Is Watertown Senior High School a good school?

Watertown Senior High School ranks 639 th of 1242 New York high schools. SchoolDigger rates this school 2 stars out of 5.

How many students attend Watertown Senior High School?

In the 2023-24 school year, 1,139 students attended Watertown Senior High School.

What is the racial makeup of Watertown Senior High School?

Students at Watertown Senior High School are 71% White, 10% Hispanic, 9% Two or more races, 8% African American, 2% Asian.

What schools feed into Watertown Senior High School?

Watertown Senior High School is fed by the following schools: Elementary : Knickerbocker School Elementary : North Elementary School Elementary : Ohio Street School Elementary : Sherman School Elementary : Starbuck Elementary School Middle : Case Middle School Middle : Harold T Wiley School

Watertown Senior High School

Summary:

Watertown Senior High School is a public high school serving 1,083 students in grades 9-12 in Watertown, New York. The school is part of the Watertown City School District, which is ranked 779 out of 865 districts in the state and has a 1-star rating from SchoolDigger.

Watertown Senior High School has consistently ranked in the bottom half of New York high schools, with a SchoolDigger rating that has fluctuated between 1 and 3 stars out of 5. The school has significant performance gaps between different student subgroups, with Asian and African American students performing relatively well, but White students and students with disabilities performing poorly. Watertown Senior High School's proficiency rates on Regents/Common Core exams are generally lower than the state and district averages, particularly in subjects like Algebra I, Living Environment, and Global History and Geography. The school's four-year graduation rate has fluctuated between 62.9% and 85.1%, which is below the state average, and its dropout rate has ranged from 4.9% to 19.6%, which is higher than the state average. Additionally, Watertown Senior High School has a significant chronic absenteeism problem, with rates ranging from 34.1% to 54.7% in recent years.

In comparison, nearby schools such as Indian River High School, Carthage Senior High School, and South Jefferson High School generally outperform Watertown Senior High School on key metrics like statewide ranking, academic achievement, and graduation rates. These schools also have lower rates of chronic absenteeism and a more equitable distribution of performance across different student subgroups. Addressing the challenges at Watertown Senior High School through data-driven, equity-focused interventions and leveraging the strengths of nearby high-performing schools could be key to improving outcomes for the students.

Detail:

Public 9-12

1335 Washington St
Watertown, NY 13601-4591

(315) 785-3800

District: Watertown City School District

SchoolDigger Rank:
639^th of 1,242 New York High Schools

Per Pupil Expenditures: $10,610

Feeder schools for Watertown Senior High School:

Elementary:	Knickerbocker School
	North Elementary School
	Ohio Street School
	Sherman School
	More...
	Starbuck Elementary School
Middle:	Case Middle School
	Harold T Wiley School

Student/teacher ratio: 13.5

Number of students: 1,139

Racial breakdown:

White:

70.6%

Hispanic:

10.1%

Two or more races:

9.0%

Free/discounted lunch recipients: 57.6%

See top rated New York high schools

Compare Watertown Senior High School to nearby high schools!

Performance Trends

Compare Details Watertown Senior High School ranks worse than 51.4% of high schools in New York. (See more...)

Compare Details In 2024 the calculated Average Standard Score was 50.55. (See more...)

The four-year cohort graduation rate measures the percentage of students at Watertown Senior 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: White (70.6%), Hispanic (10.1%), two or more races (9%). (See more...)

Compare Details 57.6% of students are receiving a free or discounted lunch. (See more...)

Compare Details (See more...)

Teachers

Compare Details The student/teacher ratio at Watertown Senior High School is 13.5. (See more...)

Compare Watertown Senior High School employs 84.3 full-time teachers.

Finance

Compare Details The average total spent per student at Watertown Senior High School is $10,610.

Schooldigger 2024 Rankings:

Watertown Senior High School:

SchoolDigger ranks Watertown Senior High School 639^th of 1242 New York public high schools. (See Watertown Senior High School in the ranking list.)

High School Test Score Ratings by Student Subgroup:

Multi-racial students:

Special Education students:

Low Socio Economic Status students:

Female students:

Military Connected students:

Male students:

Asian students:

African American students:

Hispanic students:

White students:

Watertown City School District:

SchoolDigger ranks Watertown City School District 779^th of 865 New York school districts. (See district ranking list.)

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Rank History for Watertown Senior High School

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Rank History for all students at Watertown Senior High School

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked High Schools	NY State Percentile
2005	52.55	549^th	935	41.3%
2006	51.93	571^st	986	42.1%
2007	49.75	631^st	1002	37.0%
2008	57.79	519^th	1027	49.5%
2009	56.18	535^th	1086	50.7%
2010	58.80	491^st	1117	56.0%
2011	60.41	489^th	1165	58.0%
2012	57.73	575^th	1198	52.0%
2013	61.88	517^th	1217	57.5%
2014	53.87	599^th	1237	51.6%
2015	51.56	643^rd	1255	48.8%
2016	60.92	431^st	1255	65.7%
2017	53.47	588^th	1221	51.8%
2018	59.26	544^th	1210	55.0%
2019	58.37	563^rd	1207	53.4%
2021	34.93	395^th	519	23.9%
2022	53.79	582^nd	1190	51.1%
2023	51.91	620^th	1228	49.5%
2024	50.55	639^th	1242	48.6%

See the entire list of New York High School Rankings!

Rank History for Multi-racial students at Watertown Senior High School

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked High Schools	NY State Percentile
2018	61.91	64^th	157	59.2%
2019	56.48	80^th	165	51.5%
2022	49.79	118^th	212	44.3%
2023	61.88	105^th	272	61.4%
2024	53.02	140^th	306	54.2%

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

Rank History for English Language Learner students at Watertown Senior High School

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked High Schools	NY State Percentile	SchoolDigger Rating
2018	56.14	194^th	546	64.5%
2019	65.35	130^th	565	77.0%

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

Rank History for Special Education students at Watertown Senior High School

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked High Schools	NY State Percentile
2018	55.49	421^st	1095	61.6%
2019	54.64	452^nd	1132	60.1%
2021	19.46	119^th	137	13.1%
2022	40.52	565^th	1038	45.6%
2023	43.25	575^th	1130	49.1%
2024	38.19	666^th	1144	41.8%

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

Rank History for Low Socio Economic Status students at Watertown Senior High School

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked High Schools	NY State Percentile
2018	60.18	401^st	1154	65.3%
2019	59.12	442^nd	1179	62.5%
2021	31.71	233^rd	289	19.4%
2022	46.72	585^th	1101	46.9%
2023	48.25	567^th	1155	50.9%
2024	38.42	727^th	1170	37.9%

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

Rank History for Homeless students at Watertown Senior High School

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked High Schools	NY State Percentile	SchoolDigger Rating
2023	68.23	78^th	531	85.3%

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

Rank History for Female students at Watertown Senior High School

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked High Schools	NY State Percentile
2018	56.41	578^th	1176	50.9%
2019	58.37	551^st	1193	53.8%
2021	33.81	221^st	290	23.8%
2022	52.59	579^th	1155	49.9%
2023	51.29	621^st	1197	48.1%
2024	49.81	644^th	1219	47.2%

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

Rank History for Military Connected students at Watertown Senior High School

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked High Schools	NY State Percentile
2018	43.11	4^th	7	42.9%
2019	58.10	4^th	6	33.3%
2022	34.59	6^th	6	0.0%
2023	64.22	6^th	15	60.0%
2024	58.40	9^th	13	30.8%

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

Rank History for Male students at Watertown Senior High School

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked High Schools	NY State Percentile
2018	61.07	485^th	1176	58.8%
2019	56.23	559^th	1190	53.0%
2021	36.30	267^th	354	24.6%
2022	53.40	561^st	1154	51.4%
2023	52.37	596^th	1191	50.0%
2024	56.35	553^rd	1211	54.3%

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

Rank History for Asian students at Watertown Senior High School

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked High Schools	NY State Percentile
2019	38.26	314^th	447	29.8%
2023	51.55	226^th	424	46.7%
2024	66.45	136^th	426	68.1%

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

Rank History for African American students at Watertown Senior High School

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked High Schools	NY State Percentile
2018	78.29	89^th	679	86.9%
2019	54.65	276^th	686	59.8%
2022	69.00	138^th	593	76.7%
2023	54.06	246^th	671	63.3%
2024	60.81	212^th	690	69.3%

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

Rank History for Hispanic students at Watertown Senior High School

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked High Schools	NY State Percentile
2018	66.98	216^th	791	72.7%
2019	67.63	214^th	815	73.7%
2022	58.50	281^st	760	63.0%
2023	58.85	293^rd	851	65.6%
2024	50.47	383^rd	865	55.7%

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

Rank History for White students at Watertown Senior High School

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked High Schools	NY State Percentile
2018	38.12	549^th	765	28.2%
2019	42.13	512^th	793	35.4%
2021	11.60	128^th	133	3.8%
2022	29.33	582^nd	738	21.1%
2023	28.74	609^th	776	21.5%
2024	30.63	592^nd	781	24.2%

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

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Enrollment information for Watertown Senior High School

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Year	White	African American	Asian	Hispanic	American Indian	Pacific Islander	Two or More Races	Not Specified	Total
1989	1102	22	14	14	0	n/a	n/a	0	1152
1990	1067	25	20	23	0	n/a	n/a	0	1135
1991	1026	36	19	17	0	n/a	n/a	0	1098
1992	996	54	21	22	2	n/a	n/a	0	1095
1993	1062	57	22	23	4	n/a	n/a	0	1168
1994	1103	67	25	34	4	n/a	n/a	0	1233
1995	1105	76	30	37	7	n/a	n/a	0	1255
1996	1105	76	30	37	7	n/a	n/a	0	1255
1997	1201	74	29	37	12	n/a	n/a	0	1353
1998	1092	86	25	36	13	n/a	n/a	0	1252
1999	1143	79	19	44	12	n/a	n/a	0	1297
2000	1107	81	19	50	11	n/a	n/a	0	1268
2001	1109	83	15	53	9	n/a	n/a	0	1269
2002	1015	103	25	35	12	n/a	n/a	0	1190
2003	1015	103	25	35	12	n/a	n/a	0	1190
2004	993	102	25	35	11	n/a	n/a	0	1166
2005	1035	118	8	41	26	n/a	n/a	0	1228
2006	1063	140	25	45	9	n/a	n/a	0	1282
2007	1088	130	33	63	11	n/a	n/a	0	1325
2008	1026	135	37	66	11	n/a	n/a	0	1275
2009	953	126	38	69	12	n/a	n/a	0	1198
2010	970	131	37	71	11	n/a	n/a	0	1220
2011	964	140	35	71	14	0	2	0	1226
2012	934	135	25	67	9	3	14	0	1187
2013	895	128	21	75	12	2	13	0	1146
2014	834	119	20	76	9	0	28	0	1086
2015	825	114	22	85	7	0	33	0	1086
2016	786	111	23	97	7	0	50	0	1074
2017	757	97	16	92	9	8	66	0	1045
2018	759	78	21	102	9	7	59	0	1035
2019	722	84	20	97	8	5	60	0	996
2020	732	93	27	97	7	4	67	0	1027
2021	757	96	24	101	5	2	64	0	1049
2022	761	93	25	100	3	3	83	0	1068
2023	772	84	28	102	3	3	91	0	1083
2024	804	87	25	115	2	0	103	3	1139

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 Watertown Senior High School

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Year	# Students	Full-time Teachers	Student/Teacher ratio	% Free/Discounted Lunch
1989	1152	90.6	12.7	n/a
1990	1135	82.3	13.7	n/a
1991	1098	79.4	13.8	n/a
1992	1095	69.1	15.8	n/a
1993	1168	62.0	18.8	n/a
1994	1233	65.9	18.7	45.8
1995	1255	67.5	18.6	45.9
1996	1255	67.5	18.6	45.9
1997	1353	66.7	20.3	42.1
1998	1252	66.8	18.7	43.6
1999	1297	70.5	18.4	47
2000	1268	73.6	17.2	61.8
2001	1269	74.0	17.1	37.5
2002	1190	78.2	15.2	40.9
2003	1190	78.2	15.2	40.9
2004	1166	n/a	n/a	n/a
2005	1228	76.7	16.0	47.4
2006	1282	76.0	16.9	42
2007	1325	81.5	16.3	41.1
2008	1275	81.9	15.6	39.9
2009	1198	82.9	14.5	38.8
2010	1220	80.9	15.0	40.8
2011	1226	72.7	16.8	40.6
2012	1187	72.1	16.4	46
2013	1146	75.8	15.1	74.4
2014	1086	70.8	15.3	46.6
2015	1086	68.0	15.9	56.5
2016	1074	69.0	15.5	61.3
2017	1045	70.1	14.8	61.6
2018	1035	70.0	14.7	68.6
2019	996	70.0	14.2	63.4
2020	1027	73.0	14.0	65.6
2021	1049	71.7	14.6	66.8
2022	1068	75.4	14.1	58.6
2023	1083	77.6	13.9	65.2
2024	1139	84.3	13.5	57.6

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 Watertown Senior High School

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Year	# Students	Full-time Teachers	Student/Teacher ratio	% Free/Discounted Lunch
1989	1152	90.6	12.7	n/a
1990	1135	82.3	13.7	n/a
1991	1098	79.4	13.8	n/a
1992	1095	69.1	15.8	n/a
1993	1168	62.0	18.8	n/a
1994	1233	65.9	18.7	45.8
1995	1255	67.5	18.6	45.9
1996	1255	67.5	18.6	45.9
1997	1353	66.7	20.3	42.1
1998	1252	66.8	18.7	43.6
1999	1297	70.5	18.4	47
2000	1268	73.6	17.2	61.8
2001	1269	74.0	17.1	37.5
2002	1190	78.2	15.2	40.9
2003	1190	78.2	15.2	40.9
2004	1166	n/a	n/a	n/a
2005	1228	76.7	16.0	47.4
2006	1282	76.0	16.9	42
2007	1325	81.5	16.3	41.1
2008	1275	81.9	15.6	39.9
2009	1198	82.9	14.5	38.8
2010	1220	80.9	15.0	40.8
2011	1226	72.7	16.8	40.6
2012	1187	72.1	16.4	46
2013	1146	75.8	15.1	74.4
2014	1086	70.8	15.3	46.6
2015	1086	68.0	15.9	56.5
2016	1074	69.0	15.5	61.3
2017	1045	70.1	14.8	61.6
2018	1035	70.0	14.7	68.6
2019	996	70.0	14.2	63.4
2020	1027	73.0	14.0	65.6
2021	1049	71.7	14.6	66.8
2022	1068	75.4	14.1	58.6
2023	1083	77.6	13.9	65.2
2024	1139	84.3	13.5	57.6

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