WVHS is highly regarded as a school that possesses one of the most rigorous educational experiences that can be found anywhere in the state of Alaska.

Teachers, students, and administrators have received a myriad of awards that have confirmed West Valley's position as an educationally advanced institution.

A major renovation of the school was completed in 2000, roughly doubling the amount of classroom space to serve up to 1300 students.

WVHS and Hutchison were built on the southeast corner of the UAF campus, on a mostly undeveloped tract separated from UAF's lower campus core by the Alaska Railroad tracks (University Park Elementary was built on the northeast corner of that tract in the late 1950s).

The building has two floors and is divided into three main sections, one of which houses most of the classrooms, one the administrative offices and library, and one the gymnasium and other special-use rooms.

Students at West Valley are required to obtain: A credit equals one year of courses (two semesters).

The school offers Spanish and Chinese languages, and students may choose to take Japanese for dual credit through the University of Alaska Fairbanks.

The school also regularly sends participants to both regional and state level Language Declamation contests.

On this day, upper-class mentors play fun and educational games with freshmen to help them acclimate to the high school environment.

Many individuals and groups compete in the All-State Music Festival in the fall and Statewide Solo & Small Ensemble Competition held every spring.

In the 2015–16 school year, four West Valley orchestra members received first chair awards at the All-State Music Festival.

[7] West Valley offers all standard high school sports, including swimming, baseball, basketball, cross-country running and skiing, football, gymnastics, hockey, soccer, softball, tennis, track and field, wrestling, rifle and volleyball.

West Valley wrestling created an Alaskan Dynasty by winning the state championships five years in a row from 1987 to 1991, and posting a duel match record of 176-1-1 under Coach Dave Toney and Tom Ritchie, who emphasized "promoting self pride to create better citizens".

West Valley has competed at the national finals many times, including in Hawaii in April 2007 when it achieved the highest score of any Alaska school in history.

Each year, the Mock Trial Club gets a new case to study and analyze and then goes on to compete in a regional and state competition in Anchorage.