Is Schenectady High School a good school?

Schenectady High School ranks in the bottom 21.0% of New York high schools.

How many students attend Schenectady High School?

In the 2023-24 school year, 2,860 students attended Schenectady High School.

What is the racial makeup of Schenectady High School?

Students at Schenectady High School are 27% African American, 24% Asian, 23% Hispanic, 17% White, 8% Two or more races.

What schools feed into Schenectady High School?

Schenectady High School is fed by the following schools: Elementary : Dr Martin Luther King School Junior Elementary School Elementary : Hamilton Elementary School Elementary : Howe Elementary School Elementary : Jessie T Zoller Elementary School Elementary : Lincoln Elementary School Elementary : Paige Elementary School Elementary : Pleasant Valley Elementary School Elementary : Van Corlaer Elementary School Elementary : William C Keane Elementary School Elementary : Woodlawn Elementary School Elementary : Yates Elementary School Middle : Central Park Middle School Middle : Mont Pleasant Middle School Middle : Oneida Middle School

Schenectady High School

Summary:

Schenectady High School is a public high school serving grades 8-12 in Schenectady, New York, with a student population of 2,743. The school is part of the Schenectady City School District, which is ranked 833 out of 865 districts in New York and has a 0-star rating from SchoolDigger.

Schenectady High School consistently ranks in the bottom quarter of New York high schools, with a 1-star rating from SchoolDigger over the past 5 years. The school's 4-year graduation rate has ranged from 71.8% to 85.1%, which is below the state average, and its dropout rate has been significantly higher than the state average, ranging from 9.0% to 11.6%. Schenectady High School also has very high chronic absenteeism rates, ranging from 34.1% to 59.3%, much higher than the state average. Students at the school perform significantly below state averages on Regents/Common Core exams across all subject areas, with proficiency rates often 10-30 percentage points lower than the state. Additionally, Schenectady High School has a very high percentage of students (64.94% to 70.94%) who qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, indicating a high level of economic disadvantage among the student population.

Compared to nearby high-performing schools like Shaker High School, Burnt Hills-Ballston Lake Senior High School, and Niskayuna High School, Schenectady High School's performance lags significantly behind in areas such as academic achievement, graduation rates, and chronic absenteeism. The school's struggles are particularly pronounced for certain student subgroups, such as male students, minority students, English Language Learners, and economically disadvantaged students, who often rank in the bottom 25-50% of their respective statewide cohorts. Despite relatively high per-student spending and a low student-teacher ratio, Schenectady High School continues to face significant challenges in improving student outcomes.

Detail:

Public 8-12

1445 The Plaza
Schenectady, NY 12308-2699

(518) 881-2044

District: Schenectady City School District

SchoolDigger Rank:
981^st of 1,242 New York High Schools

Per Pupil Expenditures: $13,593

Feeder schools for Schenectady High School:

Elementary:	Dr Martin Luther King School Junior Elementary School
	Hamilton Elementary School
	Howe Elementary School
	Jessie T Zoller Elementary School
	More...
	Lincoln Elementary School
	Paige Elementary School
	Pleasant Valley Elementary School
	Van Corlaer Elementary School
	William C Keane Elementary School
	Woodlawn Elementary School
	Yates Elementary School
Middle:	Central Park Middle School
	Mont Pleasant Middle School
	Oneida Middle School

Student/teacher ratio: 13.1

Number of students: 2,860

Racial breakdown:

African American:

27.0%

Asian:

24.3%

Hispanic:

23.1%

Free/discounted lunch recipients: 68.9%

See top rated New York high schools

Compare Schenectady High School to nearby high schools!

Performance Trends

Compare Details Schenectady High School ranks worse than 79% of high schools in New York. (See more...)

Compare Details In 2024 the calculated Average Standard Score was 20.39. (See more...)

The four-year cohort graduation rate measures the percentage of students at Schenectady 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 Student population at Schenectady High School is diverse. Racial makeup is: African American (27%), Asian (24.3%), Hispanic (23.1%). (See more...)

Compare Details 68.9% of students are receiving a free or discounted lunch. (See more...)

Compare Details (See more...)

Teachers

Compare Details The student/teacher ratio at Schenectady High School is 13.1. (See more...)

Compare Schenectady High School employs 217.3 full-time teachers.

Finance

Compare Details The average total spent per student at Schenectady High School is $13,593.

Schooldigger 2024 Rankings:

Schenectady High School:

SchoolDigger ranks Schenectady High School 981^st of 1242 New York public high schools. (See Schenectady 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:

Male students:

Asian students:

African American students:

Hispanic students:

White students:

Schenectady City School District:

SchoolDigger ranks Schenectady City School District 833^rd of 865 New York school districts. (See district ranking list.)

Average Parent Rating:

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Rank History for Schenectady High School

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Rank History for all students at Schenectady High School

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked High Schools	NY State Percentile
2005	20.27	787^th	935	15.8%
2006	28.64	764^th	986	22.5%
2007	31.20	769^th	1002	23.3%
2008	34.09	759^th	1027	26.1%
2009	28.67	818^th	1086	24.7%
2010	20.99	922^nd	1117	17.5%
2011	17.48	1004^th	1165	13.8%
2012	23.61	902^nd	1198	24.7%
2013	38.11	792^nd	1217	34.9%
2014	37.21	795^th	1237	35.7%
2015	37.43	810^th	1255	35.5%
2016	36.19	816^th	1255	35.0%
2017	21.67	918^th	1221	24.8%
2018	18.78	959^th	1210	20.7%
2019	22.48	925^th	1207	23.4%
2022	19.66	922^nd	1190	22.5%
2023	17.93	969^th	1228	21.1%
2024	20.39	981^st	1242	21.0%

See the entire list of New York High School Rankings!

Rank History for Multi-racial students at Schenectady High School

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked High Schools	NY State Percentile	SchoolDigger Rating
2024	14.02	285^th	306	6.9%

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

Rank History for English Language Learner students at Schenectady High School

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked High Schools	NY State Percentile
2018	46.98	261^st	546	52.2%
2019	33.79	383^rd	565	32.2%
2022	33.02	345^th	481	28.3%
2023	38.40	373^rd	583	36.0%
2024	42.31	344^th	637	46.0%

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

Rank History for Special Education students at Schenectady High School

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked High Schools	NY State Percentile
2018	14.92	1027^th	1095	6.2%
2019	14.78	1051^st	1132	7.2%
2022	20.16	889^th	1038	14.4%
2023	16.69	1035^th	1130	8.4%
2024	21.13	993^rd	1144	13.2%

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

Rank History for Low Socio Economic Status students at Schenectady High School

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked High Schools	NY State Percentile
2018	19.08	963^rd	1154	16.6%
2019	18.30	975^th	1179	17.3%
2022	17.71	919^th	1101	16.5%
2023	15.95	977^th	1155	15.4%
2024	20.41	944^th	1170	19.3%

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

Rank History for Homeless students at Schenectady High School

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked High Schools	NY State Percentile
2018	29.50	381^st	498	23.5%
2019	30.27	370^th	493	24.9%
2022	31.70	277^th	389	28.8%
2023	29.61	411^th	531	22.6%
2024	32.71	399^th	564	29.3%

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

Rank History for Female students at Schenectady High School

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked High Schools	NY State Percentile
2018	21.43	940^th	1176	20.1%
2019	24.87	900^th	1193	24.6%
2022	19.34	910^th	1155	21.2%
2023	29.65	834^th	1197	30.3%
2024	34.39	809^th	1219	33.6%

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

Rank History for Male students at Schenectady High School

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked High Schools	NY State Percentile
2018	16.40	983^rd	1176	16.4%
2019	20.13	945^th	1190	20.6%
2022	18.77	920^th	1154	20.3%
2023	15.94	978^th	1191	17.9%
2024	18.25	991^st	1211	18.2%

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

Rank History for Asian students at Schenectady High School

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked High Schools	NY State Percentile
2018	14.00	384^th	426	9.9%
2019	19.08	387^th	447	13.4%
2022	9.73	352^nd	386	8.8%
2023	9.98	396^th	424	6.6%
2024	14.10	380^th	426	10.8%

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

Rank History for African American students at Schenectady High School

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked High Schools	NY State Percentile
2018	22.88	565^th	679	16.8%
2019	26.35	527^th	686	23.2%
2022	24.03	487^th	593	17.9%
2023	21.17	566^th	671	15.6%
2024	25.32	536^th	690	22.3%

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

Rank History for Hispanic students at Schenectady High School

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked High Schools	NY State Percentile
2018	22.19	644^th	791	18.6%
2019	18.69	681^st	815	16.4%
2022	22.47	599^th	760	21.2%
2023	19.04	715^th	851	16.0%
2024	18.96	743^rd	865	14.1%

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

Rank History for White students at Schenectady High School

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked High Schools	NY State Percentile
2018	14.63	714^th	765	6.7%
2019	14.55	730^th	793	7.9%
2022	10.31	693^rd	738	6.1%
2023	11.65	717^th	776	7.6%
2024	14.46	713^th	781	8.7%

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

Data source: test scores: NY State Education Department, 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: NY State Education Department

Review counts

All ratings (Avg rating: 2)

33%

67%

Reviews:

by a parent
Wednesday, March 3, 2021

You waste tremendous amounts of money, especially on the night program. Thousands for no work because no one shows up you waste more money in other areas. Close Quote

by a student
Tuesday, March 30, 2010

I go to Schenectady High School. I would say it's the worst school i ever went to, there is so much gang violence, fighting, knife fights, and a whole lot more. I do not want be in this school, but i have to because i live in Schenectady school district. Close Quote

by a student
Saturday, February 21, 2009

I actually go to the school. There are plenty of distractions (violence, drugs, etc.) But if you focus on school and take advanced classes it is a very good school. Close Quote

Enrollment information for Schenectady High School

Compare

Year	White	African American	Asian	Hispanic	American Indian	Pacific Islander	Two or More Races	Not Specified	Total
1989	1048	108	13	18	1	n/a	n/a	0	1188
1990	968	94	13	19	1	n/a	n/a	0	1095
1991	945	100	20	21	0	n/a	n/a	0	1086
1992	933	137	35	29	0	n/a	n/a	0	1134
1993	1328	354	72	87	0	n/a	n/a	0	1841
1994	1381	391	78	84	2	n/a	n/a	0	1936
1995	1265	413	83	125	1	n/a	n/a	0	1887
1996	1265	413	83	125	1	n/a	n/a	0	1887
1997	1269	441	87	133	2	n/a	n/a	0	1932
1998	1287	466	81	128	1	n/a	n/a	0	1963
1999	1279	513	90	153	3	n/a	n/a	0	2038
2000	1282	556	84	158	2	n/a	n/a	0	2082
2001	1298	558	93	164	1	n/a	n/a	0	2114
2002	1238	748	103	205	8	n/a	n/a	0	2302
2003	1238	748	103	205	8	n/a	n/a	0	2302
2004	1347	759	206	257	8	n/a	n/a	0	2577
2005	1297	790	218	299	5	n/a	n/a	0	2609
2006	1308	886	241	376	3	n/a	n/a	0	2814
2007	1309	915	268	403	4	n/a	n/a	3	2902
2008	1176	1001	286	410	6	n/a	n/a	1	2880
2009	1191	1034	333	397	3	n/a	n/a	0	2958
2010	1033	959	404	382	0	n/a	n/a	0	2778
2011	980	964	465	371	1	0	0	0	2781
2012	921	879	466	395	1	0	3	0	2665
2013	902	891	462	414	4	0	11	0	2684
2014	840	889	450	407	4	0	17	0	2607
2015	820	931	492	417	5	0	25	0	2690
2016	762	960	539	424	4	0	29	0	2718
2017	687	933	541	430	4	4	36	0	2635
2018	682	901	571	442	8	5	37	0	2646
2019	657	947	587	463	4	3	49	0	2710
2020	625	932	611	504	8	3	53	0	2736
2021	601	921	629	542	8	3	67	0	2771
2022	562	894	670	562	7	3	117	0	2815
2023	493	791	654	608	7	4	184	2	2743
2024	480	771	696	662	4	3	242	2	2860

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 Schenectady High School

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Year	# Students	Full-time Teachers	Student/Teacher ratio	% Free/Discounted Lunch
1989	1188	76.7	15.4	n/a
1990	1095	75.2	14.5	n/a
1991	1086	74.3	14.6	n/a
1992	1134	74.5	15.2	n/a
1993	1841	119.2	15.4	n/a
1994	1936	137.9	14.0	25.3
1995	1887	140.7	13.4	28.1
1996	1887	140.7	13.4	28.1
1997	1932	135.4	14.3	37.3
1998	1963	146.7	13.4	35.9
1999	2038	148.9	13.7	45.3
2000	2082	150.4	13.8	36.6
2001	2114	129.1	16.4	33.4
2002	2302	161.0	14.3	41.1
2003	2302	161.0	14.3	41.1
2004	2577	n/a	n/a	n/a
2005	2609	193.3	13.5	51.4
2006	2814	189.0	14.9	46.9
2007	2902	201.0	14.4	46.4
2008	2880	206.9	13.9	49
2009	2958	223.7	13.2	49.2
2010	2778	209.2	13.2	62.1
2011	2781	184.2	15.0	59.5
2012	2665	205.0	12.9	67.5
2013	2684	183.9	14.5	69.2
2014	2607	177.2	14.7	58.2
2015	2690	157.0	17.1	76.7
2016	2718	161.0	16.8	59.8
2017	2635	163.8	16.0	54.9
2018	2646	178.0	14.8	81.3
2019	2710	195.0	13.8	70.1
2020	2736	198.1	13.8	67.4
2021	2771	180.6	15.3	65.9
2022	2815	201.6	13.9	64.9
2023	2743	208.8	13.1	70.9
2024	2860	217.3	13.1	68.9

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 Schenectady High School

Compare

Year	# Students	Full-time Teachers	Student/Teacher ratio	% Free/Discounted Lunch
1989	1188	76.7	15.4	n/a
1990	1095	75.2	14.5	n/a
1991	1086	74.3	14.6	n/a
1992	1134	74.5	15.2	n/a
1993	1841	119.2	15.4	n/a
1994	1936	137.9	14.0	25.3
1995	1887	140.7	13.4	28.1
1996	1887	140.7	13.4	28.1
1997	1932	135.4	14.3	37.3
1998	1963	146.7	13.4	35.9
1999	2038	148.9	13.7	45.3
2000	2082	150.4	13.8	36.6
2001	2114	129.1	16.4	33.4
2002	2302	161.0	14.3	41.1
2003	2302	161.0	14.3	41.1
2004	2577	n/a	n/a	n/a
2005	2609	193.3	13.5	51.4
2006	2814	189.0	14.9	46.9
2007	2902	201.0	14.4	46.4
2008	2880	206.9	13.9	49
2009	2958	223.7	13.2	49.2
2010	2778	209.2	13.2	62.1
2011	2781	184.2	15.0	59.5
2012	2665	205.0	12.9	67.5
2013	2684	183.9	14.5	69.2
2014	2607	177.2	14.7	58.2
2015	2690	157.0	17.1	76.7
2016	2718	161.0	16.8	59.8
2017	2635	163.8	16.0	54.9
2018	2646	178.0	14.8	81.3
2019	2710	195.0	13.8	70.1
2020	2736	198.1	13.8	67.4
2021	2771	180.6	15.3	65.9
2022	2815	201.6	13.9	64.9
2023	2743	208.8	13.1	70.9
2024	2860	217.3	13.1	68.9

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