Pender High

Summary:

Pender High is a public high school located in Burgaw, North Carolina, serving grades 9-12 with a student population of 677. The school is part of the Pender County Schools district, which is ranked 124 out of 242 districts in North Carolina and has a 2-star rating from SchoolDigger.

Pender High consistently underperforms the Pender County Schools district and the state of North Carolina in end-of-course (EOC) test scores across subjects like Biology, English II, Math I, and Math III. For example, in 2023-2024, Pender High's proficiency rates were 40.1% in Biology, 40.5% in English II, 17.2% in Math I, and 31.5% in Math III, compared to the district's 62%, 67%, 49.3%, and 58.4%, respectively, and the state's 53.4%, 59.7%, 36.9%, and 57.6%. Pender High's academic performance has been consistently low, with the school ranking in the bottom half of North Carolina high schools for the past several years. The school's performance is particularly concerning for its African American, Hispanic, and low socioeconomic status (SES) students, who rank in the bottom 25% of North Carolina high schools.

Pender High's academic performance is significantly lower than that of the nearby Heide Trask High and Pender Early College High, which are also part of the Pender County Schools district. In contrast, Pender High's performance is more comparable to that of Wallace-Rose Hill High, a school in the neighboring Duplin County district, which also struggles with low academic achievement. Pender Early College High, a small public high school within the Pender County Schools district, stands out as a high-performing outlier, consistently ranking among the top 5% of North Carolina high schools.


Detail:

Public 9-12

 5380 NC Hwy 53 W
       Burgaw, NC  28425


(910) 259-0162

District: Pender County Schools

SchoolDigger Rank:
534th of 640 North Carolina High Schools

Per Pupil Expenditures:  $10,022 Help


Feeder schools for Pender High:

Elementary:    Malpass Corner Elementary
    Penderlea Elementary
Middle:    West Pender Middle

Student/teacher ratio:  19.5 Help
Number of students:  677

Racial breakdown:

White:
45.8%
African American:
28.1%
Hispanic:
20.8%
more

Free/discounted lunch recipients:  70.6% Help


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Performance Trends
Help
Compare Details Pender High ranks worse than 83.4% of high schools in North Carolina. It also ranks last among 4 ranked high schools in the Pender County Schools District. (See more...)
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Compare Details In 2024 the calculated Average Standard Score was 17.54. (See more...)
Student Body
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Compare Details Student population at Pender High is diverse. Racial makeup is: White (45.8%), African American (28.1%), Hispanic (20.8%). (See more...)
Help
Compare Details 70.6% of students are receiving a free or discounted lunch. This is the highest percentage in the Pender County Schools District. (See more...)
Teachers
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Compare Details The student/teacher ratio at Pender High is 19.5, which is the 2nd best among 4 high schools in the Pender County Schools District. (See more...)
Help
Compare Pender High employs 34.6 full-time teachers.
Finance
Help
Compare Details The average total spent per student at Pender High is $10,022, which is the 2nd highest among 4 high schools in the Pender County Schools District.
Schooldigger 2024 Rankings:

Pender High:

SchoolDigger ranks Pender High 534th of 640 North Carolina public high schools. (See Pender High in the ranking list.)

High School Test Score Ratings by Student Subgroup:


English Language Learner students:
Special Education students:
Low Socio Economic Status students:
Female students:
Gifted and Talented students:
Male students:
African American students:
Hispanic students:
White students:


Pender County Schools:

SchoolDigger ranks Pender County Schools 124th of 242 North Carolina school districts. (See district ranking list.)


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Rank History for Pender High

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Compare

Rank History for all students at Pender High

Year Avg Standard Score Statewide Rank Total # Ranked High Schools NC State Percentile SchoolDigger Rating
2006 54.74 196th 431 54.5%
2007 53.12 201st 453 55.6%
2008 37.76 339th 477 28.9%
2009 39.70 342nd 490 30.2%
2010 54.21 245th 499 50.9%
2011 34.55 388th 506 23.3%
2012 38.10 323rd 502 35.7%
2013 25.49 343rd 505 32.1%
2014 20.70 349th 451 22.6%
2015 28.83 343rd 531 35.4%
2016 18.79 391st 507 22.9%
2017 23.69 347th 476 27.1%
2018 42.77 253rd 469 46.1%
2019 25.52 376th 514 26.8%
2021 26.11 432nd 594 27.3%
2022 22.76 478th 621 23.0%
2023 18.09 523rd 626 16.5%
2024 17.54 534th 640 16.6%
See the entire list of North Carolina High School Rankings!

Rank History for English Language Learner students at Pender High

Year Avg Standard Score Statewide Rank Total # Ranked High Schools NC State Percentile SchoolDigger Rating
2023 35.82 126th 226 44.2%
2024 27.35 214th 262 18.3%
See the entire list of Best North Carolina High Schools for English Language Learner Students!

Rank History for Special Education students at Pender High

Year Avg Standard Score Statewide Rank Total # Ranked High Schools NC State Percentile SchoolDigger Rating
2024 18.46 333rd 349 4.6%
See the entire list of Best North Carolina High Schools for Special Education Students!

Rank History for Low Socio Economic Status students at Pender High

Year Avg Standard Score Statewide Rank Total # Ranked High Schools NC State Percentile SchoolDigger Rating
2018 43.35 203rd 424 52.1%
2019 34.47 259th 446 41.9%
2021 33.86 239th 432 44.7%
2022 31.66 360th 544 33.8%
2023 21.61 495th 597 17.1%
2024 18.08 534th 613 12.9%
See the entire list of Best North Carolina High Schools for Low Socio Economic Status Students!

Rank History for Homeless students at Pender High

Year Avg Standard Score Statewide Rank Total # Ranked High Schools NC State Percentile SchoolDigger Rating
2019 70.04 7th 44 84.1%
See the entire list of Best North Carolina High Schools for Homeless Students!

Rank History for Female students at Pender High

Year Avg Standard Score Statewide Rank Total # Ranked High Schools NC State Percentile SchoolDigger Rating
2018 45.63 244th 449 45.7%
2019 23.42 368th 475 22.5%
2021 24.78 335th 475 29.5%
2022 23.60 462nd 594 22.2%
2023 14.84 517th 588 12.1%
2024 19.42 493rd 602 18.1%
See the entire list of Best North Carolina High Schools for Female Students!

Rank History for Disabled students at Pender High

Year Avg Standard Score Statewide Rank Total # Ranked High Schools NC State Percentile SchoolDigger Rating
2018 36.79 204th 349 41.5%
2021 46.60 131st 334 60.8%
2022 40.68 162nd 330 50.9%
See the entire list of Best North Carolina High Schools for Disabled Students!

Rank History for Gifted and Talented students at Pender High

Year Avg Standard Score Statewide Rank Total # Ranked High Schools NC State Percentile SchoolDigger Rating
2019 22.34 296th 325 8.9%
2021 44.72 228th 337 32.3%
2022 46.37 272nd 398 31.7%
2023 33.23 334th 403 17.1%
2024 20.13 368th 403 8.7%
See the entire list of Best North Carolina High Schools for Gifted and Talented Students!

Rank History for Male students at Pender High

Year Avg Standard Score Statewide Rank Total # Ranked High Schools NC State Percentile SchoolDigger Rating
2018 36.04 299th 463 35.4%
2019 24.48 365th 488 25.2%
2021 26.21 329th 481 31.6%
2022 20.89 473rd 585 19.1%
2023 20.07 493rd 602 18.1%
2024 15.45 532nd 607 12.4%
See the entire list of Best North Carolina High Schools for Male Students!

Rank History for African American students at Pender High

Year Avg Standard Score Statewide Rank Total # Ranked High Schools NC State Percentile SchoolDigger Rating
2018 46.49 150th 359 58.2%
2019 30.50 257th 369 30.4%
2021 21.23 310th 364 14.8%
2022 27.01 324th 430 24.7%
2023 20.65 371st 434 14.5%
2024 22.57 369th 437 15.6%
See the entire list of Best North Carolina High Schools for African American Students!

Rank History for Hispanic students at Pender High

Year Avg Standard Score Statewide Rank Total # Ranked High Schools NC State Percentile SchoolDigger Rating
2018 50.37 132nd 340 61.2%
2019 38.65 192nd 354 45.8%
2021 53.54 98th 370 73.5%
2022 33.32 290th 436 33.5%
2023 25.64 355th 449 20.9%
2024 19.35 397th 454 12.6%
See the entire list of Best North Carolina High Schools for Hispanic Students!

Rank History for White students at Pender High

Year Avg Standard Score Statewide Rank Total # Ranked High Schools NC State Percentile SchoolDigger Rating
2018 45.22 227th 427 46.8%
2019 19.27 378th 444 14.9%
2021 24.25 330th 439 24.8%
2022 15.98 479th 534 10.3%
2023 13.08 494th 537 8.0%
2024 14.94 493rd 553 10.8%
See the entire list of Best North Carolina High Schools for White Students!

Data source: test scores: North Carolina Dept of Public Instruction, rankings: SchoolDigger.com

As you review the school rankings data, please be aware that some of the information from certain demographics is missing. The reason for this omission is that the data has been redacted from the source data itself due to low population samples in these specific demographic groups.

Redacting data from low population samples is a necessary step to ensure the reliability and accuracy of the results, as small sample sizes may not be representative of the broader population. Additionally, this measure helps protect the privacy of individuals belonging to these demographic groups.

Pender High Test Scores
Tests: 
  
Grades: 
  
Years: 
  
Group by: 
District Scores:
State Scores:    
  
Subgroup: 



Data source: North Carolina Dept of Public Instruction

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Enrollment information for Pender High

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Compare
Year White African American Asian Hispanic American Indian Pacific Islander Two or More Races Not Specified Total
1988 581 572 0 4 0 n/a n/a 0 1157
1989 570 541 0 0 0 n/a n/a 0 1111
1990 571 534 0 1 1 n/a n/a 0 1107
1991 556 512 0 5 1 n/a n/a 0 1074
1992 543 507 1 8 0 n/a n/a -3 1056
1993 541 502 1 16 0 n/a n/a 0 1060
1994 552 504 1 18 0 n/a n/a 0 1075
1995 569 545 2 12 1 n/a n/a 0 1129
1996 569 545 2 12 1 n/a n/a 0 1129
1997 583 615 2 21 1 n/a n/a 0 1222
1998 590 588 2 24 2 n/a n/a 0 1206
1999 617 558 7 15 1 n/a n/a 0 1198
2000 627 520 4 20 2 n/a n/a 0 1173
2001 607 478 2 28 1 n/a n/a 0 1116
2002 364 319 2 23 4 n/a n/a 0 712
2003 364 319 2 23 4 n/a n/a 0 712
2004 348 311 1 16 3 n/a n/a 0 679
2005 343 327 0 37 3 n/a n/a 0 710
2006 368 311 1 38 1 n/a n/a 0 719
2007 335 295 1 30 2 n/a n/a 10 673
2008 336 284 1 36 1 n/a n/a 13 671
2009 324 291 1 44 1 n/a n/a 0 661
2010 336 277 1 83 1 n/a n/a 0 698
2011 338 244 1 66 3 0 3 0 655
2012 313 244 1 69 6 0 12 0 645
2013 308 232 2 75 6 0 13 0 636
2014 292 212 4 66 3 0 10 0 587
2015 293 241 3 91 0 0 14 0 642
2016 291 223 3 86 2 0 22 0 627
2017 295 205 2 92 5 0 22 0 621
2018 313 238 2 95 4 0 26 0 678
2019 296 221 2 87 5 0 27 0 638
2020 280 184 2 95 2 0 22 0 585
2021 275 183 3 99 1 0 23 0 584
2022 293 166 3 124 2 0 25 0 613
2023 310 190 4 141 3 0 29 0 677

Data source: National Center for Education Statistics, U.S. Dept of Education.

About Enrollment/Ethnicity

For more information about how the Department of Education defines ethnicity, see Defining Race and Ethnicity Data, National Center for Education Statistics

Students eligible for free or discounted lunch at Pender High

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Compare
Year # Students Full-time Teachers Student/Teacher ratio % Free/Discounted Lunch
1988 1157 67.0 17.2 30.5
1989 1111 67.0 16.5 41.6
1990 1107 68.0 16.2 40.2
1991 1074 72.0 14.9 41.4
1992 1056 67.0 15.7 19.4
1993 1060 62.0 17.1 24.8
1994 1075 64.0 16.8 27.6
1995 1129 67.0 16.9 31.4
1996 1129 67.0 16.9 31.4
1997 1222 67.0 18.2 27.9
1998 1206 73.0 16.5 31.3
1999 1198 73.0 16.4 40.2
2000 1173 73.0 16.1 40.2
2001 1116 82.0 13.6 43.1
2002 712 56.0 12.7 44.9
2003 712 56.0 12.7 44.9
2004 679 54.0 12.6 45.2
2005 710 54.0 13.1 56.5
2006 719 54.0 13.3 52.3
2007 673 45.0 15.0 61.2
2008 671 44.5 15.1 57
2009 661 47.8 13.8 57
2010 698 43.6 16.0 54.6
2011 655 45.5 14.3 63.2
2012 645 41.5 15.5 68.1
2013 636 40.8 15.5 73.3
2014 587 37.5 15.6 75.8
2015 642 40.0 16.0 68.2
2016 627 42.0 14.9 72.6
2017 621 43.4 14.2 74.7
2018 678 42.9 15.7 65.3
2019 638 41.0 15.5 77.6
2020 585 38.5 15.1 61.7
2021 584 40.4 14.4 53.4
2022 613 40.0 15.3 53.8
2023 677 34.6 19.5 70.6

Data source: National Center for Education Statistics, U.S. Dept of Education.

About Students eligible for discounted/free lunch:

The National School Lunch Program (NSLP) provides low-cost or free meals to students in U.S. public and nonprofit private schools based on household income. Those with incomes below 130% of the poverty line receive free lunch, while those between 130% and 185% qualify for reduced-price lunch. The percentage of students receiving free or reduced-price lunch serves as a marker for poverty, as it reflects the socioeconomic status of families in a given school or district. A higher FRPL rate typically indicates a higher concentration of low-income families, suggesting that the school or district may face additional challenges in providing adequate resources and support for student success.

Student/Teacher Ratio Pender High

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Compare
Year # Students Full-time Teachers Student/Teacher ratio % Free/Discounted Lunch
1988 1157 67.0 17.2 30.5
1989 1111 67.0 16.5 41.6
1990 1107 68.0 16.2 40.2
1991 1074 72.0 14.9 41.4
1992 1056 67.0 15.7 19.4
1993 1060 62.0 17.1 24.8
1994 1075 64.0 16.8 27.6
1995 1129 67.0 16.9 31.4
1996 1129 67.0 16.9 31.4
1997 1222 67.0 18.2 27.9
1998 1206 73.0 16.5 31.3
1999 1198 73.0 16.4 40.2
2000 1173 73.0 16.1 40.2
2001 1116 82.0 13.6 43.1
2002 712 56.0 12.7 44.9
2003 712 56.0 12.7 44.9
2004 679 54.0 12.6 45.2
2005 710 54.0 13.1 56.5
2006 719 54.0 13.3 52.3
2007 673 45.0 15.0 61.2
2008 671 44.5 15.1 57
2009 661 47.8 13.8 57
2010 698 43.6 16.0 54.6
2011 655 45.5 14.3 63.2
2012 645 41.5 15.5 68.1
2013 636 40.8 15.5 73.3
2014 587 37.5 15.6 75.8
2015 642 40.0 16.0 68.2
2016 627 42.0 14.9 72.6
2017 621 43.4 14.2 74.7
2018 678 42.9 15.7 65.3
2019 638 41.0 15.5 77.6
2020 585 38.5 15.1 61.7
2021 584 40.4 14.4 53.4
2022 613 40.0 15.3 53.8
2023 677 34.6 19.5 70.6

Data source: National Center for Education Statistics, U.S. Dept of Education.

About Student-Teacher Ratio

Student/teacher ratio is calculated by dividing the total number of students by the total number of full-time equivalent teachers. Please note that a smaller student/teacher ratio does not necessarily translate to smaller class size. In some instances, schools hire teachers part time, and some teachers are hired for specialized instruction with very small class sizes. These and other factors contribute to the student/teacher ratio. Note: For private schools, Student/teacher ratio may not include Pre-Kindergarten.
Finances

Per Pupil Expenditures for Pender High

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YearExpenditures from Federal FundsExpenditures from State and Local FundsTotal Expenditures Per Pupil (All Funds)
2019 $530 (5.3%) $9,492 (94.7%) $10,022

Data source: North Carolina Department of Education
Pre and Post Pandemic Data

Impact of COVID-19 on Pender High

The coronavirus has had a profound impact on education in America. Learning shifted online overnight, attendance numbers dwindled, and enrollment decreased. SchoolDigger.com is making it easier for you to better assess how COVID-19 has impacted your school. Through the collection of pre-pandemic (2019) and current data, SchoolDigger.com is sharing test scores, enrollment numbers and school demographics from schools across the country – and we make it easy to see how impacted schools compare locally and statewide.

Rankings

Rank
Pre-pandemic (2018-2019)
Rank
Post pandemic (2022-2023)
Change (%)
Ranks 376th of 514 High schoolsRanks 523rd of 626 High schools
 10.4%

Test Scores

% proficient
Pre-pandemic (2018-2019)
% proficient
Post pandemic (2022-2023)
Change (%)
End of Course Biology (Pender High)4435.1
 8.9%
   End of Course Biology (Pender County Schools)5862.3
 4.3%
   End of Course Biology (North Carolina)59.654.1
 5.5%
End of Course English II (Pender High)45.937.6
 8.3%
   End of Course English II (Pender County Schools)6163.5
 2.5%
   End of Course English II (North Carolina)59.758.5
 1.2%
End of Course Math I (Pender High)35.624.8
 10.8%
   End of Course Math I (Pender County Schools)51.749.8
 1.9%
   End of Course Math I (North Carolina)41.235.9
 5.3%
End of Course Math III (Pender High)22.432.6
 10.2%
   End of Course Math III (Pender County Schools)48.256.3
 8.1%
   End of Course Math III (North Carolina)46.858.3
 11.5%

Student Body

Number of students
Pre-pandemic (2018-2019)
Number of students
Post pandemic (2022-2023)
Change (%)
Total Students638677
 6.1%
African American221190
 14%
American Indian53
 40%
Asian24
 100%
Hispanic87141
 62.1%
Pacific Islander00
White296310
 4.7%
Two or More Races2729
 7.4%
% Free/Discounted Lunch Recipients77.6%70.6%
 7%


Schools Near Pender High









Frequently Asked Questions about Pender High

In the 2022-23 school year, 677 students attended Pender High.

Pender High is fed by the following schools:

Elementary : Malpass Corner Elementary
Elementary : Penderlea Elementary
Middle : West Pender Middle

Students at Pender High are 46% White, 28% African American, 21% Hispanic, 4% Two or more races.

Pender High ranks in the bottom 16.6% of North Carolina high schools.


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SchoolDigger data sources: National Center for Education Statistics, U.S. Department of Education, the U.S. Census Bureau and the North Carolina Dept of Public Instruction.

IMPORTANT DISCLAIMERS: Not all boundaries are included. We make every effort to ensure that boundaries are up-to-date. But it's important to note that these are approximations and are for general informational purposes only. To verify legal descriptions of boundaries or school locations, contact your local tax assessor's office and/or school district.





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