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Honest take: what's the hardest part about being a student at Decorah High School?
Community prompt from u/allk12. Replies below.
Enrollment
555
High
DISTRICT 304 · STATE 468
SCHOOL COMMUNITY·DECORAH COMMUNITY SCHOOL DISTRICT·NCES 190873000501
Decorah High School
100 Claiborne Drive, Decorah, IA 52101 · (563) 382-3643 · Winneshiek County
GRADES 09–12HIGH41-RURALREGULAR SCHOOL555 STUDENTS
Student : Teacher
14.1:1
39 FTE teachers
DISTRICT 12.2:1 · STATE 17.3:1
Free / Reduced Lunch
21%
116 students
DISTRICT 29% · STATE 41%
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 | 138 | 25% |
| Grade 10 | 136 | 25% |
| Grade 11 | 139 | 25% |
| Grade 12 | 142 | 26% |
Student demographics
18%Diversity index
The chance that two students picked at random belong to different racial or ethnic groups.
DISTRICT 20% · 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 Decorah Community School District. Attendance zones can vary; confirm enrollment with the district.
Test scores
ISASP 2024-25 . % ProficientEnglish Language Arts
89.5%
IA avg 73.6% . -2.1pp since 2023
Math
88.5%
IA avg 70.9% . +3.0pp since 2023
What this means: On the ISASP, Iowa's statewide test, about 90 of every 100 students at this school read and write at grade level and about 89 of 100 do math at grade level. Across all Iowa schools, those numbers are about 74 and 71. Reading and writing scores are down about 2 points since 2023, while math scores are up about 3 points.
ISASP results by year
| School year | English Language Arts | Math |
|---|---|---|
| 2024-25 | 89.5% | 88.5% |
| 2023-24 | 91.6% | 85.5% |
% 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
87.3%
composite math + reading, all grades
Predicted
81.5%
based on IA schools with similar FRL share
Beats by
+5.8pp
above demographic expectation
What this means: About 87% of students here test proficient in math and reading, compared with the roughly 81% 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 Decorah High School
Decorah High School's state test result (87.3% proficient) is higher than 4 of the 5 schools below with a result.
| School | Students | Low-income | Proficient |
|---|---|---|---|
| Decorah High School this school | 555 | 20.9% | 87.3% |
| Williamsburg Jr-Sr High School Williamsburg | 604 | 21.5% | 85.0% |
| ADM Senior High School Adel | 666 | 19.2% | 90.1% |
| Benton Community Senior High School Van Horne | 473 | 20.3% | 71.9% |
| Spirit Lake High School Spirit Lake | 393 | 22.1% | 72.8% |
| Wilton Jr-Sr High School Wilton | 447 | 23.9% | 70.2% |
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 Decorah High School ranks
Among high schools| Measure | This school | In Iowa |
|---|---|---|
| State test proficiency ranked highest first | 87.3% | #10 of 313 |
| Math proficiency ranked highest first | 88.5% | #4 of 314 ▲ 13 |
| Reading proficiency ranked highest first | 89.5% | #19 of 314 ▼ 8 |
| Enrollment ranked largest first | 555 | #79 of 340 |
| Students per teacher ranked fewest first | 14.1:1 | #120 of 259 |
| Diversity index ranked most diverse first | 18.1% | #163 of 260 |
| Free and reduced lunch ranked highest share first | 20.9% | #280 of 320 |
| Enrollment change since 2017-18 ranked steepest decline first | -2.3% | #112 of 125 |
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
555
-20 (-3%) vs 2020
+40% since 1990-91, when it was 397
Student : Teacher
14.1:1
was 15.5:1
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 | 555 | 39.5 | 14.1:1 | 21% (116) |
| 2023-24 | 569 | 38.5 | 14.8:1 | 23% (129) |
| 2022-23 | 576 | 37.8 | 15.2:1 | 22% (124) |
| 2020-21 | 575 | 37 | 15.5:1 | 23% (130) |
| 2017-18 | 568 | 35.9 | 15.8:1 | 17% (99) |
| 2015-16 | 571 | 38 | 15.0:1 | 26% (147) |
| 2010-11 | 610 | 36 | 16.9:1 | 20% (125) |
| 2000-01 | 689 | 38 | 18.1:1 | 10% (66) |
| 1990-91 | 397 | 32 | 12.4:1 | N/A |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data. Rows are the federal collections on file for Decorah High School.
Since 2017-18: students down 2% (568 to 555); teachers up 10% (35.9 to 39.5).
About Decorah High School
Decorah High School is a mid-sized high school in Iowa, located in Decorah. It is open to students in grades 9 through 12 and enrolls 555 students.
Decorah Community School District is the local district for Decorah High School. It runs 5 schools with 1,522 students.
A large majority of enrollment at Decorah High School is White, at 90%. Other reported shares: 6% Hispanic. Among Winneshiek County residents, the White share is about 94%. On the diversity index, which measures the chance that two random students are from different groups, Decorah High School scores 18%.
With 39.5 full-time-equivalent teachers, the student-to-teacher ratio is about 14.1:1. High schools in Iowa have an average ratio of 17.3:1. Student poverty is often measured by lunch eligibility; at Decorah High School, 21% qualify for free or reduced-price lunch.
Decorah High School posts an average proficiency rate across its state test results of 87.3%, compared with a predicted 81.5%. It is not in the top or bottom 10% of Iowa schools on BeatsExpectations.
For Winneshiek County, Census Bureau data show the median household earns about $79,066 a year, 31% of adults hold a bachelor's degree or higher, and about 5% of residents live below the federal poverty line. Public schools in Winneshiek County number 10, with about 2,434 students.
John Cline Elementary School, less than a tenth of a mile away, is the closest public school. Within five miles of Decorah High School, there are 4 other public schools. Decorah High School is 1st of 7 nearby schools by average proficiency rate.
Federal records code the school's setting as Rural: Fringe.
Over the 4 years from 2020-21 to 2024-25, enrollment fell 3%. Its ratio of students to teachers was 15.5:1 in 2020-21, and 14.1:1 in 2024-25.
This community page is for conversations about fundraisers, report cards, and school supplies. You can also rate the school on this page.
Winneshiek County at a glance
View full county profilePopulation
19,873
Census ACS
Median income
$79,066
Household, ACS
Bachelor's+
31%
Adults 25+
Poverty rate
5%
Below federal line
Schools in county
10
2,434 students
Quick facts
Related schools
Other schools in Decorah Community School District
- Decorah Middle SchoolMiddle · 432 students
- John Cline Elementary SchoolElementary · 300 students
- Carrie Lee ElementaryElementary · 215 students
- West Side Elementary SchoolElementary · 20 students
Other schools in Decorah
- Decorah Middle SchoolMiddle · 432 students
- John Cline Elementary SchoolElementary · 300 students
- Carrie Lee ElementaryElementary · 215 students
- West Side Elementary SchoolElementary · 20 students
Nearby schools
- John Cline Elementary School0.1 mi · 300
- Decorah Middle School0.4 mi · 432
- Carrie Lee Elementary0.5 mi · 215
- West Side Elementary School0.7 mi · 20
- South Winneshiek High School9.6 mi · 205
- South Winneshiek Elementary School11.4 mi · 198
Frequently asked questions
About Decorah High SchoolWhat is the total enrollment at Decorah High School?
Decorah High School enrolls approximately 555 students in grades 09-12.
What grades does Decorah High School serve?
Decorah High School serves grades 09-12.
What is the student-teacher ratio at Decorah High School?
The student-to-teacher ratio at Decorah High School is approximately 14.1:1 (39 FTE teachers).
What is the student diversity at Decorah High School?
Student demographics at Decorah High School are roughly 90% White, 6% Hispanic, 1% Black, 1% Asian, 2% Two or more.
What district is Decorah High School in?
Decorah High School is part of Decorah Community School District.
Data sourceSchool profile facts are sourced from the NCES. Community content is posted by allk12 members.