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What clubs or activities at Western High are worth joining?
Community prompt from u/allk12. Replies below.
Enrollment
1,290
High
DISTRICT 692 · STATE 1,185
SCHOOL COMMUNITY·BALTIMORE CITY PUBLIC SCHOOLS·NCES 240009000330
Western High
4600 Falls Road, Baltimore, MD 21209 · (410) 396-7040 · Baltimore city
GRADES 09–12HIGH11-CITYTITLE IREGULAR SCHOOL1,290 STUDENTS
Student : Teacher
16.8:1
77 FTE teachers
DISTRICT 14.1:1 · STATE 15.3:1
Free / Reduced Lunch
73%
939 students
DISTRICT 76% · STATE 54%
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 | 330 | 26% |
| Grade 10 | 334 | 26% |
| Grade 11 | 330 | 26% |
| Grade 12 | 296 | 23% |
Student demographics
26%Diversity index
The chance that two students picked at random belong to different racial or ethnic groups.
DISTRICT 47% · STATE 73% · 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
MCAP 2024-25 . % Proficient (Levels 3-4)English Language Arts
66.5%
MD avg 50.6% . +11.5pp since 2023
Math
29.0%
MD avg 34.8% . +11.1pp since 2023
What this means: On the MCAP, Maryland's statewide test, about 67 of every 100 students at this school read and write at grade level and about 29 of 100 do math at grade level. Across all Maryland schools, those numbers are about 51 and 35. Reading and writing scores are up about 12 points since 2023, while math scores are up about 11 points.
MCAP results by year
| School year | English Language Arts | Math |
|---|---|---|
| 2024-25 | 66.5% | 29.0% |
| 2023-24 | 55.0% | 17.9% |
% Proficient (Levels 3-4), all students and all tested grades.
Source: MCAP. 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
42.1%
composite math + reading, all grades
Predicted
31.1%
based on MD schools with similar FRL share
Beats by
+10.9pp
above demographic expectation
What this means: About 42% of students here test proficient in math and reading, compared with the roughly 31% typical for Maryland 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 Maryland'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 Western High
Western High's state test result (42.1% proficient) is higher than 5 of the 5 schools below with a result.
| School | Students | Low-income | Proficient |
|---|---|---|---|
| Western High this school | 1,290 | 72.8% | 42.1% |
| Paul Laurence Dunbar High Baltimore | 1,087 | 77.7% | 34.6% |
| Forest Park High Baltimore | 1,024 | 75.1% | 21.4% |
| Mergenthaler Vocational-Technical High Baltimore | 1,714 | 79.2% | 19.8% |
| Largo High Upper Marlboro | 1,159 | 64.4% | 28.8% |
| Edmondson-Westside High Baltimore | 910 | 79.8% | 20.9% |
Matched among Maryland 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 Western High ranks
Among high schools| Measure | This school | In Maryland | In Baltimore city |
|---|---|---|---|
| State test proficiency ranked highest first | 42.1% | #58 of 203 | #4 of 28 |
| Math proficiency ranked highest first | 29.0% | #16 of 206 ▲ 33 | #3 of 28 ▲ 1 |
| Reading proficiency ranked highest first | 66.5% | #78 of 206 ▲ 24 | #6 of 28 ▼ 2 |
| Enrollment ranked largest first | 1,290 | #106 of 234 | #6 of 34 |
| Students per teacher ranked fewest first | 16.8:1 | #129 of 210 | #23 of 30 |
| Diversity index ranked most diverse first | 25.9% | #187 of 211 | #16 of 30 |
| Free and reduced lunch ranked highest share first | 72.8% | #37 of 212 | #23 of 31 |
| Enrollment change since 2017-18 ranked fastest growth first | +24.3% | #30 of 131 | #7 of 18 |
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
1,290
+54 (+4%) vs 2020
-14% since 1990-91, when it was 1,492
Student : Teacher
16.8:1
was 19.9:1
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 | 1,290 | 77 | 16.8:1 | 73% (939) |
| 2023-24 | 1,328 | 74 | 17.9:1 | 71% (940) |
| 2022-23 | 1,262 | 71 | 17.8:1 | 68% (862) |
| 2020-21 | 1,236 | 62 | 19.9:1 | 59% (735) |
| 2017-18 | 1,038 | 51 | 20.4:1 | 100% (1,038) |
| 2015-16 | 1,034 | 58 | 17.8:1 | 63% (656) |
| 2010-11 | 931 | 47 | 19.8:1 | 60% (561) |
| 2000-01 | 1,024 | 62 | 16.5:1 | 38% (389) |
| 1990-91 | 1,492 | 63 | 23.7:1 | N/A |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data. Rows are the federal collections on file for Western High.
Since 2017-18: students up 24% (1,038 to 1,290); teachers up 51% (51 to 77).
About Western High
Western High, a medium-sized high school, is located in Baltimore, Maryland. It covers grades 9 through 12, with a total enrollment of 1,290 students.
Across its 152 schools, Baltimore City Public Schools enrolls 76,946 students. Western High is one of those schools.
About 85% of the student body at Western High is Black. The remaining students are 11% Hispanic and 2% White. Among people living in Baltimore city, the Black share is about 59%. Pick two students at random and there is a 26% chance they belong to different racial or ethnic groups; that figure is the school's diversity index.
Western High employs 77 full-time-equivalent teachers. That gives a ratio of about 16.8:1. This ratio sits 1.5 above the 15.3:1 average for high schools in Maryland. Free or reduced-price lunch eligibility was 73% in 2024-25. For comparison, public schools in Baltimore city average 74%.
Given its share of students eligible for free or reduced-price lunch, Western High would be expected to post about 31.1%. Its actual average proficiency rate on state tests is 42.1%.
Census estimates describe Baltimore city this way: the median household income is $62,177, 36% of adults hold a bachelor's degree or higher, and about 15% of residents live below the federal poverty line. Besides Western High, Baltimore city has 155 other public schools.
The nearest other public school, Baltimore Polytechnic Institute, is less than a tenth of a mile away. There are at least 8 more public schools inside five miles. Among the 9 closest schools with test data, this one included, Western High ranks 6th on average proficiency.
On the NCES locale scale, the school is City: Large.
Enrollment has grown by 54 students since 2020-21, to 1,290. From 2020-21 to 2024-25, the ratio fell from 19.9:1 to 16.8:1.
Topics for discussion here include science fairs, picture day, and bus routes. Anyone with firsthand experience at this school can post or comment.
Baltimore city at a glance
View full county profilePopulation
573,243
Census ACS
Median income
$62,177
Household, ACS
Bachelor's+
36%
Adults 25+
Poverty rate
15%
Below federal line
Schools in county
156
77,341 students
Quick facts
Related schools
Other schools in Baltimore City Public Schools
- Mergenthaler Vocational-Technical HighHigh · 1,714 students
- Baltimore Polytechnic InstituteHigh · 1,632 students
- Baltimore City CollegeHigh · 1,470 students
- KIPP Harmony AcademyElementary · 1,399 students
- Roland Park Elementary/MiddleElementary · 1,371 students
- Digital Harbor High SchoolHigh · 1,359 students
Other schools in Baltimore
- Dundalk HighHigh · 2,087 students
- Perry Hall HighHigh · 2,012 students
- Woodlawn HighHigh · 1,922 students
- Kenwood HighHigh · 1,900 students
- Parkville HighHigh · 1,877 students
- Catonsville HighHigh · 1,735 students
Other Western High schools
8 other US public schools in 9 states are named Western High. Western High is the 4th largest of the 9.
- WESTERN HIGH SCHOOLDAVIE, FL · 3,510 students
- Western High SchoolLas Vegas, NV · 2,761 students
- Western HighAnaheim, CA · 1,446 students
- Western High SchoolPARMA, MI · 809 students
- Western High SchoolRussiaville, IN · 804 students
Nearby schools
- Baltimore Polytechnic Institute0.1 mi · 1,632
- Medfield Heights Elementary0.4 mi · 485
- Roland Park Elementary/Middle0.9 mi · 1,371
- Park Heights Academy1.1 mi · 390
- Academy for College and Career Exploration1.2 mi · 967
- Hampden Elementary/Middle1.2 mi · 508
Frequently asked questions
About Western HighHow large is Western High?
Western High enrolls approximately 1,290 students in grades 09-12.
What age range does Western High serve?
Western High serves students from grade 09 through grade 12.
How many students per teacher at Western High?
Approximately 16.8:1 students per teacher at Western High.
What is the racial breakdown of students at Western High?
At Western High, the student body is approximately 2% White, 11% Hispanic, 85% Black, 0% Asian, 1% Two or more.
What district is Western High in?
Western High is part of Baltimore City Public Schools.
Data sourceSchool profile facts are sourced from the NCES. Community content is posted by allk12 members.