Enrollment
325
Elementary
DISTRICT 192 · STATE 249
SCHOOL COMMUNITY·MERRIMACK VALLEY SCHOOL DISTRICT·NCES 330476000283
Penacook Elementary School
60 Village St., Penacook, NH 03303 · (603) 753-4891 · Merrimack County
GRADES PK–05ELEMENTARY31-TOWNTITLE IREGULAR SCHOOL325 STUDENTS
D
allk12 Grade
Scored higher than 12% of New Hampshire public elementary schools
- DTest scores Share of students meeting the state standard in reading, math, and other tested subjects, 2023-24 and 2024-25.
- CBeats expectations How far test scores land above or below what the share of low-income students predicts for a school in this state.
- ·Three-year trend Not available for this school, so the grade uses the other parts.
Grades compare a school only with schools in the same state, because every state gives its own test. How grades work · Top-graded New Hampshire public elementary schools
Student : Teacher
10.5:1
31 FTE teachers
DISTRICT 10.0:1 · STATE 11.0:1
Free / Reduced Lunch
42%
136 students
DISTRICT 28% · STATE 26%
Community
0
0 members
Enrollment and student:teacher ratio compared against other elementary schools. Free/Reduced Lunch and demographics compared against all schools.
Enrollment by grade, 2024-25
| Grade | Students | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Pre-K | 19 | 6% |
| Kindergarten | 48 | 15% |
| Grade 1 | 49 | 15% |
| Grade 2 | 52 | 16% |
| Grade 3 | 50 | 15% |
| Grade 4 | 51 | 16% |
| Grade 5 | 56 | 17% |
This year's kindergarten class (48) is 14% smaller than its 5th grade class (56).
Student demographics
31%Diversity index
The chance that two students picked at random belong to different racial or ethnic groups.
DISTRICT 20% · STATE 33% · US 70%
Student head counts by race/ethnicity from federal NCES enrollment data. District, state, and US figures are each group's share of all public school students in that area (US excludes territories). Very small groups may be suppressed in the source, so categories do not always sum exactly to total enrollment.
Gender split
School pathway
Students here typically continue to
Based on grade levels within Merrimack Valley School District. Attendance zones can vary; confirm enrollment with the district.
Test scores
NHSAS 2024-25 . % Above ProficientEnglish Language Arts
37.0%
NH avg 55.2%
Math
38.0%
NH avg 43.0%
What this means: On the NHSAS, New Hampshire's statewide test, about 37 of every 100 students at this school read and write at grade level and about 38 of 100 do math at grade level. Across all New Hampshire schools, those numbers are about 55 and 43.
Source: NHSAS. All students, all grades. See all years and grades →
BeatsExpectations
Demographically-adjusted score · methodologyTier
AS EXPECTED
Performing as predicted given the school's student profile
Actual proficiency
33.1%
composite math + reading, all grades
Predicted
36.5%
based on NH schools with similar FRL share
Beats by
-3.4pp
below demographic expectation
What this means: About 33% of students here test proficient in math and reading, compared with the roughly 36% typical for New Hampshire schools with a similar share of low-income students. BeatsExpectations measures results against demographically similar schools rather than by raw scores, and this school falls within the typical range, neither among New Hampshire's top nor bottom 10%.
BeatsExpectations runs a per-state regression of proficiency on free/reduced-lunch share, then scores each school by residual. How this is calculated →
Schools most like Penacook Elementary School
Penacook Elementary School's state test result (33.1% proficient) is higher than 1 of the 4 schools below with a result.
| School | Students | Low-income | Proficient |
|---|---|---|---|
| Penacook Elementary School this school | 325 | 41.8% | 33.1% |
| Woodman Park School Dover | 421 | 44.7% | 41.5% |
| Maple Wood Elementary School Somersworth | 285 | 43.5% | 28.6% |
| Pleasant Street School Laconia | 255 | 43.1% | 41.8% |
| Beaver Meadow School Concord | 362 | 37.8% | 36.5% |
| Idlehurst Elementary School Somersworth | 341 | 34.9% | N/A |
Matched among New Hampshire elementary schools on enrollment, the share of students from low-income families (eligible for free or reduced-price lunch), and racial and ethnic makeup. Proficient is the average share of students meeting the state standard across all of the school's state tests in 2023-24 and 2024-25, the same combined score our test-score rankings use. Online schools and schools serving specialized populations are not matched.
Where Penacook Elementary School ranks
Among elementary schools| Measure | This school | In New Hampshire | In Merrimack County |
|---|---|---|---|
| State test proficiency ranked highest first | 33.1% | #178 of 209 | #22 of 24 |
| Math proficiency ranked highest first | 38.0% | #151 of 209 | #19 of 24 |
| Reading proficiency ranked highest first | 37.0% | #179 of 210 | #21 of 24 |
| Enrollment ranked largest first | 325 | #97 of 300 | #12 of 34 |
| Students per teacher ranked fewest first | 10.5:1 | #60 of 179 | #5 of 22 |
| Diversity index ranked most diverse first | 31.2% | #60 of 181 | #6 of 23 |
| Free and reduced lunch ranked highest share first | 41.8% | #45 of 240 | #4 of 28 |
| Enrollment change since 2017-18 ranked steepest decline first | -13.6% | #68 of 139 | #5 of 14 |
Ranked against other public elementary schools. Online schools are left out of every list, and test-score lists leave out schools that serve specialized populations. Each rank links to the full list. Arrows under a test-score rank show places moved since the prior test year, among schools tested both years.
4-year change
SY 2020-21 vs SY 2024-25Enrollment
325
+21 (+7%) vs 2020
+45% since 1990-91, when it was 224
Student : Teacher
10.5:1
was 10.1:1
Source: NCES Common Core of Data
Enrollment and staffing by year
| School year | Students | Teachers (FTE) | Students per teacher | Free and reduced lunch |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024-25 | 325 | 31 | 10.5:1 | 42% (136) |
| 2023-24 | 315 | 30.1 | 10.5:1 | 43% (135) |
| 2022-23 | 330 | 27.7 | 11.9:1 | 38% (124) |
| 2020-21 | 304 | 30 | 10.1:1 | 18% (55) |
| 2017-18 | 376 | 29 | 13.0:1 | 36% (135) |
| 2015-16 | 411 | 29 | 14.2:1 | 38% (155) |
| 2010-11 | 390 | 28 | 13.9:1 | 28% (111) |
| 2000-01 | 314 | 21 | 14.9:1 | 17% (54) |
| 1990-91 | 224 | 11 | 20.4:1 | N/A |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data. Rows are the federal collections on file for Penacook Elementary School.
Since 2017-18: students down 14% (376 to 325); teachers up 7% (29 to 31).
About Penacook Elementary School
As a mid-sized elementary school, Penacook Elementary School serves students in Penacook, New Hampshire. In all, 325 students attend the school in pre-K through 5. It has 31% more students than the average for elementary schools in New Hampshire (about 249).
Merrimack Valley School District is responsible for 7 schools, Penacook Elementary School included, with 2,170 students in all.
The share of students at Penacook Elementary School who are White is 82%. Other groups include 5% Asian, 5% Black, 4% multiracial, and 4% Hispanic. By comparison, Merrimack County residents are about 91% White. A diversity index of 31% means there is a 31% chance two randomly chosen students at Penacook Elementary School are from different groups.
The school had 31 full-time-equivalent teachers in 2024-25. Its student-to-teacher ratio is 10.5:1. The ratio is within a point of the 11.0:1 average for elementary schools in New Hampshire. The eligibility rate for free or reduced-price meals is 42%. Among public schools in Merrimack County, the average eligibility rate is 25%.
Penacook Elementary School earns a D on the allk12 Grade, which blends test scores, results against poverty-based expectations, and the three-year trend. It scored higher than 12% of New Hampshire public elementary schools.
On a poverty-adjusted basis, Penacook Elementary School falls in the middle 80% of New Hampshire schools: 33.1% actual against 36.5% predicted.
The school is in Merrimack County, where the median household earns about $97,004 a year, a bachelor's degree or higher is held by about 39% of adults, and the poverty rate is about 4%. Across Merrimack County, 61 public schools serve about 17,429 students.
Merrimack Valley High School, about 0.3 miles away, is the closest public school. Within five miles of Penacook Elementary School, there are at least 8 other public schools. On average proficiency, Penacook Elementary School is 6th of 6 nearby schools with test data.
Its NCES locale code is Town: Fringe: the school is in a town close to an urbanized area.
Federal enrollment counts rose from 304 (2020-21) to 325 (2024-25).
People can post here about homework, tutoring, and testing dates and other school topics. Members of the school community can share what they know.
Merrimack County at a glance
View full county profilePopulation
155,967
Census ACS
Median income
$97,004
Household, ACS
Bachelor's+
39%
Adults 25+
Poverty rate
4%
Below federal line
Schools in county
61
17,429 students
Quick facts
Related schools
Other schools in Merrimack Valley School District
- Merrimack Valley High SchoolHigh · 744 students
- Merrimack Valley Middle SchoolMiddle · 466 students
- Loudon Elementary SchoolElementary · 243 students
- Boscawen Elementary SchoolElementary · 240 students
- Webster Elementary SchoolElementary · 88 students
- Salisbury Elementary SchoolElementary · 64 students
Other schools in Penacook
- Merrimack Valley High SchoolHigh · 744 students
- Merrimack Valley Middle SchoolMiddle · 466 students
- CSI Charter SchoolHigh · 34 students
Nearby schools
- Merrimack Valley High School0.3 mi · 744
- Merrimack Valley Middle School0.3 mi · 466
- CSI Charter School0.9 mi · 34
- Beaver Meadow School1.6 mi · 362
- Boscawen Elementary School2.4 mi · 240
- Synergy Academy Chartered Public School3.5 mi · 21
Frequently asked questions
About Penacook Elementary SchoolWhat is the total enrollment at Penacook Elementary School?
Penacook Elementary School enrolls approximately 325 students in grades PK-05.
What grades does Penacook Elementary School serve?
Penacook Elementary School serves grades PK-05.
What is the student-teacher ratio at Penacook Elementary School?
The student-to-teacher ratio at Penacook Elementary School is approximately 10.5:1 (31 FTE teachers).
What is the racial breakdown of students at Penacook Elementary School?
At Penacook Elementary School, the student body is approximately 82% White, 4% Hispanic, 5% Black, 5% Asian, 4% Two or more.
Is Penacook Elementary School public or private?
Penacook Elementary School is a public K-12 school, overseen by Merrimack Valley School District.
Data sourceSchool profile facts are sourced from the NCES. Community content is posted by allk12 members.