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What's one thing Spencer High School gets right about preparing students for what comes next?
Community prompt from u/allk12. Replies below.
Enrollment
688
High
DISTRICT 419 · STATE 468
SCHOOL COMMUNITY·SPENCER COMM SCHOOL DISTRICT·NCES 192691001582
Spencer High School
800 E 3rd St, Spencer, IA 51301 · (712) 262-1700 · Clay County
GRADES 09–12HIGH33-TOWNTITLE IREGULAR SCHOOL688 STUDENTS
Student : Teacher
17.0:1
41 FTE teachers
DISTRICT 14.6:1 · STATE 17.3:1
Free / Reduced Lunch
45%
312 students
DISTRICT 52% · STATE 41%
Community
3
0 members
Enrollment and student:teacher ratio compared against other high schools. Free/Reduced Lunch and demographics compared against all schools.
Enrollment by grade
Student demographics
Student head counts by race/ethnicity from federal NCES enrollment data. 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 Spencer Comm School District. Attendance zones can vary; confirm enrollment with the district.
Test scores
ISASP 2024-25 . % ProficientEnglish Language Arts
84.4%
IA avg 73.6% . -0.6pp since 2023
Math
80.9%
IA avg 70.9% . +4.3pp since 2023
What this means: On the ISASP, Iowa's statewide test, about 84 of every 100 students at this school read and write at grade level and about 81 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 are up about 4 points.
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
79.1%
composite math + reading, all grades
Predicted
69.3%
based on IA schools with similar FRL share
Beats by
+9.8pp
above demographic expectation
What this means: About 79% of students here test proficient in math and reading, well above the roughly 69% 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 10 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 →
7-year change
SY 2017-18 vs SY 2024-25Enrollment
688
+99 (+17%) vs 2017
Student : Teacher
17.0:1
was 15.0:1
% White
87%
was 87%
% Hispanic
9%
was 10%
% Black
1%
was 1%
% Asian
1%
was 1%
Source: NCES Common Core of Data
About Spencer High School
Set in Spencer, Iowa, Spencer High School is a moderately sized secondary school, run under Spencer Comm School District. It hosts 688 students across grades 9 through 12. By comparison, Iowa's public schools average about 468 students each, so Spencer High School sits 47% above that benchmark.
Across the 5 schools in Spencer Comm School District (2,094 students total), Spencer High School accounts for its share of the district's footprint.
On the student-mix side, Spencer High School reports that nearly all students (87%) are White; the rest reads as 9% Hispanic, 3% multiracial.
On the income-and-resources front, The school currently runs with 41 full-time-equivalent teachers, for a student-teacher ratio near 17.0:1. That tracks the state average closely. An estimated 45% of students are eligible for free or reduced-price lunch, a commonly cited indicator of low-income enrollment.
Adjusting for the school's free-and-reduced-lunch share, Spencer High School sits in the top 10% of Iowa schools after the BeatsExpectations adjustment. Predicted proficiency for the school's FRL share is roughly 69.3%; actual is 79.1%, +9.8 points clear of the demographic baseline.
Across the wider county, ACS estimates for Clay County put median household earnings sit near $65,428, roughly 28% of adults have completed at least a four-year degree, and roughly 7% of residents live below the federal poverty line. In all, Clay County runs 6 public schools (combined enrollment of about 2,147 students), of which Spencer High School is one.
Spencer Middle School is the nearest neighboring public school, about 0.8 miles from this campus. Within five miles, there are 4 other public schools. Among the 6 schools in that immediate cluster with test data (this one included), Spencer High School ranks 2nd on composite proficiency, above the local average of 69.6%.
The school occupies a town-center site.
Over the past 7-year window. Over the past 7-year window, the student count edged up 17%: 589 students in 2018 compared to 688 in 2025. The student-to-teacher ratio widened from 15.0:1 in 2018 to 17.0:1 today.
On the community side, recent activity here tends to focus on science fair prep, picture-day reminders, and bus-route questions. Anyone with firsthand experience at this school can post or comment.
Clay County at a glance
View full county profilePopulation
16,461
Census ACS
Median income
$65,428
Household, ACS
Bachelor's+
28%
Adults 25+
Poverty rate
7%
Below federal line
Schools in county
6
2,147 students
Quick facts
Related schools
Other schools in Spencer Comm School District
- Spencer Middle SchoolMiddle · 514 students
- Lincoln Elementary SchoolElementary · 442 students
- Fairview Park ElementaryElementary · 249 students
- Johnson ElementaryElementary · 201 students
Other schools in Spencer
- Spencer Middle SchoolMiddle · 514 students
- Lincoln Elementary SchoolElementary · 442 students
- Fairview Park ElementaryElementary · 249 students
- Johnson ElementaryElementary · 201 students
Nearby schools
- Spencer Middle School0.8 mi · 514
- Fairview Park Elementary0.9 mi · 249
- Lincoln Elementary School1.1 mi · 442
- Johnson Elementary1.2 mi · 201
- Clay Central-Everly Elementary9.4 mi · 53
- Ruthven-Ayrshire High School11.7 mi · 58
Frequently asked questions
About Spencer High SchoolHow many students attend Spencer High School?
Spencer High School enrolls approximately 688 students in grades 09-12.
Is Spencer High School an elementary, middle, or high school?
Spencer High School is a high school covering grades 09-12.
How many teachers does Spencer High School have?
Spencer High School employs 41 FTE teachers, for a student-to-teacher ratio of 17.0:1.
What is the student diversity at Spencer High School?
Student demographics at Spencer High School are roughly 87% White, 9% Hispanic, 1% Black, 1% Asian, 3% Two or more.
What district is Spencer High School in?
Spencer High School is part of Spencer Comm School District.
Data sourceSchool profile facts are sourced from the NCES. Community content is posted by allk12 members.