Summary:
Five high schools in Topeka Public Schools serve different grade spans: four serve grades 9–12, Hope Street Charter Academy serves grades 10–12, and Avondale Academy serves grades 6–12. In 2025–26, the schools’ average proficiency was 24% in English language arts (ELA), 16% in math and 15% in science, compared with state averages of 46%, 41% and 38%. The most important finding is that no school met the state average in any subject, but results vary sharply among schools.
Topeka West High stands out in ELA and math, with 39% and 38% proficient, respectively; those results are 7 and 3 percentage points below state averages. Its grade 10 math result is about 2 points above the state rate. Topeka High leads science at 22%, just ahead of West at 22%, and its 2023–24 graduation rate was 94%, above the state’s 90%. SchoolDigger ranks West 201st of 340 statewide, at the 41st percentile. At the other end, Avondale had 5% proficiency in both ELA and math and 0% in science; its reported graduation rate was 16%. Highland Park High also had a notable weakness in science, at 8%.
Area averages improved from 2024–25 to 2025–26 by 2 percentage points in ELA and 4 points in math, but progress differed by school. West’s math rose by 14 points, while Hope Street’s ELA rose by 8; Highland Park’s ELA fell by 3 and Hope Street’s math fell by 4. Hope Street has a relatively low student–teacher ratio of 6.2, compared with Highland Park’s 14.3, but its math result was below the area average. West had the lowest free/reduced-lunch rate, 56%, while Avondale had the highest, 87%; these are context measures, not explanations for results. Enrollment at Avondale and Hope Street is small, at 23 and 103 students, respectively.
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