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Schools›Pennsylvania›Mercersburg
SCHOOL COMMUNITY·TUSCARORA SD·NCES 422274006281

James Buchanan MS

5191 Fort Loudon Rd, Mercersburg, PA 17236 · (717) 328-5221 · Franklin County
GRADES 06–08MIDDLE42-RURALTITLE IREGULAR SCHOOL535 STUDENTS
Enrollment
535
Middle
DISTRICT 364 · STATE 594
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
Grade 6
159
Grade 7
183
Grade 8
193
Student demographics
White
48891%
DISTRICT 90% · STATE 60%
Hispanic
194%
DISTRICT 4% · STATE 16%
Black
61%
DISTRICT 1% · STATE 14%
Asian
41%
DISTRICT 0% · STATE 5%
Two+
173%
DISTRICT 4% · STATE 5%
Pacific Islander
10%
DISTRICT 0% · STATE 0%
Student head counts by race/ethnicity from federal NCES enrollment data. Very small groups may be suppressed in the source, so categories do not always sum exactly to total enrollment.
Gender split
Male
28153%
Female
25447%

School pathway

Students here typically continue to
James Buchanan MS→James Buchanan HS
Feeds from
Mercersburg El SchKG–05Montgomery El SchKG–05Mountain View El SchKG–05St Thomas El SchKG–05
Based on grade levels within Tuscarora SD. Attendance zones can vary; confirm enrollment with the district.

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Test scores

PSSA + Keystone 2024-25 . % Proficient or Advanced
English 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.

Source: PSSA + Keystone. All students, all grades. See all years and grades →

BeatsExpectations

Demographically-adjusted score · methodology
Tier
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 →

7-year change

SY 2017-18 vs SY 2024-25
Enrollment
535
-33 (-6%) vs 2017
Student : Teacher
12.9:1
was 15.2:1
% White
91%
was 91%
% Hispanic
4%
was 4%
% Black
1%
was 1%
% Asian
1%
was 1%
Source: NCES Common Core of Data

About James Buchanan MS

Located at 5191 Fort Loudon Rd, in Mercersburg, Pennsylvania, James Buchanan MS is an average-sized middle-grades school that hosts 535 students (grades 6 through 8), operated by Tuscarora SD.

Tuscarora SD runs 6 schools in total, collectively educating 2,182 students. James Buchanan MS is one of those campuses.

On demographics, James Buchanan MS shows that 91% of students identify as White, making the school strongly White-majority. Other groups include 4% Hispanic, 3% multiracial.

On the income-and-resources front, The school reports having 42 full-time-equivalent teachers, for a student-teacher ratio near 12.9:1. That tracks the state average closely. About 104% of enrolled students meet the income threshold for free or reduced-price lunch, a number frequently used as a low-income enrollment indicator. Set against Franklin County (around 69%), the school's rate is somewhat above typical.

Adjusting for the school's free-and-reduced-lunch share, James Buchanan MS sits in the middle band of the BeatsExpectations distribution. Schools with this campus's student mix typically land near 33.2%; this one delivers 40.3%.

In the surrounding community, the surrounding county (Franklin County) reports that the typical household earns roughly $77,003 per year, about 25% of the adult population holds a bachelor's degree or above, and roughly 6% of residents live below the federal poverty line. In all, Franklin County runs 41 public schools (combined enrollment of about 21,432 students), of which James Buchanan MS is one.

Nearest neighbor: James Buchanan HS, around 0.4 miles off. Counting just inside five miles, 4 other public schools cluster around James Buchanan MS. Ranking that nearby cluster on reported proficiency puts James Buchanan MS at 8th of 8; the average score across the group is 54.7%.

James Buchanan MS operates from an outlying location.

Five-year trend. James Buchanan MS's enrollment has edged down 6% since 2018, when it stood at 568 (now 535). Class-load math has narrowed: from 15.2:1 in 2018 to 12.9:1 in 2025.

Within the allk12 community for this school, the feed for James Buchanan MS typically covers fundraisers, lost-and-found posts, and report-card season. Posting is open to anyone connected to the school.

Franklin County at a glance

View full county profile
Population
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

School name
James Buchanan MS
District
Tuscarora SD
Address
5191 Fort Loudon Rd, Mercersburg, PA 17236
Phone
(717) 328-5221
County
Franklin County
Level
Middle
Grade range
06–08
Total enrollment
535
Teachers (FTE)
42
Student–teacher ratio
12.9:1
Free/Reduced lunch
554 (104%)
Locale
42-Rural: Distant
NCES ID
422274006281
Charter school
No
Virtual school
No

Related schools

Other schools in Tuscarora SD
Other schools in Mercersburg
Nearby schools

Frequently asked questions

About James Buchanan MS
What is the total enrollment at James Buchanan MS?
James Buchanan MS enrolls approximately 535 students in grades 06-08.
What age range does James Buchanan MS serve?
James Buchanan MS serves students from grade 06 through grade 08.
How many teachers does James Buchanan MS have?
James Buchanan MS employs 42 FTE teachers, for a student-to-teacher ratio of 12.9:1.
What is the student diversity at James Buchanan MS?
Student demographics at James Buchanan MS are roughly 91% White, 4% Hispanic, 1% Black, 1% Asian, 3% Two or more.
Is James Buchanan MS public or private?
James Buchanan MS 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.
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