Best Public Schools in New Castle, PA

Summary:

The city of New Castle, Pennsylvania is home to 18 schools serving students from elementary through high school, with a mix of high-performing and lower-performing institutions. The data reveals stark contrasts in academic achievement, with standout schools like Neshannock Junior/Senior High School and Mohawk Elementary School ranking among the best in the state, while others like New Castle Senior High School struggle with low proficiency rates and high dropout levels.

The data suggests a strong correlation between student poverty, as measured by free and reduced-price lunch eligibility, and academic performance. Many of the lower-ranked schools have extremely high rates of economically disadvantaged students, indicating that addressing economic inequities could be key to improving educational outcomes. Additionally, district-level factors appear to play a significant role, with the New Castle Area School District ranking near the bottom of the state's districts, potentially contributing to the challenges faced by individual schools within the district.

However, the presence of high-performing schools like Neshannock Junior/Senior High School and Mohawk Elementary School suggests that school choice policies could provide families with access to better educational opportunities, even within the same geographic area. Overall, the data paints a complex picture of the educational landscape in New Castle, Pennsylvania, highlighting both areas of strength and significant challenges that need to be addressed to ensure equitable access to high-quality education for all students.

Choose columns to see: Summary School Students/Teachers Ranking Test Scores Finance All

School													Students/Teachers											Ranking (2023)				Ranking (2022)				Keystone Exams Algebra I (2023)	Keystone Exams Biology (2023)	Keystone Exams Literature (2023)	PSSA Math (2023)							PSSA Science (2023)			PSSA English Language Arts (2023)							Per Pupil Expenditures (2022)
Name	Type	Grades	Address	City	Zip	County	District	Is Charter	Is Magnet	Is Virtual	Is Title I	Phone	Enrollment	Full-time Teachers	Student/ Teacher Ratio	Free/Discounted Lunch Recipients	White	Black	Hispanic	Asian	American Indian	Pacific Islander	Two or More Races	Average Standard Score (2023)	Statewide Rank (2023)	State Percentile (2023)	SchoolDigger Rating (2023)	Average Standard Score (2022)	Statewide Rank (2022)	State Percentile (2022)	Rank Change from Previous Year	Keystone Exams Algebra I 11th Grade	Keystone Exams Biology 11th Grade	Keystone Exams Literature 11th Grade	PSSA Math 3rd Grade	PSSA Math 4th Grade	PSSA Math 5th Grade	PSSA Math 6th Grade	PSSA Math 7th Grade	PSSA Math 8th Grade	PSSA Math All Grades	PSSA Science 4th Grade	PSSA Science 8th Grade	PSSA Science All Grades	PSSA English Language Arts 3rd Grade	PSSA English Language Arts 4th Grade	PSSA English Language Arts 5th Grade	PSSA English Language Arts 6th Grade	PSSA English Language Arts 7th Grade	PSSA English Language Arts 8th Grade	PSSA English Language Arts All Grades	Per Pupil Expenditures Total	Sub-total from Federal Funds	Sub-total from State/Local Funds
New Castle Senior High School	Public	9-12	300 E Lincoln Ave	New Castle	16101	Lawrence County	New Castle Area School District	No	No	No	Yes	(724) 656-4700	771	49	15.6	100.0%	450 (58.4%)	201 (26.1%)	31 (4.0%)	0 (0.0%)	2 (0.3%)	0 (0.0%)	87 (11.3%)	31.1	501^st of 674 public high schools	25.7%		33.7	483^rd of 634 public high schools	23.8%	18	13.9	42.5	50.0																		$17,662	$2,771	$14,891
Washington Intrmd School	Public	3-5	101 East Euclid Avenue	New Castle	16105	Lawrence County	New Castle Area School District	No	No	No	Yes	(724) 656-4729	714	49	14.6	100.0%	385 (53.9%)	109 (15.3%)	55 (7.7%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	3 (0.4%)	162 (22.7%)	11	1343^rd of 1534 public elementary schools	12.5%		7	1418^th of 1534 public elementary schools	7.6%	75				24.1	20.0	17.7				20.6	43.8		43.8	27.4	18.4	20.2				21.9	$18,683	$2,549	$16,134
New Castle Junior High School	Public	6-8	310 E Lincoln Ave	New Castle	16101	Lawrence County	New Castle Area School District	No	No	No	Yes	(724) 656-4700	706	42	17.0	99.6%	374 (53.0%)	151 (21.4%)	55 (7.8%)	1 (0.1%)	2 (0.3%)	1 (0.1%)	122 (17.3%)	12.6	763^rd of 893 public middle schools	14.6%		14.2	733^rd of 883 public middle schools	17.0%	30							12.0	13.8	6.3	10.9		26.8	26.8				20.0	17.8	22.1	19.9	$13,237	$2,126	$11,111
Harry W Lockley Early Learning Center	Public	K-2	900 East Main St.	New Castle	16101	Lawrence County	New Castle Area School District	No	No	No	Yes	(724) 656-4735	775	49	15.8	100.0%	384 (49.5%)	148 (19.1%)	48 (6.2%)	2 (0.3%)	0 (0.0%)	1 (0.1%)	192 (24.8%)								(n/a)																					$17,288	$2,819	$14,469
Shenango Elementary School	Public	K-6	2501 Old Pittsburgh Rd	New Castle	16101	Lawrence County	Shenango Area School District	No	No	No	Yes	(724) 658-5566	528	41	13.0	100.0%	484 (91.7%)	4 (0.8%)	6 (1.1%)	1 (0.2%)	1 (0.2%)	0 (0.0%)	32 (6.1%)	69.3	511^th of 1534 public elementary schools	66.7%		67.8	543^rd of 1534 public elementary schools	64.6%	32				67.2	48.1	43.9	45.0			49.6	83.2		83.2	56.3	68.9	59.8	80.0			67.0	$16,045	$1,780	$14,266
Shenango High School	Public	7-12	2550 Ellwood Rd	New Castle	16101	Lawrence County	Shenango Area School District	No	No	No	No	(724) 658-5537	468	39	12.1	42.9%	439 (93.8%)	5 (1.1%)	5 (1.1%)	4 (0.9%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	15 (3.2%)	83.1	91^st of 674 public high schools	86.5%		84.4	70^th of 634 public high schools	89.0%	21	39.3	83.7	77.6					40.5	34.8	38.0		80.3	80.3					69.9	69.7	69.8	$28,923	$5,234	$23,689
Union Memorial Elementary School	Public	PK, KG-5	500 S Scotland Ln	New Castle	16101	Lawrence County	Union Area School District	No	No	No	Yes	(724) 652-6683	338	29	11.6	66.0%	262 (77.5%)	34 (10.1%)	3 (0.9%)	0 (0.0%)	1 (0.3%)	0 (0.0%)	38 (11.2%)	72.1	450^th of 1534 public elementary schools	70.7%		75.4	375^th of 1534 public elementary schools	75.6%	75				59.6	56.5	59.7				58.6	82.6		82.6	59.6	69.6	69.3				66.0	$18,116	$1,268	$16,848
Union Area High School	Public	9-12	2106 Camden Ave	New Castle	16101	Lawrence County	Union Area School District	No	No	No	No	(724) 658-4501	194	19	10.4	52.6%	167 (86.1%)	18 (9.3%)	1 (0.5%)	1 (0.5%)	1 (0.5%)	0 (0.0%)	6 (3.1%)	61	287^th of 674 public high schools	57.4%		62.8	264^th of 634 public high schools	58.4%	23	39.4	52.2	65.2																		$23,162	$1,621	$21,541
Union Area Middle School	Public	6-8	2106 Camden Ave	New Castle	16101	Lawrence County	Union Area School District	No	No	No	Yes	(724) 658-4501	175	11	15.9	65.1%	136 (77.7%)	25 (14.3%)	3 (1.7%)	1 (0.6%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	10 (5.7%)	73.6	212^th of 893 public middle schools	76.3%		69	250^th of 883 public middle schools	71.7%	38							58.6	29.3	36.2	42.7		60.3	60.3				81.0	63.5	51.7	65.6	$18,107	$1,267	$16,840
Lawrence County Career and Technical Center	Public	9-12	750 Phelps Way	New Castle	16101	Lawrence County	Lawrence County Career and Technical Center	No	No	No	No	(724) 658-3583	378	31	12.2	100.0%	320 (84.7%)	15 (4.0%)	11 (2.9%)	1 (0.3%)	1 (0.3%)	2 (0.5%)	28 (7.4%)	13.3	580^th of 674 public high schools	13.9%		19.5	531^st of 634 public high schools	16.2%	49	12.2	23.0	36.2
Mohawk Senior High School	Public	9-12	385 Mohawk School Road	New Castle	16102	Lawrence County	Mohawk Area School District	No	No	No	No	(724) 667-7782	441	30	14.5	29.0%	424 (96.1%)	2 (0.5%)	4 (0.9%)	1 (0.2%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	10 (2.3%)	73.9	163^rd of 674 public high schools	75.8%		56.7	332^nd of 634 public high schools	47.6%	169	54.4	58.0	69.8																		$17,425	$1,344	$16,080
Mohawk Elementary School	Public	K-5	351 Mohawk School Road	New Castle	16102	Lawrence County	Mohawk Area School District	No	No	No	Yes	(724) 667-7782	670	45	14.7	32.4%	630 (94.0%)	3 (0.4%)	9 (1.3%)	3 (0.4%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	25 (3.7%)	76.7	339^th of 1534 public elementary schools	77.9%		69.7	502^nd of 1534 public elementary schools	67.3%	163				60.7	65.0	64.5				63.3	88.0		88.0	59.8	71.0	73.8				67.9	$15,392	$1,416	$13,976
Mohawk Junior High School	Public	6-8	385 Mohawk School Rd	New Castle	16102	Lawrence County	Mohawk Area School District	No	No	No	No	(724) 667-7782	346	21	16.1	46.2%	330 (95.4%)	0 (0.0%)	3 (0.9%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	13 (3.8%)	71.1	233^rd of 893 public middle schools	73.9%		73.4	205^th of 883 public middle schools	76.8%	28							56.9	33.9	29.8	40.2		68.0	68.0				70.6	51.3	59.1	60.2	$10,287	$794	$9,494
Neshannock Memorial Elementary School	Public	K-6	3832 Mitchell Road	New Castle	16105	Lawrence County	Neshannock Township School District	No	No	No	Yes	(724) 652-8709	663	41	16.0	27.5%	607 (91.6%)	12 (1.8%)	12 (1.8%)	8 (1.2%)	1 (0.2%)	0 (0.0%)	23 (3.5%)	75.7	357^th of 1534 public elementary schools	76.7%		74.2	409^th of 1534 public elementary schools	73.3%	52				62.1	67.0	52.2	54.9			59.2	91.7		91.7	67.3	80.4	60.0	57.0			66.4	$16,212	$949	$15,263
Neshannock Junior/Senior High School	Public	7-12	3834 Mitchell Rd	New Castle	16105	Lawrence County	Neshannock Township School District	No	No	No	No	(724) 658-5513	537	33	16.1	25.7%	504 (93.9%)	3 (0.6%)	9 (1.7%)	8 (1.5%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	13 (2.4%)	95.6	11^th of 674 public high schools	98.4%		80	110^th of 634 public high schools	82.6%	99	79.6	84.0	89.3					54.3	39.4	48.1		89.4	89.4					64.1	77.3	69.6	$20,679	$579	$20,100
Laurel High School	Public	9-12	2497 Harlansburg Rd	New Castle	16101	Lawrence County	Laurel School District	No	No	No	No	(724) 658-9056	328	28	11.6	22.6%	317 (96.6%)	1 (0.3%)	5 (1.5%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	1 (0.3%)	4 (1.2%)	79.6	114^th of 674 public high schools	83.1%		89	32^nd of 634 public high schools	95.0%	82	42.8	72.7	74.3																		$18,193	$460	$17,733
Laurel Elementary School	Public	K-6	223 McCaslin Rd	New Castle	16101	Lawrence County	Laurel School District	No	No	No	Yes	(724) 658-2673	496	33	15.2	21.2%	480 (96.8%)	4 (0.8%)	7 (1.4%)	3 (0.6%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	2 (0.4%)	86	173^rd of 1534 public elementary schools	88.7%		81.6	259^th of 1534 public elementary schools	83.1%	86				76.1	73.8	72.2	65.3			71.7	87.7		87.7	77.6	66.2	77.8	70.9			73.2	$15,775	$1,310	$14,465
Laurel Middle School	Public	7-8	2497 Harlansburg RD	New Castle	16101	Lawrence County	Laurel School District	No	No	No	No	(724) 658-9056	161	8	20.4	25.5%	157 (97.5%)	0 (0.0%)	1 (0.6%)	1 (0.6%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	2 (1.2%)	66.9	279^th of 893 public middle schools	68.8%		77.1	168^th of 883 public middle schools	81.0%	111								30.1	31.1	30.6		68.9	68.9					53.1	63.5	58.0	$18,169	$460	$17,709

Cities Near New Castle

City	Distance	# of Schools	Statewide Rank
Ellwood City	8.72 mi	7	309^th
New Wilmington	9.36 mi	3	358^th
Darlington	12.77 mi	1	598^th
West Middlesex	14 mi	4	449^th
Slippery Rock	15.32 mi	3	93^rd

See the top PA Pennsylvania cities

SchoolDigger data sources: National Center for Education Statistics, U.S. Department of Education, the U.S. Census Bureau and the Pennsylvania Department of Education.

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.