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How has Pender High changed in the last five years, for better or worse?
Community prompt from u/allk12. Replies below.
Enrollment
648
High
DISTRICT 885 · STATE 761
SCHOOL COMMUNITY·PENDER COUNTY SCHOOLS·NCES 370357001466
Pender High
5380 NC Hwy 53 W, Burgaw, NC 28425 · (910) 259-0162 · Pender County
GRADES 09–12HIGH42-RURALTITLE IREGULAR SCHOOL648 STUDENTS
F
allk12 Grade
Scored higher than 2% of North Carolina public high schools
- FTest scores Share of students meeting the state standard in reading, math, and other tested subjects, 2023-24 and 2024-25.
- FBeats 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
22.2:1
29 FTE teachers
DISTRICT 31.0:1 · STATE 19.6:1
Free / Reduced Lunch
98%
638 students
DISTRICT 82% · 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 | 157 | 24% |
| Grade 10 | 165 | 25% |
| Grade 11 | 173 | 27% |
| Grade 12 | 153 | 24% |
Student demographics
68%Diversity index
The chance that two students picked at random belong to different racial or ethnic groups.
DISTRICT 53% · 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
29.2%
NC avg 50.9%
Math
6.6%
NC avg 52.2%
What this means: On the NC EOG / EOC, North Carolina's statewide test, about 29 of every 100 students at this school read and write at grade level and about 7 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
21.3%
composite math + reading, all grades
Predicted
48.8%
based on NC schools with similar FRL share
Beats by
-27.4pp
below demographic expectation
What this means: About 21% 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 Pender High
Pender High's state test result (21.3% proficient) is higher than 0 of the 5 schools below with a result.
| School | Students | Low-income | Proficient |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pender High this school | 648 | 98.5% | 21.3% |
| South Granville High Creedmoor | 706 | 97.2% | 38.3% |
| Walkertown High Walkertown | 662 | 99.5% | 26.8% |
| Bessemer City High Bessemer City | 590 | 99.5% | 26.7% |
| Louisburg Magnet High Louisburg | 630 | 99.0% | 49.4% |
| John M Morehead High Eden | 771 | 99.6% | 32.8% |
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 Pender High ranks
Among high schools| Measure | This school | In North Carolina |
|---|---|---|
| State test proficiency ranked highest first | 21.3% | #454 of 468 |
| Math proficiency ranked highest first | 6.6% | #463 of 464 |
| Reading proficiency ranked highest first | 29.2% | #431 of 448 |
| Enrollment ranked largest first | 648 | #300 of 598 |
| Students per teacher ranked fewest first | 22.2:1 | #372 of 473 |
| Diversity index ranked most diverse first | 68.1% | #106 of 474 |
| Free and reduced lunch ranked highest share first | 98.5% | #264 of 527 |
| Enrollment change since 2017-18 ranked steepest decline first | -4.4% | #212 of 277 |
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
648
+64 (+11%) vs 2020
-40% since 1990-91, when it was 1,074
Student : Teacher
22.2:1
was 14.6:1
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 | 648 | 29.2 | 22.2:1 | 98% (638) |
| 2023-24 | 672 | 35 | 19.2:1 | 100% (669) |
| 2022-23 | 677 | 34.7 | 19.5:1 | 71% (478) |
| 2020-21 | 584 | 40 | 14.6:1 | 53% (312) |
| 2017-18 | 678 | 43 | 15.8:1 | 65% (443) |
| 2015-16 | 627 | 42 | 14.9:1 | 73% (455) |
| 2010-11 | 655 | 45 | 14.6:1 | 63% (414) |
| 2000-01 | 1,116 | 82 | 13.6:1 | 43% (481) |
| 1990-91 | 1,074 | 72 | 14.9:1 | N/A |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data. Rows are the federal collections on file for Pender High.
Since 2017-18: students down 4% (678 to 648); teachers down 32% (43 to 29.2).
About Pender High
Pender High is classified as a high school. It is located in Burgaw, North Carolina. Enrollment is 648 students in 2024-25, and the school serves grades 9 through 12.
Pender High is one school in Pender County Schools, a system of 19 schools with 11,073 students.
Pender High's enrollment has no majority group, and White students are the largest at 41%. The school is also 31% Black, 23% Hispanic, and 4% multiracial. The White share of the county population is higher, at 75%. The chance that two students picked at random at Pender High belong to different racial or ethnic groups, known as the diversity index, is 68%.
Federal records show a student-to-teacher ratio of 22.2:1 at Pender High, with 29.2 full-time-equivalent teachers. Among high schools in North Carolina, the typical ratio is 19.6:1. The count of students eligible for free or reduced-price lunch equals 98% of enrollment. The average for public schools in Pender County is 70%.
Measured against North Carolina public high schools, Pender High receives an F. The grade weighs proficiency most heavily, then how results compare with what the school's low-income share predicts, then the three-year change.
Pender High trails its predicted average proficiency rate on state tests by 27.4 points (21.3% versus 48.8%), a bottom-10% result in North Carolina on BeatsExpectations.
In the county around the school, Pender County, median household income is about $80,396, about 31% of adults have at least a bachelor's degree, and the poverty rate is about 7%. A total of 19 public schools operate in Pender County, serving about 11,073 students.
Nearby, Malpass Corner Elementary is about 3.7 miles away. Other public schools within five miles number 3. Pender High is 9th of 9 nearby schools by average proficiency rate.
Under the NCES locale system, Pender High is Rural: Distant.
The 2024-25 enrollment of 648 was 11% higher than in 2020-21, when it was 584. Over the same period, the student-to-teacher ratio rose to 22.2:1, from 14.6:1.
Parents and students can post about school events, clubs, and volunteer needs at Pender High. Alumni can share how the school prepared them.
Pender County at a glance
View full county profilePopulation
65,550
Census ACS
Median income
$80,396
Household, ACS
Bachelor's+
31%
Adults 25+
Poverty rate
7%
Below federal line
Schools in county
19
11,073 students
Quick facts
Related schools
Other schools in Pender County Schools
- Topsail HighHigh · 1,945 students
- Surf City ElementaryElementary · 857 students
- Topsail MiddleMiddle · 837 students
- Surf City MiddleMiddle · 752 students
- Heide Trask HighHigh · 732 students
- South Topsail ElementaryElementary · 618 students
Other schools in Burgaw
- C.F. Pope ElementaryElementary · 530 students
- Malpass Corner ElementaryElementary · 513 students
- Burgaw MiddleMiddle · 236 students
- Pender Early College HighHigh · 215 students
- West Pender MiddleMiddle · 209 students
Other Pender High schools
One other US public school is named Pender High. Pender High is the largest of the 2.
- PENDER HIGH SCHOOLPENDER, NE · 191 students
Nearby schools
- Malpass Corner Elementary3.7 mi · 513
- C.F. Pope Elementary4.9 mi · 530
- Burgaw Middle5.0 mi · 236
- Pender Early College High5.1 mi · 215
- West Pender Middle5.3 mi · 209
- Penderlea Elementary7.8 mi · 468
Frequently asked questions
About Pender HighHow large is Pender High?
Pender High enrolls approximately 648 students in grades 09-12.
Is Pender High an elementary, middle, or high school?
Pender High is a high school covering grades 09-12.
How many teachers does Pender High have?
Pender High employs 29 FTE teachers, for a student-to-teacher ratio of 22.2:1.
How diverse is Pender High?
Pender High reports a student body of 41% White, 23% Hispanic, 31% Black, 0% Asian, 4% Two or more.
Is Pender High public or private?
Pender High is a public K-12 school, overseen by Pender County Schools.
Data sourceSchool profile facts are sourced from the NCES. Community content is posted by allk12 members.