Enrollment
241
High
DISTRICT 279 · STATE 468
SCHOOL COMMUNITY·WACO COMM SCHOOL DISTRICT·NCES 192949001684
WACO High School
706 N Pearl, Wayland, IA 52654 · (319) 256-6200 · Henry County
GRADES 07–12HIGH42-RURALTITLE IREGULAR SCHOOL241 STUDENTS
C+
allk12 Grade
Scored higher than 35% 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
11.0:1
22 FTE teachers
DISTRICT 12.7:1 · STATE 17.3:1
Free / Reduced Lunch
41%
98 students
DISTRICT 42% · STATE 41%
Community
0
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 7 | 33 | 14% |
| Grade 8 | 49 | 20% |
| Grade 9 | 43 | 18% |
| Grade 10 | 39 | 16% |
| Grade 11 | 44 | 18% |
| Grade 12 | 33 | 14% |
Student demographics
20%Diversity index
The chance that two students picked at random belong to different racial or ethnic groups.
DISTRICT 20% · 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 WACO Comm School District. Attendance zones can vary; confirm enrollment with the district.
Test scores
ISASP 2024-25 . % ProficientEnglish Language Arts
63.4%
IA avg 73.6% . -10.3pp since 2023
Math
64.9%
IA avg 70.9% . -3.8pp since 2023
What this means: On the ISASP, Iowa's statewide test, about 63 of every 100 students at this school read and write at grade level and about 65 of 100 do math at grade level. Across all Iowa schools, those numbers are about 74 and 71. Reading and writing scores are down about 10 points since 2023, while math scores are down about 4 points.
ISASP results by year
| School year | English Language Arts | Math |
|---|---|---|
| 2024-25 | 63.4% | 64.9% |
| 2023-24 | 73.7% | 68.7% |
% 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
71.6%
based on IA schools with similar FRL share
Beats by
-3.6pp
below demographic expectation
What this means: About 68% of students here test proficient in math and reading, compared with the roughly 72% 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 WACO High School
WACO High School's state test result (68.0% proficient) is higher than 0 of the 5 schools below with a result.
| School | Students | Low-income | Proficient |
|---|---|---|---|
| WACO High School this school | 241 | 40.7% | 68.0% |
| South Hardin High School Eldora | 237 | 40.5% | 70.5% |
| English Valleys Jr-Sr High School North English | 214 | 43.0% | 76.2% |
| Camanche High School Camanche | 309 | 38.5% | 72.8% |
| South Central Calhoun High School Lake City | 284 | 40.5% | 74.1% |
| Riceville High School Riceville | 205 | 39.5% | 68.3% |
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 WACO High School ranks
Among high schools| Measure | This school | In Iowa |
|---|---|---|
| State test proficiency ranked highest first | 68.0% | #214 of 313 |
| Math proficiency ranked highest first | 64.9% | #226 of 314 ▼ 49 |
| Reading proficiency ranked highest first | 63.4% | #287 of 314 ▼ 73 |
| Enrollment ranked largest first | 241 | #226 of 340 |
| Students per teacher ranked fewest first | 11.0:1 | #18 of 259 |
| Diversity index ranked most diverse first | 19.9% | #143 of 260 |
| Free and reduced lunch ranked highest share first | 40.7% | #108 of 320 |
| Enrollment change since 2017-18 ranked fastest growth first | +17.0% | #48 of 133 |
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
241
+29 (+14%) vs 2020
+17% since 1990-91, when it was 206
Student : Teacher
11.0:1
was 11.2:1
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 | 241 | 21.9 | 11.0:1 | 41% (98) |
| 2023-24 | 244 | 20.9 | 11.7:1 | 42% (103) |
| 2022-23 | 215 | 20.2 | 10.6:1 | 41% (89) |
| 2020-21 | 212 | 19 | 11.2:1 | 44% (94) |
| 2017-18 | 206 | 20.4 | 10.1:1 | 40% (82) |
| 2015-16 | 191 | 20 | 9.6:1 | 37% (70) |
| 2010-11 | 226 | 24 | 9.4:1 | 36% (82) |
| 2000-01 | 284 | 21 | 13.5:1 | 25% (71) |
| 1990-91 | 206 | 23 | 9.0:1 | N/A |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data. Rows are the federal collections on file for WACO High School.
Since 2017-18: students up 17% (206 to 241); teachers up 7% (20.4 to 21.9).
About WACO High School
As a low-enrollment high school, WACO High School serves students in Wayland, Iowa. Students in grades 7 through 12 attend, and enrollment is 241 students. The typical figure for high schools in Iowa is about 468 students.
WACO High School reports to WACO Comm School District, which has 2 schools and 558 students.
Most students at WACO High School are White: 89% of enrollment. Enrollment also includes 7% Hispanic. County-wide, about 88% of residents are White. The chance that two students picked at random at WACO High School belong to different racial or ethnic groups, known as the diversity index, is 20%.
WACO High School operates with 21.9 full-time-equivalent teachers, a ratio of about 11.0:1. For comparison, high schools in Iowa average 17.3:1. About 41% of students at the school meet free or reduced-price lunch income limits. Across public schools in Henry County, the average is about the same, 44%.
Measured against Iowa public high schools, WACO 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.
Based on its free or reduced-price lunch share, the BeatsExpectations model predicts an average proficiency rate on state tests of 71.6% for WACO High School. The school posts 68.0%, 3.6 points below the prediction.
Census estimates describe Henry County this way: median household income is about $67,436, 23% of adults hold a bachelor's degree or higher, and about 9% of people live in poverty. The public schools of Henry County number 13 and enroll about 3,230.
The closest public school to WACO High School is WACO Elementary School, about 7.5 miles away. Within ten miles of WACO High School, there are 3 other public schools. On proficiency, WACO High School is ahead of the 62.2% nearby average, ranking 1st of 6.
NCES lists the school's locale as Rural: Distant. That means it sits in rural territory some distance from an urban area.
WACO High School saw enrollment rise 14% between 2020-21 and 2024-25.
Discussions about WACO High School may include sports tryouts, band and choir, and theater. Questions from prospective families are welcome too.
Henry County at a glance
View full county profilePopulation
20,004
Census ACS
Median income
$67,436
Household, ACS
Bachelor's+
23%
Adults 25+
Poverty rate
9%
Below federal line
Schools in county
13
3,230 students
Quick facts
Related schools
Other schools in WACO Comm School District
- WACO Elementary SchoolElementary · 317 students
Other WACO High schools
One other US public school is named WACO High. WACO High School is the 2nd largest of the 2.
- Waco High SchoolWACO, TX · 1,885 students
Nearby schools
- WACO Elementary School7.5 mi · 317
- Washington High School9.5 mi · 452
- Lincoln Upper Elementary School9.8 mi · 344
- Washington Middle School10.0 mi · 347
- Stewart Elementary School10.7 mi · 457
- Winfield Elementary School11.6 mi · 182
Frequently asked questions
About WACO High SchoolHow large is WACO High School?
WACO High School enrolls approximately 241 students in grades 07-12.
What grades does WACO High School serve?
WACO High School serves grades 07-12.
What is the student-teacher ratio at WACO High School?
The student-to-teacher ratio at WACO High School is approximately 11.0:1 (22 FTE teachers).
What is the racial breakdown of students at WACO High School?
At WACO High School, the student body is approximately 89% White, 7% Hispanic, 1% Asian, 2% Two or more.
Is WACO High School public or private?
WACO High School is a public K-12 school, overseen by WACO Comm School District.
Data sourceSchool profile facts are sourced from the NCES. Community content is posted by allk12 members.