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Honest take: what's the hardest part about being a student at Bardstown High School?
Community prompt from u/allk12. Replies below.
Enrollment
703
High
DISTRICT 478 · STATE 558
SCHOOL COMMUNITY·BARDSTOWN INDEPENDENT·NCES 210027000045
Bardstown High School
400 N 5th St, Bardstown, KY 40004 · (502) 331-8802 · Nelson County
GRADES 09–12HIGH32-TOWNTITLE IREGULAR SCHOOL703 STUDENTS
C+
allk12 Grade
Scored higher than 38% of Kentucky public high schools
- B-Test scores Share of students meeting the state standard in reading, math, and other tested subjects, 2023-24 and 2024-25.
- CBeats 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 Kentucky public high schools
Student : Teacher
18.1:1
39 FTE teachers
DISTRICT 16.5:1 · STATE 16.6:1
Free / Reduced Lunch
47%
333 students
DISTRICT 59% · STATE 63%
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 | 204 | 29% |
| Grade 10 | 175 | 25% |
| Grade 11 | 178 | 25% |
| Grade 12 | 140 | 20% |
| Ungraded | 6 | 1% |
Student demographics
54%Diversity index
The chance that two students picked at random belong to different racial or ethnic groups.
DISTRICT 54% · STATE 47% · 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 Bardstown Independent. Attendance zones can vary; confirm enrollment with the district.
Test scores
KSA (K-PREP) 2024-25 . % Proficient/DistinguishedEnglish Language Arts
42.0%
KY avg 47.9%
Math
40.0%
KY avg 42.8%
What this means: On the KSA (K-PREP), Kentucky's statewide test, about 42 of every 100 students at this school read and write at grade level and about 40 of 100 do math at grade level. Across all Kentucky schools, those numbers are about 48 and 43.
Source: KSA (K-PREP). 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
36.8%
composite math + reading, all grades
Predicted
47.4%
based on KY schools with similar FRL share
Beats by
-10.7pp
below demographic expectation
What this means: About 37% of students here test proficient in math and reading, compared with the roughly 47% typical for Kentucky 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 Kentucky'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 Bardstown High School
Bardstown High School's state test result (36.8% proficient) is higher than 0 of the 5 schools below with a result.
| School | Students | Low-income | Proficient |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bardstown High School this school | 703 | 47.4% | 36.8% |
| Western Hills High School Frankfort | 827 | 47.6% | 37.0% |
| John Hardin High School Elizabethtown | 868 | 48.2% | 47.3% |
| Murray High School Murray | 607 | 44.5% | 53.5% |
| Franklin County High School Frankfort | 990 | 51.7% | 39.5% |
| Madisonville North Hopkins High School Madisonville | 1,023 | 43.4% | 44.3% |
Matched among Kentucky 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 Bardstown High School ranks
Among high schools| Measure | This school | In Kentucky |
|---|---|---|
| State test proficiency ranked highest first | 36.8% | #114 of 211 |
| Math proficiency ranked highest first | 40.0% | #111 of 211 |
| Reading proficiency ranked highest first | 42.0% | #148 of 211 |
| Enrollment ranked largest first | 703 | #123 of 304 |
| Students per teacher ranked fewest first | 18.1:1 | #158 of 217 |
| Diversity index ranked most diverse first | 54.1% | #51 of 217 |
| Free and reduced lunch ranked highest share first | 47.4% | #176 of 230 |
| Enrollment change since 2017-18 ranked fastest growth first | +16.4% | #17 of 72 |
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
703
+42 (+6%) vs 2020
+88% since 1990-91, when it was 374
Student : Teacher
18.1:1
was 16.9:1
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 | 703 | 38.7 | 18.1:1 | 47% (333) |
| 2023-24 | 670 | 38.8 | 17.3:1 | 52% (346) |
| 2022-23 | 655 | 39.2 | 16.7:1 | 46% (301) |
| 2020-21 | 661 | 39 | 16.9:1 | 46% (302) |
| 2017-18 | 604 | 39 | 15.5:1 | 52% (317) |
| 2015-16 | 642 | 39 | 16.5:1 | 52% (337) |
| 2010-11 | 597 | 36 | 16.6:1 | 56% (336) |
| 2000-01 | 537 | 35 | 15.3:1 | 39% (209) |
| 1990-91 | 374 | 23 | 16.3:1 | N/A |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data. Rows are the federal collections on file for Bardstown High School.
Since 2017-18: students up 16% (604 to 703); teachers down 1% (39 to 38.7).
About Bardstown High School
Bardstown High School is a high school in Bardstown, Kentucky, and it is part of Bardstown Independent. It educates 703 students in grades 9 through 12. The school's enrollment is 26% above the 558 average for high schools in Kentucky.
The Bardstown Independent system has 6 schools and 2,869 students.
By race and ethnicity, Bardstown High School is 65% White. After that, the student body is 12% Black, 11% multiracial, 9% Hispanic, and 3% Asian. Census figures show Nelson County is about 90% White. The chance that two students picked at random at Bardstown High School belong to different racial or ethnic groups, known as the diversity index, is 54%.
Bardstown High School counts 38.7 full-time-equivalent teachers, about 18.1 students for each one. Among high schools in Kentucky, the typical ratio is 16.6:1. About 47% of enrolled students meet the income rules for free or reduced-price lunch.
The allk12 Grade for Bardstown High School is C+. Compared with Kentucky public high schools, the school scored higher than 38% on a mix of test scores, poverty-adjusted results, and recent trend.
Compared with Kentucky schools that have similar shares of low-income students, Bardstown High School's results are 10.7 points below predicted: 36.8% against 47.4%.
County data help place the school in context: in Nelson County, median household income is about $69,562, about 24% of adults have at least a bachelor's degree, and the poverty rate is about 9%. Bardstown High School is among the 20 public schools in Nelson County.
The next-closest public school is Bardstown Middle School, less than a tenth of a mile away. In all, at least 8 other public schools sit within five miles of Bardstown High School. In a group of 4 nearby schools with scores, Bardstown High School ranks 3rd on average proficiency.
Its NCES locale code is Town: Distant: the school is in a town some distance from an urbanized area.
Between 2020-21 and 2024-25, the student count grew from 661 to 703. Over the same period, the student-to-teacher ratio rose to 18.1:1, from 16.9:1.
Discussion on this page can cover school safety, transportation, and start times. Reviews and ratings from people who know the school are welcome.
Nelson County at a glance
View full county profilePopulation
47,606
Census ACS
Median income
$69,562
Household, ACS
Bachelor's+
24%
Adults 25+
Poverty rate
9%
Below federal line
Schools in county
20
7,047 students
Quick facts
Related schools
Other schools in Bardstown Independent
- Bardstown Elementary SchoolElementary · 847 students
- Bardstown Middle SchoolMiddle · 591 students
- Bardstown Primary SchoolElementary · 434 students
- Bardstown Early Childhood CenterElementary · 263 students
- Bardstown Alternative SchoolCombined · 31 students
Other schools in Bardstown
- Bardstown Elementary SchoolElementary · 847 students
- Nelson County High SchoolHigh · 756 students
- Thomas Nelson High SchoolHigh · 629 students
- Old Kentucky Home Middle SchoolMiddle · 594 students
- Bardstown Middle SchoolMiddle · 591 students
- Foster Heights Elementary SchoolElementary · 588 students
Nearby schools
- Bardstown Middle School0.1 mi · 591
- Bardstown Early Childhood Center0.6 mi · 263
- Foster Heights Elementary School0.7 mi · 588
- Bardstown Primary School0.7 mi · 434
- Bardstown Elementary School1.0 mi · 847
- Bardstown Alternative School1.0 mi · 31
Frequently asked questions
About Bardstown High SchoolHow many students attend Bardstown High School?
Bardstown High School enrolls approximately 703 students in grades 09-12.
What grades does Bardstown High School serve?
Bardstown High School serves grades 09-12.
What is the student-teacher ratio at Bardstown High School?
The student-to-teacher ratio at Bardstown High School is approximately 18.1:1 (39 FTE teachers).
What is the student diversity at Bardstown High School?
Student demographics at Bardstown High School are roughly 65% White, 9% Hispanic, 12% Black, 3% Asian, 11% Two or more.
What district is Bardstown High School in?
Bardstown High School is part of Bardstown Independent.
Data sourceSchool profile facts are sourced from the NCES. Community content is posted by allk12 members.