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Parents: what's one thing you'd want the Nicholas County High School administration to hear?
Community prompt from u/allk12. Replies below.
Enrollment
435
High
DISTRICT 540 · STATE 558
SCHOOL COMMUNITY·NICHOLAS COUNTY·NCES 210447001107
Nicholas County High School
103 School Dr, Carlisle, KY 40311 · (859) 289-3780 · Nicholas County
GRADES 07–12HIGH43-RURALTITLE IREGULAR SCHOOL435 STUDENTS
C-
allk12 Grade
Scored higher than 21% of Kentucky public high schools
- C-Test scores Share of students meeting the state standard in reading, math, and other tested subjects, 2023-24 and 2024-25.
- C-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 Kentucky public high schools
Student : Teacher
18.1:1
24 FTE teachers
DISTRICT 17.9:1 · STATE 16.6:1
Free / Reduced Lunch
57%
249 students
DISTRICT 62% · 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 7 | 77 | 18% |
| Grade 8 | 83 | 19% |
| Grade 9 | 78 | 18% |
| Grade 10 | 69 | 16% |
| Grade 11 | 66 | 15% |
| Grade 12 | 62 | 14% |
Student demographics
13%Diversity index
The chance that two students picked at random belong to different racial or ethnic groups.
DISTRICT 14% · 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 Nicholas County. Attendance zones can vary; confirm enrollment with the district.
Test scores
KSA (K-PREP) 2024-25 . % Proficient/DistinguishedEnglish Language Arts
31.3%
KY avg 47.9%
Math
35.0%
KY avg 42.8%
What this means: On the KSA (K-PREP), Kentucky's statewide test, about 31 of every 100 students at this school read and write at grade level and about 35 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
31.5%
composite math + reading, all grades
Predicted
43.8%
based on KY schools with similar FRL share
Beats by
-12.3pp
below demographic expectation
What this means: About 31% of students here test proficient in math and reading, compared with the roughly 44% 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 Nicholas County High School
Nicholas County High School's state test result (31.5% proficient) is higher than 1 of the 5 schools below with a result.
| School | Students | Low-income | Proficient |
|---|---|---|---|
| Nicholas County High School this school | 435 | 57.2% | 31.5% |
| Green County High School Greensburg | 490 | 58.4% | 39.5% |
| Owen County High School Owenton | 531 | 55.9% | 28.8% |
| Edmonson County High School Brownsville | 546 | 57.7% | 35.3% |
| Belfry High School Belfry | 463 | 58.1% | 39.3% |
| Crittenden County High School Marion | 381 | 54.3% | 40.3% |
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 Nicholas County High School ranks
Among high schools| Measure | This school | In Kentucky |
|---|---|---|
| State test proficiency ranked highest first | 31.5% | #161 of 211 |
| Math proficiency ranked highest first | 35.0% | #145 of 211 |
| Reading proficiency ranked highest first | 31.3% | #191 of 211 |
| Enrollment ranked largest first | 435 | #179 of 304 |
| Students per teacher ranked fewest first | 18.1:1 | #157 of 217 |
| Diversity index ranked most diverse first | 13.0% | #169 of 217 |
| Free and reduced lunch ranked highest share first | 57.2% | #112 of 230 |
| Enrollment change since 2017-18 ranked steepest decline first | -10.7% | #53 of 139 |
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
435
-25 (-5%) vs 2020
+15% since 1990-91, when it was 379
Student : Teacher
18.1:1
was 20.0:1
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 | 435 | 24 | 18.1:1 | 57% (249) |
| 2023-24 | 446 | 27 | 16.5:1 | 60% (268) |
| 2022-23 | 455 | 30 | 15.2:1 | 63% (288) |
| 2020-21 | 460 | 23 | 20.0:1 | 5% (24) |
| 2017-18 | 487 | 29.5 | 16.5:1 | 55% (269) |
| 2015-16 | 517 | 29 | 17.8:1 | 57% (293) |
| 2010-11 | 509 | 35 | 14.5:1 | 58% (296) |
| 2000-01 | 339 | 24 | 14.1:1 | 43% (145) |
| 1990-91 | 379 | 25 | 15.2:1 | N/A |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data. Rows are the federal collections on file for Nicholas County High School.
Since 2017-18: students down 11% (487 to 435); teachers down 19% (29.5 to 24).
About Nicholas County High School
Nicholas County High School, located in Carlisle, Kentucky, is a small high school. It covers grades 7 through 12, with a total enrollment of 435 students. Enrollment is 22% lower than the average for high schools in Kentucky, which is about 558.
Nicholas County is made up of 2 schools with 1,080 students in all.
About 93% of the student body at Nicholas County High School is White. Other students are 6% Hispanic. The county population is about 96% White, within a few points of the school. The school's diversity index is 13%, meaning two students picked at random have a 13% chance of belonging to different racial or ethnic groups.
Nicholas County High School employs 24 full-time-equivalent teachers. That gives a ratio of about 18.1:1. This ratio sits 1.5 above the 16.6:1 average for high schools in Kentucky. Free or reduced-price lunch eligibility was 57% in 2024-25.
Nicholas County High School is graded C- by allk12, scoring above 21% of Kentucky public high schools once test results, poverty-adjusted performance, and the recent trend are combined.
Given its share of students eligible for free or reduced-price lunch, Nicholas County High School would be expected to post about 43.8%. Its actual average proficiency rate on state tests is 31.5%.
Nicholas County has about 7,708 residents, and the median household income is $59,531, 10% of adults hold a bachelor's degree or higher, and about 14% of residents live below the federal poverty line. Besides Nicholas County High School, Nicholas County has 1 other public school.
Nicholas County Elementary School is located about 0.1 miles from Nicholas County High School. The nearest schools with test data average 31.3%, lower than Nicholas County High School's 31.5%.
On the NCES locale scale, the school is Rural: Remote.
Enrollment has fallen by 25 students since 2020-21, to 435. Over the same period, the student-to-teacher ratio fell to 18.1:1, from 20.0:1.
Families, students, and staff can use this page to discuss enrollment questions, class placement, and PTA news at Nicholas County High School. Anyone with firsthand experience at this school can post or comment.
Nicholas County at a glance
View full county profilePopulation
7,708
Census ACS
Median income
$59,531
Household, ACS
Bachelor's+
10%
Adults 25+
Poverty rate
14%
Below federal line
Schools in county
2
1,080 students
Quick facts
Related schools
Other schools in Nicholas County
- Nicholas County Elementary SchoolElementary · 645 students
Other schools in Carlisle
- Nicholas County Elementary SchoolElementary · 645 students
Other Nicholas County High schools
One other US public school is named Nicholas County High. Nicholas County High School is the 2nd largest of the 2.
- Nicholas County High SchoolSummersville, WV · 708 students
Nearby schools
- Nicholas County Elementary School0.1 mi · 645
- North Middletown Elementary School12.4 mi · 128
- Cane Ridge Elementary School12.8 mi · 453
- Ewing Elementary School12.9 mi · 369
- Paris Middle School13.8 mi · 180
- Paris High School13.8 mi · 267
Frequently asked questions
About Nicholas County High SchoolHow many students attend Nicholas County High School?
Nicholas County High School enrolls approximately 435 students in grades 07-12.
Is Nicholas County High School an elementary, middle, or high school?
Nicholas County High School is a high school covering grades 07-12.
How many teachers does Nicholas County High School have?
Nicholas County High School employs 24 FTE teachers, for a student-to-teacher ratio of 18.1:1.
How diverse is Nicholas County High School?
Nicholas County High School reports a student body of 93% White, 6% Hispanic, 0% Black, 0% Two or more.
Who oversees Nicholas County High School?
Nicholas County High School is overseen by Nicholas County in Nicholas County.
Data sourceSchool profile facts are sourced from the NCES. Community content is posted by allk12 members.