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How has Western Dubuque High School changed in the last five years, for better or worse?
Community prompt from u/allk12. Replies below.
Enrollment
927
High
DISTRICT 660 · STATE 468
SCHOOL COMMUNITY·WESTERN DUBUQUE COMM SCHOOL DISTRICT·NCES 193135001832
Western Dubuque High School
302 5th Ave SW, Epworth, IA 52045 · (563) 663-9642 · Dubuque County
GRADES 09–12HIGH42-RURALREGULAR SCHOOL927 STUDENTS
A
allk12 Grade
Scored higher than 88% of Iowa public high schools
- ATest scores Share of students meeting the state standard in reading, math, and other tested subjects, 2023-24 and 2024-25.
- B+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
16.0:1
58 FTE teachers
DISTRICT 14.0:1 · STATE 17.3:1
Free / Reduced Lunch
19%
176 students
DISTRICT 25% · 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 | 268 | 29% |
| Grade 10 | 235 | 25% |
| Grade 11 | 215 | 23% |
| Grade 12 | 209 | 23% |
Student demographics
13%Diversity index
The chance that two students picked at random belong to different racial or ethnic groups.
DISTRICT 17% · 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 Western Dubuque Comm School District. Attendance zones can vary; confirm enrollment with the district.
Test scores
ISASP 2024-25 . % ProficientEnglish Language Arts
86.3%
IA avg 73.6% . +1.0pp since 2023
Math
84.8%
IA avg 70.9% . +3.9pp since 2023
What this means: On the ISASP, Iowa's statewide test, about 86 of every 100 students at this school read and write at grade level and about 85 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 1 points since 2023, while math scores are up about 4 points.
ISASP results by year
| School year | English Language Arts | Math |
|---|---|---|
| 2024-25 | 86.3% | 84.8% |
| 2023-24 | 85.3% | 80.9% |
% 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
84.0%
composite math + reading, all grades
Predicted
82.5%
based on IA schools with similar FRL share
Beats by
+1.5pp
above demographic expectation
What this means: About 84% of students here test proficient in math and reading, compared with the roughly 82% 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 Western Dubuque High School
Western Dubuque High School's state test result (84.0% proficient) is higher than 3 of the 5 schools below with a result.
| School | Students | Low-income | Proficient |
|---|---|---|---|
| Western Dubuque High School this school | 927 | 19.0% | 84.0% |
| Waverly-Shell Rock Senior High School Waverly | 737 | 17.5% | 82.9% |
| ADM Senior High School Adel | 666 | 19.2% | 90.1% |
| North Scott High School Eldridge | 1,081 | 21.8% | 73.7% |
| Norwalk Senior High School Norwalk | 1,035 | 15.1% | 75.2% |
| Williamsburg Jr-Sr High School Williamsburg | 604 | 21.5% | 85.0% |
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 Western Dubuque High School ranks
Among high schools| Measure | This school | In Iowa |
|---|---|---|
| State test proficiency ranked highest first | 84.0% | #25 of 313 |
| Math proficiency ranked highest first | 84.8% | #21 of 314 ▲ 11 |
| Reading proficiency ranked highest first | 86.3% | #48 of 314 ▲ 9 |
| Enrollment ranked largest first | 927 | #50 of 340 |
| Students per teacher ranked fewest first | 16.0:1 | #192 of 259 |
| Diversity index ranked most diverse first | 13.0% | #219 of 260 |
| Free and reduced lunch ranked highest share first | 19.0% | #291 of 320 |
| Enrollment change since 2017-18 ranked steepest decline first | -0.3% | #122 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
927
+4 (+0%) vs 2020
+23% since 1990-91, when it was 756
Student : Teacher
16.0:1
was 16.5:1
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 | 927 | 57.9 | 16.0:1 | 19% (176) |
| 2023-24 | 897 | 56.1 | 16.0:1 | 22% (195) |
| 2022-23 | 920 | 57.9 | 15.9:1 | 22% (206) |
| 2020-21 | 923 | 56 | 16.5:1 | 24% (225) |
| 2017-18 | 930 | 57.6 | 16.1:1 | 27% (247) |
| 2015-16 | 898 | 53 | 16.9:1 | 24% (219) |
| 2010-11 | 761 | 49 | 15.5:1 | 24% (185) |
| 2000-01 | 788 | 54 | 14.6:1 | 23% (179) |
| 1990-91 | 756 | 56 | 13.5:1 | N/A |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data. Rows are the federal collections on file for Western Dubuque High School.
Since 2017-18: students unchanged (930 to 927); teachers unchanged (57.6 to 57.9).
About Western Dubuque High School
A large high school in Epworth, Iowa, Western Dubuque High School is part of Western Dubuque Comm School District. The grade span is 9 through 12, and enrollment is 927 students. Average enrollment for high schools in Iowa is about 468, so this school runs 98% bigger than that.
The 8 schools of Western Dubuque Comm School District, including Western Dubuque High School, enroll 3,643 students.
Federal enrollment data show Western Dubuque High School is 93% White. The school is also 3% Hispanic and 2% multiracial. Western Dubuque High School's diversity index is 13%, against a US figure of 70%.
Western Dubuque High School counts 57.9 full-time-equivalent teachers, about 16.0 students for each one. On average, high schools in Iowa have 17.3:1, compared with 16.0:1 here. About 19% of enrolled students meet the income rules for free or reduced-price lunch. Public schools in Dubuque County average 39%.
The allk12 Grade for Western Dubuque High School is A. Compared with Iowa public high schools, the school scored higher than 88% on a mix of test scores, poverty-adjusted results, and recent trend.
In Iowa, Western Dubuque High School is in the middle band of BeatsExpectations: 84.0% actual against a predicted 82.5%.
Dubuque County has these Census figures: the median household income is $77,630, about 33% of adults have at least a bachelor's degree, and roughly 6% of residents are in poverty. In all, Dubuque County has 26 public schools and roughly 13,164 students.
The nearest other public school, Epworth Elementary School, is about 0.8 miles away. Inside a five-mile radius, there are 3 other public schools. The average proficiency across nearby scored schools is 79.5%; Western Dubuque High School's is 84.0%, ranking 2nd of 7.
By NCES locale, the school is Rural: Distant, or in rural territory some distance from an urban area.
Enrollment was essentially flat over 4 years: 923 in 2020-21, 927 in 2024-25.
Discussions about Western Dubuque High School may include school events, clubs, and volunteer needs. Questions from prospective families are welcome too.
Dubuque County at a glance
View full county profilePopulation
99,030
Census ACS
Median income
$77,630
Household, ACS
Bachelor's+
33%
Adults 25+
Poverty rate
6%
Below federal line
Schools in county
26
13,164 students
Quick facts
Related schools
Other schools in Western Dubuque Comm School District
- Drexler Middle SchoolMiddle · 639 students
- Peosta Elementary SchoolElementary · 425 students
- Cascade Junior-Senior High SchoolHigh · 392 students
- Epworth Elementary SchoolElementary · 360 students
- Dyersville Elementary SchoolElementary · 322 students
- Cascade Elementary SchoolElementary · 305 students
Nearby schools
- Epworth Elementary School0.8 mi · 360
- Drexler Middle School3.0 mi · 639
- Farley Elementary School3.0 mi · 273
- Peosta Elementary School5.2 mi · 425
- Seedlings Preschool Center9.1 mi · 70
- Dyersville Elementary School10.0 mi · 322
Frequently asked questions
About Western Dubuque High SchoolHow large is Western Dubuque High School?
Western Dubuque High School enrolls approximately 927 students in grades 09-12.
Is Western Dubuque High School an elementary, middle, or high school?
Western Dubuque High School is a high school covering grades 09-12.
What is the student-teacher ratio at Western Dubuque High School?
The student-to-teacher ratio at Western Dubuque High School is approximately 16.0:1 (58 FTE teachers).
What is the racial breakdown of students at Western Dubuque High School?
At Western Dubuque High School, the student body is approximately 93% White, 3% Hispanic, 1% Black, 0% Asian, 2% Two or more.
Who oversees Western Dubuque High School?
Western Dubuque High School is overseen by Western Dubuque Comm School District in Dubuque County.
Data sourceSchool profile facts are sourced from the NCES. Community content is posted by allk12 members.