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How has Topeka West High changed in the last five years, for better or worse?
Community prompt from u/allk12. Replies below.
Enrollment
971
High
DISTRICT 702 · STATE 410
SCHOOL COMMUNITY·TOPEKA PUBLIC SCHOOLS·NCES 201226001478
Topeka West High
2001 SW Fairlawn Rd, Topeka, KS 66604 · (785) 438-4000 · Shawnee County
GRADES 09–12HIGH12-CITYTITLE IREGULAR SCHOOL971 STUDENTS
Student : Teacher
13.3:1
73 FTE teachers
DISTRICT 10.2:1 · STATE 11.9:1
Free / Reduced Lunch
56%
546 students
DISTRICT 79% · 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 | 280 | 29% |
| Grade 10 | 238 | 25% |
| Grade 11 | 228 | 23% |
| Grade 12 | 225 | 23% |
Student demographics
70%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
37.6%
KS avg 44.5%
Math
24.8%
KS avg 38.8%
What this means: On the KAP, Kansas's statewide test, about 38 of every 100 students at this school read and write at grade level and about 25 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 | 37.6% | 24.8% |
| 2023-24 | 24.8% | 21.5% |
% 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
25.2%
composite math + reading, all grades
Predicted
35.3%
based on KS schools with similar FRL share
Beats by
-10.1pp
below demographic expectation
What this means: About 25% of students here test proficient in math and reading, compared with the roughly 35% 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 Topeka West High
Topeka West High's state test result (25.2% proficient) is higher than 4 of the 5 schools below with a result.
| School | Students | Low-income | Proficient |
|---|---|---|---|
| Topeka West High this school | 971 | 56.2% | 25.2% |
| Bonner Springs High Bonner Springs | 778 | 53.2% | 20.9% |
| Shawnee Mission West High Overland Park | 1,599 | 55.8% | 25.1% |
| Northwest High Wichita | 1,424 | 61.7% | 25.0% |
| Junction City Sr High Junction City | 1,713 | 53.6% | 25.0% |
| Shawnee Mission North High Overland Park | 1,502 | 53.7% | 31.7% |
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 Topeka West High ranks
Among high schools| Measure | This school | In Kansas | In Shawnee County |
|---|---|---|---|
| State test proficiency ranked highest first | 25.2% | #169 of 262 | #6 of 9 |
| Math proficiency ranked highest first | 24.8% | #206 of 262 | #6 of 9 |
| Reading proficiency ranked highest first | 37.6% | #134 of 262 | #5 of 9 |
| Enrollment ranked largest first | 971 | #55 of 332 | #5 of 11 |
| Students per teacher ranked fewest first | 13.3:1 | #90 of 172 | #3 of 8 |
| Diversity index ranked most diverse first | 70.2% | #9 of 172 | #1 of 8 |
| Free and reduced lunch ranked highest share first | 56.2% | #61 of 263 | #5 of 10 |
| Enrollment change since 2017-18 ranked steepest decline first | -4.6% | #67 of 100 | #3 of 6 |
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
971
-127 (-12%) vs 2020
-20% since 1990-91, when it was 1,217
Student : Teacher
13.3:1
was 14.8:1
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 | 971 | 72.9 | 13.3:1 | 56% (546) |
| 2023-24 | 1,009 | 66.1 | 15.3:1 | 57% (577) |
| 2022-23 | 1,085 | 65.6 | 16.5:1 | 59% (644) |
| 2020-21 | 1,098 | 74 | 14.8:1 | 63% (695) |
| 2017-18 | 1,018 | 81.6 | 12.5:1 | 58% (586) |
| 2015-16 | 1,095 | 75 | 14.6:1 | 55% (598) |
| 2010-11 | 1,073 | 67 | 16.0:1 | 48% (511) |
| 2000-01 | 1,162 | 65 | 17.9:1 | 23% (270) |
| 1990-91 | 1,217 | 62 | 19.6:1 | N/A |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data. Rows are the federal collections on file for Topeka West High.
Since 2017-18: students down 5% (1,018 to 971); teachers down 11% (81.6 to 72.9).
About Topeka West High
In Topeka, Kansas, part of Shawnee County, Topeka West High is a high school. A total of 971 students attend the school, which covers grades 9 through 12. Against the 410-student average for high schools in Kansas, enrollment here is 137% higher.
Topeka Public Schools enrolls 11,695 students in 25 schools, including Topeka West High.
White students form the largest group at Topeka West High, 44% of enrollment. Other groups make up 25% Hispanic, 16% multiracial, and 13% Black. County-wide, 75% of Shawnee County residents are White. By the diversity index, Topeka West High comes in at 70%.
The teaching staff at Topeka West High is 72.9 full-time-equivalent teachers, and the ratio is 13.3:1. The average ratio among high schools in Kansas is 11.9:1, lower than at this school. About 56% of students, or 546, qualify for free or reduced-price lunch. That is close to the 54% average for public schools in Shawnee County.
The model predicts 35.3% for a school in Kansas with Topeka West High's free or reduced-price lunch share. Topeka West High posts 25.2%.
Census Bureau estimates for Shawnee County show that median household income is about $67,104, the share of adults with a bachelor's degree or higher is 32%, and about 9% of people live in poverty. Topeka West High is one of 54 public schools in Shawnee County, which together enroll about 26,294 students.
The closest public school, McCarter Elem, is about 0.4 miles from Topeka West High. Within five miles are at least 8 other public schools. Topeka West High is 8th of 9 nearby schools by average proficiency rate.
The National Center for Education Statistics classifies the school's location as City: Mid-size, meaning it is inside a principal city with a population between 100,000 and 250,000.
The student count in 2024-25 was 971, 12% below the 1,098 of 2020-21. By 2024-25, the school had 13.3 students per teacher, compared with 14.8 in 2020-21.
Conversations here can range across sports schedules, lunch menus, and spirit week. Reviews and ratings from people who know the school are welcome.
Shawnee County at a glance
View full county profilePopulation
178,025
Census ACS
Median income
$67,104
Household, ACS
Bachelor's+
32%
Adults 25+
Poverty rate
9%
Below federal line
Schools in county
54
26,294 students
Quick facts
Related schools
Other schools in Topeka Public Schools
- Topeka HighHigh · 1,578 students
- Highland Park HighHigh · 835 students
- Jardine ElementaryElementary · 729 students
- Ross ElementaryElementary · 563 students
- Jardine Middle SchoolMiddle · 508 students
- Marjorie French Middle SchoolMiddle · 480 students
Other schools in Topeka
- Washburn Rural HighHigh · 1,878 students
- Topeka HighHigh · 1,578 students
- Seaman HighHigh · 1,190 students
- Washburn Rural Middle SchoolMiddle · 966 students
- Highland Park HighHigh · 835 students
- Jardine ElementaryElementary · 729 students
Nearby schools
- McCarter Elem0.4 mi · 401
- McClure Elem0.7 mi · 301
- Hope Street Charter Academy0.7 mi · 103
- Whitson Elem1.5 mi · 416
- McEachron Elem1.5 mi · 422
- Landon Middle School1.6 mi · 430
Frequently asked questions
About Topeka West HighHow many students attend Topeka West High?
Topeka West High enrolls approximately 971 students in grades 09-12.
What grades does Topeka West High serve?
Topeka West High serves grades 09-12.
How many students per teacher at Topeka West High?
Approximately 13.3:1 students per teacher at Topeka West High.
What is the racial breakdown of students at Topeka West High?
At Topeka West High, the student body is approximately 44% White, 25% Hispanic, 13% Black, 1% Asian, 16% Two or more.
Who oversees Topeka West High?
Topeka West High is overseen by Topeka Public Schools in Shawnee County.
Data sourceSchool profile facts are sourced from the NCES. Community content is posted by allk12 members.