1
What's the one class at West High every student should take?
Community prompt from u/allk12. Replies below.
Enrollment
2,222
High
DISTRICT 1,112 · STATE 475
SCHOOL COMMUNITY·MADISON METROPOLITAN SCHOOL DISTRICT·NCES 550852000967
West High
30 Ash St, Madison, WI 53726 · (608) 204-4100 · Dane County
GRADES 09–12HIGH11-CITYREGULAR SCHOOL2,222 STUDENTS
·
allk12 Grade
Not graded
This school has no state test results for 2023-24 or 2024-25 to grade, which is common for schools that end before third grade. How grades work
Student : Teacher
16.2:1
137 FTE teachers
DISTRICT 12.3:1 · STATE 14.6:1
Free / Reduced Lunch
34%
761 students
DISTRICT 48% · STATE 42%
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 | 569 | 26% |
| Grade 10 | 507 | 23% |
| Grade 11 | 562 | 25% |
| Grade 12 | 584 | 26% |
Student demographics
68%Diversity index
The chance that two students picked at random belong to different racial or ethnic groups.
DISTRICT 73% · STATE 54% · 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
BeatsExpectations
Demographically-adjusted score · methodologyTier
UNDERPERFORMING
Bottom 10% of WI schools after controlling for student poverty
Actual proficiency
42.0%
composite math + reading, all grades
Predicted
56.6%
based on WI schools with similar FRL share
Beats by
-14.6pp
below demographic expectation
What this means: About 42% of students here test proficient in math and reading, below the roughly 57% typical for Wisconsin schools with a similar share of low-income students. BeatsExpectations compares each school with others at the same poverty level, not by raw scores, so a school lands here when its results trail those comparable schools, which is not the same as having low scores. A higher-scoring school can still fall in this tier if similar schools score higher still.
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 West High
West High's state test result (42.0% proficient) is higher than 4 of the 5 schools below with a result.
| School | Students | Low-income | Proficient |
|---|---|---|---|
| West High this school | 2,222 | 34.2% | 42.0% |
| Oak Creek High Oak Creek | 2,220 | 31.8% | 42.0% |
| Vel Phillips Memorial High School Madison | 2,004 | 42.4% | 40.4% |
| Verona Area High Verona | 1,820 | 26.6% | 49.6% |
| Indian Trail High School and Academy Kenosha | 1,902 | 40.1% | 36.4% |
| Sun Prairie East High Sun Prairie | 1,340 | 27.2% | 40.8% |
Matched among Wisconsin 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 West High ranks
Among high schools| Measure | This school | In Wisconsin | In Dane County |
|---|---|---|---|
| State test proficiency ranked highest first | 42.0% | #264 of 402 | #14 of 20 |
| Enrollment ranked largest first | 2,222 | #2 of 532 | #2 of 28 |
| Students per teacher ranked fewest first | 16.2:1 | #264 of 325 | #19 of 19 |
| Diversity index ranked most diverse first | 67.6% | #19 of 325 | #4 of 19 |
| Free and reduced lunch ranked highest share first | 34.2% | #206 of 418 | #8 of 23 |
| Enrollment change since 2017-18 ranked steepest decline first | -0.4% | #196 of 203 | #8 of 8 |
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
2,222
+58 (+3%) vs 2020
+26% since 1990-91, when it was 1,765
Student : Teacher
16.2:1
was 16.5:1
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 | 2,222 | 137.3 | 16.2:1 | 34% (761) |
| 2023-24 | 2,137 | 129.8 | 16.5:1 | 29% (614) |
| 2022-23 | 2,147 | 128.1 | 16.8:1 | 31% (668) |
| 2020-21 | 2,164 | 131 | 16.5:1 | 34% (740) |
| 2017-18 | 2,232 | 132.1 | 16.9:1 | 33% (731) |
| 2015-16 | 2,111 | 127 | 16.6:1 | 36% (750) |
| 2010-11 | 2,087 | 125 | 16.7:1 | 35% (736) |
| 2000-01 | 2,093 | 133 | 15.7:1 | 29% (617) |
| 1990-91 | 1,765 | 94 | 18.8:1 | N/A |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data. Rows are the federal collections on file for West High.
Since 2017-18: students unchanged (2,232 to 2,222); teachers up 4% (132.1 to 137.3).
About West High
Federal records list West High as a high school in Madison, Wisconsin. Classes run from 9 through 12, and the school has 2,222 students. Against the 475-student average for high schools in Wisconsin, enrollment here is 368% higher.
Within Madison Metropolitan School District, West High is one of 53 schools. The district enrolls 25,155 students.
White students form the largest group at West High, 48% of enrollment. The next largest groups are 25% Hispanic, 10% Black, 8% multiracial, and 7% Asian. In Dane County overall, about 77% of residents are White. The chance that two students picked at random at West High belong to different racial or ethnic groups, known as the diversity index, is 68%.
A ratio of 16.2:1 comes from the school's 137.3 full-time-equivalent teachers. The 14.6:1 average for high schools in Wisconsin is lower than this school's figure. The lunch program counts 34% of students at West High as eligible for free or reduced-price meals. That is close to the 32% average for public schools in Dane County.
After accounting for student poverty, West High is in the bottom 10% of Wisconsin schools. Its average proficiency rate on state tests of 42.0% is 14.6 points below the 56.6% predicted for its lunch-eligibility share.
Recent Census Bureau figures for Dane County show that median household income is about $89,975, 55% of adults hold a bachelor's degree or higher, and about 5% of people live in poverty. Federal data list 169 public schools in Dane County, with a combined enrollment of about 78,525.
The closest public school to West High is Randall Elementary School, about 0.5 miles away. Other public schools within five miles number at least 8. The school's 42.0% average proficiency ranks 6th among 7 nearby schools.
The NCES locale for West High is City: Large, which covers schools inside a principal city with a population of 250,000 or more.
West High saw enrollment rise 3% between 2020-21 and 2024-25.
To ask about school safety, transportation, and start times, start a discussion on this page. Posting is open to anyone connected to the school.
Dane County at a glance
View full county profilePopulation
572,674
Census ACS
Median income
$89,975
Household, ACS
Bachelor's+
55%
Adults 25+
Poverty rate
5%
Below federal line
Schools in county
169
78,525 students
Quick facts
Related schools
Other schools in Madison Metropolitan School District
- Vel Phillips Memorial High SchoolHigh · 2,004 students
- East HighHigh · 1,643 students
- LaFollette HighHigh · 1,541 students
- Hamilton MiddleMiddle · 790 students
- Cesar Chavez ElementaryElementary · 631 students
- Leopold ElementaryElementary · 626 students
Other schools in Madison
- Vel Phillips Memorial High SchoolHigh · 2,004 students
- East HighHigh · 1,643 students
- LaFollette HighHigh · 1,541 students
- Hamilton MiddleMiddle · 790 students
- Cesar Chavez ElementaryElementary · 631 students
- Leopold ElementaryElementary · 626 students
Other West High schools
20 other US public schools in 11 states are named West High. West High is the 2nd largest of the 21.
Nearby schools
- Randall Elementary School0.5 mi · 320
- Capital High0.6 mi · 129
- Shorewood Hills Elementary1.1 mi · 368
- Midvale Elementary1.4 mi · 372
- Van Hise Elementary1.6 mi · 396
- Hamilton Middle1.6 mi · 790
Frequently asked questions
About West HighWhat is the total enrollment at West High?
West High enrolls approximately 2,222 students in grades 09-12.
What age range does West High serve?
West High serves students from grade 09 through grade 12.
How many students per teacher at West High?
Approximately 16.2:1 students per teacher at West High.
How diverse is West High?
West High reports a student body of 48% White, 25% Hispanic, 10% Black, 7% Asian, 8% Two or more.
What district is West High in?
West High is part of Madison Metropolitan School District.
Data sourceSchool profile facts are sourced from the NCES. Community content is posted by allk12 members.