1
What's the vibe like in the hallways at East High School right now?
Community prompt from u/allk12. Replies below.
Enrollment
1,016
High
DISTRICT 1,091 · STATE 468
SCHOOL COMMUNITY·WATERLOO COMM SCHOOL DISTRICT·NCES 193048001714
East High School
214 High St, Waterloo, IA 50703 · (319) 433-2400 · Black Hawk County
GRADES 09–12HIGH13-CITYTITLE IREGULAR SCHOOL1,016 STUDENTS
Student : Teacher
16.4:1
62 FTE teachers
DISTRICT 16.4:1 · STATE 17.3:1
Free / Reduced Lunch
71%
719 students
DISTRICT 73% · 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 | 358 | 35% |
| Grade 10 | 234 | 23% |
| Grade 11 | 250 | 25% |
| Grade 12 | 174 | 17% |
Student demographics
72%Diversity index
The chance that two students picked at random belong to different racial or ethnic groups.
DISTRICT 74% · 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
Test scores
ISASP 2024-25 . % ProficientEnglish Language Arts
56.8%
IA avg 73.6% . +4.8pp since 2023
Math
46.7%
IA avg 70.9% . +0.6pp since 2023
What this means: On the ISASP, Iowa's statewide test, about 57 of every 100 students at this school read and write at grade level and about 47 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 5 points since 2023, while math scores have held steady.
ISASP results by year
| School year | English Language Arts | Math |
|---|---|---|
| 2024-25 | 56.8% | 46.7% |
| 2023-24 | 52.0% | 46.1% |
% 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
47.9%
composite math + reading, all grades
Predicted
56.5%
based on IA schools with similar FRL share
Beats by
-8.7pp
below demographic expectation
What this means: About 48% of students here test proficient in math and reading, compared with the roughly 57% 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 East High School
East High School's state test result (47.9% proficient) is higher than 1 of the 5 schools below with a result.
| School | Students | Low-income | Proficient |
|---|---|---|---|
| East High School this school | 1,016 | 70.8% | 47.9% |
| Thomas Jefferson High School Cedar Rapids | 1,501 | 60.5% | 51.9% |
| Roosevelt High School Des Moines | 2,051 | 55.2% | 59.5% |
| George Washington High School Cedar Rapids | 1,182 | 54.7% | 60.2% |
| North High School Davenport | 1,190 | 51.9% | 47.5% |
| West High School Waterloo | 1,696 | 59.1% | 60.9% |
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 East High School ranks
Among high schools| Measure | This school | In Iowa | In Black Hawk County |
|---|---|---|---|
| State test proficiency ranked highest first | 47.9% | #305 of 313 | #6 of 6 |
| Math proficiency ranked highest first | 46.7% | #303 of 314 ▼ 1 | #6 of 6 no change |
| Reading proficiency ranked highest first | 56.8% | #302 of 314 ▲ 4 | #6 of 6 no change |
| Enrollment ranked largest first | 1,016 | #47 of 340 | #3 of 7 |
| Students per teacher ranked fewest first | 16.4:1 | #202 of 259 | #6 of 7 |
| Diversity index ranked most diverse first | 71.9% | #4 of 260 | #1 of 7 |
| Free and reduced lunch ranked highest share first | 70.8% | #10 of 320 | #2 of 7 |
| Enrollment change since 2017-18 ranked fastest growth first | +11.9% | #63 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
1,016
+5 (+0%) vs 2020
-27% since 1990-91, when it was 1,389
Student : Teacher
16.4:1
was 16.1:1
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 | 1,016 | 61.9 | 16.4:1 | 71% (719) |
| 2023-24 | 1,013 | 52.4 | 19.3:1 | 74% (746) |
| 2022-23 | 1,022 | 59.2 | 17.3:1 | 73% (748) |
| 2020-21 | 1,011 | 63 | 16.1:1 | 75% (762) |
| 2017-18 | 908 | 62.5 | 14.5:1 | 59% (538) |
| 2015-16 | 1,008 | 72 | 14.0:1 | 68% (685) |
| 2010-11 | 1,078 | 65 | 16.6:1 | 67% (722) |
| 2000-01 | 1,116 | 52 | 21.5:1 | 51% (571) |
| 1990-91 | 1,389 | 93 | 14.9:1 | N/A |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data. Rows are the federal collections on file for East High School.
Since 2017-18: students up 12% (908 to 1,016); teachers down 1% (62.5 to 61.9).
About East High School
East High School is a large high school in Waterloo, Iowa. Classes run from 9 through 12, and the school has 1,016 students. The average for high schools in Iowa is about 468 students, so this school is 117% larger than average.
East High School is run by Waterloo Comm School District, whose 18 schools enroll 10,484 students.
East High School has no majority group; White students are the largest, at 36%. Beyond that, enrollment is 34% Black, 15% Hispanic, 10% multiracial, and 4% Pacific Islander. In Black Hawk County overall, about 80% of residents are White. East High School's diversity index is 72%, against a US figure of 70%.
With 61.9 full-time-equivalent teachers in 2024-25, the ratio at East High School was 16.4:1. The school has fewer students per teacher than the 17.3:1 average for high schools in Iowa. The school counts 719 students as eligible for free or reduced-price lunch, or 71%. Among public schools in Black Hawk County, the average eligibility rate is 52%.
On BeatsExpectations, East High School is 8.7 points below its prediction, a result in the middle 80% of Iowa schools.
Federal survey data for Black Hawk County show that the median household income is $66,417, about 30% of adults have at least a bachelor's degree, and roughly 9% of residents are in poverty. Black Hawk County is home to 35 public schools and about 18,224 public school students.
The nearest other public school, Cunningham School, is about 0.6 miles away. Inside a five-mile radius, there are at least 8 other public schools. Ranked by average proficiency, East High School places 7th out of 8 schools in its immediate area.
In the federal locale system, East High School is coded City: Small, for schools inside a principal city with a population under 100,000.
Enrollment at East High School was 1,011 in 2020-21 and 1,016 in 2024-25, a change of less than 3%.
Discussion on this page can cover school events, clubs, and volunteer needs. Posting is open to anyone connected to the school.
Black Hawk County at a glance
View full county profilePopulation
131,049
Census ACS
Median income
$66,417
Household, ACS
Bachelor's+
30%
Adults 25+
Poverty rate
9%
Below federal line
Schools in county
35
18,224 students
Quick facts
Related schools
Other schools in Waterloo Comm School District
- West High SchoolHigh · 1,696 students
- Hoover Middle SchoolMiddle · 848 students
- Kittrell Elementary SchoolElementary · 576 students
- Expo Alternative Learning CenterHigh · 561 students
- Lowell Elementary SchoolElementary · 538 students
- Orange Elementary SchoolElementary · 518 students
Other schools in Waterloo
- West High SchoolHigh · 1,696 students
- Hoover Middle SchoolMiddle · 848 students
- Kittrell Elementary SchoolElementary · 576 students
- Expo Alternative Learning CenterHigh · 561 students
- Lowell Elementary SchoolElementary · 538 students
- Orange Elementary SchoolElementary · 518 students
Other East High schools
19 other US public schools in 11 states are named East High. East High School is the 15th largest of the 20.
- East High SchoolDes Moines, IA · 1,952 students
- East High SchoolSioux City, IA · 1,495 students
- East High SchoolAurora, IL · 4,020 students
- East High SchoolDENVER, CO · 2,476 students
- East HighWichita, KS · 2,435 students
Nearby schools
- Cunningham School0.6 mi · 443
- Lowell Elementary School1.2 mi · 538
- Expo Alternative Learning Center1.2 mi · 561
- Highland Elementary School1.2 mi · 448
- Irving Elementary School1.4 mi · 353
- George Washington Carver Academy1.5 mi · 455
Frequently asked questions
About East High SchoolWhat is the total enrollment at East High School?
East High School enrolls approximately 1,016 students in grades 09-12.
What grades does East High School serve?
East High School serves grades 09-12.
How many teachers does East High School have?
East High School employs 62 FTE teachers, for a student-to-teacher ratio of 16.4:1.
What is the student diversity at East High School?
Student demographics at East High School are roughly 36% White, 15% Hispanic, 34% Black, 0% Asian, 10% Two or more.
Is East High School public or private?
East High School is a public K-12 school, overseen by Waterloo Comm School District.
Data sourceSchool profile facts are sourced from the NCES. Community content is posted by allk12 members.