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What's one community event at West High School more people should show up to?
Community prompt from u/allk12. Replies below.
Enrollment
1,696
High
DISTRICT 1,091 · STATE 468
SCHOOL COMMUNITY·WATERLOO COMM SCHOOL DISTRICT·NCES 193048001738
West High School
425 E Ridgeway Ave, Waterloo, IA 50702 · (319) 433-2700 · Black Hawk County
GRADES 09–12HIGH13-CITYTITLE IREGULAR SCHOOL1,696 STUDENTS
Student : Teacher
16.8:1
101 FTE teachers
DISTRICT 16.4:1 · STATE 17.3:1
Free / Reduced Lunch
59%
1,003 students
DISTRICT 73% · 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 | 585 | 34% |
| Grade 10 | 435 | 26% |
| Grade 11 | 361 | 21% |
| Grade 12 | 315 | 19% |
Student demographics
71%Diversity index
The chance that two students picked at random belong to different racial or ethnic groups.
DISTRICT 74% · 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
Test scores
ISASP 2024-25 . % ProficientEnglish Language Arts
67.4%
IA avg 73.6% . -0.4pp since 2023
Math
57.4%
IA avg 70.9% . +1.1pp since 2023
What this means: On the ISASP, Iowa's statewide test, about 67 of every 100 students at this school read and write at grade level and about 57 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 1 points.
ISASP results by year
| School year | English Language Arts | Math |
|---|---|---|
| 2024-25 | 67.4% | 57.4% |
| 2023-24 | 67.8% | 56.3% |
% 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
60.9%
composite math + reading, all grades
Predicted
62.4%
based on IA schools with similar FRL share
Beats by
-1.5pp
below demographic expectation
What this means: About 61% of students here test proficient in math and reading, compared with the roughly 62% 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 West High School
West High School's state test result (60.9% proficient) is higher than 4 of the 5 schools below with a result.
| School | Students | Low-income | Proficient |
|---|---|---|---|
| West High School this school | 1,696 | 59.1% | 60.9% |
| Roosevelt High School Des Moines | 2,051 | 55.2% | 59.5% |
| North High School Davenport | 1,190 | 51.9% | 47.5% |
| West High School Davenport | 1,304 | 54.4% | 38.6% |
| Thomas Jefferson High School Cedar Rapids | 1,501 | 60.5% | 51.9% |
| Valley High School West Des Moines | 2,178 | 68.0% | 65.5% |
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 West High School ranks
Among high schools| Measure | This school | In Iowa | In Black Hawk County |
|---|---|---|---|
| State test proficiency ranked highest first | 60.9% | #276 of 313 | #5 of 6 |
| Math proficiency ranked highest first | 57.4% | #273 of 314 ▼ 2 | #5 of 6 no change |
| Reading proficiency ranked highest first | 67.4% | #266 of 314 ▼ 5 | #5 of 6 no change |
| Enrollment ranked largest first | 1,696 | #10 of 340 | #1 of 7 |
| Students per teacher ranked fewest first | 16.8:1 | #220 of 259 | #7 of 7 |
| Diversity index ranked most diverse first | 71.2% | #5 of 260 | #2 of 7 |
| Free and reduced lunch ranked highest share first | 59.1% | #21 of 320 | #3 of 7 |
| Enrollment change since 2017-18 ranked steepest decline first | -1.7% | #116 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
1,696
-25 (-1%) vs 2020
-8% since 1990-91, when it was 1,835
Student : Teacher
16.8:1
was 17.2:1
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 | 1,696 | 100.7 | 16.8:1 | 59% (1,003) |
| 2023-24 | 1,713 | 99.1 | 17.3:1 | 63% (1,071) |
| 2022-23 | 1,652 | 96.5 | 17.1:1 | 62% (1,031) |
| 2020-21 | 1,721 | 100 | 17.2:1 | 62% (1,068) |
| 2017-18 | 1,725 | 103.5 | 16.7:1 | 50% (861) |
| 2015-16 | 1,642 | 102 | 16.1:1 | 49% (806) |
| 2010-11 | 1,599 | 92 | 17.4:1 | 51% (813) |
| 2000-01 | 1,745 | 82 | 21.3:1 | 34% (593) |
| 1990-91 | 1,835 | 116 | 15.8:1 | N/A |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data. Rows are the federal collections on file for West High School.
Since 2017-18: students down 2% (1,725 to 1,696); teachers down 3% (103.5 to 100.7).
About West High School
West High School is a large high school in Waterloo, Iowa, one of the schools in Waterloo Comm School District. The grade span is 9 through 12, and enrollment is 1,696 students. Average enrollment for high schools in Iowa is about 468, so this school runs 262% above that.
Waterloo Comm School District has 10,484 students in 18 schools, and West High School is one of those schools.
White students form the largest group at West High School, 45% of enrollment. Other groups make up 22% Black, 15% Hispanic, 7% multiracial, and 6% Asian. County-wide, 80% of Black Hawk County residents are White. By the diversity index, West High School comes in at 71%.
The school's student-to-teacher ratio is about 16.8:1, with 100.7 full-time-equivalent teachers. High schools in Iowa have a similar average ratio of 17.3:1. Lunch subsidy eligibility at West High School is 59%.
In Iowa, West High School is in the middle band of BeatsExpectations: 60.9% actual against a predicted 62.4%.
Census estimates describe Black Hawk County this way: median household income is about $66,417, the share of adults with a bachelor's degree or higher is 30%, and roughly 9% of residents are in poverty. The public schools of Black Hawk County number 35 and enroll about 18,224.
Nearby, Hoover Middle School is about 0.7 miles away. Other public schools within five miles number at least 8. Compared with its nearest neighbors, West High School ranks 6th of 9 on average proficiency.
Locale: City: Small. In NCES terms, the school is inside a principal city with a population under 100,000.
Federal data show 1,721 students in 2020-21 and 1,696 in 2024-25, a difference of under 3%.
Community posts for West High School can cover sports schedules, lunch menus, and spirit week. Alumni can share how the school prepared them.
Black Hawk County at a glance
View full county profilePopulation
131,049
Census ACS
Median income
$66,417
Household, ACS
Bachelor's+
30%
Adults 25+
Poverty rate
9%
Below federal line
Schools in county
35
18,224 students
Quick facts
Related schools
Other schools in Waterloo Comm School District
- East High SchoolHigh · 1,016 students
- Hoover Middle SchoolMiddle · 848 students
- Kittrell Elementary SchoolElementary · 576 students
- Expo Alternative Learning CenterHigh · 561 students
- Lowell Elementary SchoolElementary · 538 students
- Orange Elementary SchoolElementary · 518 students
Other schools in Waterloo
- East High SchoolHigh · 1,016 students
- Hoover Middle SchoolMiddle · 848 students
- Kittrell Elementary SchoolElementary · 576 students
- Expo Alternative Learning CenterHigh · 561 students
- Lowell Elementary SchoolElementary · 538 students
- Orange Elementary SchoolElementary · 518 students
Other West High schools
20 other US public schools in 11 states are named West High. West High School is the 6th largest of the 21.
- West High SchoolSioux City, IA · 1,308 students
- West High SchoolDavenport, IA · 1,304 students
- West HighSALT LAKE CITY, UT · 2,503 students
- West HighMadison, WI · 2,222 students
- West HighBakersfield, CA · 2,159 students
Nearby schools
- Hoover Middle School0.7 mi · 848
- Lou Henry Elementary School0.8 mi · 460
- Kingsley Elementary School0.8 mi · 337
- Kittrell Elementary School0.9 mi · 576
- Irving Elementary School1.1 mi · 353
- Lowell Elementary School1.4 mi · 538
Frequently asked questions
About West High SchoolHow many students attend West High School?
West High School enrolls approximately 1,696 students in grades 09-12.
What age range does West High School serve?
West High School serves students from grade 09 through grade 12.
What is the student-teacher ratio at West High School?
The student-to-teacher ratio at West High School is approximately 16.8:1 (101 FTE teachers).
What is the student diversity at West High School?
Student demographics at West High School are roughly 45% White, 15% Hispanic, 22% Black, 6% Asian, 7% Two or more.
Is West High School public or private?
West High School is a public K-12 school, overseen by Waterloo Comm School District.
Data sourceSchool profile facts are sourced from the NCES. Community content is posted by allk12 members.