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How has New Hanover High changed in the last five years, for better or worse?
Community prompt from u/allk12. Replies below.
Enrollment
1,437
High
DISTRICT 953 · STATE 761
SCHOOL COMMUNITY·NEW HANOVER COUNTY SCHOOLS·NCES 370333001384
New Hanover High
1307 Market St, Wilmington, NC 28401 · (910) 251-6100 · New Hanover County
GRADES 09–12HIGH12-CITYTITLE IREGULAR SCHOOL1,437 STUDENTS
C-
allk12 Grade
Scored higher than 17% of North Carolina public high schools
- C-Test scores Share of students meeting the state standard in reading, math, and other tested subjects, 2023-24 and 2024-25.
- C-Beats 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 North Carolina public high schools
Student : Teacher
15.7:1
91 FTE teachers
DISTRICT 16.2:1 · STATE 19.6:1
Free / Reduced Lunch
99%
1,416 students
DISTRICT 72% · STATE 82%
Community
1
0 members
Enrollment and student:teacher ratio compared against other high schools. Free/Reduced Lunch and demographics compared against all schools.
Enrollment by grade, 2024-25
| Grade | Students | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Grade 9 | 425 | 30% |
| Grade 10 | 369 | 26% |
| Grade 11 | 319 | 22% |
| Grade 12 | 324 | 23% |
Student demographics
69%Diversity index
The chance that two students picked at random belong to different racial or ethnic groups.
DISTRICT 61% · STATE 71% · 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
Test scores
NC EOG / EOC 2024-25 . % Grade Level Proficient (Level 3+)English Language Arts
43.5%
NC avg 50.9%
Math
14.2%
NC avg 52.2%
What this means: On the NC EOG / EOC, North Carolina's statewide test, about 44 of every 100 students at this school read and write at grade level and about 14 of 100 do math at grade level. Across all North Carolina schools, those numbers are about 51 and 52.
Source: NC EOG / EOC. All students, all grades. See all years and grades →
BeatsExpectations
Demographically-adjusted score · methodologyTier
UNDERPERFORMING
Bottom 10% of NC schools after controlling for student poverty
Actual proficiency
30.9%
composite math + reading, all grades
Predicted
48.8%
based on NC schools with similar FRL share
Beats by
-17.9pp
below demographic expectation
What this means: About 31% of students here test proficient in math and reading, below the roughly 49% typical for North Carolina schools with a similar share of low-income students. BeatsExpectations compares each school with others at the same poverty level, not by raw scores, so a school lands here when its results trail those comparable schools, which is not the same as having low scores. A higher-scoring school can still fall in this tier if similar schools score higher still.
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 New Hanover High
New Hanover High's state test result (30.9% proficient) is higher than 0 of the 5 schools below with a result.
| School | Students | Low-income | Proficient |
|---|---|---|---|
| New Hanover High this school | 1,437 | 98.5% | 30.9% |
| Clayton High Clayton | 1,929 | 99.6% | 46.6% |
| Franklinton High Franklinton | 1,127 | 99.4% | 48.4% |
| James Hunt High Wilson | 1,115 | 98.7% | 32.1% |
| R J Reynolds High Winston Salem | 1,759 | 99.4% | 37.7% |
| Mount Tabor High School Winston Salem | 1,426 | 99.8% | 38.6% |
Matched among North Carolina high 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 New Hanover High ranks
Among high schools| Measure | This school | In North Carolina | In New Hanover County |
|---|---|---|---|
| State test proficiency ranked highest first | 30.9% | #392 of 468 | #7 of 7 |
| Math proficiency ranked highest first | 14.2% | #432 of 464 | #7 of 7 |
| Reading proficiency ranked highest first | 43.5% | #353 of 448 | #6 of 6 |
| Enrollment ranked largest first | 1,437 | #99 of 598 | #4 of 10 |
| Students per teacher ranked fewest first | 15.7:1 | #92 of 473 | #3 of 8 |
| Diversity index ranked most diverse first | 69.4% | #79 of 474 | #2 of 8 |
| Free and reduced lunch ranked highest share first | 98.5% | #253 of 527 | #4 of 9 |
| Enrollment change since 2017-18 ranked steepest decline first | -8.5% | #149 of 277 | N/A |
Ranked against other public high 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
1,437
-98 (-6%) vs 2020
-11% since 1990-91, when it was 1,609
Student : Teacher
15.7:1
was 16.2:1
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 | 1,437 | 91.3 | 15.7:1 | 99% (1,416) |
| 2023-24 | 1,515 | 97.1 | 15.6:1 | 100% (1,512) |
| 2022-23 | 1,466 | 98.6 | 14.9:1 | 100% (1,463) |
| 2020-21 | 1,535 | 95 | 16.2:1 | 100% (1,532) |
| 2017-18 | 1,571 | 96.8 | 16.2:1 | 99% (1,561) |
| 2015-16 | 1,654 | 102 | 16.2:1 | 48% (786) |
| 2010-11 | 1,602 | 102 | 15.7:1 | 45% (720) |
| 2000-01 | 1,588 | 110 | 14.4:1 | 24% (380) |
| 1990-91 | 1,609 | 109 | 14.8:1 | N/A |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data. Rows are the federal collections on file for New Hanover High.
Since 2017-18: students down 9% (1,571 to 1,437); teachers down 6% (96.8 to 91.3).
About New Hanover High
New Hanover High sits in Wilmington, North Carolina, and is classified as a high school. The grade span is 9 through 12, and enrollment is 1,437 students. An average school in this group (high schools in North Carolina) has about 761 students.
New Hanover High is run by New Hanover County Schools, whose 42 schools enroll 24,791 students.
The most common group at New Hanover High is White students, at 36%. Other groups include 32% Black, 27% Hispanic, and 4% multiracial. The county population is about 77% White. New Hanover High's diversity index is 69%, against a US figure of 70%.
The school reports 91.3 full-time-equivalent teachers, which works out to about 15.7 students per teacher. The school has fewer students per teacher than the 19.6:1 average for high schools in North Carolina. The free or reduced-price lunch share, often used to gauge student poverty, is 99%. Across public schools in New Hanover County, the average is 67%.
allk12 grades New Hanover High a C-. The grade compares the school only with North Carolina public high schools, because each state gives its own test.
New Hanover High posts an average proficiency rate on state tests of 30.9%. Schools with its free or reduced-price lunch share in North Carolina are predicted to post 48.8%, so the school is 17.9 points behind and in the state's bottom 10%.
New Hanover High is located in New Hanover County, where the median household income is $75,166, the share of adults with a bachelor's degree or higher is 45%, and roughly 8% of residents are in poverty. Besides New Hanover High, New Hanover County has 49 other public schools.
The closest public school to New Hanover High is The International School at Gregory, about 0.4 miles away. Counting only straight-line distance, at least 8 other public schools are within five miles. Among its closest neighbors with test data, New Hanover High is 4th of 6 on proficiency.
NCES describes the area around New Hanover High as City: Mid-size, meaning inside a principal city with a population between 100,000 and 250,000.
Federal data show a 6% enrollment decrease, from 1,535 in 2020-21 to 1,437 in 2024-25.
The New Hanover High community page is open for posts about sports tryouts, band and choir, and theater. Posting is open to anyone connected to the school.
New Hanover County at a glance
View full county profilePopulation
235,229
Census ACS
Median income
$75,166
Household, ACS
Bachelor's+
45%
Adults 25+
Poverty rate
8%
Below federal line
Schools in county
50
27,460 students
Quick facts
Related schools
Other schools in New Hanover County Schools
- Emsley A Laney HighHigh · 2,243 students
- John T Hoggard HighHigh · 2,082 students
- Eugene Ashley HighHigh · 1,893 students
- Charles P Murray MiddleMiddle · 907 students
- Roland-Grise MiddleMiddle · 878 students
- Holly Shelter MiddleMiddle · 801 students
Other schools in Wilmington
- Emsley A Laney HighHigh · 2,243 students
- John T Hoggard HighHigh · 2,082 students
- Eugene Ashley HighHigh · 1,893 students
- American Leadership Academy-CoastalCombined · 1,002 students
- Charles P Murray MiddleMiddle · 907 students
- Roland-Grise MiddleMiddle · 878 students
Nearby schools
- The International School at Gregory0.4 mi · 514
- Williston Middle0.5 mi · 666
- Classical Charter Schools of Wilmington0.7 mi · 140
- A H Snipes Academy of Arts/Des0.7 mi · 342
- D.C. Virgo Preparatory Academy1.0 mi · 162
- Forest Hills Global Elementary1.2 mi · 340
Frequently asked questions
About New Hanover HighWhat is the total enrollment at New Hanover High?
New Hanover High enrolls approximately 1,437 students in grades 09-12.
What age range does New Hanover High serve?
New Hanover High serves students from grade 09 through grade 12.
How many students per teacher at New Hanover High?
Approximately 15.7:1 students per teacher at New Hanover High.
How diverse is New Hanover High?
New Hanover High reports a student body of 36% White, 27% Hispanic, 32% Black, 1% Asian, 4% Two or more.
Who oversees New Hanover High?
New Hanover High is overseen by New Hanover County Schools in New Hanover County.
Data sourceSchool profile facts are sourced from the NCES. Community content is posted by allk12 members.