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How has Waukegan High School changed in the last five years, for better or worse?
Community prompt from u/allk12. Replies below.
Enrollment
4,186
High
DISTRICT 620 · STATE 834
SCHOOL COMMUNITY·WAUKEGAN CUSD 60·NCES 174125004141
Waukegan High School
1011 Washington St, Waukegan, IL 60085 · (224) 303-3000 · Lake County
GRADES 09–12HIGH21-SUBURBTITLE IREGULAR SCHOOL4,186 STUDENTS
D
allk12 Grade
Scored higher than 8% of Illinois 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.
- DBeats 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 Illinois public high schools
Student : Teacher
13.0:1
323 FTE teachers
DISTRICT 12.8:1 · STATE 13.8:1
Free / Reduced Lunch
64%
2,678 students
DISTRICT 70% · STATE 56%
Community
5
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 | 987 | 24% |
| Grade 10 | 1,068 | 26% |
| Grade 11 | 1,053 | 25% |
| Grade 12 | 1,078 | 26% |
Student demographics
30%Diversity index
The chance that two students picked at random belong to different racial or ethnic groups.
DISTRICT 32% · STATE 69% · 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
School pathway
Feeds from
Based on grade levels within Waukegan CUSD 60. Attendance zones can vary; confirm enrollment with the district.
BeatsExpectations
Demographically-adjusted score · methodologyTier
UNDERPERFORMING
Bottom 10% of IL schools after controlling for student poverty
Actual proficiency
18.3%
composite math + reading, all grades
Predicted
34.6%
based on IL schools with similar FRL share
Beats by
-16.2pp
below demographic expectation
What this means: About 18% of students here test proficient in math and reading, below the roughly 35% typical for Illinois schools with a similar share of low-income students. BeatsExpectations compares each school with others at the same poverty level, not by raw scores, so a school lands here when its results trail those comparable schools, which is not the same as having low scores. A higher-scoring school can still fall in this tier if similar schools score higher still.
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 Waukegan High School
Waukegan High School's state test result (18.3% proficient) is higher than 0 of the 5 schools below with a result.
| School | Students | Low-income | Proficient |
|---|---|---|---|
| Waukegan High School this school | 4,186 | 64.0% | 18.3% |
| East High School Aurora | 4,020 | 63.6% | 18.4% |
| Elgin High School Elgin | 2,576 | 63.1% | 26.1% |
| Larkin High School Elgin | 2,174 | 65.0% | 20.3% |
| Kennedy High School Chicago | 1,647 | 65.8% | 23.2% |
| West Leyden High School Northlake | 1,687 | 58.6% | 32.3% |
Matched among Illinois 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 Waukegan High School ranks
Among high schools| Measure | This school | In Illinois | In Lake County |
|---|---|---|---|
| State test proficiency ranked highest first | 18.3% | #461 of 573 | #6 of 7 |
| Enrollment ranked largest first | 4,186 | #4 of 708 | #2 of 21 |
| Students per teacher ranked fewest first | 13.0:1 | #162 of 528 | #7 of 21 |
| Diversity index ranked most diverse first | 29.7% | #307 of 537 | #21 of 21 |
| Free and reduced lunch ranked highest share first | 64.0% | #178 of 578 | #3 of 7 |
| Enrollment change since 2017-18 ranked steepest decline first | -9.2% | #182 of 358 | #6 of 13 |
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
4,186
-329 (-7%) vs 2020
+182% since 1990-91, when it was 1,483
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 | 4,186 | 323 | 13.0:1 | 64% (2,678) |
| 2023-24 | 4,325 | 304 | 14.2:1 | 68% (2,947) |
| 2022-23 | 4,355 | 252.5 | 17.3:1 | 65% (2,834) |
| 2020-21 | 4,515 | N/A | N/A | N/A |
| 2017-18 | 4,609 | 279.9 | 16.5:1 | 64% (2,928) |
| 2015-16 | 4,562 | 290 | 15.7:1 | 47% (2,148) |
| 2010-11 | 4,277 | 280 | 15.3:1 | 60% (2,545) |
| 2000-01 | 2,738 | 164 | 16.7:1 | N/A |
| 1990-91 | 1,483 | 87 | 17.1:1 | N/A |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data. Rows are the federal collections on file for Waukegan High School.
Since 2017-18: students down 9% (4,609 to 4,186); teachers up 15% (279.9 to 323).
About Waukegan High School
As a large high school, Waukegan High School serves students in Waukegan, Illinois. The school counts 4,186 students across grades 9 through 12. The school's enrollment is 402% above the 834 average for high schools in Illinois.
Waukegan CUSD 60 counts 22 schools and 13,640 students, including Waukegan High School.
Waukegan High School enrolls a student body that is 83% Hispanic. After that, the student body is 11% Black and 2% White. That is higher than the 25% Hispanic share among all Lake County residents. The chance that two students picked at random at Waukegan High School belong to different racial or ethnic groups, known as the diversity index, is 30%.
Teachers at the school number 323 full-time equivalents, and the ratio is 13.0:1. Among high schools in Illinois, the typical ratio is 13.8:1. The school's lunch program data list 64% of students as eligible for free or reduced-price meals. It compares with 54% for public schools in Lake County.
The allk12 Grade for Waukegan High School is D. Compared with Illinois public high schools, the school scored higher than 8% on a mix of test scores, poverty-adjusted results, and recent trend.
BeatsExpectations compares each school's average proficiency rate on state tests with a prediction based on free or reduced-price lunch eligibility. Waukegan High School posts 18.3% against a 34.6% prediction, a bottom-10% result in Illinois.
County data help place the school in context: in Lake County, median household income is about $110,416, about 48% of adults have at least a bachelor's degree, and the poverty rate is about 6%. Waukegan High School is among the 214 public schools in Lake County.
Robert E Abbott Middle School is the closest public school, about 0.2 miles away in a straight line. There are at least 8 more public schools inside five miles. Waukegan High School places 5th of 9 on proficiency among the closest schools that report scores.
Waukegan High School is coded as Suburb: Large in federal locale data.
Between 2020-21 and 2024-25, the student count dropped from 4,515 to 4,186.
Discussion on this page can cover school safety, transportation, and start times. Reviews and ratings from people who know the school are welcome.
Lake County at a glance
View full county profilePopulation
714,223
Census ACS
Median income
$110,416
Household, ACS
Bachelor's+
48%
Adults 25+
Poverty rate
6%
Below federal line
Schools in county
214
118,032 students
Quick facts
Related schools
Other schools in Waukegan CUSD 60
- John R Lewis Middle SchoolMiddle · 721 students
- Miguel Juarez Middle SchoolMiddle · 651 students
- Robert E Abbott Middle SchoolMiddle · 585 students
- Glenwood Elementary SchoolElementary · 577 students
- Carman-Buckner Elementary SchoolElementary · 509 students
- Oakdale Elementary SchoolElementary · 505 students
Other schools in Waukegan
- John R Lewis Middle SchoolMiddle · 721 students
- Miguel Juarez Middle SchoolMiddle · 651 students
- Robert E Abbott Middle SchoolMiddle · 585 students
- Glenwood Elementary SchoolElementary · 577 students
- LEARN John Kathy Schreiber ChrtrElementary · 519 students
- Carman-Buckner Elementary SchoolElementary · 509 students
Nearby schools
- Robert E Abbott Middle School0.2 mi · 585
- Miguel Juarez Middle School0.3 mi · 651
- Andrew Cooke Magnet Elementary School0.5 mi · 395
- Hyde Park Elementary School0.6 mi · 295
- Carman-Buckner Elementary School0.8 mi · 509
- North Elementary School0.8 mi · 498
Frequently asked questions
About Waukegan High SchoolWhat is the total enrollment at Waukegan High School?
Waukegan High School enrolls approximately 4,186 students in grades 09-12.
Is Waukegan High School an elementary, middle, or high school?
Waukegan High School is a high school covering grades 09-12.
How many teachers does Waukegan High School have?
Waukegan High School employs 323 FTE teachers, for a student-to-teacher ratio of 13.0:1.
What is the student diversity at Waukegan High School?
Student demographics at Waukegan High School are roughly 2% White, 83% Hispanic, 11% Black, 2% Asian, 1% Two or more.
What district is Waukegan High School in?
Waukegan High School is part of Waukegan CUSD 60.
Data sourceSchool profile facts are sourced from the NCES. Community content is posted by allk12 members.