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Teachers: what resource would make the biggest difference at Northwestern SHS this year?
Community prompt from u/allk12. Replies below.
Enrollment
398
High
DISTRICT 294 · STATE 738
SCHOOL COMMUNITY·NORTHWESTERN SD·NCES 421788006745
Northwestern SHS
200 Harthan Way, Albion, PA 16401 · (814) 756-9400 · Erie County
GRADES 09–12HIGH42-RURALTITLE IREGULAR SCHOOL398 STUDENTS
C+
allk12 Grade
Scored higher than 41% of Pennsylvania public high schools
- CTest scores Share of students meeting the state standard in reading, math, and other tested subjects, 2023-24 and 2024-25.
- B+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 Pennsylvania public high schools
Student : Teacher
13.9:1
29 FTE teachers
DISTRICT 11.6:1 · STATE 12.8:1
Free / Reduced Lunch
104%
413 students
DISTRICT 105% · 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 | 96 | 24% |
| Grade 10 | 89 | 22% |
| Grade 11 | 99 | 25% |
| Grade 12 | 114 | 29% |
Student demographics
8%Diversity index
The chance that two students picked at random belong to different racial or ethnic groups.
DISTRICT 12% · 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 Northwestern SD. Attendance zones can vary; confirm enrollment with the district.
Test scores
PSSA + Keystone 2024-25 . % Proficient or AdvancedEnglish Language Arts
46.3%
PA avg 51.1% . -3.2pp since 2023
Math
17.7%
PA avg 43.0% . -7.0pp since 2023
What this means: On the PSSA + Keystone, Pennsylvania's statewide test, about 46 of every 100 students at this school read and write at grade level and about 18 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 3 points since 2023, while math scores are down about 7 points.
PSSA + Keystone results by year
| School year | English Language Arts | Math |
|---|---|---|
| 2024-25 | 46.3% | 17.7% |
| 2023-24 | 49.5% | 24.7% |
% 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
38.7%
composite math + reading, all grades
Predicted
33.1%
based on PA schools with similar FRL share
Beats by
+5.6pp
above demographic expectation
What this means: About 39% of students here test proficient in math and reading, compared with the roughly 33% 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 →
Where Northwestern SHS ranks
Among high schools| Measure | This school | In Pennsylvania | In Erie County |
|---|---|---|---|
| State test proficiency ranked highest first | 38.7% | #442 of 576 | #11 of 13 |
| Math proficiency ranked highest first | 17.7% | #516 of 626 ▼ 72 | #13 of 15 no change |
| Reading proficiency ranked highest first | 46.3% | #455 of 626 ▲ 8 | #13 of 15 ▼ 1 |
| Enrollment ranked largest first | 398 | #489 of 713 | #13 of 16 |
| Students per teacher ranked fewest first | 13.9:1 | #301 of 601 | #7 of 15 |
| Diversity index ranked most diverse first | 8.3% | #544 of 604 | #13 of 15 |
| Free and reduced lunch ranked highest share first | 104% | #55 of 619 | #3 of 15 |
| Enrollment change since 2017-18 ranked steepest decline first | -11.6% | #147 of 373 | #4 of 11 |
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
398
-24 (-6%) vs 2020
-30% since 1990-91, when it was 565
Student : Teacher
13.9:1
was 13.2:1
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 | 398 | 28.6 | 13.9:1 | N/A |
| 2023-24 | 413 | 28.6 | 14.4:1 | 100% (413) |
| 2022-23 | 410 | 31.6 | 13.0:1 | 89% (366) |
| 2020-21 | 422 | 32 | 13.2:1 | 49% (205) |
| 2017-18 | 450 | 33.2 | 13.6:1 | 50% (223) |
| 2015-16 | 459 | 33 | 13.9:1 | 52% (238) |
| 2010-11 | 574 | 35 | 16.4:1 | 42% (239) |
| 2000-01 | 593 | 31 | 19.1:1 | 45% (268) |
| 1990-91 | 565 | 30 | 18.8:1 | N/A |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data. Rows are the federal collections on file for Northwestern SHS.
Since 2017-18: students down 12% (450 to 398); teachers down 14% (33.2 to 28.6).
About Northwestern SHS
Northwestern SHS is a small high school in Albion, Pennsylvania, under Northwestern SD. Enrollment in 2024-25 was 398 students in grades 9 through 12. The average for high schools in Pennsylvania is about 738 students, so this school is 46% smaller than average.
The district, Northwestern SD, operates 4 schools serving 1,176 students.
The large majority of students at Northwestern SHS, 96%, are White. The rest of enrollment is 3% multiracial. Among all residents of Erie County, the White share is about 83%. The chance that two students picked at random at Northwestern SHS belong to different racial or ethnic groups, known as the diversity index, is 8%.
Teacher staffing is 28.6 full-time equivalents, or about 13.9 students per teacher. Among high schools in Pennsylvania, the typical ratio is 12.8:1.
Northwestern SHS is graded C+ by allk12, scoring above 41% of Pennsylvania public high schools once test results, poverty-adjusted performance, and the recent trend are combined.
The model predicts 33.1% for a school in Pennsylvania with Northwestern SHS's free or reduced-price lunch share. Northwestern SHS posts 38.7%.
Erie County census figures show that median household income is about $63,354, about 30% of adults have at least a bachelor's degree, and the poverty rate is about 10%. A total of 68 public schools operate in Erie County, serving about 35,738 students.
Nearest public school: Northwestern Middle School, about 0.1 miles away. The five-mile area around Northwestern SHS holds 2 other public schools. Nearby schools average 55.1% on proficiency, and Northwestern SHS is below that at 38.7%.
The school's federal locale classification is Rural: Distant.
Federal counts put enrollment at 422 in 2020-21 and 398 in 2024-25, a 6% decrease.
Community posts for Northwestern SHS can cover science fairs, picture day, and bus routes. Questions from prospective families are welcome too.
Erie County at a glance
View full county profilePopulation
269,052
Census ACS
Median income
$63,354
Household, ACS
Bachelor's+
30%
Adults 25+
Poverty rate
10%
Below federal line
Schools in county
68
35,738 students
Quick facts
Related schools
Other schools in Northwestern SD
- Northwestern Elementary SchoolElementary · 350 students
- Northwestern Middle SchoolMiddle · 266 students
- Springfield Elementary SchoolElementary · 162 students
Other schools in Albion
- Northwestern Elementary SchoolElementary · 350 students
- Northwestern Middle SchoolMiddle · 266 students
Nearby schools
- Northwestern Middle School0.1 mi · 266
- Northwestern Elementary School0.2 mi · 350
- Springfield Elementary School5.9 mi · 162
- Conneaut Valley Elementary School7.3 mi · 374
- Conneaut Valley Middle School7.6 mi · 238
- Girard High School8.5 mi · 477
Frequently asked questions
About Northwestern SHSHow many students attend Northwestern SHS?
Northwestern SHS enrolls approximately 398 students in grades 09-12.
What age range does Northwestern SHS serve?
Northwestern SHS serves students from grade 09 through grade 12.
How many students per teacher at Northwestern SHS?
Approximately 13.9:1 students per teacher at Northwestern SHS.
What is the student diversity at Northwestern SHS?
Student demographics at Northwestern SHS are roughly 96% White, 1% Hispanic, 0% Black, 1% Asian, 3% Two or more.
Is Northwestern SHS public or private?
Northwestern SHS is a public K-12 school, overseen by Northwestern SD.
Data sourceSchool profile facts are sourced from the NCES. Community content is posted by allk12 members.