West High School

30 Ash Street

School District

Madison Metropolitan
Grade

9-12
Teacher/Student Ratio

1:16
Type

public

School Map for Madison Metropolitan School District

GreatSchools Rating

The school rating calculation is based on four ratings: the Student Progress Rating or Academic Progress Rating, College Readiness Rating, Equity Rating, and Test Score Rating each designed to show different facets of school success. Learn more about GreatSchools Ratings

Reviews

Submitted by other on December 08, 2023

The staff at this high school did not always understand me well because of my autism, and elementary and middle schools in this high school’s attendance area were also useless for me because school administrators almost never grow up (although that is what they are supposed to persuade students to do)!
Submitted by parent on February 22, 2023

Both my son and daughter attended this school. My daughter still is. The teachers are very accommodating and supportive to special needs and are doing their best to see my daughter thrives here despite her autism diagnosis. They communicate well (if maybe too much…lol). I am very satisfied with this school and never had any issues with bullying or unsafe practices.
Submitted by parent on November 28, 2018

Extremely terrible. I would gave given the school a 0 if that was an option. If you have children with special needs and you are a minority, stay away from this school!
Submitted by parent on March 14, 2018

I moved to Madison last year, and my son who's a sophomore currently attends this school. So far, I have been pleased with this school and its curriculum. As the other reviews have stated, it is an ultra-liberal school, which is VERY TYPICAL for Madison and not a personal issue for me. I want my child to be exposed to different world reviews and to have a heightened cultural awareness in a society where other ethnic backgrounds are frowned upon.
Submitted by other on October 24, 2015

This school is overloaded with kids. The school has kids from Verona, Middleton, etc. in one small ish building. The building is very old and dirty with a lack of resources. There are smart students and a lot of students get very good test scores and earn high grades but this is because most of these children come from backgrounds of academic success, ex. professors or doctors as parents. There is a large achievement gap because the students who are underprivileged do not get the resources that they need at this school and do not learn at home as much as the wealthier students. Most students skip a lot of classes and there is a heavy amount of drug usage and drug dealing on school property with little done about it. The math and science departments are very weak and it is easy for students to fall behind. The school is overall too small to accommodate so many students and pulls statistics from its smartest to make it appear as though this were a very good school when it is in fact quite average.
Submitted by parent on January 20, 2015

My kids are attending. There are a lot of professors' kids at West, and that makes it academically challenging, which is good. It is an extremely liberal school, which can make it tough on a kid from a moderate home. There is a strong bias among the faculty for liberal causes, which permeates the curriculum. US History for example is the history of the civil rights movement, heavy with scorn for traditional figures and the US government in general - Howard Zinn is revered and his works are required reading. Similarly, US literature is the literature of minority writers espousing favored political causes at the expense of commonly accepted literature. It's something to consider if you are not far left.
Submitted by parent on May 29, 2013

Full disclosure: West also has one of the highest achievement gaps in the country. It's also probably the most liberal: largest Freedom from Religion club, Marxist Club through to Young Progressives but no Young Republicans Club. Required reading in Eng Lit = book on the expriences of 6 African-American women (2 of whom are lesbians). There's a place for everyone but the vocal diversity is significanly skewed left. Just so you know.
Submitted by parent on October 17, 2011

I have two kids in West High School. My son is in chess club and my daughter is in cross-country. Neither of them could enjoy school more. There are over 2000 kids currently enrolled in this high school, so there are enough kids of each personality type that most everyone can find friends. For example, my son, who is on the autism spectrum, has never had a problem being bullied and is very happy with the level of social acceptance he finds. The teachers represent the whole range from good to bad, as well. The level of parent involvement - as well as the overall culture of this part of Madison - is great.