High Schools in Hays

Hays has one high school, Hays High, serving grades 9–12 and enrolling 1,017 students. Its latest reported proficiency rates were below Kansas averages in all three subjects: 38% in English language arts (ELA), 32% in mathematics, and 29% in science, compared with 46%, 41%, and 38% statewide. Chronic absenteeism was also notably higher: 36%, versus 18% statewide and 21% in the Hays district. The most important finding is that the latest data show both broad proficiency gaps and substantially higher absenteeism than the state.

There is no local top or bottom school to compare because Hays High is the only high school listed. Its latest results were about 8 points below Kansas in ELA, 9 points below in mathematics, and 9 points below in science; averaged across the three subjects, it was 9 points behind. Attendance is another concern: the school’s chronic absenteeism rate was 18 points above the state and 16 points above the district. Completion measures offer a counterpoint. The 2023–24 graduation rate was 98%, compared with 90% statewide and 94% in the district. The 2024–25 dropout rate rounded to 0%, versus 1% statewide and 1% districtwide.

Results and rankings weakened over the supplied years. In 2024–25, Hays High averaged 2 points above Kansas in ELA and mathematics; in 2025–26, its average was 9 points below, an 11-point shift in its position relative to the state. SchoolDigger’s ranking moved from 74 of 318 schools and the 77th percentile in 2023–24 to 197 of 340 and the 42nd percentile in 2025–26; its rating fell from 4 stars to 2 stars. The school has a student–teacher ratio of 16.1 and a free/reduced-lunch rate of 41%. These figures describe the school’s context but do not explain its results.