From 2015 through 2019 Ames High School has been named the top public high school in the state of Iowa by Niche.com In June 2019, Ames High School was named the top high school in Iowa by U.S. News & World Report. The Ames High motto is "Ames High Aims High". Nearly one third of Ames High students retain a grade point average of 3.5 or higher. In 2012, Ames High School produced the greatest number of National Merit Scholars in the state. In the class of 2012, there were 23 National Merit Semi Finalists Students from Ames High. Fifteen Ames High School students have been named presidential scholars since 1964, including one in 2012-2013 year. Ames High School has an ACT average of 25.3, and a SAT average of 1261. The majority of Ames High School students go on to higher levels of education; in the class of 2012, 93.6% of graduates enrolled in four year colleges, universities, community colleges and vocational schools. Approximately half of Ames High Graduates attending college at Iowa Regents Universities maintain a grade point average above 3.0 in their freshman year. Ames High School has a graduation rate of 94.5%. In 2012, Ames High School was ranked fourth in the , which is an annual release by the Belin-Blank Center that recognizes accredited Iowa high schools for providing Advanced Placement opportunities. The AP Index is calculated by taking the number of AP exams taken divided by the number of graduates. Ames High School offers several AP, honors, and accelerated classes. The AP Courses include Biology, Physics 1, Chemistry, Calculus AB, Statistics, US History, Microeconomics, Macroeconomics, European History, US Government, Psychology, Language and Composition, Literature and Composition, and Art History.
Athletics
Ames High School is a member of the Iowa Conference of the Central Iowa Metropolitan League. Teams sponsored by the school include football, boys and girls cross-country, boys golf, girls swimming, and volleyball in the fall season. During the winter season, the school sponsored sports are boys and girls basketball, wrestling, and boys swimming. The spring consists of boys and girls golf, boys and girls track, boys and girls tennis, and boys and girls soccer. The summer sports are baseball and softball. The head of athletics activities is Judge Johnston. The girls golf team was crowned champions for the State Tournament in 2009. The Ames High Hockey team won state two times in 1985 and in 1986. The Ames High Girls swim team won four state meets in a row from 2010 to 2013, and again in 2015, 2016, and 2017. The Ames High Basketball Boys Basketball team has won eight state championships, most recently consecutive titles in 2009 and 2010. For the first time in school history, the Boys Tennis team won the state championship for Iowa in 2011. The Girls Soccer team won the state championship for the first time in 2017. The Ames High Girls Tennis team won the 2A State title four years in a row. Since 1941 Ames High has won 20 state championships in track and field. The Ultimate Frisbee team has been runner-up at the state tournament from 2013 to 2015, with a championship in 2012.
Campus
The school rests on a campus which includes a natural prairie reserve. The building has been recently renovated to incorporate new lockers, a wrestling room, a larger cafeteria, a modernized gym, and new weight room equipment. Plans for a new facility at the same site have just been approved and are planned to be completed by the start of the 2022-2023 school year.
The student body at Ames High School has a large presence in music. There are four concert bands, three choirs, two orchestras, two jazz bands, a pep band, and several instrument choirs. Other notable fine arts events include Madrigal, which involves a select group of students performing in chamber choir, string ensembles, a brass choir, the 315+ member Marching Band, where all band members perform in parades and at every home football game, and the spring Solo Ensemble Contest. While the marching band is not competitive, every three years the band heads to Orlando, Florida to perform at Disney World.
