Enrollment
3,687
Indiana · 2024-25 NCES data
2024-25 NCES data High school (grades 9-12) NCES 180876001451
Penn High School — Mishawaka, IN
Federal NCES profile for Penn High School, including enrollment, faculty, free-lunch eligibility, demographics, and resource indicators — Resource Investment Index 58/100.
👥 Class size 20
📚 AP courses 100
🌟 Gifted program 70
🎓 Counselors 39
📋 Attendance 62
How this works: Each indicator above is scored 0–100 from federal NCES and CRDC data, then averaged into the Resource Investment Index. This measures resource allocation — staffing, programs, and support services — not standardized test scores or academic outcomes. Full methodology →
School address
District: Penn-Harris-Madison School Corp · Indiana
Public location data per NCES (National Center for Education Statistics) Common Core of Data. Verify the school's current address on the NCES CCD record.
Teachers (FTE)
180.0
Federal CCD staff survey
Students per teacher
20.1:1
vs 16.1:1 Indiana avg
+25% vs state
Free-lunch eligible
24.4%
vs 49.5% Indiana avg
-51% vs state
Student-teacher ratio in context
How Penn High School compares with Indiana and U.S. medians
The federal record — no proprietary index, no editorial formula.
PlainSchools publishes the actual federal measurements — enrollment, staffing, demographics, discipline, and finance — straight from the NCES Common Core of Data, CRDC, and F-33 surveys. No composite rating, no opinion-based score on top. You get the same raw numbers researchers and policymakers use, with benchmarks, spending context, and equity indicators computed from the same federal datasets. Full methodology linked below.
What this school's NCES data tells you
Penn High School reports 3,687 enrolled students to the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) alongside 180.0 full-time-equivalent teachers, producing a 20.1:1 student-teacher ratio. That figure sits 25% above the Indiana state mean of 16.1:1, signalling larger average class loads than peers in the same state. Against the national 2024-25 average of 15.9:1, it is 26% higher, a useful calibration for families comparing districts across state lines.
Title I and federal lunch eligibility offer another window into the student body: 24.4% of pupils qualify for free meals, a proxy for household income that federal programs use to direct funding. The free-lunch share is 51% below the Indiana average and 53% below the national baseline. The school offers 25 Advanced Placement courses, a stronger academic pipeline indicator than enrollment alone. Counselor coverage works out to roughly 307 students per counselor, above the ASCA-recommended ceiling of 250:1. Chronic absenteeism — missing 10% or more of school days — stands at 15.1% according to the 2021-22 Civil Rights Data Collection.
On the finance side, the surrounding Penn-Harris-Madison School Corp spends $12,050 per pupil district-wide, below the Indiana average of $14,559 and below the national average of $19,490. Revenue comes 25.8% from local sources (property taxes), 64.9% from the state, and 9.3% from federal programs per the NCES F-33 finance survey. Taken together, these measurements produce a Resource Investment Index of 58/100 (C), calculated from 5 distinct NCES and CRDC indicators measuring resource allocation rather than academic outcomes.
Source: National Center for Education Statistics Common Core of Data + CRDC + F-33 · 2024-25
How Penn High School compares
Cross-validating school-level NCES values against Indiana state and U.S. national means lets readers see whether this school is an outlier or in line with peers.
| Metric | This school | vs Indiana | Indiana avg | U.S. avg |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Students per teacher | 20.1:1 | ▲ 25% | 16.1:1 | 15.9:1 |
| Free-lunch eligible | 24.4% | ▼ 51% | 49.5% | 51.8% |
| Enrollment | 3,687 | top 100% | — | — |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data School-level CCD + state/national means from Public School Universe · 2024-25
What the federal data reveals about equity at this school
Federal measurements — not ratings — surface the resource and opportunity picture. Below are the indicators that researchers, civil-rights monitors, and funding formulas use to assess equity.
Economic need
24.4%
free-lunch eligible
— 51% below the Indiana average of 49.5%
Below the 40% Title I threshold — federal aid targets individual qualifying students rather than schoolwide programs.
Staffing depth
20.1:1
students per teacher
— 25% above state mean
Top 93% in Indiana — lower ratio than 7% of state schools
Above 20:1 — larger class loads than the typical U.S. public school; staffing is stretched relative to enrollment.
Engagement
15.1%
chronically absent (missed 10%+ of school days)
Between 10–20% — above the pre-pandemic baseline of ~15% nationally but within the current U.S. range.
Funding equity
$12,050
per pupil, district-wide
— below Indiana avg of $14,559
Below the U.S. average per-pupil spend — funding constraints may affect programs, facilities, and staffing.
Support staff
Counselors12.0 FTE
Per 307 students — the combined health-and-guidance staffing load for this school.
Discipline context
0
in-school suspensions + 146 out-of-school
Suspension rate: 0.0 per 100 students. Combined in-school and out-of-school rate: 4.0 per 100 students. Reported via the Civil Rights Data Collection. Includes 2 expulsions.
Overview
Enrollment 3,687 Top 100% in Indiana — larger than 0% of 1,865 state schools
Teachers (FTE) 180.0
Students per teacher 20.1:1 +25% vs state
Free-lunch eligible 24.4% -51% vs state
NCES ID 180876001451
Student demographics
White 69.1%
Hispanic or Latino 9.4%
African American 8.7%
Two or More 6.6%
Asian 6.0%
American Indian / Alaska Native 0.2%
Largest group: White at 69.1% of enrollment.
Programs & staff
AP courses offered 25
Gifted & talented Yes
Counselors (FTE) 12.0
Students per counselor 307:1
Discipline & special education
Chronically absent 15.1%
In-school suspensions 0
Out-of-school suspensions 146
Expulsions 2
Funding & spending
District-wide per-pupil expenditure for Penn-Harris-Madison School Corp, which includes Penn High School.
$12,050
Per student
-17%
vs Indiana
Avg $14,559
-38%
vs U.S.
Avg $19,490
Revenue mix
Local 25.8%
State 64.9%
Federal 9.3%
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.
Other Schools in This District
- Enrollment
- 1,041
- Students per teacher
- 19.7:1
- Enrollment
- 941
- Students per teacher
- 19.3:1
- Enrollment
- 679
- Students per teacher
- 20.9:1
- Enrollment
- 662
- Students per teacher
- 15.8:1
- Enrollment
- 577
- Students per teacher
- 21.2:1
Similar high schools in Mishawaka
1 comparable high schools (grades 9-12) serving the same city.
Educator & family resources
In-depth guides on understanding NCES data, school choice, and education funding.
Understanding NCES data
How CCD, CRDC and EDFacts feed every public-school number you see.
Choose a school district
Eight signals that matter more than the overall ranking number.
How schools are funded
Title I, F-33, state aid formulas and what per-pupil spending really means.
Chronic absenteeism
Why missing 10% of school matters and how it varies by district.
Magnet vs charter vs traditional
Three school types, three funding models, three sets of trade-offs.
School discipline data
What CRDC suspension and expulsion records do and don't reveal.
Frequently asked questions about Penn High School
How many students attend Penn High School?
Penn High School has 3,687 students enrolled. It is a high school in Mishawaka, IN.
What is the student-teacher ratio at Penn High School?
The student-teacher ratio at Penn High School is 20.1:1, which is 25% higher than the Indiana average of 16.1:1 and 26% higher than the national average of 15.9:1.
What percentage of students receive free lunch at Penn High School?
24.4% of students at Penn High School are eligible for free lunch, compared to the Indiana average of 49.5%.
What is the racial and ethnic makeup of Penn High School?
The largest demographic group at Penn High School is White at 69.1%. The school serves a diverse student body in Mishawaka, IN.
What is the Resource Investment Index for Penn High School?
Penn High School has a Resource Investment Index of 58/100 (C) based on 5 factors: student-teacher ratio, AP course offerings, counselor availability, attendance rates. This index measures federal resource allocation — staffing levels, program availability, and support services — not standardized test scores or academic outcomes.