1
What's the vibe like in the hallways at LIFE H S WAXAHACHIE right now?
Community prompt from u/allk12. Replies below.
Enrollment
1,114
High
DISTRICT 717 · STATE 796
SCHOOL COMMUNITY·LIFE SCHOOL·NCES 480005513098
Life H S Waxahachie
170 W BUTCHER RD, WAXAHACHIE, TX 75165 · (469) 708-4444 · Ellis County
GRADES 09–12HIGH21-SUBURBCHARTERTITLE IREGULAR SCHOOL1,114 STUDENTS
B-
allk12 Grade
Scored higher than 51% of Texas 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.
- 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.
- B+Three-year trend Change in reading and math proficiency over the last three test years.
Grades compare a school only with schools in the same state, because every state gives its own test. How grades work · Top-graded Texas public high schools
Student : Teacher
17.9:1
62 FTE teachers
DISTRICT 17.9:1 · STATE 15.1:1
Free / Reduced Lunch
52%
581 students
DISTRICT 68% · STATE 65%
Community
1
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 | 273 | 25% |
| Grade 10 | 279 | 25% |
| Grade 11 | 283 | 25% |
| Grade 12 | 279 | 25% |
Student demographics
65%Diversity index
The chance that two students picked at random belong to different racial or ethnic groups.
DISTRICT 61% · STATE 63% · 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
Based on grade levels within LIFE SCHOOL. Attendance zones can vary; confirm enrollment with the district.
Test scores
STAAR 2025-26 . % Meets Grade Level or AboveReading
66.0%
TX avg 54.5% . +27.0pp since 2020
Mathematics
36.0%
TX avg 45.3% . +21.0pp since 2020
What this means: On the STAAR, Texas's statewide test, about 66 of every 100 students at this school read at grade level and about 36 of 100 do math at grade level. Across all Texas schools, those numbers are about 55 and 45. Reading scores are up about 27 points since 2020, while math scores are up about 21 points.
Performance levels, 2025-26
| Subject | Masters Grade Level | Meets Grade Level | Approaches Grade Level | Did Not Meet Grade Level |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Reading | 12.0% | 54.0% | 16.0% | 18.0% |
| Mathematics | 5.0% | 31.0% | 50.0% | 14.0% |
Share of tested students at each STAAR level. Each student counts in one level, so a row adds to about 100%.
STAAR results by year
| School year | Reading | Mathematics |
|---|---|---|
| 2025-26 | 66.0% | 36.0% |
| 2024-25 | 63.0% | 32.0% |
| 2023-24 | 64.0% | 31.0% |
| 2022-23 | 31.0% | 30.0% |
| 2021-22 | 45.0% | 26.0% |
| 2020-21 | 39.0% | 15.0% |
% Meets Grade Level or Above, all students and all tested grades.
Source: STAAR. 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
55.1%
composite math + reading, all grades
Predicted
51.4%
based on TX schools with similar FRL share
Beats by
+3.7pp
above demographic expectation
What this means: About 55% of students here test proficient in math and reading, compared with the roughly 51% typical for Texas 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 Texas'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 Life H S Waxahachie
Life H S Waxahachie's state test result (55.1% proficient) is higher than 5 of the 5 schools below with a result.
| School | Students | Low-income | Proficient |
|---|---|---|---|
| Life H S Waxahachie this school | 1,114 | 52.2% | 55.1% |
| C E Ellison High School KILLEEN | 1,761 | 58.7% | 45.3% |
| Red Oak High School RED OAK | 2,297 | 57.6% | 48.4% |
| Chaparral High School KILLEEN | 2,031 | 47.6% | 52.7% |
| Iowa Colony High School IOWA COLONY | 1,781 | 51.7% | 54.2% |
| Robert M Shoemaker High School KILLEEN | 2,165 | 60.9% | 41.8% |
Matched among Texas 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 Life H S Waxahachie ranks
Among high schools| Measure | This school | In Texas | In Ellis County |
|---|---|---|---|
| State test proficiency ranked highest first | 55.1% | #647 of 1,385 | #5 of 11 |
| Math proficiency ranked highest first | 36.0% | #925 of 1,425 ▼ 9 | #7 of 11 no change |
| Reading proficiency ranked highest first | 66.0% | #442 of 1,425 ▲ 35 | #5 of 11 no change |
| 3-year test score change ranked biggest gain first | +20.5pp | #384 of 1,184 | #3 of 10 |
| Enrollment ranked largest first | 1,114 | #546 of 2,107 | #6 of 17 |
| Students per teacher ranked fewest first | 17.9:1 | #1,183 of 1,344 | #10 of 11 |
| Diversity index ranked most diverse first | 64.7% | #244 of 1,346 | #5 of 11 |
| Free and reduced lunch ranked highest share first | 52.2% | #960 of 1,522 | #4 of 11 |
| Enrollment change since 2017-18 ranked fastest growth first | +19.7% | #213 of 672 | #6 of 9 |
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
1,114
+180 (+19%) vs 2020
Student : Teacher
17.9:1
was 14.4:1
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 | 1,114 | 62.1 | 17.9:1 | 52% (581) |
| 2023-24 | 1,102 | 58.5 | 18.8:1 | 55% (601) |
| 2022-23 | 1,048 | 70.8 | 14.8:1 | 53% (556) |
| 2020-21 | 934 | 65 | 14.4:1 | 44% (414) |
| 2017-18 | 931 | 64.3 | 14.5:1 | 44% (411) |
| 2015-16 | 709 | 55 | 12.9:1 | 37% (265) |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data. Rows are the federal collections on file for Life H S Waxahachie.
Since 2017-18: students up 20% (931 to 1,114); teachers down 3% (64.3 to 62.1).
About Life H S Waxahachie
This page covers Life H S Waxahachie, a medium-sized high school in WAXAHACHIE, Texas. The school counts 1,114 students across grades 9 through 12. Average enrollment for high schools in Texas is about 796, so this school runs 40% larger than that.
LIFE SCHOOL enrolls 5,735 students in 8 schools, including Life H S Waxahachie.
Life H S Waxahachie has no majority group; Black students are the largest, at 43%. Smaller groups are 38% Hispanic, 15% White, and 4% multiracial. County-wide, 15% of Ellis County residents are Black. Life H S Waxahachie's diversity index is 65%, against a US figure of 70%.
Teacher staffing is 62.1 full-time equivalents, or about 17.9 students per teacher. This ratio sits 2.9 above the 15.1:1 average for high schools in Texas. Eligibility for subsidized school meals is 52%. That tracks the 51% average for public schools in Ellis County.
Life H S Waxahachie is graded B- by allk12, scoring above 51% of Texas public high schools once test results, poverty-adjusted performance, and the recent trend are combined.
The allk12 BeatsExpectations score for Life H S Waxahachie is +3.7 points: 55.1% actual, 51.4% predicted.
Across Ellis County, the median household income is $99,595, roughly 30% of adults have a four-year degree or more, and about 5% of residents live below the federal poverty line. Ellis County is home to 83 public schools and about 46,344 public school students.
Life Middle Waxahachie is the nearest neighboring public school, about 0.4 miles away. The five-mile area around Life H S Waxahachie holds at least 8 other public schools. Life H S Waxahachie ranks 1st of 8 among nearby schools on average proficiency, with 55.1% against a local average of 42.1%.
Federal data place Life H S Waxahachie in the Suburb: Large locale, which means it is in a suburban area outside a principal city, within an urbanized area with a population of 250,000 or more. NCES lists Life H S Waxahachie as a charter school.
Enrollment has grown by 180 students since 2020-21, to 1,114. The number of students per teacher rose from 14.4 to 17.9 over 4 years.
The discussion area below is open to posts about sports schedules, lunch menus, and spirit week. Reviews and ratings from people who know the school are welcome.
Ellis County at a glance
View full county profilePopulation
213,160
Census ACS
Median income
$99,595
Household, ACS
Bachelor's+
30%
Adults 25+
Poverty rate
5%
Below federal line
Schools in county
83
46,344 students
Quick facts
Related schools
Other schools in LIFE SCHOOL
- Life School Oak CliffCombined · 1,483 students
- Life School Red OakElementary · 1,045 students
- Life Middle WaxahachieMiddle · 551 students
- Life School LancasterElementary · 455 students
- Life School Cedar HillElementary · 450 students
- Life School Mountain CreekElementary · 354 students
Other schools in WAXAHACHIE
- Waxahachie High SchoolHigh · 3,056 students
- Howard Junior High SchoolMiddle · 918 students
- Finley Junior High SchoolMiddle · 839 students
- Coleman Junior High SchoolMiddle · 775 students
- Wedgeworth Elementary SchoolElementary · 594 students
- Simpson Elementary SchoolElementary · 592 students
Nearby schools
- Life Middle Waxahachie0.4 mi · 551
- Shackelford Elementary School1.2 mi · 452
- Simpson Elementary School2.4 mi · 592
- Life School Red Oak2.8 mi · 1,045
- Faith Family Master Academy3.0 mi · 366
- Finley Junior High School3.1 mi · 839
Frequently asked questions
About Life H S WaxahachieHow many students attend Life H S Waxahachie?
Life H S Waxahachie enrolls approximately 1,114 students in grades 09-12.
Is Life H S Waxahachie an elementary, middle, or high school?
Life H S Waxahachie is a high school covering grades 09-12.
How many students per teacher at Life H S Waxahachie?
Approximately 17.9:1 students per teacher at Life H S Waxahachie.
How diverse is Life H S Waxahachie?
Life H S Waxahachie reports a student body of 15% White, 38% Hispanic, 43% Black, 0% Asian, 4% Two or more.
What district is Life H S Waxahachie in?
Life H S Waxahachie is part of LIFE SCHOOL.
Data sourceSchool profile facts are sourced from the NCES. Community content is posted by allk12 members.