1
What tradition at James Buchanan MS should never be changed?
Community prompt from u/allk12. Replies below.
Enrollment
535
Middle
DISTRICT 364 · STATE 594
SCHOOL COMMUNITY·TUSCARORA SD·NCES 422274006281
James Buchanan Middle School
5191 Fort Loudon Rd, Mercersburg, PA 17236 · (717) 328-5221 · Franklin County
GRADES 06–08MIDDLE42-RURALTITLE IREGULAR SCHOOL535 STUDENTS
B
allk12 Grade
Scored higher than 58% of Pennsylvania public middle schools
- CTest scores Share of students meeting the state standard in reading, math, and other tested subjects, 2023-24 and 2024-25.
- ABeats expectations How far test scores land above or below what the share of low-income students predicts for a school in this state.
- ·Three-year trend Not available for this school, so the grade uses the other parts.
Grades compare a school only with schools in the same state, because every state gives its own test. How grades work · Top-graded Pennsylvania public middle schools
Student : Teacher
12.9:1
42 FTE teachers
DISTRICT 13.4:1 · STATE 13.2:1
Free / Reduced Lunch
104%
554 students
DISTRICT 95% · STATE 75%
Community
1
0 members
Enrollment and student:teacher ratio compared against other middle schools. Free/Reduced Lunch and demographics compared against all schools.
Enrollment by grade, 2024-25
| Grade | Students | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Grade 6 | 159 | 30% |
| Grade 7 | 183 | 34% |
| Grade 8 | 193 | 36% |
Student demographics
17%Diversity index
The chance that two students picked at random belong to different racial or ethnic groups.
DISTRICT 19% · STATE 59% · US 70%
Student head counts by race/ethnicity from federal NCES enrollment data. District, state, and US figures are each group's share of all public school students in that area (US excludes territories). Very small groups may be suppressed in the source, so categories do not always sum exactly to total enrollment.
Gender split
School pathway
Students here typically continue to
James Buchanan Middle School→James Buchanan High School
Feeds from
Based on grade levels within Tuscarora SD. Attendance zones can vary; confirm enrollment with the district.
Test scores
PSSA + Keystone 2024-25 . % Proficient or AdvancedEnglish Language Arts
41.5%
PA avg 51.1% . -10.7pp since 2023
Math
28.3%
PA avg 43.0% . -0.5pp since 2023
What this means: On the PSSA + Keystone, Pennsylvania's statewide test, about 42 of every 100 students at this school read and write at grade level and about 28 of 100 do math at grade level. Across all Pennsylvania schools, those numbers are about 51 and 43. Reading and writing scores are down about 11 points since 2023, while math scores have held steady.
PSSA + Keystone results by year
| School year | English Language Arts | Math |
|---|---|---|
| 2024-25 | 41.5% | 28.3% |
| 2023-24 | 52.2% | 28.8% |
% Proficient or Advanced, all students and all tested grades.
Source: PSSA + Keystone. All students, all grades. See all years and grades →
BeatsExpectations
Demographically-adjusted score · methodologyTier
AS EXPECTED
Performing as predicted given the school's student profile
Actual proficiency
40.3%
composite math + reading, all grades
Predicted
33.2%
based on PA schools with similar FRL share
Beats by
+7.1pp
above demographic expectation
What this means: About 40% of students here test proficient in math and reading, compared with the roughly 33% typical for Pennsylvania schools with a similar share of low-income students. BeatsExpectations measures results against demographically similar schools rather than by raw scores, and this school falls within the typical range, neither among Pennsylvania's top nor bottom 10%.
BeatsExpectations runs a per-state regression of proficiency on free/reduced-lunch share, then scores each school by residual. How this is calculated →
Where James Buchanan Middle School ranks
Among middle schools| Measure | This school | In Pennsylvania | In Franklin County |
|---|---|---|---|
| State test proficiency ranked highest first | 40.3% | #342 of 479 | #5 of 6 |
| Math proficiency ranked highest first | 28.3% | #350 of 513 no change | #6 of 6 ▼ 1 |
| Reading proficiency ranked highest first | 41.5% | #380 of 513 ▼ 65 | #6 of 6 ▼ 1 |
| Enrollment ranked largest first | 535 | #277 of 522 | #6 of 7 |
| Students per teacher ranked fewest first | 12.9:1 | #244 of 486 | #1 of 6 |
| Diversity index ranked most diverse first | 16.6% | #413 of 486 | #6 of 6 |
| Free and reduced lunch ranked highest share first | 104% | #42 of 510 | #1 of 6 |
| Enrollment change since 2017-18 ranked steepest decline first | -5.8% | #251 of 332 | N/A |
Ranked against other public middle schools. Online schools are left out of every list, and test-score lists leave out schools that serve specialized populations. Each rank links to the full list. Arrows under a test-score rank show places moved since the prior test year, among schools tested both years.
4-year change
SY 2020-21 vs SY 2024-25Enrollment
535
-21 (-4%) vs 2020
-15% since 1990-91, when it was 627
Student : Teacher
12.9:1
was 15.4:1
Source: NCES Common Core of Data
Enrollment and staffing by year
| School year | Students | Teachers (FTE) | Students per teacher | Free and reduced lunch |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024-25 | 535 | 41.6 | 12.9:1 | N/A |
| 2023-24 | 554 | 41.6 | 13.3:1 | 100% (554) |
| 2022-23 | 550 | 40.1 | 13.7:1 | 100% (550) |
| 2020-21 | 556 | 36 | 15.4:1 | 49% (270) |
| 2017-18 | 568 | 37.3 | 15.2:1 | 39% (223) |
| 2015-16 | 531 | 37 | 14.3:1 | 41% (218) |
| 2010-11 | 657 | 43 | 15.3:1 | 32% (208) |
| 2000-01 | 685 | 44 | 15.6:1 | 25% (173) |
| 1990-91 | 627 | 47 | 13.3:1 | N/A |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data. Rows are the federal collections on file for James Buchanan Middle School.
Since 2017-18: students down 6% (568 to 535); teachers up 11% (37.3 to 41.6).
About James Buchanan Middle School
James Buchanan Middle School is a mid-sized middle school in Pennsylvania, with an address in Mercersburg. It enrolls 535 students in 2024-25. The grades offered are 6 through 8.
Tuscarora SD serves 2,182 students across 6 schools.
Of every 100 students at James Buchanan Middle School, about 91 are White. Other students are 4% Hispanic and 3% multiracial. A diversity index of 17% means there is a 17% chance two randomly chosen students at James Buchanan Middle School are from different groups.
James Buchanan Middle School reported 41.6 full-time-equivalent teachers in 2024-25, a ratio of 12.9:1. The ratio is within a point of the 13.2:1 average for middle schools in Pennsylvania.
On the allk12 Grade, James Buchanan Middle School lands at B, ahead of 58% of Pennsylvania public middle schools.
The model predicts 33.2% for a school in Pennsylvania with James Buchanan Middle School's free or reduced-price lunch share. James Buchanan Middle School posts 40.3%.
Five-year Census Bureau estimates for Franklin County show that median household income comes to about $77,003, roughly 25% of adults have a four-year degree or more, and about 6% of residents live below the federal poverty line. Franklin County counts 41 public schools with about 21,432 students.
James Buchanan Middle School's closest public school neighbor is James Buchanan High School, about 0.4 miles away. A five-mile radius around the school includes 4 other public schools. James Buchanan Middle School's average proficiency of 40.3% compares with 54.1% for its nearest scored neighbors.
In the federal locale system, James Buchanan Middle School is coded Rural: Distant, for schools in rural territory some distance from an urban area.
Enrollment figures show a drop of 21 students from 2020-21 to 2024-25. Its ratio of students to teachers was 15.4:1 in 2020-21, and 12.9:1 in 2024-25.
People can post here about homework, tutoring, and testing dates and other school topics. Parents, students, alumni, and staff are welcome to post.
Franklin County at a glance
View full county profilePopulation
157,379
Census ACS
Median income
$77,003
Household, ACS
Bachelor's+
25%
Adults 25+
Poverty rate
6%
Below federal line
Schools in county
41
21,432 students
Quick facts
Related schools
Other schools in Tuscarora SD
- James Buchanan High SchoolHigh · 721 students
- St Thomas Elementary SchoolElementary · 297 students
- Mercersburg Elementary SchoolElementary · 232 students
- Montgomery Elementary SchoolElementary · 212 students
- Mountain View Elementary SchoolElementary · 185 students
Other schools in Mercersburg
- James Buchanan High SchoolHigh · 721 students
- Mercersburg Elementary SchoolElementary · 232 students
- Montgomery Elementary SchoolElementary · 212 students
- Mountain View Elementary SchoolElementary · 185 students
Nearby schools
- James Buchanan High School0.4 mi · 721
- Mercersburg Elementary School1.7 mi · 232
- Mountain View Elementary School2.5 mi · 185
- Montgomery Elementary School3.6 mi · 212
- St Thomas Elementary School7.1 mi · 297
- Fulton County Center for Career and Technology7.6 mi · 1
Frequently asked questions
About James Buchanan Middle SchoolWhat is the total enrollment at James Buchanan Middle School?
James Buchanan Middle School enrolls approximately 535 students in grades 06-08.
What age range does James Buchanan Middle School serve?
James Buchanan Middle School serves students from grade 06 through grade 08.
How many teachers does James Buchanan Middle School have?
James Buchanan Middle School employs 42 FTE teachers, for a student-to-teacher ratio of 12.9:1.
What is the student diversity at James Buchanan Middle School?
Student demographics at James Buchanan Middle School are roughly 91% White, 4% Hispanic, 1% Black, 1% Asian, 3% Two or more.
Is James Buchanan Middle School public or private?
James Buchanan Middle School is a public K-12 school, overseen by Tuscarora SD.
Data sourceSchool profile facts are sourced from the NCES. Community content is posted by allk12 members.