High school (grades 9-12) · Fort Wayne, IN

Northrop High School

Federal NCES profile for Northrop High School, including enrollment, faculty, free-lunch eligibility, demographics, and resource indicators - Resource Investment Index 36/100.

2024-25 NCES dataHigh school (grades 9-12)NCES 180363000552
0/100100/10036/100
👥 S:T ratio
17
📚 AP courses
30
🌟 Gifted program
70
🎓 Counselors
28
📋 Attendance
32
Scored 0–100 from federal NCES and CRDC indicators, resource allocation, not test scores. Full methodology →

The verdict

Northrop High School earns 36/100 on the Resource Investment Index, with class sizes larger than 93% of Indiana schools. It is also one of the largest schools in Indiana.

#8 of 8
high schools in Fort Wayne · Resource Index
36
Resource Index · Typical
20.8:1
large classes for Indiana
50.8%
free-lunch eligible

Northrop High School has class sizes larger than 93% of Indiana schools. Computed live against every Indiana school reporting to NCES.

By Resource Investment Index, Northrop High School ranks #8 of 8 high schools in Fort Wayne, IN.

Enrollment

2,145

Indiana · 2024-25 NCES data

Teachers (FTE)

103.0

Federal CCD staff survey

Students per teacher

20.8:1

vs 15.9:1 Indiana avg

+31% vs state

Free-lunch eligible

50.8%

vs 49.5% Indiana avg

+3% vs state

Student-teacher ratio in context

How Northrop High School compares with Indiana and U.S. medians

Larger classes than state median

Source: NCES Common Core of Data As of 2024-25 federal staff survey Total enrollment ÷ full-time-equivalent classroom teachers

What stands out at Northrop High School

Northrop High School is a higher-need, large high school in Fort Wayne, Indiana, enrolling 2,145 students.

Class loads run heavy: 20.8:1 is larger than about 93% of Indiana schools and 31% above the 15.9:1 state mean, so each teacher carries more students than is typical.

Its free-meal eligibility rate of 50.8% lands close to the Indiana typical range, neither a high- nor low-need campus by this measure.

By headcount it is one of the larger campuses in Indiana, bigger than 98% of state schools at 2,145 students.

Its Resource Investment Index lands in the lower third of 1,862 scored Indiana schools.

Against 35 statewide peers matched on enrollment and economic need, it ranks mid-pack at #20.

Its student body is led by White (44%) and African American (21%), more mixed than most schools in the state (diversity index 71/100).

On the academic-pipeline side it reports 6 Advanced Placement courses.

Counselor availability sits well past the ASCA benchmark, roughly 358 students sharing each counselor, though short of the most stretched campuses.

Chronic absenteeism is elevated: 27.1% of students missed 10% or more of school days (2021-22 Civil Rights Data Collection).

Its district draws 21.1% of revenue from federal sources, an above-typical federal share that tends to track a higher-need student population.

Among Fort Wayne's high schools, it stands alongside Carroll High School (2,623 students): Northrop High School is smaller than that campus by headcount and runs heavier classes (20.8:1 vs 20:1).

Fort Wayne Community Schools also operates R Nelson Snider High School (1,927 students) and South Side High School (1,405 students) alongside Northrop High School.

Sourced from NCES CCD, CRDC, and F-33 (federal records, not a quality verdict). How we source and compute this.

Source: National Center for Education Statistics Common Core of Data + CRDC + F-33 · 2024-25

How Northrop High School compares

Northrop High School on the metrics families compare, against Indiana and U.S. means.

Metric This school vs Indiana Indiana avg U.S. avg
Students per teacher 20.8:1 ▲ 31% 15.9:1 15.7:1
Free-lunch eligible 50.8% ▲ 3% 49.5% 51.7%
Enrollment 2,145 top 2% - -

Source: NCES Common Core of Data School-level CCD + state/national means from Public School Universe · 2024-25

20.8:1
Leaner classes than 13% of US schools, heavier class loads than most.
2,145
Bigger than 99% of US schools by enrollment, a large campus nationally.

Equity indicators (what these measure)

Economic need
50.8%
free-lunch eligible - 3% above the Indiana average of 49.5%
Above the 40% Title I schoolwide threshold; federal funds support the whole school, not individual students.
Staffing depth
20.8:1
students per teacher - 31% above state mean
Top 93% in Indiana - lower ratio than 7% of state schools
Above 20:1, running heavier than the typical U.S. public school; staffing is comparatively stretched.
Engagement
27.1%
chronically absent (missed 10%+ of school days)
At or above 20%, the commonly used threshold for "high" chronic absenteeism, signaling significant barriers to regular attendance.
Funding equity
$13,247
per pupil, district-wide - above Indiana avg of $12,079
Well below the U.S. average per-pupil spend, a notably leaner funding position that may affect programs, facilities, and staffing.
Support staff
Counselors6.0 FTE
Per 358 students, the combined health-and-guidance staffing load for this school.
Discipline context
14
in-school suspensions + 56 out-of-school
Suspension rate: 0.7 per 100 students. Combined in-school and out-of-school rate: 3.3 per 100 students. Reported via the Civil Rights Data Collection.

Overview

  • Common Core of Data (June 2026): enrollment, staffing, and the student-teacher ratio above.
  • Civil Rights Data Collection: discipline counts and program access (AP, gifted, special education).
  • F-33 School District Finance Survey: the district-wide per-pupil spending figures below.

Three separate federal collections, each on its own reporting cadence - which is why this school's numbers line up on a consistent basis against every other school and state on this site, rather than mixing figures pulled from different survey years.

Student demographics

White 43.9%
African American 21.2%
Hispanic or Latino 19.2%
Two or More 9.7%
Asian 5.8%
American Indian / Alaska Native 0.2%
Native Hawaiian / Pacific Islander 0.1%

Largest group: White at 43.9% of enrollment.

Student-body diversity index 71.3/100

Simpson diversity index - at 71.3, Northrop High School is more mixed than the Indiana school average of 39.0.

Programs

AP courses offered 6
Gifted & talented Yes

Funding & spending

District-wide per-pupil expenditure for Fort Wayne Community Schools, which includes Northrop High School.

$13,247
Per student
+10%
vs Indiana
Avg $12,079
-20%
vs U.S.
Avg $16,593
Revenue mix
Local 22.4%
State 56.6%
Federal 21.1%

Source: NCES F-33 School District Finance Survey District-level finance · FY 2021-22 Per-pupil expenditure reflects the district-wide average. Individual school budgets are not reported at the federal level.

How Northrop High School Compares to District-Mates

School Enrollment Economic Profile Student-Teacher Ratio
R Nelson Snider High School Similar size Similar economic need Similar S:T ratio
South Side High School Smaller Higher economic need Lower S:T ratio
Wayne High School Smaller Higher economic need Lower S:T ratio
North Side High School Smaller Higher economic need Lower S:T ratio
Blackhawk Middle School Smaller Similar economic need Lower S:T ratio

Comparisons are relative to Northrop High School's own figures; each column derives from NCES Common Core of Data.

Other Schools in This District

Fort Wayne Community Schools · 5 sibling schools

View district profile

Similar high schools in Fort Wayne

6 comparable high schools (grades 9-12) serving the same city.

Similar high schools statewide

Matched by enrollment size and by staffing ratio across all of Indiana, not just this city - a different peer set than the local comparisons above.

Next steps

Verify locally before acting on Northrop High School's federal record.

Federal record (CCD 2024-25, CRDC 2021-22) - PlainSchools assigns no subjective rating; the composite quality score is a transparent, reproducible index computed from this cited federal data.

Frequently asked questions about Northrop High School

How many students attend Northrop High School?

Northrop High School has 2,145 students enrolled. It is a high school in Fort Wayne, IN.

What is the student-teacher ratio at Northrop High School?

The student-teacher ratio at Northrop High School is 20.8:1, which is 31% higher than the Indiana average of 15.9:1 and 32% higher than the national average of 15.7:1.

What percentage of students receive free lunch at Northrop High School?

50.8% of students at Northrop High School are eligible for free lunch, compared to the Indiana average of 49.5%.

What is the racial and ethnic makeup of Northrop High School?

The largest demographic group at Northrop High School is White at 43.9% of enrollment, in Fort Wayne, IN. Its student body is more racially and ethnically mixed than most US schools, with a diversity index of 71.3/100.

What is the Resource Investment Index for Northrop High School?

Northrop High School has a Resource Investment Index of 36/100 (typical reported resources relative to schools nationally) based on 5 factors: student-teacher ratio, AP course offerings, counselor availability, attendance rates. Not a test-score or academic measure (national median ~41/100, see methodology).

How does Northrop High School rank among high schools in Fort Wayne?

By Resource Investment Index, Northrop High School ranks #8 of 8 high schools in Fort Wayne, IN. This compares federal resource and staffing data among local peers; it is not a test-score or academic ranking. See all high schools in Fort Wayne on the city page.

Is Northrop High School a good school?

Northrop High School earns 36/100 on the Resource Investment Index, with class sizes larger than 93% of Indiana schools. It is also one of the largest schools in Indiana. This is a resource snapshot, not an academic rating; see the Resource Investment Index question above for what the number does and doesn't measure.

What other schools are in Fort Wayne Community Schools?

Besides Northrop High School, Fort Wayne Community Schools also operates R Nelson Snider High School (1,927 students), South Side High School (1,405 students), and Wayne High School (1,398 students). See the Fort Wayne Community Schools district page for the complete list.

Source: National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) CCD + Public School Universe (2024-25), CRDC (2021-22), F-33 District Finance Survey (FY 2021-22) · 2024-25 Data as of the 2024-25 school year. Coverage from U.S. Department of Education NCES Common Core of Data. Varies by entity type; administrative districts and certain charter networks may report only a subset of fields.

All federal data sources used on this page

Full source list and how we compute each figure: methodology page.

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Every figure on PlainSchools is rendered directly from the source NCES, CRDC and F-33 federal records, no number is typed in by an editor. Each school's figures reflect its most recent NCES/CRDC submission on file. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error. Data current as of June 2026.