Danbury High School

Danbury High School is a large public high school in Danbury, CT, serving 3,612 students in grades 9–12. It is the largest school in the region by far—more than 2.5 times the size of Ridgefield High School—and serves a much higher-need population than its neighbors. About 55% of students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, compared to 8.9% at Ridgefield High School, 6.3% at Wilton High School, and 1.7% at Weston High School. The school also has larger classes and less funding per student: its student-teacher ratio of 15.7 is the highest in the area, and per-student spending is around $13,600, versus $23,000+ at Weston High School and Joel Barlow High School. The Danbury School District ranks in the bottom 12% of Connecticut districts.

Academically, Danbury High scores well below state averages. In 2025–2026, 27.6% of 11th graders were proficient in ELA on the SAT, 10.8% in math, and 27.8% in science on the NGSS, versus state averages of 55.3%, 31.3%, and 50.5%. Only about 1 in 10 students meets the math benchmark—the lowest rate among nearby comprehensive high schools, comparable only to Henry Abbott Technical High School. The 83.3% graduation rate in 2024–2025 trails the state average of 91.2% and every nearby high school, including New Milford High School at 92.2% and Bethel High School at 94.9%. Chronic absenteeism is also a major concern: 26.0% of students are chronically absent, far above the 16.4% state rate and much higher than Danbury's district average of 14.7%, suggesting the issue is concentrated at the high school.

There are some bright spots. In 2022–2023, the school ranked in the 72nd percentile for African American students and 80th percentile for English Language Learners, and the graduation rate improved from 76.6% to 83.3% in one year. However, the school ranks in the bottom 15% of Connecticut high schools overall, and outcomes for other subgroups remain low. Parents weighing options should compare Danbury High carefully with nearby schools like Newtown High School and Brookfield High School, which post stronger results with more funding and smaller classes.