Vestal Senior High School, Vestal NY

Original Research by School Decision on Vestal Senior High School

Vestal Senior High School serves students in grades nine through twelve in a suburban setting on Woodlawn Drive in Vestal, a mid-sized town west of Binghamton in Broome County's Southern Tier. The school draws from a district of roughly fifty-seven square miles and educates a student body that is predominantly white, with meaningful shares of Asian, Hispanic, and Black students. About a quarter to a third of students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, placing the school in a mixed-income enrollment pattern typical of suburban districts where some families have strong economic stability and others face tighter budgets.

The school sits within Vestal Central School District, a district that is actively investing in its facilities and learning environment. Voters recently approved a substantial capital project that will install full air conditioning at the high school and two elementary buildings, completing climate-controlled learning spaces across all district buildings by the 2028 school year. An earlier referendum in 2022 funded extensive upgrades including a two-story addition at the middle school to handle rising enrollment, roof replacements, security improvements, and an artificial turf field. These investments signal a district making deliberate choices about infrastructure and student experience.

The broader Vestal community is in a period of growth anchored primarily by Binghamton University, which sits on a large campus within the town and is the region's dominant employer. Housing values in the area are below state and national benchmarks, making it a relatively affordable market for families buying or renting in the region. The town itself is auto-oriented, organized around commercial corridors along Vestal Parkway, though the Vestal Rail Trail offers a few miles of paved pedestrian and bike infrastructure. New student and market-rate apartment developments are underway nearby, reflecting continued demand from the university and the broader regional economy.

State assessment data was not available for this school, so we cannot report its proficiency results, nor were graduation rates or chronic absenteeism data accessible. A four-year secondary school of this size and type would typically report such metrics through New York State, and their absence here reflects either data availability gaps or reporting patterns rather than an indication of performance. A parent interested in how Vestal High School compares academically to peers in Broome County or how its students perform on state assessments would benefit from contacting the district directly or reviewing the school's published data on its website and district website.

The school's enrollment is stable across all four grade levels, with roughly equal cohorts moving through the building each year. Class sizes and staffing levels were not available in the data reviewed, nor were details about specific course offerings, advanced-placement or dual-credit pathways, extracurricular programs, or specialized academies that shape the day-to-day experience. A parent considering the school would want to visit the building, speak with current families, and review the course catalog and program list directly from Vestal Central School District to understand the full range of what the school offers and how it approaches instruction.

The school operates within a district that has made recent operational and pedagogical decisions of note. At the middle school level, the district has implemented phone-locking pouches for the entire school day, a policy choice reflecting an evolving stance on device use during instruction. The district's ongoing capital investments and enrollment growth suggest an institution planning for sustained operations and engagement.

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Academic performance

How students graduate and prepare for what comes next.

Graduation rate (ACGR)

96.0%Cohort of 233 students · Class of 2021

How this school compares to all schools in this state

Each dot is one school’s SY 2020-21 graduation rate, binned by integer rate. Taller columns mean more schools at that rate. This school is highlighted.

1,253 schools plotted. 14 additional schools' rates are federally suppressed and not shown. Data: EDFacts SY 2020-21.

Advanced Placement & IB

25 subjects offered · 2023-24

Each card is one AP or IB subject. The headline number is the share of students scoring 3 or higher on the exam — the threshold for college credit at most universities. The bar below each rate shows the underlying distribution across performance levels.

Score:12· no credit345· extremely well qualified

Math and Computer Science

Calculus AB

19 tested

89.5%

scored 3 or higher

Calculus BC

11 tested

100.0%

scored 3 or higher

Computer Science A

23 tested · Grade 10

47.8%

scored 3 or higher

Sciences

Biology

55 tested

94.5%

scored 3 or higher

Chemistry

22 tested

100.0%

scored 3 or higher

Physics 1

50 tested · Grade 10

72.0%

scored 3 or higher

Physics 2

14 tested

92.9%

scored 3 or higher

History and Social Sciences

Macroeconomics

8 tested

75.0%

scored 3 or higher

Microeconomics

6 tested

0.0%

scored 3 or higher

Psychology

9 tested

55.6%

scored 3 or higher

U.S. History

42 tested

78.6%

scored 3 or higher

International Baccalaureate

Ib Biology SL

4 tested

0.0%

scored 3 or higher

Ib Chemistry HL

4 tested

0.0%

scored 3 or higher

Ib Chemistry SL

7 tested

0.0%

scored 3 or higher

Ib Economics SL

16 tested

87.5%

scored 3 or higher

Ib Environmental Systems SL

1 tested

0.0%

scored 3 or higher

Ib History Hl History of the Americas

2 tested

0.0%

scored 3 or higher

Ib Mathematics Analysis and Approaches HL

2 tested

0.0%

scored 3 or higher

Ib Mathematics Analysis and Approaches SL

6 tested

66.7%

scored 3 or higher

Ib Mathematics Applications and Interpretation SL

3 tested

0.0%

scored 3 or higher

Ib Physics HL

2 tested

0.0%

scored 3 or higher

Ib Physics SL

6 tested

83.3%

scored 3 or higher

Ib Psychology SL

11 tested

100.0%

scored 3 or higher

Other

Literature and Comp

9 tested

100.0%

scored 3 or higher

World History

1 tested · Grade 10

0.0%

scored 3 or higher

New York Regents Exams

4 courses reported · 2024-25

End-of-course exams required for a New York Regents diploma. Each row shows the cohort size and the share of students scoring at the proficient level or higher.

Course	Students tested	% proficient
Ela	267	96.0%
Social Studies	266	94.0%
Science	13	62.0%
Math	8	88.0%

Graduation rate (ACGR) reflects the federally published Adjusted Cohort Graduation Rate for the most recent year available. We refresh this data annually at the close of each academic year in June. The federal source publishes a banded rate (for example, "90-94%") instead of an exact number for cohorts small enough to risk identifying individual students. The state distribution chart, where shown, plots every school in the state with a published rate or band; schools whose rate is federally suppressed are excluded. Where the federal source publishes a band rather than an exact rate, the school is placed within its band using a stable, ID-derived offset, so its position is consistent across visits.