1
What's the vibe like in the hallways at Urbandale High School right now?
Community prompt from u/allk12. Replies below.
Enrollment
1,301
High
DISTRICT 694 · STATE 468
SCHOOL COMMUNITY·URBANDALE COMM SCHOOL DISTRICT·NCES 192868001659
Urbandale High School
7111 Aurora Avenue, Urbandale, IA 50322 · (515) 457-6800 · Polk County
GRADES 09–12HIGH21-SUBURBREGULAR SCHOOL1,301 STUDENTS
C
allk12 Grade
Scored higher than 30% 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.
- CBeats 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
14.8:1
88 FTE teachers
DISTRICT 13.5:1 · STATE 17.3:1
Free / Reduced Lunch
36%
473 students
DISTRICT 41% · 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 | 301 | 23% |
| Grade 10 | 323 | 25% |
| Grade 11 | 356 | 27% |
| Grade 12 | 321 | 25% |
Student demographics
57%Diversity index
The chance that two students picked at random belong to different racial or ethnic groups.
DISTRICT 58% · 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 Urbandale Comm School District. Attendance zones can vary; confirm enrollment with the district.
Test scores
ISASP 2024-25 . % ProficientEnglish Language Arts
81.8%
IA avg 73.6% . +12.3pp since 2023
Math
67.6%
IA avg 70.9% . +7.9pp since 2023
What this means: On the ISASP, Iowa's statewide test, about 82 of every 100 students at this school read and write at grade level and about 68 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 12 points since 2023, while math scores are up about 8 points.
ISASP results by year
| School year | English Language Arts | Math |
|---|---|---|
| 2024-25 | 81.8% | 67.6% |
| 2023-24 | 69.5% | 59.7% |
% 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
68.0%
composite math + reading, all grades
Predicted
73.8%
based on IA schools with similar FRL share
Beats by
-5.7pp
below demographic expectation
What this means: About 68% of students here test proficient in math and reading, compared with the roughly 74% 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 Urbandale High School
Urbandale High School's state test result (68.0% proficient) is higher than 1 of the 5 schools below with a result.
| School | Students | Low-income | Proficient |
|---|---|---|---|
| Urbandale High School this school | 1,301 | 36.4% | 68.0% |
| Ames High School Ames | 1,440 | 29.9% | 74.2% |
| Southview Middle School Ankeny | 913 | 27.5% | 83.7% |
| John F Kennedy High School Cedar Rapids | 1,648 | 36.0% | 69.3% |
| Mount Pleasant High School Mount Pleasant | 545 | 39.1% | 66.1% |
| Johnston Middle School Johnston | 1,161 | 27.0% | 81.0% |
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 Urbandale High School ranks
Among high schools| Measure | This school | In Iowa | In Polk County |
|---|---|---|---|
| State test proficiency ranked highest first | 68.0% | #215 of 313 | #10 of 18 |
| Math proficiency ranked highest first | 67.6% | #199 of 314 ▲ 52 | #11 of 18 ▲ 1 |
| Reading proficiency ranked highest first | 81.8% | #96 of 314 ▲ 151 | #7 of 18 ▲ 4 |
| Enrollment ranked largest first | 1,301 | #32 of 340 | #10 of 20 |
| Students per teacher ranked fewest first | 14.8:1 | #146 of 259 | #3 of 18 |
| Diversity index ranked most diverse first | 56.5% | #32 of 260 | #8 of 18 |
| Free and reduced lunch ranked highest share first | 36.4% | #156 of 320 | #10 of 19 |
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
1,301
-6 (0%) vs 2020
+58% since 1990-91, when it was 825
Student : Teacher
14.8:1
was 14.5:1
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 | 1,301 | 87.9 | 14.8:1 | 36% (473) |
| 2023-24 | 1,311 | 93.3 | 14.1:1 | 34% (450) |
| 2022-23 | 1,347 | 91.5 | 14.7:1 | 36% (490) |
| 2020-21 | 1,307 | 90 | 14.5:1 | 8% (108) |
| 2017-18 | 1,301 | 86.5 | 15.0:1 | 25% (329) |
| 2015-16 | 1,283 | 84 | 15.3:1 | 24% (311) |
| 2010-11 | 1,174 | 83 | 14.1:1 | 19% (224) |
| 2000-01 | 1,200 | 68 | 17.6:1 | 4% (44) |
| 1990-91 | 825 | 51 | 16.2:1 | N/A |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data. Rows are the federal collections on file for Urbandale High School.
Since 2017-18: students unchanged (1,301 to 1,301); teachers up 2% (86.5 to 87.9).
About Urbandale High School
Urbandale High School is a large high school in Urbandale, Iowa, under Urbandale Comm School District. School enrollment was 1,301 students in 2024-25, in grades 9 through 12. The average among high schools in Iowa is roughly 468 students; this school is 178% bigger than that.
Urbandale High School sits within Urbandale Comm School District, which has 6 schools and 4,165 students.
By race and ethnicity, Urbandale High School is 63% White. The school is also 16% Hispanic, 9% Black, 7% Asian, and 5% multiracial. That is lower than the 76% White share among all Polk County residents. The chance that two students picked at random at Urbandale High School belong to different racial or ethnic groups, known as the diversity index, is 57%.
Urbandale High School's 87.9 full-time-equivalent teachers put its ratio at 14.8:1. That ratio is under the 17.3:1 average for high schools in Iowa. The school's rate of free or reduced-price lunch eligibility is 36%. The average for public schools in Polk County is 49%.
Measured against Iowa public high schools, Urbandale High School receives a C. The grade weighs proficiency most heavily, then how results compare with what the school's low-income share predicts, then the three-year change.
In Iowa, Urbandale High School is in the middle band of BeatsExpectations: 68.0% actual against a predicted 73.8%.
In Polk County (population about 503,175), median household income is about $83,576, a bachelor's degree or higher is held by about 40% of adults, and the share of residents below the poverty line is 7%. Urbandale High School is one of 137 public schools in Polk County, which together enroll about 77,436 students.
The next-closest public school is Olmsted Elementary School, about 0.3 miles away. There are at least 8 more public schools inside five miles. Urbandale High School ranks 5th of 9 among nearby schools on average proficiency, with 68.0% against a local average of 63.7%.
Under the NCES locale system, Urbandale High School is Suburb: Large.
The school's size has been steady, with 1,307 students in 2020-21 and 1,301 in 2024-25.
Community posts for Urbandale High School can cover sports schedules, lunch menus, and spirit week. 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 Urbandale Comm School District
- Urbandale Middle SchoolMiddle · 892 students
- Olmsted Elementary SchoolElementary · 622 students
- Valerius Elementary SchoolElementary · 598 students
- Webster Elementary SchoolElementary · 519 students
- Karen Acres Elementary SchoolElementary · 233 students
- Karen Acres Elementary SchoolCombined
Other schools in Urbandale
- Urbandale Middle SchoolMiddle · 892 students
- Walnut Hills Elementary SchoolElementary · 708 students
- Olmsted Elementary SchoolElementary · 622 students
- Valerius Elementary SchoolElementary · 598 students
- Webster Elementary SchoolElementary · 519 students
- Waterford Elementary SchoolElementary · 464 students
Nearby schools
- Olmsted Elementary School0.3 mi · 622
- Urbandale Middle School0.5 mi · 892
- Karen Acres Elementary School0.9 mi · 233
- Timber Ridge Elementary1.3 mi · 667
- Moore Elementary School1.5 mi · 285
- Hoover High School1.6 mi · 898
Frequently asked questions
About Urbandale High SchoolWhat is the total enrollment at Urbandale High School?
Urbandale High School enrolls approximately 1,301 students in grades 09-12.
Is Urbandale High School an elementary, middle, or high school?
Urbandale High School is a high school covering grades 09-12.
How many students per teacher at Urbandale High School?
Approximately 14.8:1 students per teacher at Urbandale High School.
What is the racial breakdown of students at Urbandale High School?
At Urbandale High School, the student body is approximately 63% White, 16% Hispanic, 9% Black, 7% Asian, 5% Two or more.
What district is Urbandale High School in?
Urbandale High School is part of Urbandale Comm School District.
Data sourceSchool profile facts are sourced from the NCES. Community content is posted by allk12 members.