William Allen High School

Summary:

William Allen High School is a public high school in Allentown, Pennsylvania, serving 2,852 students in grades 9-12. The school is part of the Allentown City School District, which is ranked 544 out of 610 districts in the state and has a 1-star rating from SchoolDigger.

Despite its large student population, William Allen High School has consistently ranked in the bottom 10-15% of Pennsylvania high schools over the past 10 years, with a ranking between 465-615 out of 634-686 schools. The school's academic performance, as measured by Keystone Exam proficiency rates, is significantly below the state averages across all subject areas. For example, in 2023-2024, the school's Algebra I proficiency rate was just 10.1%, compared to the state average of 41.6%. Additionally, the school has a very high percentage of economically disadvantaged students, with 86.96% qualifying for free or reduced-price lunch in the 2022-2023 school year.

When compared to nearby high schools, such as Parkland High School, which is located just 3.89 miles away, William Allen High School consistently underperforms, with Keystone Exam proficiency rates that are 30-40 percentage points lower. The school's challenges are particularly concerning for certain student subgroups, with the school's ranking for Hispanic and White students in the bottom 10-15% of Pennsylvania high schools, and the ranking for African American students in the bottom 30-40%. Despite these significant challenges, the school's per-student spending is relatively high, suggesting that the issue may not be solely a lack of funding, but rather the effective allocation and utilization of resources.


Detail:

Public 9-12

 106 N 17th St
       Allentown, PA  18104-5692


(484) 765-5001

District: Allentown City School District

SchoolDigger Rank:
595th of 686 Pennsylvania High Schools

Per Pupil Expenditures:  $14,155 Help


Student/teacher ratio:  20.1 Help
Number of students:  2,852

Racial breakdown:

Hispanic:
73.8%
African American:
13.0%
White:
6.6%
more

Free/discounted lunch recipients:  87% Help


 See top rated Pennsylvania high schools

 Compare William Allen High School to nearby high schools!

Performance Trends
Help
Compare Details William Allen High School ranks worse than 86.7% of high schools in Pennsylvania. It also ranks 2nd among 3 ranked high schools in the Allentown City School District. (See more...)
Help
Compare Details In 2024 the calculated Average Standard Score was 10.43. (See more...)
Help
The four-year cohort graduation rate measures the percentage of students at William Allen High School who earn a standard high school diploma within four years of starting ninth grade.
Help
The high school dropout rate measures the percentage of students who do not complete their high school education.
Student Body
Help
Compare Details William Allen High School has the largest high school student body size in the Allentown City School District. Racial makeup is: Hispanic (73.8%), African American (13%), White (6.6%). (See more...)
Help
Compare Details 87% of students are receiving a free or discounted lunch. This is the lowest percentage in the Allentown City School District. (See more...)
Teachers
Help
Compare Details The student/teacher ratio at William Allen High School is 20.1, which is the highest among 3 high schools in the Allentown City School District! (See more...)
Help
Compare William Allen High School employs 141.5 full-time teachers.
Finance
Help
Compare Details The average total spent per student at William Allen High School is $14,155, which is the lowest among 3 high schools in the Allentown City School District!
Schooldigger 2024 Rankings:

William Allen High School:

SchoolDigger ranks William Allen High School 595th of 686 Pennsylvania public high schools. (See William Allen High School in the ranking list.)

High School Test Score Ratings by Student Subgroup:


Multi-racial students:
English Language Learner students:
Low Socio Economic Status students:
Female students:
Disabled students:
Male students:
African American students:
Hispanic students:
White students:


Allentown City School District:

SchoolDigger ranks Allentown City School District 544th of 610 Pennsylvania school districts. (See district ranking list.)


What do you think?

Your rating for William Allen High School?

Rank History for William Allen High School

Help
Compare

Rank History for all students at William Allen High School

Year Avg Standard Score Statewide Rank Total # Ranked High Schools PA State Percentile SchoolDigger Rating
2003 16.63 509th 583 12.7%
2004 10.80 530th 590 10.2%
2005 10.13 541st 593 8.8%
2006 11.91 553rd 604 8.4%
2007 12.85 555th 615 9.8%
2008 17.52 554th 621 10.8%
2009 19.23 555th 632 12.2%
2010 19.12 576th 649 11.2%
2011 12.24 600th 660 9.1%
2012 7.84 608th 664 8.4%
2013 5.61 544th 591 8.0%
2014 3.34 546th 580 5.9%
2015 9.29 599th 680 11.9%
2016 5.96 610th 677 9.9%
2017 8.21 590th 663 11.0%
2018 9.33 594th 673 11.7%
2019 7.81 615th 693 11.3%
2021 20.04 467th 537 13.0%
2022 10.65 565th 634 10.9%
2023 12.81 584th 674 13.4%
2024 10.43 595th 686 13.3%
See the entire list of Pennsylvania High School Rankings!

Rank History for Multi-racial students at William Allen High School

Year Avg Standard Score Statewide Rank Total # Ranked High Schools PA State Percentile SchoolDigger Rating
2023 27.38 92nd 129 28.7%
2024 19.02 125th 150 16.7%
See the entire list of Best Pennsylvania High Schools for Multi-racial Students!

Rank History for English Language Learner students at William Allen High School

Year Avg Standard Score Statewide Rank Total # Ranked High Schools PA State Percentile SchoolDigger Rating
2023 38.42 50th 85 41.2%
2024 32.04 62nd 84 26.2%
See the entire list of Best Pennsylvania High Schools for English Language Learner Students!

Rank History for Low Socio Economic Status students at William Allen High School

Year Avg Standard Score Statewide Rank Total # Ranked High Schools PA State Percentile SchoolDigger Rating
2023 18.71 552nd 652 15.3%
2024 14.72 574th 664 13.6%
See the entire list of Best Pennsylvania High Schools for Low Socio Economic Status Students!

Rank History for Female students at William Allen High School

Year Avg Standard Score Statewide Rank Total # Ranked High Schools PA State Percentile SchoolDigger Rating
2024 8.07 596th 665 10.4%
See the entire list of Best Pennsylvania High Schools for Female Students!

Rank History for Disabled students at William Allen High School

Year Avg Standard Score Statewide Rank Total # Ranked High Schools PA State Percentile SchoolDigger Rating
2023 15.03 476th 502 5.2%
2024 24.63 397th 513 22.6%
See the entire list of Best Pennsylvania High Schools for Disabled Students!

Rank History for Male students at William Allen High School

Year Avg Standard Score Statewide Rank Total # Ranked High Schools PA State Percentile SchoolDigger Rating
2024 12.93 577th 662 12.8%
See the entire list of Best Pennsylvania High Schools for Male Students!

Rank History for African American students at William Allen High School

Year Avg Standard Score Statewide Rank Total # Ranked High Schools PA State Percentile SchoolDigger Rating
2023 36.03 157th 260 39.6%
2024 37.38 173rd 284 39.1%
See the entire list of Best Pennsylvania High Schools for African American Students!

Rank History for Hispanic students at William Allen High School

Year Avg Standard Score Statewide Rank Total # Ranked High Schools PA State Percentile SchoolDigger Rating
2023 20.73 212th 252 15.9%
2024 18.84 229th 274 16.4%
See the entire list of Best Pennsylvania High Schools for Hispanic Students!

Rank History for White students at William Allen High School

Year Avg Standard Score Statewide Rank Total # Ranked High Schools PA State Percentile SchoolDigger Rating
2023 28.42 455th 577 21.1%
2024 13.44 537th 595 9.7%
See the entire list of Best Pennsylvania High Schools for White Students!

Data source: test scores: Pennsylvania Department 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.

William Allen High School Test Scores
Tests: 
  
Grades: 
  
Years: 
  
Group by: 
District Scores:
State Scores:    
  
Subgroup: 



Data source: Pennsylvania Department of Education

Review counts

All ratings (Avg rating: 3.3)
33%

33%

0%

0%

33%

  

Reviews:
by a student
Monday, March 11, 2013

Open Quote Pitiful school. The students are horrible, half the teachers don't care about their students, the building is filthy. The only way you could POSSIBLY succeed at this school is to be in the 'advanced' classes. The students in those classes are the only ones who aren't getting handed 2nd grade work, and actually CARE about succeeding on their own later on in life. Close Quote


Facebook Profile Picture by a citizen on FaceBook
Tuesday, September 21, 2010

Open Quote I am writing this as a proud graduate of William Allen High School. I am a graduate of the class of 58.
I happened to drive by the school today and was very surprised to not see the US flag flying at half staff, in respect for the death of Dr. Jack McHugh.
His obituary made the front page of the Morning Call! Don't you think his having been a principal of the high school and an active community leader deserved recognition? I do, it is not too late, he could still be honored for the remainder of this week.

Nancy E. Boyer Close Quote


by a teacher
Wednesday, September 16, 2009

Open Quote The opportunities at Allen are amazing!! There are more electives, sports, and activities at Allen than any other school in the area - including Parkland. There are also more Honors, AP, and Gifted courses available. Every year Allen has students that go on to the very best colleges and universities, including the ivy league. Sometimes Allen gets a bad reputation, but it is undeserved. Close Quote



Enrollment information for William Allen High School

Help
Compare
Year White African American Asian Hispanic American Indian Pacific Islander Two or More Races Not Specified Total
1988 2037 193 65 318 1 n/a n/a -10 2604
1989 1834 180 63 328 2 n/a n/a 0 2407
1990 1706 190 77 366 4 n/a n/a 0 2343
1991 1598 185 69 405 5 n/a n/a 0 2262
1992 1470 190 77 440 2 n/a n/a 0 2179
1993 1468 202 88 550 2 n/a n/a 0 2310
1994 1415 221 82 580 2 n/a n/a 0 2300
1995 1301 264 74 680 0 n/a n/a 0 2319
1996 1301 264 74 680 0 n/a n/a 0 2319
1997 1328 272 70 707 0 n/a n/a 0 2377
1998 1276 280 71 823 1 n/a n/a 0 2451
1999 1271 320 65 890 2 n/a n/a 0 2548
2000 1229 347 70 998 2 n/a n/a 0 2646
2001 1145 391 60 1042 5 n/a n/a 0 2643
2002 1155 501 52 1357 7 n/a n/a 0 3072
2003 1155 501 52 1357 7 n/a n/a 0 3072
2004 1154 557 47 1514 5 n/a n/a 0 3277
2005 1107 659 49 1640 5 n/a n/a 0 3460
2006 1044 680 55 1793 5 n/a n/a 0 3577
2007 969 713 50 1972 1 n/a n/a 0 3705
2008 864 679 49 1944 3 n/a n/a 0 3539
2009 768 692 37 1977 6 n/a n/a 0 3480
2010 629 635 42 1811 7 n/a n/a 0 3124
2011 528 593 48 1746 7 0 1 0 2923
2012 446 553 59 1772 7 0 5 0 2842
2013 395 509 55 1624 6 1 5 0 2595
2014 344 480 50 1669 5 1 7 0 2556
2015 317 498 51 1654 7 1 8 0 2536
2016 293 491 44 1770 5 0 8 0 2611
2017 282 522 41 2052 9 0 6 0 2912
2018 261 455 37 1980 3 2 9 0 2747
2019 225 422 39 1902 4 1 12 0 2605
2020 225 380 34 1897 2 3 43 0 2584
2021 220 355 33 1967 2 4 69 0 2650
2022 216 390 35 2045 3 4 108 0 2801
2023 189 370 29 2106 3 5 150 0 2852

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 William Allen High School

Help
Compare
Year # Students Full-time Teachers Student/Teacher ratio % Free/Discounted Lunch
1988 2604 170.2 15.2 n/a
1989 2407 162.6 14.8 n/a
1990 2343 154.6 15.1 0
1991 2262 150.3 15.0 n/a
1992 2179 136.3 15.9 n/a
1993 2310 116.0 19.9 n/a
1994 2300 113.0 20.4 n/a
1995 2319 113.0 20.5 n/a
1996 2319 113.0 20.5 n/a
1997 2377 107.6 22.1 n/a
1998 2451 109.0 22.5 n/a
1999 2548 111.0 23.0 n/a
2000 2646 120.0 22.1 44.9
2001 2643 121.0 21.8 68.4
2002 3072 139.3 22.1 48.2
2003 3072 139.3 22.1 48.2
2004 3277 141.6 23.1 36.5
2005 3460 156.0 22.2 42.8
2006 3577 168.8 21.2 59.3
2007 3705 163.8 22.6 61
2008 3539 165.5 21.4 64.1
2009 3480 206.4 16.9 67.6
2010 3124 209.4 14.9 62.2
2011 2923 200.1 14.6 80.7
2012 2842 86.5 32.8 69.5
2013 2595 160.0 16.2 83.7
2014 2556 134.5 19.0 84.9
2015 2536 124.0 20.4 72
2016 2611 132.0 19.7 69.6
2017 2912 136.0 21.4 78.6
2018 2747 148.0 18.5 77.9
2019 2605 144.0 18.0 78.7
2020 2584 144.0 17.9 83
2021 2650 145.5 18.2 86.4
2022 2801 130.5 21.4 90.3
2023 2852 141.5 20.1 87

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 William Allen High School

Help
Compare
Year # Students Full-time Teachers Student/Teacher ratio % Free/Discounted Lunch
1988 2604 170.2 15.2 n/a
1989 2407 162.6 14.8 n/a
1990 2343 154.6 15.1 0
1991 2262 150.3 15.0 n/a
1992 2179 136.3 15.9 n/a
1993 2310 116.0 19.9 n/a
1994 2300 113.0 20.4 n/a
1995 2319 113.0 20.5 n/a
1996 2319 113.0 20.5 n/a
1997 2377 107.6 22.1 n/a
1998 2451 109.0 22.5 n/a
1999 2548 111.0 23.0 n/a
2000 2646 120.0 22.1 44.9
2001 2643 121.0 21.8 68.4
2002 3072 139.3 22.1 48.2
2003 3072 139.3 22.1 48.2
2004 3277 141.6 23.1 36.5
2005 3460 156.0 22.2 42.8
2006 3577 168.8 21.2 59.3
2007 3705 163.8 22.6 61
2008 3539 165.5 21.4 64.1
2009 3480 206.4 16.9 67.6
2010 3124 209.4 14.9 62.2
2011 2923 200.1 14.6 80.7
2012 2842 86.5 32.8 69.5
2013 2595 160.0 16.2 83.7
2014 2556 134.5 19.0 84.9
2015 2536 124.0 20.4 72
2016 2611 132.0 19.7 69.6
2017 2912 136.0 21.4 78.6
2018 2747 148.0 18.5 77.9
2019 2605 144.0 18.0 78.7
2020 2584 144.0 17.9 83
2021 2650 145.5 18.2 86.4
2022 2801 130.5 21.4 90.3
2023 2852 141.5 20.1 87

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.
Finances

Per Pupil Expenditures for William Allen High School

Help

YearExpenditures from Federal FundsExpenditures from State and Local FundsTotal Expenditures Per Pupil (All Funds)
2019 $1,124 (7.2%) $14,442 (92.8%) $15,566
2020 $1,170 (7.0%) $15,454 (93.0%) $16,624
2021 $1,551 (10.2%) $13,700 (89.8%) $15,250
2022 $2,361 (16.7%) $11,794 (83.3%) $14,155

Data source: Pennsylvania Department of Education
Pre and Post Pandemic Data

Impact of COVID-19 on William Allen High School

The coronavirus has had a profound impact on education in America. Learning shifted online overnight, attendance numbers dwindled, and enrollment decreased. SchoolDigger.com is making it easier for you to better assess how COVID-19 has impacted your school. Through the collection of pre-pandemic (2019) and current data, SchoolDigger.com is sharing test scores, enrollment numbers and school demographics from schools across the country – and we make it easy to see how impacted schools compare locally and statewide.

Rankings

Rank
Pre-pandemic (2018-2019)
Rank
Post pandemic (2022-2023)
Change (%)
Ranks 615th of 693 High schoolsRanks 584th of 674 High schools
 2.1%

Test Scores

% proficient
Pre-pandemic (2018-2019)
% proficient
Post pandemic (2022-2023)
Change (%)
11th Grade Algebra I (William Allen High School)2610.6
 15.4%
   11th Grade Algebra I (Pennsylvania)63.334.1
 29.2%
11th Grade Biology (William Allen High School)25.718.4
 7.3%
   11th Grade Biology (Pennsylvania)63.250.7
 12.5%
11th Grade Literature (William Allen High School)36.640.7
 4.1%
   11th Grade Literature (Pennsylvania)71.565.3
 6.2%

Student Body

Number of students
Pre-pandemic (2018-2019)
Number of students
Post pandemic (2022-2023)
Change (%)
Total Students26052852
 9.5%
African American422370
 12.3%
American Indian43
 25%
Asian3929
 25.6%
Hispanic19022106
 10.7%
Pacific Islander15
 400%
White225189
 16%
Two or More Races12150
 1150%
% Free/Discounted Lunch Recipients78.7%87%
 8.2%


Schools Near William Allen High School









Frequently Asked Questions about William Allen High School

William Allen High School ranks in the bottom 13.3% of Pennsylvania high schools.

Students at William Allen High School are 74% Hispanic, 13% African American, 7% White, 5% Two or more races, 1% Asian.

In the 2022-23 school year, 2,852 students attended William Allen High School.


Rate William Allen High School!



Sign up for updates!

Be the first to know when there is an update for William Allen High School!




SchoolDigger data sources: National Center for Education Statistics, U.S. Department of Education, the U.S. Census Bureau and the Pennsylvania Department of Education.

IMPORTANT DISCLAIMERS: Not all boundaries are included. We make every effort to ensure that boundaries are up-to-date. But it's important to note that these are approximations and are for general informational purposes only. To verify legal descriptions of boundaries or school locations, contact your local tax assessor's office and/or school district.





Diagnostics

None retrieved from Database in 139 milliseconds.