Denison High School

Denison High School is a public high school in Denison, Iowa, serving 773 students in grades 9-12. The school is part of the Denison Community School District, which is ranked 168 out of 313 districts in the state and has a 2-star rating from SchoolDigger.

Denison High School has consistently performed above the state average in ISASP test scores, with 10th graders scoring 77.1% proficient or better in English Language Arts compared to the state average of 74.7%, and 11th graders scoring 79.7% proficient or better in Mathematics compared to the state average of 65.6%. The school also maintains a strong four-year graduation rate, ranging from 87.0% to 93.2% in recent years, generally higher than the state average. However, Denison High School has experienced relatively high chronic absenteeism rates, ranging from 18.7% to 29.0%, which is higher than the state average. Additionally, the school has a relatively high percentage of students receiving free or reduced-price lunch, ranging from 50.57% to 58.78%, indicating a higher proportion of students from economically disadvantaged backgrounds.

When comparing Denison High School to nearby schools, such as IKM-Manning High School and Westside Junior-Senior High School, the latter two schools have consistently higher test scores and higher state rankings, suggesting they may be providing a stronger academic environment. Westside Junior-Senior High School also has a significantly lower chronic absenteeism rate (21.6%) compared to Denison High School. Additionally, the student-teacher ratio at IKM-Manning High School (9.5) and Westside Junior-Senior High School (19.0) is lower than Denison High School (17.5 to 17.7), which may allow for more individualized attention and support for students. These differences in performance and resources may be related to the fact that Denison High School's spending per student ($12,297 in 2018-2019) is lower than the nearby schools.