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Teachers: what resource would make the biggest difference at Southwestern High School this year?
Community prompt from u/allk12. Replies below.
Enrollment
1,213
High
DISTRICT 788 · STATE 558
SCHOOL COMMUNITY·PULASKI COUNTY·NCES 210495000506
Southwestern High School
1765 WTLO Rd, Somerset, KY 42503 · (606) 678-9000 · Pulaski County
GRADES 09–12HIGH41-RURALTITLE IREGULAR SCHOOL1,213 STUDENTS
B+
allk12 Grade
Scored higher than 74% 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.
- 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
16.6:1
73 FTE teachers
DISTRICT 23.3:1 · STATE 16.6:1
Free / Reduced Lunch
61%
742 students
DISTRICT 66% · 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 | 286 | 24% |
| Grade 10 | 321 | 26% |
| Grade 11 | 312 | 26% |
| Grade 12 | 288 | 24% |
| Ungraded | 6 | 0% |
Student demographics
26%Diversity index
The chance that two students picked at random belong to different racial or ethnic groups.
DISTRICT 24% · 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
55.0%
KY avg 47.9%
Math
52.0%
KY avg 42.8%
What this means: On the KSA (K-PREP), Kentucky's statewide test, about 55 of every 100 students at this school read and write at grade level and about 52 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
41.5%
composite math + reading, all grades
Predicted
42.3%
based on KY schools with similar FRL share
Beats by
-0.8pp
below demographic expectation
What this means: About 42% of students here test proficient in math and reading, compared with the roughly 42% 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 Southwestern High School
Southwestern High School's state test result (41.5% proficient) is higher than 4 of the 5 schools below with a result.
| School | Students | Low-income | Proficient |
|---|---|---|---|
| Southwestern High School this school | 1,213 | 61.2% | 41.5% |
| Bullitt Central High School Shepherdsville | 1,293 | 57.2% | 25.3% |
| North Laurel High School London | 1,252 | 58.3% | 40.3% |
| Grant County High School Dry Ridge | 1,016 | 64.9% | 29.0% |
| East Jessamine High School Nicholasville | 1,222 | 58.2% | 36.3% |
| South Laurel High School London | 1,119 | 66.1% | 48.3% |
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 Southwestern High School ranks
Among high schools| Measure | This school | In Kentucky |
|---|---|---|
| State test proficiency ranked highest first | 41.5% | #69 of 211 |
| Math proficiency ranked highest first | 52.0% | #43 of 211 |
| Reading proficiency ranked highest first | 55.0% | #53 of 211 |
| Enrollment ranked largest first | 1,213 | #55 of 304 |
| Students per teacher ranked fewest first | 16.6:1 | #107 of 217 |
| Diversity index ranked most diverse first | 26.0% | #118 of 217 |
| Free and reduced lunch ranked highest share first | 61.2% | #91 of 230 |
| Enrollment change since 2017-18 ranked steepest decline first | -4.0% | #107 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
1,213
-120 (-9%) vs 2020
+19% since 2000-01, when it was 1,022
Student : Teacher
16.6:1
was 17.8:1
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 | 1,213 | 73 | 16.6:1 | 61% (742) |
| 2023-24 | 1,203 | 72 | 16.7:1 | 65% (778) |
| 2022-23 | 1,265 | 74 | 17.1:1 | 64% (807) |
| 2020-21 | 1,333 | 75 | 17.8:1 | 63% (843) |
| 2017-18 | 1,264 | 70.5 | 17.9:1 | 62% (778) |
| 2015-16 | 1,220 | 69 | 17.7:1 | 62% (759) |
| 2010-11 | 1,142 | 71 | 16.1:1 | 62% (706) |
| 2000-01 | 1,022 | 63 | 16.2:1 | 54% (552) |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data. Rows are the federal collections on file for Southwestern High School.
Since 2017-18: students down 4% (1,264 to 1,213); teachers up 4% (70.5 to 73).
About Southwestern High School
Southwestern High School is a large high school in Kentucky, located in Somerset. The school counts 1,213 students across grades 9 through 12. The typical figure for high schools in Kentucky is about 558 students.
Southwestern High School is one school in Pulaski County, a system of 14 schools with 7,729 students.
White students make up 86% of enrollment at Southwestern High School. The remaining shares are 7% Hispanic and 4% multiracial. Census estimates put the White share of Pulaski County's population at about 94%. Southwestern High School's diversity index is 26%, against a US figure of 70%.
Teachers at Southwestern High School total 73 full-time equivalents, and the ratio is 16.6:1. That matches the 16.6:1 average for high schools in Kentucky fairly closely. Federal records put free or reduced-price lunch eligibility at 61%. For comparison, public schools in Pulaski County average 64%.
The allk12 Grade for Southwestern High School is B+. Compared with Kentucky public high schools, the school scored higher than 74% on a mix of test scores, poverty-adjusted results, and recent trend.
The school's average proficiency rate on state tests is 41.5%. For its free or reduced-price lunch share, the predicted value is 42.3%.
Census estimates describe Pulaski County this way: the median household income is $51,898, about 18% of adults have at least a bachelor's degree, and the poverty rate is about 16%. In all, Pulaski County has 19 public schools and roughly 9,989 students.
Nearest public school: Oak Hill Elementary School, about 0.2 miles away. A five-mile radius around the school includes at least 8 other public schools. Ranking the closest schools with test data puts Southwestern High School at 7th of 7.
Under the NCES locale system, Southwestern High School is Rural: Fringe.
Enrollment is down 9% from 2020-21, when Southwestern High School had 1,333 students, to 2024-25, when it had 1,213. From 2020-21 to 2024-25, the ratio fell from 17.8:1 to 16.6:1.
The Southwestern High School community page is open for posts about sports schedules, lunch menus, and spirit week. Anyone with firsthand experience at this school can post or comment.
Pulaski County at a glance
View full county profilePopulation
65,897
Census ACS
Median income
$51,898
Household, ACS
Bachelor's+
18%
Adults 25+
Poverty rate
16%
Below federal line
Schools in county
19
9,989 students
Quick facts
Related schools
Other schools in Pulaski County
- Pulaski County High SchoolHigh · 1,113 students
- Southern Middle SchoolMiddle · 871 students
- Northern Middle SchoolMiddle · 797 students
- Southern Elementary SchoolElementary · 611 students
- Oak Hill Elementary SchoolElementary · 551 students
- Pulaski Elementary SchoolElementary · 535 students
Other schools in Somerset
- Pulaski County High SchoolHigh · 1,113 students
- Southern Middle SchoolMiddle · 871 students
- Northern Middle SchoolMiddle · 797 students
- Hopkins Elementary SchoolElementary · 750 students
- Southern Elementary SchoolElementary · 611 students
- Oak Hill Elementary SchoolElementary · 551 students
Other Southwestern High schools
3 other US public schools in 3 states are named Southwestern High. Southwestern High School is the largest of the 4.
- Southwestern High SchoolPiasa, IL · 370 students
- Southwestern High SchoolHanover, IN · 350 students
- Southwestern High SchoolShelbyville, IN · 264 students
Nearby schools
- Oak Hill Elementary School0.2 mi · 551
- Southern Elementary School2.5 mi · 611
- Southern Middle School2.7 mi · 871
- Memorial Education Center2.8 mi · 231
- Eagle Academy3.3 mi · 38
- Somerset High School3.8 mi · 526
Frequently asked questions
About Southwestern High SchoolHow many students attend Southwestern High School?
Southwestern High School enrolls approximately 1,213 students in grades 09-12.
What grades does Southwestern High School serve?
Southwestern High School serves grades 09-12.
How many teachers does Southwestern High School have?
Southwestern High School employs 73 FTE teachers, for a student-to-teacher ratio of 16.6:1.
What is the student diversity at Southwestern High School?
Student demographics at Southwestern High School are roughly 86% White, 7% Hispanic, 1% Black, 2% Asian, 4% Two or more.
Is Southwestern High School public or private?
Southwestern High School is a public K-12 school, overseen by Pulaski County.
Data sourceSchool profile facts are sourced from the NCES. Community content is posted by allk12 members.