Enrollment
322
New Jersey · 2024-25 NCES data
Elementary school (grades K-5) · Penns Grove, NJ
Paul W Carleton
Federal NCES profile for Paul W Carleton, including enrollment, faculty, free-lunch eligibility, demographics, and resource indicators - Resource Investment Index 43/100.
2024-25 NCES dataElementary school (grades K-5)NCES 341284005052
👥 S:T ratio 50
🌟 Gifted program 70
🎓 Counselors 36
📋 Attendance 15
Scored 0–100 from federal NCES and CRDC indicators, resource allocation, not test scores. Full methodology →
The verdict
Paul W Carleton earns 43/100 on the Resource Investment Index, with class sizes near the New Jersey median.
- 43
- Resource Index · Typical
- 12.4:1
- students per teacher
- 59.7%
- free-lunch eligible
- 322
- students enrolled
Paul W Carleton has class sizes near the New Jersey median. Computed live against every New Jersey school reporting to NCES.
School address
NCES ID 341284005052 Verify on NCES CCD record →
Teachers (FTE)
26.0
Federal CCD staff survey
Students per teacher
12.4:1
vs 11.8:1 New Jersey avg
+5% vs state
Free-lunch eligible
59.7%
vs 29.6% New Jersey avg
+102% vs state
Student-teacher ratio in context
How Paul W Carleton compares with New Jersey and U.S. medians
What stands out at Paul W Carleton
Paul W Carleton is a higher-need, mid-sized elementary school in Penns Grove, New Jersey, enrolling 322 students.
Class loads run somewhat heavier than typical: 12.4:1 puts it in the larger third of New Jersey schools by student-teacher ratio.
Economic need runs somewhat above the state's typical profile, with 59.7% of students eligible for free meals.
Enrollment of 322 puts it in the smaller third of New Jersey schools by headcount.
Its Resource Investment Index lands in the lower third of 2,501 scored New Jersey schools.
Against 187 statewide peers matched on enrollment and economic need, it ranks mid-pack at #118.
Its student body is led by Hispanic or Latino (46%) and African American (38%) (diversity index 63/100).
Counselor coverage runs a bit thin, about 322 students per counselor, somewhat past the ASCA-recommended 250:1 benchmark.
Chronic absenteeism is elevated: 33.9% of students missed 10% or more of school days (2021-22 Civil Rights Data Collection).
Penns Grove-Carneys Point Regional School District also operates Penns Grove High School (632 students) and Field Street School (463 students) alongside Paul W Carleton.
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 Paul W Carleton compares
Paul W Carleton on the metrics families compare, against New Jersey and U.S. means.
| Metric | This school | vs New Jersey | New Jersey avg | U.S. avg |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Students per teacher | 12.4:1 | ▲ 5% | 11.8:1 | 15.7:1 |
| Free-lunch eligible | 59.7% | ▲ 102% | 29.6% | 51.7% |
| Enrollment | 322 | top 70% | - | - |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data School-level CCD + state/national means from Public School Universe · 2024-25
12.4:1
Leaner classes than 72% of US schools, among the more generously staffed nationally.
322
Bigger than 36% of US schools by enrollment, mid-sized for the country.
Equity indicators (what these measure)
Economic need
59.7%
free-lunch eligible
- 102% above the New Jersey average of 29.6%
Above the 40% Title I schoolwide threshold; federal funds support the whole school, not individual students.
Staffing depth
12.4:1
students per teacher
- 5% above state mean
Top 67% in New Jersey - lower ratio than 33% of state schools
Well under the widely cited 15:1 individualized-attention benchmark, among the leaner class loads nationally.
Engagement
33.9%
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
$21,654
per pupil, district-wide
- below New Jersey avg of $24,984
Well above the U.S. public-school average, reflecting substantially higher local or state investment per enrolled student.
Support staff
Counselors1.0 FTE
Per 322 students, the combined health-and-guidance staffing load for this school.
Discipline context
0
in-school suspensions + 19 out-of-school
Suspension rate: 0.0 per 100 students. Combined in-school and out-of-school rate: 5.9 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
Hispanic or Latino 45.7%
African American 37.9%
White 14.9%
Two or More 1.2%
Asian 0.3%
Largest group: Hispanic or Latino at 45.7% of enrollment.
Student-body diversity index 62.5/100
Simpson diversity index - at 62.5, Paul W Carleton is more mixed than the New Jersey school average of 51.2.
Programs
Gifted & talented Yes
Funding & spending
District-wide per-pupil expenditure for Penns Grove-Carneys Point Regional School District, which includes Paul W Carleton.
$21,654
Per student
-13%
vs New Jersey
Avg $24,984
+31%
vs U.S.
Avg $16,593
Revenue mix
Local 21.7%
State 66.6%
Federal 11.6%
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 Paul W Carleton Compares to District-Mates
| School | Enrollment | Economic Profile | Student-Teacher Ratio |
|---|---|---|---|
| Penns Grove High School | Larger | Similar economic need | Similar S:T ratio |
| Field Street School | Larger | Similar economic need | Similar S:T ratio |
| Penns Grove Middle School | Larger | Similar economic need | Lower S:T ratio |
| Lafayette - Pershing | Similar size | Similar economic need | Higher S:T ratio |
Comparisons are relative to Paul W Carleton's own figures; each column derives from NCES Common Core of Data.
Other Schools in This District
- Enrollment
- 632
- Students per teacher
- 13.2:1
- Resource Index
- 58/100
- Enrollment
- 463
- Students per teacher
- 11.3:1
- Resource Index
- 40/100
- Enrollment
- 452
- Students per teacher
- 10.8:1
- Resource Index
- 48/100
- Enrollment
- 313
- Students per teacher
- 14.2:1
- Resource Index
- 39/100
Similar elementary schools statewide
Matched by enrollment size and by staffing ratio across all of New Jersey, not just this city - a different peer set than the local comparisons above.
Similar enrollment (~322 students)
Similar student-teacher ratio (~12.4:1)
Next steps
Verify locally before acting on Paul W Carleton's federal record.
- Compare Paul W Carleton against another school. Compare schools
- Penns Grove-Carneys Point Regional School District's spending and staffing shape this school. District profile
- Confirm current enrollment and boundaries with the school. Choosing guide
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 Paul W Carleton
How many students attend Paul W Carleton?
Paul W Carleton has 322 students enrolled. It is an elementary school in Penns Grove, NJ.
What is the student-teacher ratio at Paul W Carleton?
The student-teacher ratio at Paul W Carleton is 12.4:1, which is 5% higher than the New Jersey average of 11.8:1 and 21% lower than the national average of 15.7:1.
What percentage of students receive free lunch at Paul W Carleton?
59.7% of students at Paul W Carleton are eligible for free lunch, compared to the New Jersey average of 29.6%.
What is the racial and ethnic makeup of Paul W Carleton?
The largest demographic group at Paul W Carleton is Hispanic or Latino at 45.7% of enrollment, in Penns Grove, NJ. Its student body is more racially and ethnically mixed than most US schools, with a diversity index of 62.5/100.
What is the Resource Investment Index for Paul W Carleton?
Paul W Carleton has a Resource Investment Index of 43/100 (typical reported resources relative to schools nationally) based on 4 factors: student-teacher ratio, counselor availability, attendance rates. Not a test-score or academic measure (national median ~41/100, see methodology).
Is Paul W Carleton a good school?
Paul W Carleton earns 43/100 on the Resource Investment Index, with class sizes near the New Jersey median. 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 Penns Grove-Carneys Point Regional School District?
Besides Paul W Carleton, Penns Grove-Carneys Point Regional School District also operates Penns Grove High School (632 students), Field Street School (463 students), and Penns Grove Middle School (452 students). See the Penns Grove-Carneys Point Regional School District district page for the complete list.
Related tools
Compare schools
Side-by-side comparison tool
Schools in New Jersey
All public schools in New Jersey
Penns Grove-Carneys Point Regional School District
All schools in this district
Schools in Penns Grove
All schools in this city
School districts
Ranked by enrollment & spending
Rankings
Best schools by state & type
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.