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Alumni: what's one memory from Ballard High School that still sticks with you?
Community prompt from u/allk12. Replies below.
Enrollment
586
High
DISTRICT 468 · STATE 468
SCHOOL COMMUNITY·BALLARD COMM SCHOOL DISTRICT·NCES 190420000105
Ballard High School
701 Ballard Drive, Huxley, IA 50124 · (515) 597-2971 · Story County
GRADES 09–12HIGH42-RURALREGULAR SCHOOL586 STUDENTS
B
allk12 Grade
Scored higher than 59% of Iowa public high schools
- A-Test scores Share of students meeting the state standard in reading, math, and other tested subjects, 2023-24 and 2024-25.
- CBeats 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 Iowa public high schools
Student : Teacher
15.8:1
37 FTE teachers
DISTRICT 14.6:1 · STATE 17.3:1
Free / Reduced Lunch
15%
90 students
DISTRICT 19% · STATE 41%
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 | 146 | 25% |
| Grade 10 | 160 | 27% |
| Grade 11 | 132 | 23% |
| Grade 12 | 148 | 25% |
Student demographics
14%Diversity index
The chance that two students picked at random belong to different racial or ethnic groups.
DISTRICT 15% · STATE 48% · 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 Ballard Comm School District. Attendance zones can vary; confirm enrollment with the district.
Test scores
ISASP 2024-25 . % ProficientEnglish Language Arts
81.9%
IA avg 73.6% . -0.4pp since 2023
Math
81.0%
IA avg 70.9% . -0.6pp since 2023
What this means: On the ISASP, Iowa's statewide test, about 82 of every 100 students at this school read and write at grade level and about 81 of 100 do math at grade level. Across all Iowa schools, those numbers are about 74 and 71. Reading and writing scores have held steady since 2023, while math scores have held steady.
ISASP results by year
| School year | English Language Arts | Math |
|---|---|---|
| 2024-25 | 81.9% | 81.0% |
| 2023-24 | 82.3% | 81.6% |
% Proficient, all students and all tested grades.
Source: ISASP. 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
79.3%
composite math + reading, all grades
Predicted
84.3%
based on IA schools with similar FRL share
Beats by
-5.0pp
below demographic expectation
What this means: About 79% of students here test proficient in math and reading, compared with the roughly 84% typical for Iowa 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 Iowa'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 Ballard High School
Ballard High School's state test result (79.3% proficient) is higher than 1 of the 5 schools below with a result.
| School | Students | Low-income | Proficient |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ballard High School this school | 586 | 15.4% | 79.3% |
| Waverly-Shell Rock Senior High School Waverly | 737 | 17.5% | 82.9% |
| Center Point-Urbana High School Center Point | 440 | 14.5% | 82.9% |
| Mount Vernon High School Mount Vernon | 470 | 13.2% | 80.0% |
| Benton Community Senior High School Van Horne | 473 | 20.3% | 71.9% |
| ADM Senior High School Adel | 666 | 19.2% | 90.1% |
Matched among Iowa 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 Ballard High School ranks
Among high schools| Measure | This school | In Iowa | In Story County |
|---|---|---|---|
| State test proficiency ranked highest first | 79.3% | #74 of 313 | #3 of 7 |
| Math proficiency ranked highest first | 81.0% | #45 of 314 ▼ 17 | #3 of 7 no change |
| Reading proficiency ranked highest first | 81.9% | #94 of 314 ▲ 1 | #3 of 7 no change |
| Enrollment ranked largest first | 586 | #75 of 340 | #2 of 7 |
| Students per teacher ranked fewest first | 15.8:1 | #189 of 259 | #5 of 6 |
| Diversity index ranked most diverse first | 13.6% | #214 of 260 | #6 of 6 |
| Free and reduced lunch ranked highest share first | 15.4% | #303 of 320 | #6 of 7 |
| Enrollment change since 2017-18 ranked fastest growth first | +3.9% | #105 of 133 | N/A |
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
586
+92 (+19%) vs 2020
+173% since 1990-91, when it was 215
Student : Teacher
15.8:1
was 14.5:1
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 | 586 | 37 | 15.8:1 | 15% (90) |
| 2023-24 | 553 | 35.6 | 15.6:1 | 15% (82) |
| 2022-23 | 545 | 33.4 | 16.3:1 | 17% (94) |
| 2020-21 | 494 | 34 | 14.5:1 | 16% (79) |
| 2017-18 | 564 | 33.9 | 16.6:1 | 15% (87) |
| 2015-16 | 524 | 29 | 18.1:1 | 18% (95) |
| 2010-11 | 446 | 31 | 14.4:1 | 17% (78) |
| 2000-01 | 423 | 27 | 15.7:1 | 14% (59) |
| 1990-91 | 215 | 18 | 11.9:1 | N/A |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data. Rows are the federal collections on file for Ballard High School.
Since 2017-18: students up 4% (564 to 586); teachers up 9% (33.9 to 37).
About Ballard High School
A medium-sized high school in Huxley, Iowa, Ballard High School is part of Ballard Comm School District. The school's 586 students are in grades 9 through 12. Enrollment is 25% higher than the average for high schools in Iowa, which is about 468.
Within Ballard Comm School District, Ballard High School is one of 4 schools. The district enrolls 1,872 students.
Federal enrollment data show Ballard High School is 93% White. Enrollment also includes 4% Hispanic. The school's White share is 10 points above the 82% share among Story County residents. The school's diversity index is 14%, meaning two students picked at random have a 14% chance of belonging to different racial or ethnic groups.
Its teaching staff equals 37 full-time positions, a ratio of 15.8:1. That is lower than the 17.3:1 average for high schools in Iowa. Free and reduced-price lunch eligibility, a common measure of family income, is 15%. Compared with the 28% average for public schools in Story County, the school's rate is lower.
allk12 grades Ballard High School a B. The grade compares the school only with Iowa public high schools, because each state gives its own test.
On BeatsExpectations, Ballard High School is 5.0 points below its prediction, a result in the middle 80% of Iowa schools.
According to the American Community Survey, in Story County, the median household income is $69,685, roughly 55% of adults have a four-year degree or more, and the share of residents below the poverty line is 6%. There are 26 public schools in Story County, enrolling about 11,665 students in all.
The closest public school, Ballard Middle School, is about 0.5 miles from Ballard High School. There are 3 other public schools within five miles. Ballard High School places 4th of 8 on proficiency among the closest schools that report scores.
Ballard High School falls in the Rural: Distant locale category, used for schools in rural territory some distance from an urban area.
Compared with 2020-21, the school had 92 more students in 2024-25. The school's ratio rose from 14.5:1 to 15.8:1 between 2020-21 and 2024-25.
The allk12 site hosts a discussion page for Ballard High School covering things like sports schedules, lunch menus, and spirit week. Posting is open to anyone connected to the school.
Story County at a glance
View full county profilePopulation
100,466
Census ACS
Median income
$69,685
Household, ACS
Bachelor's+
55%
Adults 25+
Poverty rate
6%
Below federal line
Schools in county
26
11,665 students
Quick facts
Related schools
Other schools in Ballard Comm School District
- Ballard West ElementaryElementary · 451 students
- Ballard Middle SchoolMiddle · 418 students
- Ballard East ElementaryElementary · 417 students
Other Ballard High schools
3 other US public schools in 4 states are named Ballard High. Ballard High School is the 3rd largest of the 4.
- Ballard HighLouisville, KY · 2,148 students
- Ballard High SchoolSEATTLE, WA · 1,697 students
- BALLARD HIGHBUTLER, MO · 59 students
Nearby schools
- Ballard Middle School0.5 mi · 418
- Ballard West Elementary3.3 mi · 451
- Ballard East Elementary3.7 mi · 417
- North Polk Middle School5.7 mi · 504
- North Polk Central Elementary School5.8 mi · 408
- North Polk High School5.9 mi · 644
Frequently asked questions
About Ballard High SchoolWhat is the total enrollment at Ballard High School?
Ballard High School enrolls approximately 586 students in grades 09-12.
What age range does Ballard High School serve?
Ballard High School serves students from grade 09 through grade 12.
How many students per teacher at Ballard High School?
Approximately 15.8:1 students per teacher at Ballard High School.
What is the student diversity at Ballard High School?
Student demographics at Ballard High School are roughly 93% White, 4% Hispanic, 2% Black, 1% Two or more.
What district is Ballard High School in?
Ballard High School is part of Ballard Comm School District.
Data sourceSchool profile facts are sourced from the NCES. Community content is posted by allk12 members.