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Parents: what's one thing you'd want the Big Spring HS administration to hear?
Community prompt from u/allk12. Replies below.
Enrollment
764
High
DISTRICT 469 · STATE 738
SCHOOL COMMUNITY·BIG SPRING SD·NCES 420366001677
Big Spring High School
100 Mount Rock Rd, Newville, PA 17241 · (717) 776-2436 · Cumberland County
GRADES 09–12HIGH41-RURALREGULAR SCHOOL764 STUDENTS
C-
allk12 Grade
Scored higher than 23% of Pennsylvania 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.
- DBeats 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 Pennsylvania public high schools
Student : Teacher
13.6:1
56 FTE teachers
DISTRICT 12.2:1 · STATE 12.8:1
Free / Reduced Lunch
39%
298 students
DISTRICT 46% · STATE 75%
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 | 190 | 25% |
| Grade 10 | 219 | 29% |
| Grade 11 | 175 | 23% |
| Grade 12 | 180 | 24% |
Student demographics
17%Diversity index
The chance that two students picked at random belong to different racial or ethnic groups.
DISTRICT 17% · STATE 59% · 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
Feeds from
Based on grade levels within Big Spring SD. Attendance zones can vary; confirm enrollment with the district.
Test scores
PSSA + Keystone 2024-25 . % Proficient or AdvancedEnglish Language Arts
59.1%
PA avg 51.1% . +8.8pp since 2023
Math
31.9%
PA avg 43.0% . +3.2pp since 2023
What this means: On the PSSA + Keystone, Pennsylvania's statewide test, about 59 of every 100 students at this school read and write at grade level and about 32 of 100 do math at grade level. Across all Pennsylvania schools, those numbers are about 51 and 43. Reading and writing scores are up about 9 points since 2023, while math scores are up about 3 points.
PSSA + Keystone results by year
| School year | English Language Arts | Math |
|---|---|---|
| 2024-25 | 59.1% | 31.9% |
| 2023-24 | 50.3% | 28.7% |
% Proficient or Advanced, all students and all tested grades.
Source: PSSA + Keystone. 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
44.8%
composite math + reading, all grades
Predicted
60.9%
based on PA schools with similar FRL share
Beats by
-16.1pp
below demographic expectation
What this means: About 45% of students here test proficient in math and reading, compared with the roughly 61% typical for Pennsylvania 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 Pennsylvania'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 Big Spring High School
Big Spring High School's state test result (44.8% proficient) is higher than 0 of the 5 schools below with a result.
| School | Students | Low-income | Proficient |
|---|---|---|---|
| Big Spring High School this school | 764 | 39.0% | 44.8% |
| Blue Mountain High School Schuylkill Haven | 791 | 37.7% | 59.3% |
| Lake-Lehman JSHS Lehman | 745 | 37.4% | 50.0% |
| Elizabeth Forward SHS Elizabeth | 763 | 38.0% | 59.4% |
| Hughesville JSHS Hughesville | 728 | 41.3% | 49.2% |
| North Pocono High School Covington Twp | 915 | 36.7% | 61.9% |
Matched among Pennsylvania 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 Big Spring High School ranks
Among high schools| Measure | This school | In Pennsylvania | In Cumberland County |
|---|---|---|---|
| State test proficiency ranked highest first | 44.8% | #379 of 576 | #8 of 8 |
| Math proficiency ranked highest first | 31.9% | #380 of 626 ▲ 28 | #8 of 8 no change |
| Reading proficiency ranked highest first | 59.1% | #314 of 626 ▲ 139 | #7 of 8 ▲ 1 |
| Enrollment ranked largest first | 764 | #242 of 713 | #6 of 9 |
| Students per teacher ranked fewest first | 13.6:1 | #274 of 601 | #2 of 8 |
| Diversity index ranked most diverse first | 16.5% | #422 of 604 | #8 of 8 |
| Free and reduced lunch ranked highest share first | 39.0% | #468 of 619 | #4 of 8 |
| Enrollment change since 2017-18 ranked steepest decline first | -7.5% | #231 of 373 | 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
764
0 (0%) vs 2020
-18% since 1990-91, when it was 929
Student : Teacher
13.6:1
was 12.7:1
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 | 764 | 56.3 | 13.6:1 | 39% (298) |
| 2023-24 | 752 | 54 | 13.9:1 | 40% (298) |
| 2022-23 | 739 | 56.1 | 13.2:1 | 33% (241) |
| 2020-21 | 764 | 60 | 12.7:1 | 29% (220) |
| 2017-18 | 826 | 64.3 | 12.8:1 | 26% (216) |
| 2015-16 | 884 | 66 | 13.4:1 | 27% (239) |
| 2010-11 | 979 | 76 | 12.9:1 | 24% (233) |
| 2000-01 | 1,017 | 72 | 14.1:1 | 7% (75) |
| 1990-91 | 929 | 60 | 15.5:1 | N/A |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data. Rows are the federal collections on file for Big Spring High School.
Since 2017-18: students down 8% (826 to 764); teachers down 13% (64.3 to 56.3).
About Big Spring High School
This page covers Big Spring High School, a mid-sized high school in Newville, Pennsylvania. The school enrolls 764 students in grades 9 through 12.
Big Spring SD is the district for Big Spring High School. It has 5 schools and 2,344 students.
White students account for 91% of the school's enrollment. After that, the student body is 4% Hispanic and 4% multiracial. Among all residents of Cumberland County, the White share is about 82%. Its diversity index, the chance that two randomly chosen students belong to different racial or ethnic groups, is 17%.
Big Spring High School reports a ratio of 13.6 students per teacher, from 56.3 full-time-equivalent teachers. Across high schools in Pennsylvania, the average ratio is 12.8:1. Lunch program data show 39% of students are eligible for free or reduced-price meals. That is in line with the 41% average for public schools in Cumberland County.
Big Spring High School earns a C- on the allk12 Grade, which blends test scores, results against poverty-based expectations, and the three-year trend. It scored higher than 23% of Pennsylvania public high schools.
The allk12 BeatsExpectations score for Big Spring High School is -16.1 points: 44.8% actual, 60.9% predicted.
In the surrounding county, Cumberland County, median household income comes to about $87,494, about 40% of adults have at least a bachelor's degree, and the poverty rate is about 5%. The county's public schools total 57, with about 33,044 students.
Mount Rock Elementary School is about 0.2 miles from Big Spring High School, the shortest distance to any other public school. A five-mile radius around the school includes 4 other public schools. By average proficiency, Big Spring High School is 8th among 9 schools close by.
Locale data from NCES put Big Spring High School in rural territory close to an urban area (Rural: Fringe).
Compared with 2020-21, when it had 764 students, enrollment in 2024-25 was about the same at 764.
This page is set up for the Big Spring High School community to discuss homework, tutoring, and testing dates. Current and former families are welcome to add their experience.
Cumberland County at a glance
View full county profilePopulation
268,323
Census ACS
Median income
$87,494
Household, ACS
Bachelor's+
40%
Adults 25+
Poverty rate
5%
Below federal line
Schools in county
57
33,044 students
Quick facts
Related schools
Other schools in Big Spring SD
- Big Spring Middle SchoolMiddle · 550 students
- Newville Elementary SchoolElementary · 351 students
- Oak Flat Elementary SchoolElementary · 348 students
- Mount Rock Elementary SchoolElementary · 331 students
Other schools in Newville
- Big Spring Middle SchoolMiddle · 550 students
- Newville Elementary SchoolElementary · 351 students
- Oak Flat Elementary SchoolElementary · 348 students
- Mount Rock Elementary SchoolElementary · 331 students
Other Big Spring High schools
One other US public school is named Big Spring High. Big Spring High School is the 2nd largest of the 2.
- Big Spring High SchoolBIG SPRING, TX · 982 students
Nearby schools
- Mount Rock Elementary School0.2 mi · 331
- Big Spring Middle School0.4 mi · 550
- Oak Flat Elementary School1.0 mi · 348
- Newville Elementary School1.3 mi · 351
- North Dickinson Elementary School7.0 mi · 193
- Carlisle Area High School9.5 mi · 1,559
Frequently asked questions
About Big Spring High SchoolHow large is Big Spring High School?
Big Spring High School enrolls approximately 764 students in grades 09-12.
What age range does Big Spring High School serve?
Big Spring High School serves students from grade 09 through grade 12.
What is the student-teacher ratio at Big Spring High School?
The student-to-teacher ratio at Big Spring High School is approximately 13.6:1 (56 FTE teachers).
What is the student diversity at Big Spring High School?
Student demographics at Big Spring High School are roughly 91% White, 4% Hispanic, 1% Black, 1% Asian, 4% Two or more.
What district is Big Spring High School in?
Big Spring High School is part of Big Spring SD.
Data sourceSchool profile facts are sourced from the NCES. Community content is posted by allk12 members.