Schools · New Castle

New Castle, DE schools

New Castle’s public schools score well below Delaware’s averages: 30% of students are proficient in reading against 41.9% statewide, and 84% of high schoolers graduate on time against 88.9%. Kids attend New Castle Elementary School or Downie (Carrie) Elementary School through grade 5, then Bedford (Gunning) Middle School or Read (George) Middle School or McCullough (Calvin R. ) Middle School and Penn (William) High School.

Grades, test scores, graduation, spending and every school, from U.S. Department of Education data.

CSchool Grade #31Best schools in DE (of 31)#23Highest graduation rate in DE (of 32)

TownTapestry School GradeNew

New Castle’s School Grade: C

The public schools New Castle’s kids attend, from kindergarten through graduation, trail 68% of Delaware’s districts on state tests and graduation. Among towns with similar incomes, they rank near the bottom.

C-Test scoresC-Graduation

Delaware school districts we grade (41)Better than 32%

Lower resultsHigher results

Delaware towns with similar household incomes (39)Better than 13%

High confidence. Built on 2,354 tested students and a graduating class of 485; ordinary year-to-year swings are unlikely to change the grade.

How the School Grade works

Results, not inputs. Math and reading proficiency on Delaware’s state tests, each against the state average, plus the four-year graduation rate. Spending and class size are shown below but don’t count toward the grade. Tests: 2020–21; graduation: class of 2020.
The whole path. A town’s grade follows its kids: every district that serves it, weighted by the number of students tested in each. Tests count 60% and graduation 40%.
Graded within the state. Each state writes its own tests, so districts are lined up against the rest of Delaware only. A+ top 5%A next 10%A- next 10%B B+ to B−, next 30%C C+ to C−, next 30%D D and D−, bottom 15%
Individual schools are graded the same way on their own test results, against every public school in Delaware with 25+ students. Private schools aren’t graded: they don’t take the state tests.
What a grade can’t tell you. Test results track family income closely, so a high grade partly reflects who lives in a town. That’s why we also compare towns with similar incomes. Visit, ask other parents, and read neighbor reviews. It’s our own summary of U.S. Department of Education data, not an official rating.

School path

Where New Castle kids go to school

Grades K–5

C-New Castle Elementary School or DDownie (Carrie) Elementary School Depends on your address Colonial School District

Grades 6–8

C+Bedford (Gunning) Middle School or CRead (George) Middle School or DMcCullough (Calvin R. ) Middle School Depends on your address Colonial School District

Grades 9–12

CPenn (William) High School 2,069 students · New Castle Colonial School District

Based on district boundaries from the U.S. Department of Education. Check with the district before you enroll.

Test scores · 2020–21

Well below the state in reading

Reading (grades K–12, Colonial)30%

State average 41.9%

Math (grades K–12, Colonial)15%

State average 26.5%

Graduation · class of 2020

84% graduate on time

Graduation rate

84%

DE: 88.9%

Graduating class

485

students

The share of students who started ninth grade together and earned a regular diploma within four years. #23 of 32 DE towns →

Districts

The district serving New Castle

🏫

Colonial School DistrictGrades PK–12 · 15 schools · 8,575 students

$23,840 per studentDE $22,312C

Each district’s own page has its spending, test scores, enrollment and every school.

Within reach

Colleges near New Castle

There’s no college in New Castle, but 40 colleges are within 30 miles. The closest is Wilmington University in Wilmington Manor, 1.4 miles away.

Wilmington UniversityUniversity or college · Private nonprofit · Wilmington Manor1.4 mi3,737 students

Strayer University-DelawareUniversity or college · For-profit · Wilmington5.2 mi1 students

Salem Community CollegeCommunity college · Public · Carneys Point5.5 mi931 students Goldey-Beacom CollegeUniversity or college · Private nonprofit · Pike Creek Valley8.2 mi868 students University of DelawareUniversity or college · Public · Newark9.9 mi22,523 students Neumann UniversityUniversity or college · Private nonprofit · Aston15.7 mi1,914 students Widener UniversityUniversity or college · Private nonprofit · Chester17.4 mi4,531 students Williamson College of the TradesCommunity college · Private nonprofit · Middletown18.1 mi313 students Cheyney University of PennsylvaniaUniversity or college · Public · Thornbury18.2 mi696 students Pennsylvania State University-Penn State BrandywineUniversity or college · Public · Middletown18.8 mi1,216 students

30 more within 30 miles.

Straight-line distance from the center of New Castle. Degree-granting colleges with students on campus. Colleges marked › have their own page; the others are too small or don’t report enough to the Department of Education for one.

Every school