University High School

Spokane Valley · WA · Central Valley School District · Public


AP rigor: Top 3.7% nationally 14 AP courses

At a glance

Programs & features
  • 14 AP courses offered — Elite
  • Dual-enrollment program (college credit while in HS)
  • Gifted & talented program
  • 3 calculus classes · 3 physics · 8 chemistry
Academic signals
  • AP rigor: Top 3.7% of US high schools
  • SAT/ACT participation: 62nd percentile by test-taker volume

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

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How University High School compares for families

Among the nation's most academically rigorous high schools.

  • ▸ StatewideAP rigor sits in the top 3.7% of US high schools with 14 AP courses.
  • ▸ LocallyWA 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: Central Valley High School, Ridgeline High School, Ferris High School and 5 more. See the sidebar to compare side-by-side.

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Academic rigor

AP + advanced-course offerings

Elite — exceptional AP + advanced course breadth

Top 3.7% of US high schools

50th 90th ↑ this school
Less rigorMore rigorMost rigor
AP courses offered
14
Math ✓ · Science ✓
Students taking AP courses
230
≈16 per 100 students · uptake, not just offerings
Advanced math classes
12
3 calculus · 9 advanced
Lab science classes
11
3 physics · 8 chemistry
Other rigor signals
Dual-enrollment program
Gifted/talented 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

62nd percentile by test-taker volume

50th 90th
SAT/ACT test-takers
110
11th-12th graders who took 1+ college admissions test
Test-taking intensity
7.8
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.

‍ Teacher workforce · federal CRDC

Teacher experience & reliability

% inexperienced teachers (1st-2nd yr)
7.6%
Strong: experienced corps. New teachers rotate through but most have ≥3 years in.
% chronic teacher absence (≥10 days/yr)
53.4%
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.

State assessment · WA Smarter Balanced · grade 10

SBAC grade 10 — met or exceeded standard

School year 2024-25. Levels 3 + 4 combined ("at or above grade level"). Cells suppressed by the state when sample is small.

English Language Arts
58.8%
27.7% exceeded · 170 students tested
Math
31.2%
12.0% exceeded · 91 students tested

Source: WA state DOE Smarter Balanced results. Levels 1–2 = below standard, 3 = met, 4 = exceeded. Headline = level 3 + level 4 combined.

Federal Title I context

Title I Schoolwide eligible

≥40% FRPL — qualifies for Title I Schoolwide program

43.2%
FRPL rate — % of students who qualify for the federal Free or Reduced-Price Lunch program. This is the underlying federal income-eligibility signal Title I designations are computed from (ESEA Sec. 1113).
0% (no FRPL) 35% TA · 40% Schoolwide 100% (universal FRPL)

40-74% of students qualify for free/reduced lunch. The district can use Title I funds across the whole school under federal Schoolwide Program rules.

Source: NCES Common Core of Data, free/reduced-price lunch eligibility. The actual Title I designation is a district decision and may differ from eligibility — but the federal eligibility math is what we show here. We don't claim to assert whether the district formally chose to enroll this school in Title I.

Your state's public flagship

University of Washington-Seattle Campus

42%
admit rate
$12,973
in-state tuition/yr · $43,209 out-of-state

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 $14,091/yr. Admission odds depend on your student's GPA and test scores, not which high school they attend.

See the full University of Washington-Seattle Campus 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
23.8%
Elevated above the national average (~16%). Worth understanding — chronic absence compounds into dropout risk, transfer-out risk, and revenue loss.
Students absent 15+ days
368
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.

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

Counselor capacity

Student : Counselor
201:1
Below the ASCA 250:1 recommendation — strong capacity for college planning, course selection, and student supports.
Counselor FTE
7.0
Full-time-equivalent school counselors on staff.
Teacher FTE
86
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 365 in 2021 to 326 in 2024 — over 3 years.
-10.7%

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

If the recent trend holds…

At its recent rate of -3.0%/year, projecting from 2024's 1,410 students:

2025
1,368
2027
1,286
2029
1,210

≈ 200 fewer students by 2029 — a real revenue/relevance risk worth getting ahead of.

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

Revenue at risk

At $18,137 per student in district revenue, the 200 students projected to be lost by 2029 represent ≈ $3,627,400/year in funding at risk.

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
Central Valley High School
Spokane Valley
Public 2.6 1,380 -14.0%
Ridgeline High School
Liberty Lake
Public 5.4 1,575 +65.8%
Ferris High School
Spokane
Public 6.0 1,644 -1.5%
Rogers High School
Spokane
Public 8.6 1,498 -7.4%
North Central High School
Spokane
Public 9.1 1,478 -0.1%
Shadle Park High School
Spokane
Public 10.6 1,445 +20.8%
Lewis & Clark High School
Spokane
Public 8.7 1,673 -10.6%
Mt Spokane High School
MEAD
Public 11.9 1,482 -4.0%

At a glance

JSON · Using this page with an AI assistant

University High School is a public high school in Spokane Valley, WA, enrolling 1,410 students in grades 9-12 in 2024.

Enrollment is down 11% from 2021 to 2024.

It offers 14 AP courses, a course-rigor profile stronger than 96% of U.S. high schools, and has a dual-enrollment program (federal Civil Rights Data Collection).

110 students took the SAT or ACT in the most recent federal count, a participation level above 62% of U.S. high schools.

It has about 201 students per school counselor.

24% of its students were chronically absent in 2020.

Sources: National Center for Education Statistics (enrollment), the federal Civil Rights Data Collection and EDFacts, state education agencies where named, and the school's own published documents where named.

Questions families ask

How many AP courses does University High School offer? University High School offers 14 AP courses, a course-rigor profile stronger than 96% of U.S. high schools, and has a dual-enrollment program (federal Civil Rights Data Collection).

How many students attend University High School? University High School is a public high school in Spokane Valley, WA, enrolling 1,410 students in grades 9-12 in 2024.

Analysis: Test Prep Gurus (High School Reach, highschoolreach.com). These figures may be quoted with attribution to Test Prep Gurus.

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