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How has New Castle SHS changed in the last five years, for better or worse?
Community prompt from u/allk12. Replies below.
Enrollment
740
High
DISTRICT 718 · STATE 738
SCHOOL COMMUNITY·NEW CASTLE AREA SD·NCES 421662002704
New Castle SHS
300 E Lincoln Ave, New Castle, PA 16101 · (724) 656-4700 · Lawrence County
GRADES 09–12HIGH31-TOWNTITLE IREGULAR SCHOOL740 STUDENTS
C+
allk12 Grade
Scored higher than 35% 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.
- BBeats 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
15.4:1
48 FTE teachers
DISTRICT 15.1:1 · STATE 12.8:1
Free / Reduced Lunch
99%
732 students
DISTRICT 101% · 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 | 260 | 35% |
| Grade 10 | 172 | 23% |
| Grade 11 | 169 | 23% |
| Grade 12 | 139 | 19% |
Student demographics
65%Diversity index
The chance that two students picked at random belong to different racial or ethnic groups.
DISTRICT 66% · 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 New Castle Area SD. Attendance zones can vary; confirm enrollment with the district.
Test scores
PSSA + Keystone 2024-25 . % Proficient or AdvancedEnglish Language Arts
42.9%
PA avg 51.1% . -1.7pp since 2023
Math
32.7%
PA avg 43.0% . -0.4pp since 2023
What this means: On the PSSA + Keystone, Pennsylvania's statewide test, about 43 of every 100 students at this school read and write at grade level and about 33 of 100 do math at grade level. Across all Pennsylvania schools, those numbers are about 51 and 43. Reading and writing scores are down about 2 points since 2023, while math scores have held steady.
PSSA + Keystone results by year
| School year | English Language Arts | Math |
|---|---|---|
| 2024-25 | 42.9% | 32.7% |
| 2023-24 | 44.6% | 33.1% |
% 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
35.8%
composite math + reading, all grades
Predicted
35.2%
based on PA schools with similar FRL share
Beats by
+0.6pp
above demographic expectation
What this means: About 36% of students here test proficient in math and reading, compared with the roughly 35% 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 New Castle SHS
New Castle SHS's state test result (35.8% proficient) is higher than 2 of the 5 schools below with a result.
| School | Students | Low-income | Proficient |
|---|---|---|---|
| New Castle SHS this school | 740 | 98.9% | 35.8% |
| Pittsburgh CAPA 6-12 Pittsburgh | 840 | 98.3% | 71.5% |
| Valley JSHS New Kensington | 905 | 97.8% | 17.7% |
| Beaver Falls Area SHS Beaver Falls | 486 | 98.8% | 37.4% |
| Pottsgrove SHS Pottstown | 973 | 99.7% | 53.0% |
| Northgate MSHS Pittsburgh | 476 | 95.8% | 33.6% |
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 New Castle SHS ranks
Among high schools| Measure | This school | In Pennsylvania | In Lawrence County |
|---|---|---|---|
| State test proficiency ranked highest first | 35.8% | #458 of 576 | #8 of 9 |
| Math proficiency ranked highest first | 32.7% | #376 of 626 ▼ 8 | #6 of 9 ▲ 1 |
| Reading proficiency ranked highest first | 42.9% | #490 of 626 ▲ 9 | #7 of 9 ▲ 1 |
| Enrollment ranked largest first | 740 | #256 of 713 | #1 of 9 |
| Students per teacher ranked fewest first | 15.4:1 | #442 of 601 | #7 of 8 |
| Diversity index ranked most diverse first | 65.1% | #53 of 604 | #1 of 8 |
| Free and reduced lunch ranked highest share first | 98.9% | #147 of 619 | #2 of 9 |
| Enrollment change since 2017-18 ranked steepest decline first | -1.1% | #352 of 373 | #5 of 6 |
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
740
-38 (-5%) vs 2020
-21% since 1990-91, when it was 938
Student : Teacher
15.4:1
was 16.9:1
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 | 740 | 48 | 15.4:1 | 99% (732) |
| 2023-24 | 732 | 47.1 | 15.5:1 | 100% (732) |
| 2022-23 | 771 | 49.2 | 15.7:1 | 100% (771) |
| 2020-21 | 778 | 46 | 16.9:1 | 2% (19) |
| 2017-18 | 748 | 54.5 | 13.7:1 | 100% (748) |
| 2015-16 | 773 | 53 | 14.6:1 | 100% (773) |
| 2010-11 | 1,402 | 98 | 14.3:1 | 55% (766) |
| 2000-01 | 925 | 58 | 15.9:1 | 23% (211) |
| 1990-91 | 938 | 55 | 17.1:1 | N/A |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data. Rows are the federal collections on file for New Castle SHS.
Since 2017-18: students down 1% (748 to 740); teachers down 12% (54.5 to 48).
About New Castle SHS
New Castle SHS is a mid-sized high school found in New Castle, Pennsylvania. It had 740 students in 2024-25, spanning grades 9 through 12.
New Castle Area SD runs 4 schools with a combined 2,872 students. New Castle SHS is one of them.
More than half of the students at New Castle SHS are White (51%). The next largest groups are 24% Black, 18% multiracial, and 7% Hispanic. In Lawrence County overall, about 90% of residents are White. Measured by the diversity index, the student body scores 65%.
There are 48 full-time-equivalent teachers at New Castle SHS, giving a ratio of 15.4:1. The school's 15.4:1 compares with an average of 12.8:1 for high schools in Pennsylvania. By family income, 99% of students are eligible for free or reduced-price lunch. Compared with the 67% average for public schools in Lawrence County, the school's rate is higher.
On the allk12 Grade, New Castle SHS lands at C+, ahead of 35% of Pennsylvania public high schools.
New Castle SHS sits between the top and bottom 10% of Pennsylvania schools on BeatsExpectations, with an actual average proficiency rate across its state test results of 35.8% and a predicted 35.2%.
Lawrence County is the school's county. There, the median household earns about $61,931 a year, a bachelor's degree or higher is held by about 23% of adults, and the poverty rate is about 8%. New Castle SHS shares Lawrence County with 24 other public schools.
New Castle Junior High School is less than a tenth of a mile away, making it the nearest public school. Other public schools within five miles number at least 8. New Castle SHS is 5th of 8 nearby schools by average proficiency rate.
The federal government classifies New Castle SHS's location as Town: Fringe.
Enrollment figures show a decrease of 38 students from 2020-21 to 2024-25. The ratio of students to teachers went from 16.9:1 to 15.4:1 over the same years.
This page is a place to ask questions and share updates about fundraisers, report cards, and school supplies at New Castle SHS. Parents, students, alumni, and staff are welcome to post.
Lawrence County at a glance
View full county profilePopulation
85,024
Census ACS
Median income
$61,931
Household, ACS
Bachelor's+
23%
Adults 25+
Poverty rate
8%
Below federal line
Schools in county
25
11,015 students
Quick facts
Related schools
Other schools in New Castle Area SD
- Harry W Lockley Early Learning CenterElementary · 736 students
- Washington Intrmd SchoolElementary · 707 students
- New Castle Junior High SchoolMiddle · 689 students
Other schools in New Castle
- Harry W Lockley Early Learning CenterElementary · 736 students
- Mohawk Elementary SchoolElementary · 709 students
- Washington Intrmd SchoolElementary · 707 students
- New Castle Junior High SchoolMiddle · 689 students
- Neshannock Memorial Elementary SchoolElementary · 688 students
- Neshannock JSHSHigh · 545 students
Nearby schools
- New Castle Junior High School0.1 mi · 689
- Harry W Lockley Early Learning Center0.7 mi · 736
- Washington Intrmd School0.9 mi · 707
- Union Memorial Elementary School1.9 mi · 320
- Lawrence County Career and Technical Center2.1 mi · 418
- Union Area High School2.3 mi · 193
Frequently asked questions
About New Castle SHSHow large is New Castle SHS?
New Castle SHS enrolls approximately 740 students in grades 09-12.
Is New Castle SHS an elementary, middle, or high school?
New Castle SHS is a high school covering grades 09-12.
What is the student-teacher ratio at New Castle SHS?
The student-to-teacher ratio at New Castle SHS is approximately 15.4:1 (48 FTE teachers).
What is the racial breakdown of students at New Castle SHS?
At New Castle SHS, the student body is approximately 51% White, 7% Hispanic, 24% Black, 0% Asian, 18% Two or more.
Who oversees New Castle SHS?
New Castle SHS is overseen by New Castle Area SD in Lawrence County.
Data sourceSchool profile facts are sourced from the NCES. Community content is posted by allk12 members.