Wantagh Senior High School, Wantagh NY

Original Research by School Decision on Wantagh Senior High School

Wantagh Senior High School is a mid-sized suburban public high school serving grades nine through twelve in a well-established commuter community on Long Island's South Shore. The school draws from a relatively affluent, predominantly white residential area with a strong majority of families above the free-or-reduced-price-lunch threshold. The student body is about one in ten eligible for federal meal assistance, and roughly two in five of its students identify as white, with Hispanic, Asian, two-or-more-races, and Black students each comprising smaller proportions of enrollment.

The school sits on a suburban campus on Beltagh Avenue, separated from Wantagh's modest station-area downtown and its commercial retail cluster. Wantagh itself is a built-out post-World War II suburb known as the Gateway to Jones Beach, with anchors including Wantagh Park, a waterfront county park with trails, athletic courts, and recreation facilities; rail transit via the accessible Wantagh LIRR station on the Babylon Branch; and the public library. The hamlet is largely single-family residential with concentrated commercial activity along major corridors. It is a mature, low-growth housing market with limited rental supply and home values in the high range for the county.

State testing data for Wantagh Senior High School was not available, so we cannot report on proficiency levels in any tested subject. Similarly, a four-year graduation rate was not provided, and no data on chronic absenteeism appeared in the records. Without these metrics, the school's academic standing relative to others in Nassau County cannot be assessed from the information on hand. A parent may want to contact the school or the Wantagh Union Free School District directly to request recent state exam results, graduation outcomes, and other academic performance data.

The district has invested in school facilities. In late 2022, voters approved two of three capital bond propositions, funding multi-year renovations across all five schools: replacement of old windows and ventilation systems, athletic field upgrades at the high school and one elementary building, new playground equipment, and renovation of the high school's library media center and cafeteria. One proposition failed. These upgrades are underway and represent lasting facility improvements families would weigh when choosing where to move.

The school's enrollment is balanced across all four high school grades, with roughly equal class sizes each year. The percentage of students qualifying for free or reduced-price lunch is one in ten, indicating overall economic stability in the school community. No data on special education enrollment rates or English learner populations was provided, so those figures cannot be reported.

Wantagh is a car- and rail-oriented suburb with sidewalks in residential areas and a modest downtown around the LIRR station. Families who choose this area value proximity to parks and commuter transit, established neighborhoods, and a settled residential character rather than urban amenities or rapid growth. The school serves a stable, long-rooted community with limited transience. For academic standing, outcomes, program breadth, or specialized course offerings, prospective families would benefit from speaking directly with the school to understand its strengths and what pathway options exist for college preparation, career and technical education, or dual-enrollment programs.

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Academic performance

How students graduate and prepare for what comes next.

Graduation rate (ACGR)

>=99%Cohort of 231 students · Class of 2021

The federal source publishes a banded range instead of an exact rate when the graduating cohort is small enough that an exact number could risk identifying individual students.

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

23 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

24 tested

33.3%

scored 3 or higher

Calculus BC

18 tested

61.1%

scored 3 or higher

Precalculus

31 tested

96.8%

scored 3 or higher

Statistics

14 tested · Grade 10

78.6%

scored 3 or higher

Sciences

Biology

23 tested · Grade 10

95.7%

scored 3 or higher

Chemistry

6 tested

100.0%

scored 3 or higher

Environmental Science

73 tested · Grade 9

72.6%

scored 3 or higher

Physics 1

51 tested

31.4%

scored 3 or higher

Physics C: Electricity and Magnetism

7 tested

71.4%

scored 3 or higher

Physics C: Mechanics

7 tested

57.1%

scored 3 or higher

English

Research

40 tested

95.0%

scored 3 or higher

Seminar

32 tested · Grade 10

100.0%

scored 3 or higher

History and Social Sciences

European History

19 tested · Grade 10

63.2%

scored 3 or higher

Psychology

10 tested

50.0%

scored 3 or higher

U.S. History

66 tested

97.0%

scored 3 or higher

World Languages and Cultures

Spanish Language and Culture

3 tested

0.0%

scored 3 or higher

Arts

Studio Art Drawing

14 tested

71.4%

scored 3 or higher

Other

Language and Comp

97 tested

75.3%

scored 3 or higher

Literature and Comp

25 tested

96.0%

scored 3 or higher

Studio Art 2d Design

36 tested

97.2%

scored 3 or higher

Studio Art 3d Design

12 tested · Grade 10

25.0%

scored 3 or higher

U S Government and Politics

36 tested

83.3%

scored 3 or higher

World History

49 tested · Grade 10

69.4%

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	198	95.0%
Social Studies	194	92.0%
Math	187	90.0%
Science	73	64.0%

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.