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Honest take: what's the hardest part about being a student at South High?
Community prompt from u/allk12. Replies below.
Enrollment
1,662
High
DISTRICT 1,219 · STATE 410
SCHOOL COMMUNITY·WICHITA·NCES 201299000347
South High
701 W 33rd S, Wichita, KS 67217 · (316) 973-5450 · Sedgwick County
GRADES 09–12HIGH11-CITYTITLE IREGULAR SCHOOL1,662 STUDENTS
C
allk12 Grade
Scored higher than 28% of Kansas public high schools
- FTest 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 Kansas public high schools
Student : Teacher
14.3:1
116 FTE teachers
DISTRICT 13.8:1 · STATE 11.9:1
Free / Reduced Lunch
87%
1,454 students
DISTRICT 83% · STATE 51%
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 | 459 | 28% |
| Grade 10 | 467 | 28% |
| Grade 11 | 400 | 24% |
| Grade 12 | 336 | 20% |
Student demographics
72%Diversity index
The chance that two students picked at random belong to different racial or ethnic groups.
DISTRICT 72% · STATE 58% · 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
KAP 2024-25 . % Meeting + ExceedingEnglish Language Arts
24.6%
KS avg 44.5%
Math
8.8%
KS avg 38.8%
What this means: On the KAP, Kansas's statewide test, about 25 of every 100 students at this school read and write at grade level and about 9 of 100 do math at grade level. Across all Kansas schools, those numbers are about 45 and 39.
KAP results by year
| School year | English Language Arts | Math |
|---|---|---|
| 2024-25 | 24.6% | 8.8% |
| 2023-24 | 14.0% | 1.9% |
% Meeting + Exceeding, all students and all tested grades. Kansas set new KAP cut scores in spring 2025, so results from 2023-24 and earlier are not comparable with later years.
Source: KAP. 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
11.8%
composite math + reading, all grades
Predicted
20.3%
based on KS schools with similar FRL share
Beats by
-8.5pp
below demographic expectation
What this means: About 12% of students here test proficient in math and reading, compared with the roughly 20% typical for Kansas 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 Kansas'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 South High
South High's state test result (11.8% proficient) is higher than 5 of the 5 schools below with a result.
| School | Students | Low-income | Proficient |
|---|---|---|---|
| South High this school | 1,662 | 87.5% | 11.8% |
| West High Wichita | 1,306 | 88.9% | 8.8% |
| Highland Park High Topeka | 835 | 80.5% | 8.3% |
| Turner High Kansas City | 1,147 | 76.3% | 11.7% |
| Wyandotte High Kansas City | 1,903 | 85.2% | 4.3% |
| J C Harmon High Kansas City | 1,285 | 75.7% | 4.3% |
Matched among Kansas 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 South High ranks
Among high schools| Measure | This school | In Kansas | In Sedgwick County |
|---|---|---|---|
| State test proficiency ranked highest first | 11.8% | #251 of 262 | #18 of 21 |
| Math proficiency ranked highest first | 8.8% | #256 of 262 | #19 of 21 |
| Reading proficiency ranked highest first | 24.6% | #233 of 262 | #16 of 21 |
| Enrollment ranked largest first | 1,662 | #19 of 332 | #6 of 23 |
| Students per teacher ranked fewest first | 14.3:1 | #112 of 172 | #6 of 19 |
| Diversity index ranked most diverse first | 72.2% | #5 of 172 | #4 of 19 |
| Free and reduced lunch ranked highest share first | 87.5% | #4 of 263 | #3 of 21 |
| Enrollment change since 2017-18 ranked steepest decline first | -4.0% | #72 of 100 | #4 of 7 |
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
1,662
+17 (+1%) vs 2020
-4% since 1990-91, when it was 1,724
Student : Teacher
14.3:1
was 13.9:1
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 | 1,662 | 116 | 14.3:1 | 87% (1,454) |
| 2023-24 | 1,661 | 113.4 | 14.6:1 | 88% (1,458) |
| 2022-23 | 1,632 | 117.1 | 13.9:1 | 87% (1,426) |
| 2020-21 | 1,645 | 118 | 13.9:1 | 84% (1,375) |
| 2017-18 | 1,731 | 117.9 | 14.7:1 | 71% (1,221) |
| 2015-16 | 1,787 | 118 | 15.1:1 | 75% (1,342) |
| 2010-11 | 1,501 | 83 | 18.1:1 | 73% (1,098) |
| 2000-01 | 1,619 | 99 | 16.4:1 | 45% (722) |
| 1990-91 | 1,724 | 96 | 18.0:1 | N/A |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data. Rows are the federal collections on file for South High.
Since 2017-18: students down 4% (1,731 to 1,662); teachers down 2% (117.9 to 116).
About South High
Located in Wichita, Kansas, South High is a high-enrollment high school. A federal count lists 1,662 students at the school, in grades 9 through 12. An average school in this group (high schools in Kansas) has about 410 students.
Wichita counts 87 schools and 47,545 students, including South High.
South High's enrollment has no majority group, and Hispanic students are the largest at 36%. Other reported shares: 32% White, 20% Black, 8% multiracial, and 3% Asian. Sedgwick County's residents are about 17% Hispanic, 20 points below the school's share. South High has a diversity index of 72%, compared with 70% for all US public school students.
With 116 full-time-equivalent teachers in 2024-25, the ratio at South High was 14.3:1. Among high schools in Kansas, the typical ratio is 11.9:1. South High's free or reduced-price lunch eligibility rate is 87%. The average for public schools in Sedgwick County is 63%.
South High is graded C by allk12, scoring above 28% of Kansas public high schools once test results, poverty-adjusted performance, and the recent trend are combined.
BeatsExpectations compares each school's average proficiency rate on state tests with a prediction based on free or reduced-price lunch eligibility. For South High, the prediction is 20.3% and the result is 11.8%.
In the county around the school, Sedgwick County, median household income is about $69,365, about 32% of adults have at least a bachelor's degree, and the poverty rate is about 10%. A total of 160 public schools operate in Sedgwick County, serving about 84,569 students.
Enterprise Elem is the closest public school, about 0.3 miles away in a straight line. South High is one of several public schools in the area, with at least 8 others within five miles. The school's 11.8% average proficiency ranks 7th among 9 nearby schools.
The school's setting, by NCES definition, is City: Large: inside a principal city with a population of 250,000 or more.
Enrollment has been fairly stable: 1,645 in 2020-21 and 1,662 in 2024-25.
The allk12 site hosts a discussion page for South High covering things like enrollment questions, class placement, and PTA news. Posting is open to anyone connected to the school.
Sedgwick County at a glance
View full county profilePopulation
528,226
Census ACS
Median income
$69,365
Household, ACS
Bachelor's+
32%
Adults 25+
Poverty rate
10%
Below federal line
Schools in county
160
84,569 students
Quick facts
Related schools
Other schools in Wichita
- East HighHigh · 2,435 students
- Southeast HighHigh · 2,066 students
- North HighHigh · 2,041 students
- Heights HighHigh · 1,505 students
- Northwest HighHigh · 1,424 students
- West HighHigh · 1,306 students
Other schools in Wichita
- East HighHigh · 2,435 students
- Southeast HighHigh · 2,066 students
- North HighHigh · 2,041 students
- Campus High HaysvilleHigh · 1,803 students
- Heights HighHigh · 1,505 students
- Northwest HighHigh · 1,424 students
Other South High schools
13 other US public schools in 10 states are named South High. South High is the 5th largest of the 14.
- SOUTH HIGH SCHOOLOMAHA, NE · 2,412 students
- South HighBakersfield, CA · 2,107 students
- South High SchoolDENVER, CO · 1,950 students
- South HighTorrance, CA · 1,734 students
- SOUTH HIGHMANCHESTER, MO · 1,485 students
Nearby schools
- Enterprise Elem0.3 mi · 424
- Enders STEM and Leadership Magnet0.5 mi · 509
- Kelly Liberal Arts Academy0.9 mi · 429
- Wells Alternative Middle School1.3 mi · 36
- Anderson Elem1.4 mi · 477
- Truesdell Middle School1.5 mi · 924
Frequently asked questions
About South HighWhat is the total enrollment at South High?
South High enrolls approximately 1,662 students in grades 09-12.
Is South High an elementary, middle, or high school?
South High is a high school covering grades 09-12.
What is the student-teacher ratio at South High?
The student-to-teacher ratio at South High is approximately 14.3:1 (116 FTE teachers).
How diverse is South High?
South High reports a student body of 32% White, 36% Hispanic, 20% Black, 3% Asian, 8% Two or more.
Who oversees South High?
South High is overseen by Wichita in Sedgwick County.
Data sourceSchool profile facts are sourced from the NCES. Community content is posted by allk12 members.