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Penn (William) High School

Q: Is Penn (William) High School a good school?

Penn (William) High School ranks in the bottom 22.0% of Delaware high schools.

Q: How many students attend Penn (William) High School?

In the 2024-25 school year, 2,069 students attended Penn (William) High School.

Q: What is the racial makeup of Penn (William) High School?

Students at Penn (William) High School are 50% African American, 23% Hispanic, 21% White, 3% Two or more races, 2% Asian.

Q: What schools feed into Penn (William) High School?

Penn (William) High School is fed by the following schools: Elementary : Castle Hills Elementary School Elementary : Downie (Carrie) Elementary School Elementary : Eisenberg (Harry O.) Elementary School Elementary : New Castle Elementary School Elementary : Pleasantville Elementary School Elementary : Southern Elementary School Elementary : Wilbur (Kathleen H.) Elementary Elementary : Wilmington Manor Elementary School Middle : Bedford (Gunning) Middle School Middle : McCullough (Calvin R. ) Middle School Middle : Read (George) Middle School

Public Grades 9-12

32^nd

SchoolDigger Rank ?

of 41 Delaware High Schools

Better than 22% of Delaware high schools

Summary

Penn (William) High School is a large public high school in New Castle, DE, serving 2,069 students in grades 9-12 within the Colonial School District.

Penn High School faces significant academic challenges, with proficiency rates well below state averages across all subjects. The most concerning area is mathematics, where only 9.4% of 11th graders scored proficient on the SAT, compared to the state average of 18.16%. English Language Arts proficiency (22.22%) is also roughly half the state average (44.02%). The school's graduation rate of 84% lags behind the state average of 88.9%, and the dropout rate has spiked to 6.2%—more than 1.5 times the state average. Perhaps the most telling metric is chronic absenteeism: 37% of students are chronically absent, which is more than double the state average of 17.1% and significantly higher than nearby schools like Delcastle Technical High School (7.4%) and Howard High School of Technology (13.1%). This attendance crisis directly impacts the school's ability to improve academic outcomes.

When comparing Penn to other educational options in the area, the differences are stark. Career-focused technical schools like Delcastle Technical (95.3% graduation rate) and Howard High School of Technology (97.1%) far outperform Penn, suggesting that hands-on learning models may better engage students. Selective magnet schools like Charter School of Wilmington and Calloway (Cab) School of the Arts consistently rank in the top 5 statewide with proficiency rates in the 60-85% range. Even compared to Dickinson (John) School, which has a similar overall ranking, Penn's chronic absenteeism is three times higher. The school does show relative strength in serving its Hispanic students, who rank in the 47th percentile statewide, but struggles with consistency for other student groups. With a student-teacher ratio of 17.6 and per-student spending of $14,220—lower than several neighboring schools—Penn faces resource constraints alongside its engagement challenges.

2,069

Students ?

17.6

Student/teacher ratio ?

$24,132

Per pupil spending ?

29.7%

Directly certified for free meals (2024-25) ?

713 East Basin Road
New Castle, DE 19720-4295

(302) 323-2800

District: Colonial School District

Feeder schools for Penn (William) High School:

Elementary:	Castle Hills Elementary School
	Downie (Carrie) Elementary School
	Eisenberg (Harry O.) Elementary School
	New Castle Elementary School
	More...
	Pleasantville Elementary School
	Southern Elementary School
	Wilbur (Kathleen H.) Elementary
	Wilmington Manor Elementary School
Middle:	Bedford (Gunning) Middle School
	McCullough (Calvin R. ) Middle School
	Read (George) Middle School

Racial breakdown:

African American:

49.8%

Hispanic:

23.3%

White:

21.4%

See top rated Delaware high schools

Compare Penn (William) High School to nearby high schools!

At a glance

▬ Ranking trend: Holding steady — 23rd percentile in 2016 → 22nd in 2026

Worth a look

!Test scores below the Delaware average (18% vs 31% meeting standards)

!In the lower quartile statewide (22nd percentile)

!High chronic absenteeism (37% vs 17% Delaware)

Students meeting standards (2025-2026) ?

This school18%

District avg18%

Delaware avg31%

32^nd of 41

Delaware public high schools ?

Bottom 22%▼ down 1 pts since 2016

See the entire ranking list of Delaware High Schools →

★★★★★

SchoolDigger rating ?

25^th of 34Colonial School District among Delaware 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	Delaware percentile	Rating
2026	25.3	32 of 41	22.0%	★☆☆☆☆
2025	28.7	29 of 41	29.3%	★★☆☆☆
2024	22.2	33 of 41	19.5%	★☆☆☆☆
2023	23.1	31 of 39	20.5%	★☆☆☆☆
2022	23.2	32 of 39	17.9%	★☆☆☆☆
2021	23.3	29 of 39	25.6%	★☆☆☆☆
2019	25.7	28 of 40	30.0%	★★☆☆☆
2018	26.9	22 of 30	26.7%	★☆☆☆☆
2017	18.6	24 of 30	20.0%	★☆☆☆☆
2016	24.7	24 of 31	22.6%	★☆☆☆☆
2015	39.3	22 of 35	37.1%	★★☆☆☆
2013	18.3	23 of 26	11.5%	★☆☆☆☆
2012	33.5	18 of 27	33.3%	★★☆☆☆
2011	46.1	16 of 27	40.7%	★★☆☆☆

African American

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Delaware percentile	Rating
2026	26.5	24 of 35	31.4%	★★☆☆☆
2025	24.7	29 of 35	17.1%	★☆☆☆☆
2024	26.9	22 of 31	29.0%	★★☆☆☆
2023	31.8	21 of 31	32.3%	★★☆☆☆
2022	28.0	26 of 35	25.7%	★★☆☆☆
2021	40.1	16 of 27	40.7%	★★☆☆☆
2019	29.7	23 of 33	30.3%	★★☆☆☆

Asian

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Delaware percentile	Rating
2019	60.2	3 of 8	62.5%	★★★★☆

English Language Learner

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Delaware percentile	Rating
2025	21.3	1 of 1	0.0%	★★★★★

Female

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Delaware percentile	Rating
2026	23.8	31 of 39	20.5%	★☆☆☆☆
2025	25.1	31 of 40	22.5%	★☆☆☆☆
2024	17.1	34 of 39	12.8%	★☆☆☆☆
2023	17.3	32 of 38	15.8%	★☆☆☆☆
2022	15.5	32 of 37	13.5%	★☆☆☆☆
2021	19.0	30 of 36	16.7%	★☆☆☆☆
2019	26.6	28 of 41	31.7%	★★☆☆☆

Hispanic

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Delaware percentile	Rating
2026	31.2	19 of 33	42.4%	★★☆☆☆
2025	46.5	17 of 32	46.9%	★★★☆☆
2024	29.1	19 of 31	38.7%	★★☆☆☆
2023	29.9	18 of 27	33.3%	★★☆☆☆
2022	45.4	9 of 22	59.1%	★★★☆☆
2021	34.1	13 of 19	31.6%	★★☆☆☆
2019	22.7	19 of 24	20.8%	★☆☆☆☆

Low Socio Economic Status

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Delaware percentile	Rating
2026	26.1	25 of 31	19.4%	★☆☆☆☆
2025	32.4	21 of 33	36.4%	★★☆☆☆
2024	27.7	20 of 32	37.5%	★★☆☆☆
2023	22.6	20 of 29	31.0%	★★☆☆☆
2022	41.4	16 of 28	42.9%	★★☆☆☆
2021	24.7	21 of 24	12.5%	★☆☆☆☆
2019	34.8	18 of 29	37.9%	★★☆☆☆

Male

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Delaware percentile	Rating
2026	19.0	32 of 39	17.9%	★☆☆☆☆
2025	25.5	30 of 40	25.0%	★☆☆☆☆
2024	21.1	31 of 39	20.5%	★☆☆☆☆
2023	20.5	31 of 38	18.4%	★☆☆☆☆
2022	26.1	27 of 37	27.0%	★★☆☆☆
2021	20.3	30 of 36	16.7%	★☆☆☆☆
2019	21.6	33 of 41	19.5%	★☆☆☆☆

Special Education

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Delaware percentile	Rating
2025	17.0	6 of 6	0.0%	★★☆☆☆

White

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Delaware percentile	Rating
2026	22.2	29 of 36	19.4%	★☆☆☆☆
2025	30.3	25 of 35	28.6%	★★☆☆☆
2024	22.5	27 of 35	22.9%	★☆☆☆☆
2023	12.1	33 of 34	2.9%	☆☆☆☆☆
2022	21.4	29 of 33	12.1%	★☆☆☆☆
2021	12.2	31 of 34	8.8%	★☆☆☆☆
2019	18.0	29 of 36	19.4%	★☆☆☆☆

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)

Asian (2019)62nd percentile+32 vs school

Hispanic (2026)42nd percentile+20 vs school

African American (2026)31st percentile+9 vs school

Female (2026)21st percentile~ school

White (2026)19th percentile-3 vs school

Low Socio Economic Status (2026)19th percentile-3 vs school

Male (2026)18th percentile-4 vs school

English Language Learner (2025)<1st percentile-29 vs school

Special Education (2025)<1st percentile-29 vs school

By subject vs Delaware (2025-2026) ?

Social Studies23%~ state avg

Essay23%-20 vs state

English Language Arts22%-22 vs state

Science14%-14 vs state

Mathematics9%-9 vs state

3.7

3 ratings · 2 written reviews

5★2

4★0

3★0

2★0

1★1

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What people are saying

by a teacher
Monday, June 19, 2023

This school is mediocre at best. The building and facilities are reasonably well maintained. Chromebook computers with WiFi are provided for every student. However, most students seem more interested in playing games, texting friends, or watching TikTok videos on their phones than paying attention in class. Many students are rude, disrespectful, chronically late, or absent. There’s bullying, occasional physical violence and once there was a shooting. The administration is more concerned with implementing Woke policies than maintaining discipline. While it is possible to receive an adequate education in vocational career pathways in construction, culinary, agriculture, etc and sports teams do well, more academically minded students or families with traditional values would probably not be satisfied with this high school. Close Quote

by a student
Wednesday, June 10, 2009

I am a student at William Penn High School and i believe that william penn has a bad rep but we are actually a very school. The teachers here actually care about us learning and try very hard to make us a even better school. Close Quote

Schools Near Penn (William) High School

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Ranking:

E Elementary M Middle H High A Alternative P Private

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

School													Students/Teachers											Ranking (2026)				Ranking (2025)				DeSSA Science (2026)					DeSSA Social Studies (2026)				SAT English Language Arts (2026)	SAT Mathematics (2026)	SAT Essay (2026)	Smarter Balanced Assessments English Language Arts (2026)			Smarter Balanced Assessments Mathematics (2026)			Per Pupil Expenditures (2025)
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	Directly certified (2024-25)	White	Black	Hispanic	Asian	American Indian	Pacific Islander	Two or More Races	Average Standard Score (2026)	Statewide Rank (2026)	State Percentile (2026)	SchoolDigger Rating (2026)	Average Standard Score (2025)	Statewide Rank (2025)	State Percentile (2025)	Rank Change from Previous Year	DeSSA Science 8th Grade	DeSSA Science 9th Grade	DeSSA Science 10th Grade	DeSSA Science 11th Grade	DeSSA Science 12th Grade	DeSSA Social Studies 6th Grade	DeSSA Social Studies 7th Grade	DeSSA Social Studies 8th Grade	DeSSA Social Studies 11th Grade	SAT English Language Arts 11th Grade	SAT Mathematics 11th Grade	SAT Essay 11th Grade	Smarter Balanced Assessments English Language Arts 6th Grade	Smarter Balanced Assessments English Language Arts 7th Grade	Smarter Balanced Assessments English Language Arts 8th Grade	Smarter Balanced Assessments Mathematics 6th Grade	Smarter Balanced Assessments Mathematics 7th Grade	Smarter Balanced Assessments Mathematics 8th Grade	Total
Penn (William) High School	Public	9-12	713 East Basin Road	New Castle	19720	New Castle County	Colonial School District	No	No	No	Yes	(302) 323-2800	2,069	117	17.6	29.7%	443 (21.4%)	1,030 (49.8%)	483 (23.3%)	34 (1.6%)	9 (0.4%)	3 (0.1%)	67 (3.2%)	25.3	32^nd of 41 public high schools	22.0%		28.7	29^th of 41 public high schools	29.3%	3			13.6						23.2	22.2	9.4	23.1							$24,132
Delaware Military Academy	Public, Charter	9-12	112 Middleboro Road	Wilmington	19804	New Castle County	Delaware Military Academy	Yes	No	No	Yes	(302) 998-0745	547	37	14.7	13.0%	369 (67.5%)	62 (11.3%)	94 (17.2%)	3 (0.5%)	0 (0.0%)	1 (0.2%)	18 (3.3%)								(n/a)
Conrad Schools of Science	Public, Magnet	6-12	201 Jackson Avenue	Wilmington	19804	New Castle County	Red Clay Consolidated School District	No	Yes	No	No	(302) 992-5545	1,164	64	18.1	13.9%	582 (50.0%)	142 (12.2%)	338 (29.0%)	53 (4.6%)	2 (0.2%)	1 (0.1%)	46 (4.0%)	89.8	4^th of 41 public high schools	90.2%		77.6	6^th of 41 public high schools	85.4%	2	34.3	63.2				59.2	80.2	61.3	36.3	64.2	38.3	58.3	59.0	67.1	61.3	53.0	54.5	62.5	$16,838
Delcastle Technical High School	Public	9-12	1417 Newport Road	Wilmington	19804	New Castle County	New Castle County Vocational-Technical School District	No	No	No	Yes	(302) 995-8100	1,605	118	13.6	26.0%	318 (19.8%)	483 (30.1%)	707 (44.0%)	15 (0.9%)	9 (0.6%)	1 (0.1%)	72 (4.5%)	43.7	24^th of 41 public high schools	41.5%		35.3	26^th of 41 public high schools	36.6%	2			29.6						22.0	34.9	7.4	37.9
Great Oaks Charter School	Public, Charter	9-12	1200 North French St	Wilmington	19801	New Castle County	Great Oaks Charter School	Yes	No	No	Yes	(302) 660-4790	149	10	14.9	60.4%	1 (0.7%)	129 (86.6%)	15 (10.1%)	0 (0.0%)	1 (0.7%)	0 (0.0%)	3 (2.0%)								(n/a)
Howard High School of Technology	Public	9-12	401 East 12th Street	Wilmington	19801	New Castle County	New Castle County Vocational-Technical School District	No	No	No	Yes	(302) 571-5400	905	58	15.7	39.0%	63 (7.0%)	534 (59.0%)	244 (27.0%)	9 (1.0%)	8 (0.9%)	2 (0.2%)	45 (5.0%)	10.6	40^th of 41 public high schools	2.4%		11.6	39^th of 41 public high schools	4.9%	1			5.9						4.4	17.2	4.3	24.6
Charter School of Wilmington	Public, Charter	9-12	100 North duPont Road	Wilmington	19807	New Castle County	Charter School of Wilmington	Yes	No	No	Yes	(302) 651-2727	977	51	19.1	3.4%	394 (40.3%)	74 (7.6%)	79 (8.1%)	382 (39.1%)	4 (0.4%)	2 (0.2%)	42 (4.3%)								(n/a)
Christiana High School	Public	6-12	190 Salem Church Road	Newark	19713	New Castle County	Christina School District	No	No	No	Yes	(302) 631-2400	1,425	85	16.8	24.4%	365 (25.6%)	618 (43.4%)	236 (16.6%)	101 (7.1%)	3 (0.2%)	8 (0.6%)	94 (6.6%)	47.9	21^st of 41 public high schools	48.8%		39.8	22^nd of 41 public high schools	46.3%	1			29.4			83.5		66.7	22.3	37.0	18.2	27.7	80.2	94.2	89.2	57.1	86.1	70.6	$23,804
Calloway (Cab) School of the Arts	Public, Magnet	6-12	100 North duPont Road	Wilmington	19807	New Castle County	Red Clay Consolidated School District	No	Yes	No	No	(302) 651-2700	941	48	19.6	9.8%	423 (45.0%)	198 (21.0%)	141 (15.0%)	126 (13.4%)	1 (0.1%)	0 (0.0%)	52 (5.5%)	96.4	1^st of 41 public high schools	97.6%		96.4	4^th of 41 public high schools	90.2%	3			61.4			67.8	80.3	79.5	60.2	68.6	32.2	71.6	58.6	70.3	75.7	46.2	48.7	49.3	$18,162
Freire Charter School	Public, Charter	8-12	201 West 14th Street	Wilmington	19801	New Castle County	Freire Charter School Wilmington	Yes	No	No	Yes	(302) 407-4800	406	17	23.8	51.0%	19 (4.7%)	344 (84.7%)	31 (7.6%)	1 (0.2%)	3 (0.7%)	0 (0.0%)	8 (2.0%)	10.9	39^th of 41 public high schools	4.9%		15.7	37^th of 41 public high schools	9.8%	2			10.7					14.8	8.3	19.7		14.6			17.7

Frequently Asked Questions about Penn (William) High School

How many students attend Penn (William) High School?

In the 2024-25 school year, 2,069 students attended Penn (William) High School.

What district is Penn (William) High School in?

Colonial School District

Is Penn (William) High School a good school?

Penn (William) High School ranks in the bottom 22.0% of Delaware high schools.

What is the racial makeup of Penn (William) High School?

Students at Penn (William) High School are 50% African American, 23% Hispanic, 21% White, 3% Two or more races, 2% Asian.

What schools feed into Penn (William) High School?

Penn (William) High School is fed by the following schools:

Elementary : Castle Hills Elementary School
Elementary : Downie (Carrie) Elementary School
Elementary : Eisenberg (Harry O.) Elementary School
Elementary : New Castle Elementary School
Elementary : Pleasantville Elementary School
Elementary : Southern Elementary School
Elementary : Wilbur (Kathleen H.) Elementary
Elementary : Wilmington Manor Elementary School
Middle : Bedford (Gunning) Middle School
Middle : McCullough (Calvin R. ) Middle School
Middle : Read (George) Middle School

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Latest Delaware data All new data »

2023–24 through 2024–25 graduation ratesSep 29, 2026

2025–26 DeSSA, SAT & Smarter Balanced Assessments scoresAug 18, 2026

2024–25 school spending dataMar 23, 2026

2024–25 attendance dataJan 20, 2026

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