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What's the best and worst thing about the food at Southeast Polk High School?
Community prompt from u/allk12. Replies below.
Enrollment
1,722
High
DISTRICT 636 · STATE 468
SCHOOL COMMUNITY·SOUTHEAST POLK COMM SCHOOL DISTRICT·NCES 192682001572
Southeast Polk High School
7945 NE University Ave., Pleasant Hill, IA 50327 · (515) 967-6631 · Polk County
GRADES 10–12HIGH41-RURALREGULAR SCHOOL1,722 STUDENTS
C-
allk12 Grade
Scored higher than 22% of Iowa public high schools
- CTest scores Share of students meeting the state standard in reading, math, and other tested subjects, 2023-24 and 2024-25.
- C-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
17.4:1
99 FTE teachers
DISTRICT 14.3:1 · STATE 17.3:1
Free / Reduced Lunch
33%
575 students
DISTRICT 40% · 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 | 539 | 31% |
| Grade 11 | 616 | 36% |
| Grade 12 | 567 | 33% |
Student demographics
46%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 Southeast Polk Comm School District. Attendance zones can vary; confirm enrollment with the district.
Test scores
ISASP 2024-25 . % ProficientEnglish Language Arts
74.5%
IA avg 73.6% . +6.6pp since 2023
Math
69.8%
IA avg 70.9% . +7.0pp since 2023
What this means: On the ISASP, Iowa's statewide test, about 75 of every 100 students at this school read and write at grade level and about 70 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 7 points since 2023, while math scores are up about 7 points.
ISASP results by year
| School year | English Language Arts | Math |
|---|---|---|
| 2024-25 | 74.5% | 69.8% |
| 2023-24 | 67.9% | 62.8% |
% 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
67.5%
composite math + reading, all grades
Predicted
75.2%
based on IA schools with similar FRL share
Beats by
-7.7pp
below demographic expectation
What this means: About 68% of students here test proficient in math and reading, compared with the roughly 75% 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 Southeast Polk High School
Southeast Polk High School's state test result (67.5% proficient) is higher than 2 of the 5 schools below with a result.
| School | Students | Low-income | Proficient |
|---|---|---|---|
| Southeast Polk High School this school | 1,722 | 33.4% | 67.5% |
| John F Kennedy High School Cedar Rapids | 1,648 | 36.0% | 69.3% |
| Bettendorf High School Bettendorf | 1,433 | 29.4% | 77.3% |
| Prairie High School Cedar Rapids | 1,766 | 29.8% | 64.8% |
| Clear Creek Amana High School Tiffin | 800 | 28.3% | 76.1% |
| Hempstead High School Dubuque | 1,499 | 42.0% | 64.1% |
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 Southeast Polk High School ranks
Among high schools| Measure | This school | In Iowa | In Polk County |
|---|---|---|---|
| State test proficiency ranked highest first | 67.5% | #221 of 313 | #11 of 18 |
| Math proficiency ranked highest first | 69.8% | #179 of 314 ▲ 50 | #10 of 18 ▲ 1 |
| Reading proficiency ranked highest first | 74.5% | #211 of 314 ▲ 47 | #10 of 18 ▲ 2 |
| Enrollment ranked largest first | 1,722 | #9 of 340 | #6 of 20 |
| Students per teacher ranked fewest first | 17.4:1 | #231 of 259 | #10 of 18 |
| Diversity index ranked most diverse first | 45.5% | #64 of 260 | #13 of 18 |
| Free and reduced lunch ranked highest share first | 33.4% | #177 of 320 | #11 of 19 |
| Enrollment change since 2017-18 ranked steepest decline first | -16.9% | #29 of 125 | 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
1,722
-450 (-21%) vs 2020
+82% since 1990-91, when it was 947
Student : Teacher
17.4:1
was 18.3:1
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 | 1,722 | 99.1 | 17.4:1 | 33% (575) |
| 2023-24 | 2,294 | 126.2 | 18.2:1 | 33% (768) |
| 2022-23 | 2,353 | 124.4 | 18.9:1 | 32% (744) |
| 2020-21 | 2,172 | 119 | 18.3:1 | 28% (618) |
| 2017-18 | 2,073 | 112.5 | 18.4:1 | 29% (599) |
| 2015-16 | 2,060 | 114 | 18.1:1 | 26% (530) |
| 2010-11 | 1,791 | 110 | 16.3:1 | 27% (492) |
| 2000-01 | 1,372 | 84 | 16.3:1 | 7% (101) |
| 1990-91 | 947 | 60 | 15.8:1 | N/A |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data. Rows are the federal collections on file for Southeast Polk High School.
Since 2017-18: students down 17% (2,073 to 1,722); teachers down 12% (112.5 to 99.1).
About Southeast Polk High School
As a large high school, Southeast Polk High School serves students in Pleasant Hill, Iowa. School enrollment was 1,722 students in 2024-25, in grades 10 through 12. For comparison, high schools in Iowa average about 468 students.
Southeast Polk High School is a school in Southeast Polk Comm School District. The district has 10 schools and 6,359 students.
At Southeast Polk High School, White students make up 72% of the student body. It is also 11% Hispanic, 9% Black, and 5% multiracial. For comparison, Polk County is about 76% White. Southeast Polk High School's diversity index is 46%, against a US figure of 70%.
Federal data list 99.1 full-time-equivalent teachers at Southeast Polk High School in 2024-25, for a ratio of 17.4:1. That matches the 17.3:1 average for high schools in Iowa fairly closely. The school's rate of free or reduced-price lunch eligibility is 33%. The rate at public schools in Polk County averages 49%, higher than here.
The allk12 Grade for Southeast Polk High School is C-. Compared with Iowa public high schools, the school scored higher than 22% on a mix of test scores, poverty-adjusted results, and recent trend.
On a poverty-adjusted basis, Southeast Polk High School falls in the middle 80% of Iowa schools: 67.5% actual against 75.2% predicted.
Census estimates describe Polk County this way: the median household income is $83,576, the share of adults with a bachelor's degree or higher is 40%, and about 7% of people live in poverty. Besides Southeast Polk High School, Polk County has 136 other public schools.
The closest other public school is Four Mile Elementary, about 1.9 miles away. Within five miles are at least 8 other public schools. Among its closest neighbors with test data, Southeast Polk High School is 6th of 9 on proficiency.
In the federal locale system, Southeast Polk High School is coded Rural: Fringe, for schools in rural territory close to an urban area.
Over 4 years, Southeast Polk High School's enrollment dropped 21%, to 1,722.
Families, students, and staff can use this page to discuss school safety, transportation, and start times at Southeast Polk High School. Alumni can share how the school prepared them.
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 Southeast Polk Comm School District
- Southeast Polk Middle SchoolMiddle · 1,112 students
- Clay ElementaryElementary · 700 students
- Willowbrook ElementaryElementary · 523 students
- Four Mile ElementaryElementary · 495 students
- Delaware ElementaryElementary · 440 students
- Altoona ElementaryElementary · 429 students
Other schools in Pleasant Hill
- Four Mile ElementaryElementary · 495 students
- Southeast Polk Junior HighHigh
Nearby schools
- Four Mile Elementary1.9 mi · 495
- Clay Elementary2.0 mi · 700
- Centennial Elementary3.1 mi · 423
- Southeast Polk Middle School3.4 mi · 1,112
- Altoona Elementary3.6 mi · 429
- Pleasant Hill Elementary School3.9 mi · 241
Frequently asked questions
About Southeast Polk High SchoolHow many students attend Southeast Polk High School?
Southeast Polk High School enrolls approximately 1,722 students in grades 10-12.
What grades does Southeast Polk High School serve?
Southeast Polk High School serves grades 10-12.
What is the student-teacher ratio at Southeast Polk High School?
The student-to-teacher ratio at Southeast Polk High School is approximately 17.4:1 (99 FTE teachers).
How diverse is Southeast Polk High School?
Southeast Polk High School reports a student body of 72% White, 11% Hispanic, 9% Black, 2% Asian, 5% Two or more.
Who oversees Southeast Polk High School?
Southeast Polk High School is overseen by Southeast Polk Comm School District in Polk County.
Data sourceSchool profile facts are sourced from the NCES. Community content is posted by allk12 members.