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Teachers: what resource would make the biggest difference at Johnston Senior High School this year?
Community prompt from u/allk12. Replies below.
Enrollment
1,820
High
DISTRICT 1,491 · STATE 468
SCHOOL COMMUNITY·JOHNSTON COMM SCHOOL DISTRICT·NCES 191545000927
Johnston Senior High School
6500 NW 100th Street, Johnston, IA 50131 · (515) 278-0449 · Polk County
GRADES 10–12HIGH21-SUBURBREGULAR SCHOOL1,820 STUDENTS
B+
allk12 Grade
Scored higher than 74% 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.
- BBeats 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
20.9:1
87 FTE teachers
DISTRICT 18.6:1 · STATE 17.3:1
Free / Reduced Lunch
22%
407 students
DISTRICT 26% · 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 10 | 638 | 35% |
| Grade 11 | 574 | 32% |
| Grade 12 | 608 | 33% |
Student demographics
51%Diversity index
The chance that two students picked at random belong to different racial or ethnic groups.
DISTRICT 56% · 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 Johnston Comm School District. Attendance zones can vary; confirm enrollment with the district.
Test scores
ISASP 2024-25 . % ProficientEnglish Language Arts
82.8%
IA avg 73.6% . -0.5pp since 2023
Math
79.5%
IA avg 70.9% . +0.7pp since 2023
What this means: On the ISASP, Iowa's statewide test, about 83 of every 100 students at this school read and write at grade level and about 80 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 | 82.8% | 79.5% |
| 2023-24 | 83.3% | 78.8% |
% 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
79.9%
composite math + reading, all grades
Predicted
80.8%
based on IA schools with similar FRL share
Beats by
-0.8pp
below demographic expectation
What this means: About 80% 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 Johnston Senior High School
Johnston Senior High School's state test result (79.9% proficient) is higher than 4 of the 5 schools below with a result.
| School | Students | Low-income | Proficient |
|---|---|---|---|
| Johnston Senior High School this school | 1,820 | 22.4% | 79.9% |
| Waukee High School Waukee | 1,375 | 23.0% | 70.1% |
| Ames High School Ames | 1,440 | 29.9% | 74.2% |
| Linn-Mar High School Marion | 2,229 | 23.1% | 74.9% |
| Johnston Middle School Johnston | 1,161 | 27.0% | 81.0% |
| Timberline School Waukee | 992 | 26.4% | 74.5% |
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 Johnston Senior High School ranks
Among high schools| Measure | This school | In Iowa | In Polk County |
|---|---|---|---|
| State test proficiency ranked highest first | 79.9% | #65 of 313 | #6 of 18 |
| Math proficiency ranked highest first | 79.5% | #59 of 314 ▼ 5 | #6 of 18 no change |
| Reading proficiency ranked highest first | 82.8% | #82 of 314 ▲ 5 | #6 of 18 ▲ 1 |
| Enrollment ranked largest first | 1,820 | #6 of 340 | #5 of 20 |
| Students per teacher ranked fewest first | 20.9:1 | #253 of 259 | #14 of 18 |
| Diversity index ranked most diverse first | 51.0% | #45 of 260 | #10 of 18 |
| Free and reduced lunch ranked highest share first | 22.4% | #271 of 320 | #15 of 19 |
| Enrollment change since 2017-18 ranked fastest growth first | +13.3% | #59 of 133 | #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
1,820
+48 (+3%) vs 2020
+232% since 1990-91, when it was 548
Student : Teacher
20.9:1
was 20.4:1
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 | 1,820 | 87.2 | 20.9:1 | 22% (407) |
| 2023-24 | 1,771 | 84.8 | 20.9:1 | 25% (437) |
| 2022-23 | 1,790 | 90 | 19.9:1 | 23% (412) |
| 2020-21 | 1,772 | 87 | 20.4:1 | 19% (340) |
| 2017-18 | 1,606 | 79.1 | 20.3:1 | 21% (336) |
| 2015-16 | 1,548 | 82 | 18.9:1 | 17% (258) |
| 2010-11 | 1,282 | 81 | 15.8:1 | 15% (191) |
| 2000-01 | 1,204 | 73 | 16.5:1 | 4% (45) |
| 1990-91 | 548 | 35 | 15.7:1 | N/A |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data. Rows are the federal collections on file for Johnston Senior High School.
Since 2017-18: students up 13% (1,606 to 1,820); teachers up 10% (79.1 to 87.2).
About Johnston Senior High School
Johnston Senior High School is a large high school in Johnston, Iowa, administered by Johnston Comm School District. A total of 1,820 students attend the school, which covers grades 10 through 12. Against the 468-student average for high schools in Iowa, enrollment here is 289% higher.
Enrollment across the 8 schools in Johnston Comm School District totals 7,339 students.
Johnston Senior High School is 68% White by enrollment. Other students are 11% Black, 8% Asian, 8% Hispanic, and 5% multiracial. By comparison, Polk County residents are about 76% White. Pick two students at random and there is a 51% chance they belong to different racial or ethnic groups; that figure is the school's diversity index.
The teaching staff at Johnston Senior High School is 87.2 full-time-equivalent teachers, and the ratio is 20.9:1. This ratio sits 3.6 above the 17.3:1 average for high schools in Iowa. The percentage of students eligible for free or reduced-price lunch is 22%. The gap from the 49% average for public schools in Polk County is 27 points.
allk12 grades Johnston Senior High School a B+. The grade compares the school only with Iowa public high schools, because each state gives its own test.
Given its share of students eligible for free or reduced-price lunch, Johnston Senior High School would be expected to post about 80.8%. Its actual average proficiency rate on state tests is 79.9%.
Among Polk County residents, the median household income is $83,576, 40% of adults hold a bachelor's degree or higher, and about 7% of people live in poverty. Johnston Senior High School is one of 137 public schools in the county.
Of nearby public schools, Horizon Elementary is the closest, at about 0.8 miles. In all, at least 8 other public schools sit within five miles of Johnston Senior High School. Among its closest neighbors with test data, Johnston Senior High School is 5th of 7 on proficiency.
The school's locale code, Suburb: Large, means it is in a suburban area outside a principal city, within an urbanized area with a population of 250,000 or more.
Enrollment is up 3% from 2020-21, when Johnston Senior High School had 1,772 students, to 2024-25, when it had 1,820.
To ask about school events, clubs, and volunteer needs, start a discussion on this page. Anyone with firsthand experience at this school can post or comment.
Polk County at a glance
View full county profilePopulation
503,175
Census ACS
Median income
$83,576
Household, ACS
Bachelor's+
40%
Adults 25+
Poverty rate
7%
Below federal line
Schools in county
137
77,436 students
Quick facts
Related schools
Other schools in Johnston Comm School District
- Johnston Middle SchoolHigh · 1,161 students
- Summit Middle SchoolMiddle · 1,118 students
- Henry A Wallace Elementary SchoolElementary · 840 students
- Timber Ridge ElementaryElementary · 667 students
- Horizon ElementaryElementary · 613 students
- Beaver Creek Elementary SchoolElementary · 575 students
Other schools in Johnston
- Johnston Middle SchoolHigh · 1,161 students
- Summit Middle SchoolMiddle · 1,118 students
- Henry A Wallace Elementary SchoolElementary · 840 students
- Timber Ridge ElementaryElementary · 667 students
- Horizon ElementaryElementary · 613 students
- Beaver Creek Elementary SchoolElementary · 575 students
Other Johnston Senior High schools
One other US public school is named Johnston Senior High. Johnston Senior High School is the largest of the 2.
- Johnston Senior HighJohnston, RI · 826 students
Nearby schools
- Horizon Elementary0.8 mi · 613
- Summit Middle School0.9 mi · 1,118
- Beaver Creek Elementary School1.1 mi · 575
- South Prairie Elementary2.0 mi · 436
- Heritage Elementary2.3 mi · 530
- Timber Ridge Elementary2.6 mi · 667
Frequently asked questions
About Johnston Senior High SchoolWhat is the total enrollment at Johnston Senior High School?
Johnston Senior High School enrolls approximately 1,820 students in grades 10-12.
What age range does Johnston Senior High School serve?
Johnston Senior High School serves students from grade 10 through grade 12.
How many students per teacher at Johnston Senior High School?
Approximately 20.9:1 students per teacher at Johnston Senior High School.
What is the student diversity at Johnston Senior High School?
Student demographics at Johnston Senior High School are roughly 68% White, 8% Hispanic, 11% Black, 8% Asian, 5% Two or more.
What district is Johnston Senior High School in?
Johnston Senior High School is part of Johnston Comm School District.
Data sourceSchool profile facts are sourced from the NCES. Community content is posted by allk12 members.