Pennington School, Mount Vernon NY

Original Research by School Decision on Pennington School

Pennington School serves early elementary through middle grades in Mount Vernon, a dense inner-ring suburb north of the Bronx. It is a regular public school of the Mount Vernon City School District and enrolls a student body that is roughly balanced between Black, Latino, Asian, and white students, with a substantial share of families qualifying for free or reduced-price lunch. The enrollment is stable at a small to moderate size across the grades it serves.

The school's state test results, reported for 2024-25, show a pattern of moderate proficiency concentrated in the lower grades. In grade four, across both math and English Language Arts, proficiency rates reach roughly the better half of the school's overall performance. By grades six and seven, proficiency in math and ELA remains in the mid-range. Notably, eighth grade math proficiency is markedly lower, a pattern a parent may want to understand further with the school—whether it reflects transition to middle school intensity, specific cohort characteristics, or shifts in curriculum scope. Science proficiency in fifth and eighth grades sits below half. When Pennington's overall proficiency index is measured against the county's districts, the school sits in the bottom quartile, indicating that many Westchester schools report stronger performance across tested grades and subjects.

The school's participation rates on state assessments vary considerably, particularly in grades six and eight, where participation dips substantially. This is a detail worth clarifying with the school, as lower participation can affect how results are interpreted.

Mount Vernon as a place is experiencing significant transition. The city is a highly walkable downtown node with three Metro-North stations, a strong Afro-Caribbean and Latino cultural presence, and a major new comprehensive plan underway. Recent years have brought mixed-income housing development and transit-oriented investment, though the Downtown Vision Report notes a high rate of rent-burdened residents and a reported outflow of young adults due to limited affordable housing. The median home value in the zip code is moderate for the region, and rental costs have risen notably.

The Mount Vernon City School District itself is in a period of major change. In January 2025, the board approved a modified K-8 reorganization that closes three schools (Cecil H. Parker School, Mount Vernon Honor Academy, and Mount Vernon Leadership Academy), consolidating students into four K-8 neighborhood locations. This stems from years of enrollment decline and a state designation of significant fiscal stress that has held for six consecutive years. In May 2026, voters rejected the proposed school budget, the first defeat in recent years, raising questions about the district's ability to maintain current programs and staffing. These conditions have direct implications for families considering a Mount Vernon school: the infrastructure is in flux, fiscal pressure is real, and program stability may be uncertain. The district does offer expanded choice at the high school level, with distinct academic pathways including an IB program, but families should be aware they are choosing a school system navigating substantial structural and financial headwinds.

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Academic performance

How students perform on state tests, by grade, set against the district.

New York Regents Exams

2 courses reported · 2024-25

End-of-course exams required for a New York Regents diploma. Each row shows the cohort size and the share of students scoring at the proficient level or higher.

Course	Students tested	% proficient
Math	15	53.0%
Science	15	73.0%

Math

Grade 344%

School 44% · District 42% · ▲ 2 pts above district

▼ 15 pts below state median · ▼ 18 pts below county median

Grade 458%

School 58% · District 47% · ▲ 11 pts above district

even with state median · ▼ 10 pts below county median

Grade 545%

School 45% · District 39% · ▲ 6 pts above district

▼ 6 pts below state median · ▼ 14 pts below county median

Grade 644%

School 44% · District 41% · ▲ 3 pts above district

▼ 1 pts below state median · ▼ 7 pts below county median

Grade 756%

School 56% · District 41% · ▲ 15 pts above district

▲ 3 pts above state median · ▲ 2 pts above county median

Grade 812%

School 12% · District 27% · ▼ 16 pts below district

▼ 25 pts below state median · ▼ 27 pts below county median

English language arts

Grade 342%

School 42% · District 41% · ▲ 1 pts above district

▼ 10 pts below state median · ▼ 14 pts below county median

Grade 461%

School 61% · District 47% · ▲ 13 pts above district

▲ 8 pts above state median · ▼ 1 pts below county median

Grade 549%

School 49% · District 43% · ▲ 6 pts above district

▼ 6 pts below state median · ▼ 17 pts below county median

Grade 643%

School 43% · District 39% · ▲ 4 pts above district

▼ 3 pts below state median · ▼ 5 pts below county median

Grade 753%

School 53% · District 45% · ▲ 8 pts above district

▲ 5 pts above state median · even with county median

Grade 848%

School 48% · District 53% · ▼ 5 pts below district

even with state median · ▼ 5 pts below county median

Science

Grade 539%

School 39% · District 33% · ▲ 6 pts above district

▼ 3 pts below state median · ▼ 10 pts below county median

Grade 844%

School 44% · District 32% · ▲ 12 pts above district

▲ 11 pts above state median · ▲ 26 pts above county median

Social studies

Grade 596%

School 96% · district not reported

▲ 4 pts above state median · ▼ 1 pts below county median

This schoolMOUNT VERNON SCHOOL DISTRICT, same grade

Graduation rate (ACGR) reflects the federally published Adjusted Cohort Graduation Rate for the most recent year available. We refresh this data annually at the close of each academic year in June. The federal source publishes a banded rate (for example, "90-94%") instead of an exact number for cohorts small enough to risk identifying individual students. The state distribution chart, where shown, plots every school in the state with a published rate or band; schools whose rate is federally suppressed are excluded. Where the federal source publishes a band rather than an exact rate, the school is placed within its band using a stable, ID-derived offset, so its position is consistent across visits.

Proficiency by household income

English language arts

Grade 3Lower-income35%Higher-income50%15 pp gap

Grade 4Lower-income65%Higher-income57%8 pp gap

Grade 5Lower-income35%Higher-income63%28 pp gap

Grade 6Lower-income44%Higher-income42%2 pp gap

Grade 7Lower-income43%Higher-income58%15 pp gap

Grade 8Lower-income45%Higher-income55%10 pp gap

Mathematics

Grade 3Lower-income40%Higher-income47%7 pp gap

Grade 4Lower-income60%Higher-income57%3 pp gap

Grade 5Lower-income30%Higher-income60%30 pp gap

Grade 6Lower-income20%Higher-income65%45 pp gap

Grade 7Lower-income57%Higher-income55%2 pp gap

Grade 8Lower-income20%Higher-income0%20 pp gap