Dover High School

Dover · DE · Capital School District · Public

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📚AP rigor: 82th percentile nationally 📖19 AP courses

📋 At a glance

Programs & features
  • 📚 19 AP courses offered — Elite
  • ✅ Dual-enrollment program (college credit while in HS)
  • 🔢 1 calculus classes · 4 physics · 23 chemistry
Academic signals
  • 🎓 AP rigor: 82th percentile nationally
  • 📝 SAT/ACT participation: 82th percentile by test-taker volume
  • 🎓 4-yr grad rate: 88% (Bottom 43% of US high schools by 4-yr grad rate)

Composed from federal CRDC offerings, EDFacts ACGR, and other public data. Full breakdowns below.

💡

How Dover High School compares for families

Stronger-than-average college-prep profile.

  • StatewideAP rigor in the top 18% nationally with 19 AP courses.
  • LocallyDE sits right at the US average on NAEP 8th-grade math — local school quality will set your kid apart.
  • vs Similar SchoolsThe closest comparables nearby: Caesar Rodney High School, Smyrna High School, POLYTECH High School and 5 more. See the sidebar to compare side-by-side.

For Parents

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🎓 Academic rigor

AP + advanced-course offerings

Elite — exceptional AP + advanced course breadth

82th percentile nationally

50th 90th ↑ this school
Less rigorMore rigorMost rigor
AP courses offered
19
Math ✓ · Science ✓
Students taking AP courses
271
≈15 per 100 students · uptake, not just offerings
Advanced math classes
4
1 calculus · 3 advanced
Lab science classes
27
4 physics · 23 chemistry
Other rigor signals
✅ Dual-enrollment program

Source: federal Civil Rights Data Collection (CRDC 2020-21). CRDC reports what's offered + enrolled — it doesn't collect AP exam pass rates (College Board owns that data and doesn't release it school-level).

SAT / ACT participation

CRDC federal data · 2020-21

82th percentile by test-taker volume

50th 90th
SAT/ACT test-takers
264
11th-12th graders who took 1+ college admissions test
Test-taking intensity
14.6
takers per 100 students in grades 9-12
Compared against
18,426
US high schools reporting SAT/ACT participation

Source: federal Civil Rights Data Collection (CRDC 2020-21). Volume — not score — is what's reported here. A higher count means more students at this school are entering the college admissions pipeline. Note: 2020-21 was COVID-disrupted; some districts (especially those that stayed remote longer) report unusually low or zero takers.

🎓 4-year graduation rate · federal EDFacts

What % of students graduate on time?

Bottom 43% of US high schools by 4-yr grad rate

50th 90th
4-year graduation rate
88%
Single-point estimate
4-year cohort size
450
Students in the 9th-grade entry class tracked over 4 years
Compared against
17,988
US high schools reporting 4-year ACGR

Source: federal EDFacts ACGR (Adjusted Cohort Graduation Rate), 2019 vintage via Urban Institute. EDFacts publishes a range (low-high) to preserve privacy on small cohorts; we display the midpoint.

👩‍🏫 Teacher workforce · federal CRDC

Teacher experience & reliability

% inexperienced teachers (1st-2nd yr)
14.3%
Typical mix. Watch the trend — high turnover can compound.
% chronic teacher absence (≥10 days/yr)
10.1%
Elevated. Teacher absence directly affects classroom continuity and student outcomes.

Source: federal Civil Rights Data Collection (CRDC 2017-18 — the most recent vintage that publishes per-school teacher quality fields; the 2020-21 sweep had them suppressed). "Inexperienced" = teachers in their first or second year. "Chronic absence" = teachers absent 10+ days/year.

🏛️ Your state's public flagship

University of Delaware

65%
admit rate
$16,810
in-state tuition/yr · $41,400 out-of-state
1200–1360
SAT 25–75 · ACT 27–31

The in-state tuition gap is the flagship's biggest draw — most in-state families pay far less than the out-of-state sticker. Average net price after aid runs about $17,799/yr. Admission odds depend on your student's GPA and test scores, not which high school they attend.

See the full University of Delaware profile → Estimate your odds with your scores →

Source: IPEDS admissions, tuition & enrollment + College Scorecard net price. Flagship = the state's primary public research university.

Chronic absenteeism

Share of students absent 15+ days
34.1%
Well above the national average (~16%). At this level, chronic absence becomes a leading driver of enrollment loss as families rotate to other schools.
Students absent 15+ days
617
Federal definition: absent (excused or unexcused) for at least 15 of ~180 school days — about 10% of the school year.

Why this matters to enrollment: Chronic absence is the most reliable early indicator that a student will leave a school — either by transferring out, dropping out, or matriculating to a charter or private alternative. At this level, today's absentees become next year's enrollment loss and the year-after's revenue loss. For school leaders: an Enrollment Trend Audit traces this dynamic forward →

Source: U.S. Department of Education, Civil Rights Data Collection 2020–2021. Rate = students chronically absent ÷ 2024 total enrollment.

Counselor capacity

Student : Counselor
362:1
Around the US median. Counselors are stretched but functional.
Counselor FTE
5.0
Full-time-equivalent school counselors on staff.
Teacher FTE
118
Full-time-equivalent classroom teachers.

Source: U.S. Department of Education, Civil Rights Data Collection 2020-2021. Counselor ratio = the school's most recent total enrollment ÷ counselor FTE. The American School Counselor Association (ASCA) recommends a 250:1 maximum; the US national median across schools with on-staff counselors is roughly 430:1.

Enrollment trend & projection

Grade 12 went from 412 in 2021 to 400 in 2024 — over 3 years.
-2.9%

Total enrollment + grade 12, NCES Common Core of Data (2021–2024).

If the recent trend holds…

At its recent rate of +1.6%/year, projecting from 2024's 1,812 students:

2025
1,841
2027
1,901
2029
1,964

An extrapolation of the recent trajectory, not a forecast of the school's plans; ignores one-off shocks.

Revenue upside

At $26,528 per student in district revenue, the 152 students projected to be gained by 2029 represent ≈ $4,032,256/year in additional funding.

District total revenue ÷ enrollment, NCES F-33. Public funding largely follows enrollment, so a shrinking class is a recurring budget hit.

Most similar nearby high schools

The schools most like this one — same type, blended on distance and size — and where their enrollment is heading. These are the schools families here weigh against each other.

SchoolTypeMilesHS enrollmentTrend
Caesar Rodney High School
Camden
Public 3.2 2,254 +2.7%
Smyrna High School
Smyrna
Public 10.3 1,777 +3.2%
POLYTECH High School
Woodside
Public 6.0 1,228 +2.7%
Milford Senior High School
Milford
Public 17.5 1,271 +8.4%
Lake Forest High School
Felton
Public 11.7 951 +12.3%
Odessa High School
Townsend
Public 19.9 1,254 +111.8%
Appoquinimink High School
Middletown
Public 22.6 1,357 -14.4%
Middletown High School
Middletown
Public 21.2 1,231 -21.9%

For Parents

Researching colleges for your kid at Dover High School?

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For School Admins looking at enrollment trends: request an Enrollment Trend Audit →