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What clubs or activities at Paul Laurence Dunbar High School are worth joining?
Community prompt from u/allk12. Replies below.
Enrollment
1,828
High
DISTRICT 787 · STATE 558
SCHOOL COMMUNITY·FAYETTE COUNTY·NCES 210186001669
Paul Laurence Dunbar High School
1600 Man O' War Blvd, Lexington, KY 40513 · (859) 381-3546 · Fayette County
GRADES 09–12HIGH11-CITYTITLE IREGULAR SCHOOL1,828 STUDENTS
A
allk12 Grade
Scored higher than 85% of Kentucky public high schools
- ATest scores Share of students meeting the state standard in reading, math, and other tested subjects, 2023-24 and 2024-25.
- A-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
17.7:1
103 FTE teachers
DISTRICT 13.7:1 · STATE 16.6:1
Free / Reduced Lunch
41%
742 students
DISTRICT 56% · 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 | 461 | 25% |
| Grade 10 | 488 | 27% |
| Grade 11 | 446 | 24% |
| Grade 12 | 425 | 23% |
| Ungraded | 8 | 0% |
Student demographics
71%Diversity index
The chance that two students picked at random belong to different racial or ethnic groups.
DISTRICT 71% · 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
Test scores
KSA (K-PREP) 2024-25 . % Proficient/DistinguishedEnglish Language Arts
58.0%
KY avg 47.9%
Math
56.0%
KY avg 42.8%
What this means: On the KSA (K-PREP), Kentucky's statewide test, about 58 of every 100 students at this school read and write at grade level and about 56 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
49.5%
composite math + reading, all grades
Predicted
49.9%
based on KY schools with similar FRL share
Beats by
-0.4pp
below demographic expectation
What this means: About 50% of students here test proficient in math and reading, compared with the roughly 50% 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 Paul Laurence Dunbar High School
Paul Laurence Dunbar High School's state test result (49.5% proficient) is higher than 4 of the 5 schools below with a result.
| School | Students | Low-income | Proficient |
|---|---|---|---|
| Paul Laurence Dunbar High School this school | 1,828 | 40.6% | 49.5% |
| Henry Clay High School Lexington | 1,939 | 41.7% | 49.8% |
| Eastern High Middletown | 1,790 | 35.5% | 35.3% |
| Greenwood High School Bowling Green | 1,451 | 48.7% | 48.5% |
| Ballard High Louisville | 2,148 | 36.1% | 43.8% |
| Bowling Green High School Bowling Green | 1,377 | 50.8% | 42.5% |
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 Paul Laurence Dunbar High School ranks
Among high schools| Measure | This school | In Kentucky | In Fayette County |
|---|---|---|---|
| State test proficiency ranked highest first | 49.5% | #24 of 211 | #3 of 6 |
| Math proficiency ranked highest first | 56.0% | #25 of 211 | #2 of 6 |
| Reading proficiency ranked highest first | 58.0% | #34 of 211 | #2 of 6 |
| Enrollment ranked largest first | 1,828 | #13 of 304 | #4 of 16 |
| Students per teacher ranked fewest first | 17.7:1 | #144 of 217 | #5 of 9 |
| Diversity index ranked most diverse first | 71.0% | #8 of 217 | #1 of 9 |
| Free and reduced lunch ranked highest share first | 40.6% | #205 of 230 | #10 of 12 |
| Enrollment change since 2017-18 ranked steepest decline first | -11.0% | #50 of 139 | N/A |
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
1,828
-194 (-10%) vs 2020
+45% since 1990-91, when it was 1,263
Student : Teacher
17.7:1
was 19.3:1
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 | 1,828 | 103.1 | 17.7:1 | 41% (742) |
| 2023-24 | 1,889 | 111 | 17.0:1 | 42% (796) |
| 2022-23 | 1,946 | 107.7 | 18.1:1 | 46% (887) |
| 2020-21 | 2,022 | 105 | 19.3:1 | 49% (993) |
| 2017-18 | 2,054 | 113.3 | 18.1:1 | 42% (859) |
| 2015-16 | 2,288 | 118 | 19.4:1 | 44% (1,018) |
| 2010-11 | 2,099 | 114 | 18.4:1 | 31% (656) |
| 2000-01 | 2,001 | 110 | 18.2:1 | 17% (347) |
| 1990-91 | 1,263 | 80 | 15.8:1 | N/A |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data. Rows are the federal collections on file for Paul Laurence Dunbar High School.
Since 2017-18: students down 11% (2,054 to 1,828); teachers down 9% (113.3 to 103.1).
About Paul Laurence Dunbar High School
Paul Laurence Dunbar High School sits in Lexington, Kentucky, and is classified as a high school. It covers grades 9 through 12, with a total enrollment of 1,828 students. Enrollment is 228% higher than the average for high schools in Kentucky, which is about 558.
A total of 73 schools make up Fayette County, with 42,138 students enrolled.
The most common group at Paul Laurence Dunbar High School is White students, at 40%. Enrollment also includes 31% Hispanic, 14% Black, 11% Asian, and 4% multiracial. The school's White share is 28 points below the 68% share among Fayette County residents. Paul Laurence Dunbar High School's diversity index is 71%, against a US figure of 70%.
Federal records show a student-to-teacher ratio of 17.7:1 at Paul Laurence Dunbar High School, with 103.1 full-time-equivalent teachers. On average, high schools in Kentucky have 16.6:1, compared with 17.7:1 here. The count of students eligible for free or reduced-price lunch equals 41% of enrollment. It compares with 50% for public schools in Fayette County.
Paul Laurence Dunbar High School is graded A by allk12, scoring above 85% of Kentucky public high schools once test results, poverty-adjusted performance, and the recent trend are combined.
In Kentucky, Paul Laurence Dunbar High School is in the middle band of BeatsExpectations: 49.5% actual against a predicted 49.9%.
Fayette County has these Census figures: the median household income is $69,479, roughly 48% of adults have a four-year degree or more, and about 9% of residents live below the federal poverty line. Fayette County is home to 81 public schools and about 42,142 public school students.
Rosa Parks Elementary School is the nearest neighboring public school, about 0.8 miles away. Within five miles of Paul Laurence Dunbar High School, there are at least 8 other public schools. In a group of 9 nearby schools with scores, Paul Laurence Dunbar High School ranks 7th on average proficiency.
Under the NCES locale system, Paul Laurence Dunbar High School is City: Large.
Paul Laurence Dunbar High School's enrollment dropped from 2,022 in 2020-21 to 1,828 in 2024-25. Federal data show the ratio falling from 19.3:1 to 17.7:1.
Topics for discussion here include school events, clubs, and volunteer needs. Alumni can share how the school prepared them.
Fayette County at a glance
View full county profilePopulation
323,725
Census ACS
Median income
$69,479
Household, ACS
Bachelor's+
48%
Adults 25+
Poverty rate
9%
Below federal line
Schools in county
81
42,142 students
Quick facts
Related schools
Other schools in Fayette County
- Lafayette High SchoolHigh · 2,370 students
- Bryan Station High SchoolHigh · 2,030 students
- Henry Clay High SchoolHigh · 1,939 students
- Frederick Douglass High SchoolHigh · 1,770 students
- Tates Creek High SchoolHigh · 1,723 students
- Edythe Jones Hayes Middle SchoolMiddle · 1,125 students
Other schools in Lexington
- Lafayette High SchoolHigh · 2,370 students
- Bryan Station High SchoolHigh · 2,030 students
- Henry Clay High SchoolHigh · 1,939 students
- Frederick Douglass High SchoolHigh · 1,770 students
- Tates Creek High SchoolHigh · 1,723 students
- Edythe Jones Hayes Middle SchoolMiddle · 1,125 students
Other Paul Laurence Dunbar High schools
One other US public school is named Paul Laurence Dunbar High. Paul Laurence Dunbar High School is the largest of the 2.
- Paul Laurence Dunbar HighBaltimore, MD · 1,087 students
Nearby schools
- Rosa Parks Elementary School0.8 mi · 681
- Beaumont Middle School1.3 mi · 743
- Stonewall Elementary School1.7 mi · 674
- Garden Springs Elementary School1.7 mi · 418
- Jessie M Clark Middle School2.0 mi · 1,002
- James Lane Allen Elementary School2.0 mi · 429
Frequently asked questions
About Paul Laurence Dunbar High SchoolHow many students attend Paul Laurence Dunbar High School?
Paul Laurence Dunbar High School enrolls approximately 1,828 students in grades 09-12.
Is Paul Laurence Dunbar High School an elementary, middle, or high school?
Paul Laurence Dunbar High School is a high school covering grades 09-12.
How many teachers does Paul Laurence Dunbar High School have?
Paul Laurence Dunbar High School employs 103 FTE teachers, for a student-to-teacher ratio of 17.7:1.
What is the racial breakdown of students at Paul Laurence Dunbar High School?
At Paul Laurence Dunbar High School, the student body is approximately 40% White, 31% Hispanic, 14% Black, 11% Asian, 4% Two or more.
What district is Paul Laurence Dunbar High School in?
Paul Laurence Dunbar High School is part of Fayette County.
Data sourceSchool profile facts are sourced from the NCES. Community content is posted by allk12 members.