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Big Spring High School

Q: Is Big Spring High School a good school?

Big Spring High School ranks 417 th of 681 Pennsylvania high schools. SchoolDigger rates this school 2 stars out of 5.

Public Grades 9-12

417^th

SchoolDigger Rank ?

of 681 Pennsylvania High Schools

Better than 39% of Pennsylvania high schools

Summary

Big Spring High School is a public high school located in Newville, Pennsylvania, serving grades 9-12 with a total enrollment of 752 students. The school is part of the Big Spring School District, which is ranked 204 out of 606 districts in Pennsylvania and has a 3-star rating from SchoolDigger.

While Big Spring High School has a generally on-par four-year graduation rate, it has consistently underperformed compared to the state average on Keystone Exams, with proficiency rates that are significantly lower in Algebra I, Biology, and Literature. Additionally, the school has a relatively high percentage of students from low socioeconomic backgrounds, with 39.63% of students qualifying for free or reduced-price lunch, which is significantly higher than nearby schools like Northern High School (23.05%) and Mechanicsburg Area Senior High School (37.93%). Interestingly, Big Spring High School spends significantly more per student, ranging from $18,947 to $20,867 per student, compared to the nearby schools, which generally spend between $14,224 to $16,536 per student.

These findings suggest that Big Spring High School may need to focus on improving academic outcomes, particularly in core subject areas, and explore targeted interventions and support systems to address the needs of its student population. Additionally, the school may benefit from a closer examination of its spending priorities and the alignment of resources with identified needs, as well as learning from the practices and strategies employed by higher-performing nearby schools.

764

Students ?

13.5

Student/teacher ratio ?

$20,675

Per pupil spending ?

39%

Free/discounted lunch ?

100 Mount Rock Rd
Newville, PA 17241-2436

(717) 776-2436

District: Big Spring School District

Feeder schools for Big Spring High School:

Elementary:	Mount Rock Elementary School
	Newville Elementary School
	Oak Flat Elementary School
Middle:	Big Spring Middle School

Racial breakdown:

White:

91.2%

Hispanic:

3.5%

Two or more races:

3.5%

See top rated Pennsylvania high schools

Compare Big Spring High School to nearby high schools!

At a glance

▼ Ranking trend: Declining — 55th percentile in 2015 → 39th in 2025

Worth a look

!Ranking has slipped — down 16 percentile points since 2015

!Algebra I scores 12 pts below the Pennsylvania average

Students meeting standards (2024-2025) ?

This school47%

District avg47%

Pennsylvania avg52%

417^th of 681

Pennsylvania public high schools ?

Bottom 39%▼ down 16 pts since 2015

From top 45% (2015) to bottom 39% (2025)

See the entire ranking list of Pennsylvania High Schools →

★★★★★

SchoolDigger rating ?

204^th of 606Big Spring School District among Pennsylvania districts

Statewide rank percentile over time (100 = the top-ranked school in the state; click a legend item to add a student group)

Show full rank history (all student groups)

All Students

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Pennsylvania percentile	Rating
2025	46.4	417 of 681	38.8%	★★☆☆☆
2024	38.3	472 of 686	31.2%	★★☆☆☆
2023	38.1	466 of 674	30.9%	★★☆☆☆
2022	48.3	399 of 634	37.1%	★★☆☆☆
2021	53.8	315 of 537	41.3%	★★☆☆☆
2019	53.7	397 of 693	42.7%	★★☆☆☆
2018	52.4	417 of 673	38.0%	★★☆☆☆
2017	51.5	408 of 663	38.5%	★★☆☆☆
2016	42.2	485 of 677	28.4%	★☆☆☆☆
2015	62.1	309 of 680	54.6%	★★★☆☆
2014	48.4	366 of 580	36.9%	★★☆☆☆
2013	54.5	304 of 591	48.6%	★★☆☆☆
2012	50.9	409 of 664	38.4%	★★☆☆☆
2011	35.7	513 of 660	22.3%	★☆☆☆☆
2010	32.2	521 of 649	19.7%	★☆☆☆☆
2009	38.4	481 of 632	23.9%	★☆☆☆☆
2008	34.9	486 of 621	21.7%	★☆☆☆☆
2007	43.4	439 of 615	28.6%	★☆☆☆☆
2006	37.9	459 of 604	24.0%	★☆☆☆☆
2005	43.1	417 of 593	29.7%	★☆☆☆☆
2004	44.0	384 of 590	34.9%	★★☆☆☆
2003	35.7	441 of 583	24.4%	★☆☆☆☆

Disabled

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Pennsylvania percentile	Rating
2025	35.2	314 of 524	40.1%	★★☆☆☆
2024	25.1	393 of 513	23.4%	★☆☆☆☆
2023	59.3	160 of 502	68.1%	★★★☆☆

Female

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Pennsylvania percentile	Rating
2025	43.5	421 of 657	35.9%	★★☆☆☆
2024	47.1	401 of 665	39.7%	★★☆☆☆

Low Socio Economic Status

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Pennsylvania percentile	Rating
2025	31.6	461 of 651	29.2%	★☆☆☆☆
2024	35.1	463 of 664	30.3%	★★☆☆☆
2023	39.8	412 of 652	36.8%	★★☆☆☆

Male

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Pennsylvania percentile	Rating
2025	47.6	375 of 660	43.2%	★★☆☆☆
2024	31.6	479 of 662	27.6%	★☆☆☆☆

White

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Pennsylvania percentile	Rating
2025	34.1	405 of 583	30.5%	★★☆☆☆
2024	22.6	493 of 595	17.1%	★☆☆☆☆
2023	22.3	491 of 577	14.9%	★☆☆☆☆

How student groups rank statewide ? (each group's percentile vs the same group at other schools — higher is better; the +/- beside each compares the group with this school's overall percentile)

Male (2025)43rd percentile+4 vs school

Disabled (2025)40th percentile~ school

Female (2025)36th percentile-3 vs school

White (2025)31st percentile-8 vs school

Low Socio Economic Status (2025)29th percentile-10 vs school

By subject vs Pennsylvania (2024-2025) ?

Literature59%-3 vs state

Biology50%~ state avg

Algebra I32%-12 vs state

★

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Schools Near Big Spring High School

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

School													Students/Teachers											Ranking (2025)				Ranking (2024)				Keystone Exams Algebra I (2025)	Keystone Exams Biology (2025)	Keystone Exams Literature (2025)	Per Pupil Expenditures (2024)
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 (2025)	Statewide Rank (2025)	State Percentile (2025)	SchoolDigger Rating (2025)	Average Standard Score (2024)	Statewide Rank (2024)	State Percentile (2024)	Rank Change from Previous Year	Keystone Exams Algebra I 11th Grade	Keystone Exams Biology 11th Grade	Keystone Exams Literature 11th Grade	Per Pupil Expenditures Total	Sub-total from Federal Funds	Sub-total from State/Local Funds
Big Spring High School	Public	9-12	100 Mount Rock Rd	Newville	17241	Cumberland County	Big Spring School District	No	No	No	No	(717) 776-2436	764	56	13.5	39.0%	697 (91.2%)	6 (0.8%)	27 (3.5%)	7 (0.9%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	27 (3.5%)	46.4	417^th of 681 public high schools	38.8%		38.3	472^nd of 686 public high schools	31.2%	55	32.0	50.3	59.2	$20,675	$478	$20,198
Carlisle Area High School	Public	9-12	623 W. Penn St.	Carlisle	17013	Cumberland County	Carlisle Area School District	No	No	No	No	(717) 240-6800	1,559	111	14.0	45.2%	934 (59.9%)	194 (12.4%)	179 (11.5%)	84 (5.4%)	3 (0.2%)	3 (0.2%)	162 (10.4%)	54.5	345^th of 681 public high schools	49.3%		59.1	307^th of 686 public high schools	55.2%	38	39.0	51.9	63.3	$12,255	$295	$11,960
Shippensburg Area Senior High School	Public	9-12	201 Eberly Drive	Shippensburg	17257	Franklin County	Shippensburg Area School District	No	No	No	No	(717) 530-2730	1,097	68	16.2	54.9%	814 (74.2%)	58 (5.3%)	101 (9.2%)	77 (7.0%)	4 (0.4%)	5 (0.5%)	38 (3.5%)	53	357^th of 681 public high schools	47.6%		62.9	262^nd of 686 public high schools	61.8%	95	48.0	43.6	60.8	$13	$00	$13
Boiling Springs High School	Public	9-12	21 Academy Street	Boiling Springs	17007	Cumberland County	South Middleton School District	No	No	No	No	(717) 258-6484	707	57	12.3	34.5%	563 (79.6%)	9 (1.3%)	20 (2.8%)	71 (10.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	44 (6.2%)	59.4	300^th of 681 public high schools	55.9%		54.6	348^th of 686 public high schools	49.3%	48	44.7	53.1	64.1	$18,817	$272	$18,546
Loysville Youth Dev Center	Public	5-12	Loysville Complex	Loysville	17047	Perry County	Loysville Youth Dev Center	No	No	No	No	(717) 789-5529	43	14	3.0	93.0%	3 (7.0%)	37 (86.0%)	3 (7.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)								(n/a)
West Perry Senior High School	Public	9-12	2608 Shermans Valley Road	Elliottsburg	17024	Perry County	West Perry School District	No	No	No	No	(717) 789-3931	645	44	14.7	102.9%	609 (94.4%)	1 (0.2%)	19 (2.9%)	2 (0.3%)	0 (0.0%)	2 (0.3%)	12 (1.9%)	57.8	314^th of 681 public high schools	53.9%		74.6	161^st of 686 public high schools	76.5%	153	39.3	46.4	74.1	$23,332	$689	$22,643
Cumberland Valley High School	Public	9-12	6746 Carlisle Pike	Mechanicsburg	17050	Cumberland County	Cumberland Valley School District	No	No	No	No	(717) 766-0217	3,163	177	17.8	28.2%	1,939 (61.3%)	166 (5.2%)	212 (6.7%)	671 (21.2%)	11 (0.3%)	5 (0.2%)	159 (5.0%)	91.3	42^nd of 681 public high schools	93.8%		88.5	54^th of 686 public high schools	92.1%	12	70.9	78.1	82.2	$15,813	$07	$15,806
Biglerville High School	Public	9-12	135 North Main Street	Biglerville	17307	Adams County	Upper Adams School District	No	No	No	No	(717) 677-7191	535	53	10.1	45.4%	357 (66.7%)	7 (1.3%)	159 (29.7%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	4 (0.7%)	8 (1.5%)	63.2	267^th of 681 public high schools	60.8%		73.3	171^st of 686 public high schools	75.1%	96	48.3	53.6	66.0	$19,721	$108	$19,613
Cumberland Perry Area Career & Technical Center	Public	9-12	110 Old Willow Mill Road	Mechanicsburg	17050	Cumberland County	Cumberland Perry Area Career & Technical Center	No	No	No	No	(717) 697-0354	28	38	.7	89.3%	23 (82.1%)	2 (7.1%)	3 (10.7%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)								(n/a)
Northern High School	Public	9-12	653 S Baltimore St	Dillsburg	17019	York County	Northern York County School District	No	No	No	No	(717) 432-8691	982	62	15.7	23.4%	872 (88.8%)	19 (1.9%)	46 (4.7%)	21 (2.1%)	1 (0.1%)	2 (0.2%)	21 (2.1%)	70.1	211^th of 681 public high schools	69.0%		54.4	349^th of 686 public high schools	49.1%	138	54.2	59.8	66.0	$16,857	$390	$16,467

Frequently Asked Questions about Big Spring High School

What is the racial makeup of Big Spring High School?

Students at Big Spring High School are 91% White, 4% Hispanic, 4% Two or more races.

Is Big Spring High School a good school?

Big Spring High School ranks 417^th of 681 Pennsylvania high schools. SchoolDigger rates this school 2 stars out of 5.

How many students attend Big Spring High School?

In the 2024-25 school year, 764 students attended Big Spring High School.

What schools feed into Big Spring High School?

Big Spring High School is fed by the following schools:

Elementary : Mount Rock Elementary School
Elementary : Newville Elementary School
Elementary : Oak Flat Elementary School
Middle : Big Spring Middle School

What district is Big Spring High School in?

Big Spring School District

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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.