High Schools in Bow School District

Bow High School is the only high school in Bow School District, serving students in grades 9–12 in Bow, New Hampshire. The public school enrolls about 622 students and has a 12.7-to-1 student-teacher ratio. With no other high schools in the district, it represents the district’s complete high school program. The district ranks 40th out of 166 New Hampshire districts, placing it in the 76th percentile with a four-star rating.

For families, the school’s strongest results are its graduation and student-retention outcomes. Bow High School reports a 96.6% graduation rate, compared with 87.0% statewide, and a 0.0% dropout rate, compared with 2.3% statewide. Reading performance is also favorable: 64% of students were proficient on the latest NH SAS reading assessment, nine points above the state average. SAT results were slightly above statewide levels in both mathematics and reading. The school also has a relatively low reported free- or reduced-price lunch rate of 5.14%, an indicator parents may consider when viewing the school’s overall community context.

The main area needing attention is mathematics. On the latest NH SAS assessment, 32% of students were proficient in math, compared with 44% statewide and 56% for the district; science proficiency was 38%, matching the state, while reading was 64%, above the state but below the district’s 69%. Results declined from the prior year in all three NH SAS subjects, including an 11-point drop in math and a 17-point drop in reading. The school’s ranking also fell from 18th place and the 79th percentile to 28th place and the 69th percentile, although ranking methods and the number of schools included varied. Overall, parents will find a school with excellent graduation outcomes and generally solid reading results, but mathematics should be the most important academic improvement priority.