratio of 9.6:1.
What is the student diversity at Ballou High School?
Student demographics at Ballou High School are roughly 0% White, 4% Hispanic, 96% Black, 0% Asian, 0% Two or more.
Is Ballou High School public or private?
Ballou High School is a public K-12 school, overseen by District of Columbia Public Schools.
Data sourceSchool profile facts are sourced from the NCES. Community content is posted by allk12 members.
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