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How has Spirit Lake High School changed in the last five years, for better or worse?
Community prompt from u/allk12. Replies below.
Enrollment
393
High
DISTRICT 440 · STATE 468
SCHOOL COMMUNITY·SPIRIT LAKE COMM SCHOOL DISTRICT·NCES 192700001585
Spirit Lake High School
2701 Hill Ave, Spirit Lake, IA 51360 · (712) 336-3707 · Dickinson County
GRADES 09–12HIGH33-TOWNREGULAR SCHOOL393 STUDENTS
C+
allk12 Grade
Scored higher than 36% 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.
- 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
15.4:1
26 FTE teachers
DISTRICT 15.3:1 · STATE 17.3:1
Free / Reduced Lunch
22%
87 students
DISTRICT 26% · STATE 41%
Community
1
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 | 96 | 24% |
| Grade 10 | 94 | 24% |
| Grade 11 | 92 | 23% |
| Grade 12 | 111 | 28% |
Student demographics
26%Diversity index
The chance that two students picked at random belong to different racial or ethnic groups.
DISTRICT 23% · 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 Spirit Lake Comm School District. Attendance zones can vary; confirm enrollment with the district.
Test scores
ISASP 2024-25 . % ProficientEnglish Language Arts
80.4%
IA avg 73.6% . +8.1pp since 2023
Math
73.1%
IA avg 70.9% . +3.2pp since 2023
What this means: On the ISASP, Iowa's statewide test, about 80 of every 100 students at this school read and write at grade level and about 73 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 8 points since 2023, while math scores are up about 3 points.
ISASP results by year
| School year | English Language Arts | Math |
|---|---|---|
| 2024-25 | 80.4% | 73.1% |
| 2023-24 | 72.3% | 69.9% |
% 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
72.8%
composite math + reading, all grades
Predicted
80.9%
based on IA schools with similar FRL share
Beats by
-8.1pp
below demographic expectation
What this means: About 73% 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 Spirit Lake High School
Spirit Lake High School's state test result (72.8% proficient) is higher than 1 of the 5 schools below with a result.
| School | Students | Low-income | Proficient |
|---|---|---|---|
| Spirit Lake High School this school | 393 | 22.1% | 72.8% |
| Hudson High School Hudson | 371 | 23.7% | 81.2% |
| Cascade Junior-Senior High School Cascade | 392 | 23.2% | 84.2% |
| Wilton Jr-Sr High School Wilton | 447 | 23.9% | 70.2% |
| PCM High School Monroe | 348 | 19.5% | 73.9% |
| Decorah High School Decorah | 555 | 20.9% | 87.3% |
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 Spirit Lake High School ranks
Among high schools| Measure | This school | In Iowa |
|---|---|---|
| State test proficiency ranked highest first | 72.8% | #161 of 313 |
| Math proficiency ranked highest first | 73.1% | #139 of 314 ▲ 28 |
| Reading proficiency ranked highest first | 80.4% | #120 of 314 ▲ 104 |
| Enrollment ranked largest first | 393 | #122 of 340 |
| Students per teacher ranked fewest first | 15.4:1 | #170 of 259 |
| Diversity index ranked most diverse first | 25.8% | #110 of 260 |
| Free and reduced lunch ranked highest share first | 22.1% | #272 of 320 |
| Enrollment change since 2017-18 ranked steepest decline first | -2.5% | #108 of 125 |
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
393
+15 (+4%) vs 2020
+9% since 1990-91, when it was 361
Student : Teacher
15.4:1
was 18.0:1
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 | 393 | 25.6 | 15.4:1 | 22% (87) |
| 2023-24 | 396 | 24.7 | 16.1:1 | 21% (85) |
| 2022-23 | 409 | 23.6 | 17.4:1 | 23% (93) |
| 2020-21 | 378 | 21 | 18.0:1 | 22% (84) |
| 2017-18 | 403 | 25.9 | 15.5:1 | 25% (102) |
| 2015-16 | 456 | 27 | 16.9:1 | 24% (108) |
| 2010-11 | 381 | 28 | 13.6:1 | 24% (92) |
| 2000-01 | 423 | 28 | 15.1:1 | 9% (40) |
| 1990-91 | 361 | 28 | 12.9:1 | N/A |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data. Rows are the federal collections on file for Spirit Lake High School.
Since 2017-18: students down 2% (403 to 393); teachers down 2% (25.9 to 25.6).
About Spirit Lake High School
Spirit Lake High School is a public high school run by Spirit Lake Comm School District in Spirit Lake, Iowa. In all, 393 students attend the school in grades 9 through 12.
Enrollment across the 3 schools in Spirit Lake Comm School District totals 1,319 students.
The share of White students at Spirit Lake High School is 86%. Other groups make up 7% Hispanic and 4% multiracial. Dickinson County as a whole is about 94% White, so the school's share is lower. Measured by the diversity index, the student body scores 26%.
Its ratio of 15.4:1 is based on 25.6 full-time-equivalent teachers. High schools in Iowa have an average ratio of 17.3:1. In all, 22% of students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch. Public schools in Dickinson County average 31%.
On the allk12 Grade, Spirit Lake High School lands at C+, ahead of 36% of Iowa public high schools.
Compared with Iowa schools that have similar shares of low-income students, Spirit Lake High School's results are 8.1 points below predicted: 72.8% against 80.9%.
For Dickinson County, Census Bureau data show the median household earns about $75,432 a year, roughly 31% of adults have a four-year degree or more, and the share of residents below the poverty line is 5%. Public schools in Dickinson County number 9, with about 3,005 students.
Spirit Lake Elementary School is about 0.2 miles from Spirit Lake High School, the shortest distance to any other public school. The five-mile area around Spirit Lake High School holds 2 other public schools. Among 8 nearby schools that report test results, Spirit Lake High School ranks 7th on proficiency.
Locale data from NCES put Spirit Lake High School in a town far from an urbanized area (Town: Remote).
The 2020-21-to-2024-25 change in enrollment was a 4% increase, from 378 to 393. Staffing shifted too: the ratio moved from 18.0:1 to 15.4:1.
Anyone can start a thread about fundraisers, report cards, and school supplies at Spirit Lake High School. Teachers and staff are welcome to share updates too.
Dickinson County at a glance
View full county profilePopulation
17,990
Census ACS
Median income
$75,432
Household, ACS
Bachelor's+
31%
Adults 25+
Poverty rate
5%
Below federal line
Schools in county
9
3,005 students
Quick facts
Related schools
Other schools in Spirit Lake Comm School District
- Spirit Lake Elementary SchoolElementary · 547 students
- Spirit Lake Middle SchoolMiddle · 379 students
Other schools in Spirit Lake
- Spirit Lake Elementary SchoolElementary · 547 students
- Spirit Lake Middle SchoolMiddle · 379 students
Nearby schools
- Spirit Lake Elementary School0.2 mi · 547
- Spirit Lake Middle School0.2 mi · 379
- Okoboji Elementary School7.0 mi · 491
- Okoboji High School7.0 mi · 366
- Okoboji Middle School7.2 mi · 339
- Graettinger-Terril Elementary School10.0 mi · 149
Frequently asked questions
About Spirit Lake High SchoolHow many students attend Spirit Lake High School?
Spirit Lake High School enrolls approximately 393 students in grades 09-12.
What age range does Spirit Lake High School serve?
Spirit Lake High School serves students from grade 09 through grade 12.
What is the student-teacher ratio at Spirit Lake High School?
The student-to-teacher ratio at Spirit Lake High School is approximately 15.4:1 (26 FTE teachers).
What is the student diversity at Spirit Lake High School?
Student demographics at Spirit Lake High School are roughly 86% White, 7% Hispanic, 2% Black, 1% Asian, 4% Two or more.
Is Spirit Lake High School public or private?
Spirit Lake High School is a public K-12 school, overseen by Spirit Lake Comm School District.
Data sourceSchool profile facts are sourced from the NCES. Community content is posted by allk12 members.