Is West Aurora High School a good school?

West Aurora High School ranks 387 th of 697 Illinois high schools. SchoolDigger rates this school 2 stars out of 5.

How many students attend West Aurora High School?

In the 2023-24 school year, 3,655 students attended West Aurora High School.

What is the racial makeup of West Aurora High School?

Students at West Aurora High School are 63% Hispanic, 21% White, 11% African American, 3% Two or more races, 2% Asian.

What schools feed into West Aurora High School?

West Aurora High School is fed by the following schools: Elementary : Fearn Elementary School Elementary : Freeman Elementary School Elementary : Goodwin Elementary School Elementary : Greenman Elementary School Elementary : Hall Elementary School Elementary : Hill Elementary School Elementary : McCleery Elementary School Elementary : Nicholson Elementary School Elementary : Schneider Elementary School Elementary : Smith Elementary School Middle : Herget Middle School Middle : Jefferson Middle School Middle : Jewel Middle School Middle : Washington Middle School

West Aurora High School

Summary:

West Aurora High School is a public high school serving 3,818 students in grades 9-12 in Aurora, Illinois, which is part of the Aurora West Unified School District 129.

While West Aurora High School has a relatively high spending per student, its academic performance is significantly below the state average. Only 16.2% of 11th-grade students were proficient or better in SAT Mathematics, compared to the state average of 26.1%, and just 19.6% were proficient or better in SAT English Language Arts, compared to the state average of 31.1%. The school's performance also varies greatly across different student subgroups, with Asian and Hispanic students struggling the most, ranking in the bottom quartile of Illinois high schools. West Aurora High School's four-year graduation rate has ranged from 83.5% to 89.0% in recent years, lower than the state average, and its chronic absenteeism rate is significantly higher than the state average, ranging from 27.3% to 31.2%.

Compared to nearby high-performing schools such as Oswego East High School, Oswego High School, Metea Valley High School, and Waubonsie Valley High School, which are part of the Cusd 308 and Indian Prairie CUSD 204 districts, West Aurora High School's performance is significantly lower. However, the school's relatively strong performance among African American and White student subgroups suggests that targeted interventions and support could help improve outcomes for other underperforming subgroups.

Detail:

Public 9-12

1201 W New York St
Aurora, IL 60506-3667

(630) 301-5600

District: Aurora West Unified School District 129

SchoolDigger Rank:
387^th of 697 Illinois High Schools

Per Pupil Expenditures: $15,872

Feeder schools for West Aurora High School:

Elementary:	Fearn Elementary School
	Freeman Elementary School
	Goodwin Elementary School
	Greenman Elementary School
	More...
	Hall Elementary School
	Hill Elementary School
	McCleery Elementary School
	Nicholson Elementary School
	Schneider Elementary School
	Smith Elementary School
Middle:	Herget Middle School
	Jefferson Middle School
	Jewel Middle School
	Washington Middle School

Student/teacher ratio: 15.2

Number of students: 3,655

Racial breakdown:

Hispanic:

63.2%

White:

20.9%

African American:

10.7%

Free/discounted lunch recipients: 49.4%

See top rated Illinois high schools

Compare West Aurora High School to nearby high schools!

Performance Trends

Compare Details West Aurora High School ranks worse than 55.5% of high schools in Illinois. (See more...)

Compare Details In 2024 the calculated Average Standard Score was 40.73. (See more...)

The four-year cohort graduation rate measures the percentage of students at West Aurora High School who earn a standard high school diploma within four years of starting ninth grade.

The high school dropout rate measures the percentage of students who do not complete their high school education.

Chronic absenteeism in a school refers to a situation where students repeatedly miss school, with the threshold often defined as missing 10% or more of school days for any reason, excused or unexcused.

Student Body

Compare Details Racial makeup is: Hispanic (63.2%), White (20.9%), African American (10.7%). (See more...)

Compare Details 49.4% of students are receiving a free or discounted lunch. (See more...)

Teachers

Compare Details The student/teacher ratio at West Aurora High School is 15.2. (See more...)

Compare West Aurora High School employs 239.4 full-time teachers.

Finance

Compare Details The average total spent per student at West Aurora High School is $15,872.

Schooldigger 2024 Rankings:

West Aurora High School:

SchoolDigger ranks West Aurora High School 387^th of 697 Illinois public high schools. (See West Aurora High School in the ranking list.)

High School Test Score Ratings by Student Subgroup:

Multi-racial students:

English Language Learner students:

Special Education students:

Low Socio Economic Status students:

Homeless students:

Female students:

Disabled students:

Military Connected students:

Male students:

Asian students:

African American students:

Hispanic students:

White students:

Aurora West Unified School District 129:

SchoolDigger ranks Aurora West Unified School District 129 693^rd of 813 Illinois school districts. (See district ranking list.)

Average Parent Rating:

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Rank History for West Aurora High School

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Rank History for all students at West Aurora High School

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked High Schools	IL State Percentile
2003	51.70	327^th	586	44.2%
2004	50.82	347^th	592	41.4%
2005	50.90	330^th	590	44.1%
2006	49.85	350^th	596	41.3%
2007	36.86	434^th	612	29.1%
2008	41.86	425^th	624	31.9%
2009	39.08	441^st	632	30.2%
2010	36.27	471^st	643	26.7%
2011	36.43	463^rd	655	29.3%
2012	43.59	428^th	665	35.6%
2013	40.52	435^th	670	35.1%
2014	34.01	479^th	670	28.5%
2015	28.88	446^th	614	27.4%
2016	27.92	484^th	643	24.7%
2017	33.58	450^th	642	29.9%
2018	43.82	370^th	647	42.8%
2019	41.40	418^th	701	40.4%
2021	47.54	317^th	688	53.9%
2022	45.56	383^rd	699	45.2%
2023	47.48	359^th	699	48.6%
2024	40.73	387^th	697	44.5%

See the entire list of Illinois High School Rankings!

Rank History for Multi-racial students at West Aurora High School

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked High Schools	IL State Percentile
2018	58.04	59^th	154	61.7%
2019	21.18	125^th	165	24.2%
2021	31.77	103^rd	160	35.6%
2022	39.72	98^th	170	42.4%
2023	23.53	121^st	163	25.8%
2024	41.09	96^th	182	47.3%

See the entire list of Best Illinois High Schools for Multi-racial Students!

Rank History for English Language Learner students at West Aurora High School

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked High Schools	IL State Percentile
2018	38.38	80^th	151	47.0%
2019	36.83	97^th	183	47.0%
2021	36.37	84^th	189	55.6%
2022	32.31	146^th	205	28.8%
2023	33.38	146^th	217	32.7%
2024	39.99	109^th	248	56.0%

See the entire list of Best Illinois High Schools for English Language Learner Students!

Rank History for Special Education students at West Aurora High School

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked High Schools	IL State Percentile
2018	48.37	134^th	374	64.2%
2019	37.29	236^th	473	50.1%
2021	43.94	179^th	453	60.5%
2022	48.84	150^th	493	69.6%
2023	37.21	238^th	476	50.0%
2024	46.92	182^nd	482	62.2%

See the entire list of Best Illinois High Schools for Special Education Students!

Rank History for Low Socio Economic Status students at West Aurora High School

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked High Schools	IL State Percentile
2018	38.85	365^th	585	37.6%
2019	33.45	431^st	639	32.6%
2021	35.83	395^th	611	35.4%
2022	44.83	330^th	626	47.3%
2023	45.49	336^th	644	47.8%
2024	32.48	414^th	639	35.2%

See the entire list of Best Illinois High Schools for Low Socio Economic Status Students!

Rank History for Homeless students at West Aurora High School

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked High Schools	IL State Percentile	SchoolDigger Rating
2019	58.96	27^th	91	70.3%
2024	50.44	45^th	125	64.0%

See the entire list of Best Illinois High Schools for Homeless Students!

Rank History for Female students at West Aurora High School

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked High Schools	IL State Percentile
2018	41.39	375^th	620	39.5%
2019	40.90	399^th	665	40.0%
2021	42.95	342^nd	639	46.5%
2022	37.44	414^th	658	37.1%
2023	46.32	346^th	656	47.3%
2024	39.20	375^th	664	43.5%

See the entire list of Best Illinois High Schools for Female Students!

Rank History for Disabled students at West Aurora High School

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked High Schools	IL State Percentile	SchoolDigger Rating
2023	37.13	225^th	428	47.4%
2024	38.47	197^th	429	54.1%

See the entire list of Best Illinois High Schools for Disabled Students!

Rank History for Military Connected students at West Aurora High School

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked High Schools	IL State Percentile
2019	17.62	17^th	19	10.5%
2021	15.53	19^th	22	13.6%
2022	23.20	21^st	26	19.2%
2023	38.52	11^th	22	50.0%
2024	54.11	9^th	23	60.9%

See the entire list of Best Illinois High Schools for Military Connected Students!

Rank History for Male students at West Aurora High School

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked High Schools	IL State Percentile
2018	43.77	356^th	619	42.5%
2019	40.58	407^th	675	39.7%
2021	49.09	297^th	653	54.5%
2022	51.95	294^th	664	55.7%
2023	46.65	342^nd	668	48.8%
2024	41.26	366^th	668	45.2%

See the entire list of Best Illinois High Schools for Male Students!

Rank History for Asian students at West Aurora High School

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked High Schools	IL State Percentile
2018	13.00	120^th	132	9.1%
2019	13.37	114^th	130	12.3%
2021	4.34	130^th	135	3.7%
2022	10.22	128^th	141	9.2%
2023	24.25	108^th	134	19.4%
2024	1.61	133^rd	137	2.9%

See the entire list of Best Illinois High Schools for Asian Students!

Rank History for African American students at West Aurora High School

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked High Schools	IL State Percentile
2018	43.72	118^th	253	53.4%
2019	42.75	134^th	299	55.2%
2021	53.29	85^th	281	69.8%
2022	45.23	132^nd	294	55.1%
2023	55.09	91^st	301	69.8%
2024	41.34	136^th	299	54.5%

See the entire list of Best Illinois High Schools for African American Students!

Rank History for Hispanic students at West Aurora High School

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked High Schools	IL State Percentile
2018	34.69	189^th	291	35.1%
2019	34.77	199^th	317	37.2%
2021	36.67	189^th	317	40.4%
2022	41.20	189^th	335	43.6%
2023	41.32	181^st	333	45.6%
2024	37.41	192^nd	336	42.9%

See the entire list of Best Illinois High Schools for Hispanic Students!

Rank History for White students at West Aurora High School

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked High Schools	IL State Percentile
2018	79.54	95^th	548	82.7%
2019	68.27	147^th	552	73.4%
2021	76.41	110^th	553	80.1%
2022	72.14	126^th	560	77.5%
2023	81.56	76^th	557	86.4%
2024	72.29	124^th	554	77.6%

See the entire list of Best Illinois High Schools for White Students!

Data source: test scores: Illinois State Board of Education, rankings: SchoolDigger.com

As you review the school rankings data, please be aware that some of the information from certain demographics is missing. The reason for this omission is that the data has been redacted from the source data itself due to low population samples in these specific demographic groups.

Redacting data from low population samples is a necessary step to ensure the reliability and accuracy of the results, as small sample sizes may not be representative of the broader population. Additionally, this measure helps protect the privacy of individuals belonging to these demographic groups.

Data source: Illinois State Board of Education

Review counts

All ratings (Avg rating: 5)

100%

Reviews:
No reviews have been submitted!

Enrollment information for West Aurora High School

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Year	White	African American	Asian	Hispanic	American Indian	Pacific Islander	Two or More Races	Not Specified	Total
1988	1678	447	43	272	2	n/a	n/a	0	2442
1989	1571	396	41	277	1	n/a	n/a	0	2286
1990	1460	391	52	302	3	n/a	n/a	0	2208
1991	1528	404	48	337	4	n/a	n/a	0	2321
1992	1502	398	47	374	4	n/a	n/a	0	2325
1993	1556	435	38	398	5	n/a	n/a	0	2432
1994	1549	429	34	400	0	n/a	n/a	0	2412
1995	1459	496	47	507	3	n/a	n/a	0	2512
1996	1459	496	47	507	3	n/a	n/a	0	2512
1997	1463	511	43	531	8	n/a	n/a	0	2556
1998	1445	468	49	546	6	n/a	n/a	0	2514
1999	1506	457	45	615	11	n/a	n/a	0	2634
2000	1549	501	55	617	0	n/a	n/a	0	2722
2001	1625	559	50	699	0	n/a	n/a	0	2933
2002	1647	565	49	884	3	n/a	n/a	0	3148
2003	1647	565	49	884	3	n/a	n/a	0	3148
2004	1598	565	56	924	1	n/a	n/a	0	3144
2005	1509	565	68	1034	4	n/a	n/a	0	3180
2006	1511	614	79	1083	2	n/a	n/a	3	3292
2007	1442	635	87	1143	5	n/a	n/a	11	3323
2008	1368	629	87	1199	7	n/a	n/a	22	3312
2009	1357	637	88	1296	4	n/a	n/a	32	3414
2010	1314	599	96	1362	3	n/a	n/a	42	3416
2011	1186	508	98	1454	34	11	102	0	3393
2012	1162	509	122	1567	6	13	91	0	3470
2013	1175	480	126	1715	22	10	79	0	3607
2014	1182	461	140	1814	28	10	76	0	3711
2015	1096	431	137	1907	24	8	75	0	3678
2016	1047	443	129	2001	23	8	73	0	3724
2017	987	428	121	2096	20	4	68	0	3724
2018	951	422	112	2093	13	5	69	0	3665
2019	948	400	112	2133	13	4	72	0	3682
2020	939	389	118	2136	13	0	68	0	3663
2021	919	398	113	2204	15	2	80	0	3731
2022	902	401	109	2361	12	5	87	0	3877
2023	842	388	91	2385	9	4	99	0	3818
2024	764	391	77	2309	7	4	103	0	3655

Data source: National Center for Education Statistics, U.S. Dept of Education.

About Enrollment/Ethnicity

For more information about how the Department of Education defines ethnicity, see Defining Race and Ethnicity Data, National Center for Education Statistics

Students eligible for free or discounted lunch at West Aurora High School

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Year	# Students	Full-time Teachers	Student/Teacher ratio	% Free/Discounted Lunch
1988	2442	131.1	18.6	n/a
1989	2286	132.1	17.3	n/a
1990	2208	129.0	17.1	n/a
1991	2321	128.2	18.1	n/a
1992	2325	129.5	17.9	n/a
1993	2432	126.5	19.2	n/a
1994	2412	128.9	18.7	n/a
1995	2512	132.3	19.0	n/a
1996	2512	132.3	19.0	n/a
1997	2556	133.4	19.2	n/a
1998	2514	135.3	18.6	n/a
1999	2634	141.0	18.7	n/a
2000	2722	149.0	18.3	n/a
2001	2933	155.6	18.8	n/a
2002	3148	164.7	19.1	15.3
2003	3148	164.7	19.1	15.3
2004	3144	164.0	19.2	15.2
2005	3180	177.7	17.9	17.4
2006	3292	181.5	18.1	23
2007	3323	181.0	18.4	31.9
2008	3312	162.0	20.4	34.8
2009	3414	203.6	16.8	37.6
2010	3416	188.8	18.0	46.4
2011	3393	187.3	18.1	46.5
2012	3470	195.9	17.7	53.8
2013	3607	218.9	16.4	56.2
2014	3711	204.8	18.1	54.9
2015	3678	220.0	16.7	62.3
2016	3724	208.0	17.9	55.2
2017	3724	215.9	17.2	53.8
2018	3665	216.5	16.9	51.5
2019	3682	219.4	16.7	47.6
2020	3663	225.2	16.2	47.4
2021	3731	n/a	n/a	n/a
2022	3877	226.6	17.1	45.6
2023	3818	245.8	15.5	41.4
2024	3655	239.4	15.2	49.4

Data source: National Center for Education Statistics, U.S. Dept of Education.

About Students eligible for discounted/free lunch:

The National School Lunch Program (NSLP) provides low-cost or free meals to students in U.S. public and nonprofit private schools based on household income. Those with incomes below 130% of the poverty line receive free lunch, while those between 130% and 185% qualify for reduced-price lunch. The percentage of students receiving free or reduced-price lunch serves as a marker for poverty, as it reflects the socioeconomic status of families in a given school or district. A higher FRPL rate typically indicates a higher concentration of low-income families, suggesting that the school or district may face additional challenges in providing adequate resources and support for student success.

Student/Teacher Ratio West Aurora High School

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Year	# Students	Full-time Teachers	Student/Teacher ratio	% Free/Discounted Lunch
1988	2442	131.1	18.6	n/a
1989	2286	132.1	17.3	n/a
1990	2208	129.0	17.1	n/a
1991	2321	128.2	18.1	n/a
1992	2325	129.5	17.9	n/a
1993	2432	126.5	19.2	n/a
1994	2412	128.9	18.7	n/a
1995	2512	132.3	19.0	n/a
1996	2512	132.3	19.0	n/a
1997	2556	133.4	19.2	n/a
1998	2514	135.3	18.6	n/a
1999	2634	141.0	18.7	n/a
2000	2722	149.0	18.3	n/a
2001	2933	155.6	18.8	n/a
2002	3148	164.7	19.1	15.3
2003	3148	164.7	19.1	15.3
2004	3144	164.0	19.2	15.2
2005	3180	177.7	17.9	17.4
2006	3292	181.5	18.1	23
2007	3323	181.0	18.4	31.9
2008	3312	162.0	20.4	34.8
2009	3414	203.6	16.8	37.6
2010	3416	188.8	18.0	46.4
2011	3393	187.3	18.1	46.5
2012	3470	195.9	17.7	53.8
2013	3607	218.9	16.4	56.2
2014	3711	204.8	18.1	54.9
2015	3678	220.0	16.7	62.3
2016	3724	208.0	17.9	55.2
2017	3724	215.9	17.2	53.8
2018	3665	216.5	16.9	51.5
2019	3682	219.4	16.7	47.6
2020	3663	225.2	16.2	47.4
2021	3731	n/a	n/a	n/a
2022	3877	226.6	17.1	45.6
2023	3818	245.8	15.5	41.4
2024	3655	239.4	15.2	49.4

Data source: National Center for Education Statistics, U.S. Dept of Education.

About Student-Teacher Ratio

Student/teacher ratio is calculated by dividing the total number of students by the total number of full-time equivalent teachers. Please note that a smaller student/teacher ratio does not necessarily translate to smaller class size. In some instances, schools hire teachers part time, and some teachers are hired for specialized instruction with very small class sizes. These and other factors contribute to the student/teacher ratio. Note: For private schools, Student/teacher ratio may not include Pre-Kindergarten.

Immunization Rates