1
Enrollment
777
High
DISTRICT 565 · STATE 468
SCHOOL COMMUNITY·DENISON COMM SCHOOL DISTRICT·NCES 190891000508
Denison High School
819 N 16th St, Denison, IA 51442 · (712) 263-3101 · Crawford County
GRADES 09–12HIGH33-TOWNTITLE IREGULAR SCHOOL777 STUDENTS
B+
allk12 Grade
Scored higher than 68% of Iowa public high schools
- B-Test scores Share of students meeting the state standard in reading, math, and other tested subjects, 2023-24 and 2024-25.
- A+Beats 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 Iowa public high schools
Student : Teacher
17.9:1
43 FTE teachers
DISTRICT 15.0:1 · STATE 17.3:1
Free / Reduced Lunch
64%
500 students
DISTRICT 65% · 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 | 178 | 23% |
| Grade 10 | 211 | 27% |
| Grade 11 | 198 | 25% |
| Grade 12 | 190 | 24% |
Student demographics
50%Diversity index
The chance that two students picked at random belong to different racial or ethnic groups.
DISTRICT 49% · 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 Denison Comm School District. Attendance zones can vary; confirm enrollment with the district.
Test scores
ISASP 2024-25 . % ProficientEnglish Language Arts
78.5%
IA avg 73.6% . +1.6pp since 2023
Math
70.8%
IA avg 70.9% . -1.0pp since 2023
What this means: On the ISASP, Iowa's statewide test, about 79 of every 100 students at this school read and write at grade level and about 71 of 100 do math at grade level. Across all Iowa schools, those numbers are about 74 and 71. Reading and writing scores are up about 2 points since 2023, while math scores are down about 1 points.
ISASP results by year
| School year | English Language Arts | Math |
|---|---|---|
| 2024-25 | 78.5% | 70.8% |
| 2023-24 | 76.9% | 71.8% |
% Proficient, all students and all tested grades.
Source: ISASP. All students, all grades. See all years and grades →
BeatsExpectations
Demographically-adjusted score · methodologyTier
OUTPERFORMING
Top 10% of IA schools after controlling for student poverty
Actual proficiency
72.3%
composite math + reading, all grades
Predicted
59.8%
based on IA schools with similar FRL share
Beats by
+12.6pp
above demographic expectation
What this means: About 72% of students here test proficient in math and reading, well above the roughly 60% typical for Iowa schools with a similar share of low-income students. BeatsExpectations ranks schools against others at the same poverty level, not by raw scores, so a school can post high scores and still fall short of its prediction, or post lower scores and still beat it. This school clears its prediction by about 13 points, placing it in Iowa's top 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 Denison High School
Denison High School's state test result (72.3% proficient) is higher than 5 of the 5 schools below with a result.
| School | Students | Low-income | Proficient |
|---|---|---|---|
| Denison High School this school | 777 | 64.4% | 72.3% |
| Perry High School Perry | 549 | 54.5% | 67.3% |
| Marshalltown High School Marshalltown | 1,629 | 72.6% | 54.6% |
| North High School Sioux City | 1,529 | 63.2% | 54.4% |
| John R Mott Jr/Hi School Postville | 342 | 78.9% | 53.2% |
| Eagle Grove High School Eagle Grove | 329 | 54.4% | 53.6% |
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 Denison High School ranks
Among high schools| Measure | This school | In Iowa |
|---|---|---|
| State test proficiency ranked highest first | 72.3% | #170 of 313 |
| Math proficiency ranked highest first | 70.8% | #166 of 314 ▼ 27 |
| Reading proficiency ranked highest first | 78.5% | #145 of 314 ▲ 25 |
| Enrollment ranked largest first | 777 | #61 of 340 |
| Students per teacher ranked fewest first | 17.9:1 | #242 of 259 |
| Diversity index ranked most diverse first | 50.4% | #48 of 260 |
| Free and reduced lunch ranked highest share first | 64.4% | #14 of 320 |
| Enrollment change since 2017-18 ranked fastest growth first | +5.3% | #99 of 133 |
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
777
-6 (-1%) vs 2020
+44% since 1990-91, when it was 540
Student : Teacher
17.9:1
was 17.0:1
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 | 777 | 43.4 | 17.9:1 | 64% (500) |
| 2023-24 | 773 | 43.6 | 17.7:1 | 58% (451) |
| 2022-23 | 786 | 44.6 | 17.6:1 | 59% (462) |
| 2020-21 | 783 | 46 | 17.0:1 | 68% (532) |
| 2017-18 | 738 | 41.7 | 17.7:1 | 65% (479) |
| 2015-16 | 694 | 44 | 15.8:1 | 65% (449) |
| 2010-11 | 691 | 39 | 17.7:1 | 56% (384) |
| 2000-01 | 643 | 38 | 16.9:1 | 26% (169) |
| 1990-91 | 540 | 32 | 16.9:1 | N/A |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data. Rows are the federal collections on file for Denison High School.
Since 2017-18: students up 5% (738 to 777); teachers up 4% (41.7 to 43.4).
About Denison High School
Denison High School is a large high school in Denison, Iowa. It enrolled 777 students in grades 9 through 12 for the 2024-25 school year. Statewide, high schools in Iowa average about 468 students each.
Denison High School is run by Denison Comm School District, whose 4 schools enroll 2,258 students.
Denison High School is 63% Hispanic by enrollment. Beyond that, enrollment is 30% White and 3% Black. In Crawford County overall, about 31% of residents are Hispanic. Denison High School's diversity index is 50%, against a US figure of 70%.
Denison High School operates with 43.4 full-time-equivalent teachers, a ratio of about 17.9:1. That is close to the 17.3:1 average for high schools in Iowa. About 64% of students at the school meet free or reduced-price lunch income limits.
Denison High School is graded B+ by allk12, scoring above 68% of Iowa public high schools once test results, poverty-adjusted performance, and the recent trend are combined.
Given its lunch-eligibility share, the predicted average proficiency rate on state tests for Denison High School is 59.8%. It actually posts 72.3%, which is 12.6 points higher and in the top 10% of Iowa schools.
In Crawford County (population about 16,277), the median household income is $67,027, a bachelor's degree or higher is held by about 18% of adults, and the poverty rate is about 13%. There are 11 public schools in Crawford County, enrolling about 3,007 students in all.
The nearest public school is Denison Middle School, at about 0.3 miles. Around the school, 3 other public schools are within five miles. Among the 8 closest schools with test data, this one included, Denison High School ranks 3rd on average proficiency.
The federal government classifies Denison High School's location as Town: Remote.
Compared with 2020-21, when it had 783 students, enrollment in 2024-25 was about the same at 777.
Threads on this page can be about sports tryouts, band and choir, and theater. Anyone with firsthand experience at this school can post or comment.
Crawford County at a glance
View full county profilePopulation
16,277
Census ACS
Median income
$67,027
Household, ACS
Bachelor's+
18%
Adults 25+
Poverty rate
13%
Below federal line
Schools in county
11
3,007 students
Quick facts
Related schools
Other schools in Denison Comm School District
- Denison Elementary SchoolElementary · 691 students
- Denison Middle SchoolMiddle · 502 students
- Broadway Elementary SchoolElementary · 288 students
Other schools in Denison
- Denison Elementary SchoolElementary · 691 students
- Denison Middle SchoolMiddle · 502 students
- Broadway Elementary SchoolElementary · 288 students
Other Denison High schools
One other US public school is named Denison High. Denison High School is the 2nd largest of the 2.
- Denison High SchoolDENISON, TX · 1,351 students
Nearby schools
- Denison Middle School0.3 mi · 502
- Denison Elementary School0.7 mi · 691
- Broadway Elementary School0.8 mi · 288
- Boyer Valley Elementary School10.1 mi · 208
- Schleswig Middle School10.3 mi · 51
- Schleswig Elementary School10.3 mi · 75
Frequently asked questions
About Denison High SchoolWhat is the total enrollment at Denison High School?
Denison High School enrolls approximately 777 students in grades 09-12.
What grades does Denison High School serve?
Denison High School serves grades 09-12.
What is the student-teacher ratio at Denison High School?
The student-to-teacher ratio at Denison High School is approximately 17.9:1 (43 FTE teachers).
What is the racial breakdown of students at Denison High School?
At Denison High School, the student body is approximately 30% White, 63% Hispanic, 3% Black, 2% Asian, 1% Two or more.
Who oversees Denison High School?
Denison High School is overseen by Denison Comm School District in Crawford County.
Data sourceSchool profile facts are sourced from the NCES. Community content is posted by allk12 members.