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Honest take: what's the hardest part about being a student at Mars Area MS?
Community prompt from u/allk12. Replies below.
Enrollment
563
Middle
DISTRICT 595 · STATE 594
SCHOOL COMMUNITY·MARS AREA SD·NCES 421479005363
Mars Area MS
1775 Three Degree Rd, Mars, PA 16046 · (724) 625-3145 · Butler County
GRADES 07–08MIDDLE21-SUBURBREGULAR SCHOOL563 STUDENTS
Student : Teacher
14.0:1
40 FTE teachers
DISTRICT 15.1:1 · STATE 13.2:1
Free / Reduced Lunch
11%
61 students
DISTRICT 12% · 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
Student demographics
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
School pathway
Students here typically continue to
Mars Area MS→Mars Area SHS
Feeds from
Based on grade levels within Mars Area SD. Attendance zones can vary; confirm enrollment with the district.
Test scores
PSSA + Keystone 2024-25 . % Proficient or AdvancedEnglish Language Arts
65.1%
PA avg 51.1% . -7.6pp since 2023
Math
43.7%
PA avg 43.0% . -0.3pp since 2023
What this means: On the PSSA + Keystone, Pennsylvania's statewide test, about 65 of every 100 students at this school read and write at grade level and about 44 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 8 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 · methodologyTier
AS EXPECTED
Performing as predicted given the school's student profile
Actual proficiency
58.7%
composite math + reading, all grades
Predicted
73.0%
based on PA schools with similar FRL share
Beats by
-14.3pp
below demographic expectation
What this means: About 59% of students here test proficient in math and reading, compared with the roughly 73% 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 2024-25Enrollment
563
+46 (+9%) vs 2017
Student : Teacher
14.0:1
was 13.8:1
% White
92%
was 97%
% Hispanic
2%
was 1%
% Black
1%
was 1%
% Asian
4%
was 1%
Source: NCES Common Core of Data
About Mars Area MS
As a mid-sized 6-8 campus in Mars, Pennsylvania, Mars Area MS caters to 563 students from grades 7 through 8, overseen by Mars Area SD.
Within Mars Area SD, which oversees 5 schools and 3,620 students, Mars Area MS is one campus in the system.
In terms of who attends, Mars Area MS logs that nearly all students (92%) are White. Other groups include 4% Asian. Compared to Butler County overall, the school's racial mix sits in roughly the same range.
On the resource side, On paper, Mars Area MS has 40 full-time-equivalent teachers, translating to a class-load average of around 14.0:1. That figure is higher than the state norm's 13.2:1 average. Roughly 11% of students at Mars Area MS qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, often used as a Title I proxy. Set against Butler County (around 37%), the school's rate is meaningfully below typical.
On a demographically-adjusted basis, Mars Area MS sits in the middle band of the BeatsExpectations distribution. Schools with this campus's student mix typically land near 73.0%; this one delivers 58.7%.
Across the wider county, ACS estimates for Butler County put median household income runs about $89,843, about 39% of the adult population holds a bachelor's degree or above, and the poverty rate sits near 5%. In all, Butler County runs 39 public schools (combined enrollment of about 24,616 students), of which Mars Area MS is one.
The closest other public school is Mars Area SHS, roughly 0.3 miles away. Counting just inside five miles, 8 other public schools cluster around Mars Area MS. Ranking that nearby cluster on reported proficiency puts Mars Area MS at 8th of 8; the average score across the group is 75.5%.
The campus sits in a bedroom-community setting.
Looking at the recent track record. Mars Area MS's enrollment has grew 9% since 2018, when it stood at 517 (now 563). Over the same period, the White share ticked down from 97% to 92%.
In the discussion threads here, members of the Mars Area MS community share and discuss school events, parent volunteer needs, and clubs. Members of the school community can share what they know.
Butler County at a glance
View full county profilePopulation
197,254
Census ACS
Median income
$89,843
Household, ACS
Bachelor's+
39%
Adults 25+
Poverty rate
5%
Below federal line
Schools in county
39
24,616 students
Quick facts
Related schools
Other schools in Mars Area SD
- Mars Area SHSHigh · 1,044 students
- Mars Area El SchElementary · 880 students
- Mars Area Centennial SchMiddle · 627 students
- Mars Area Primary CtrElementary · 506 students
Other schools in Mars
- Mars Area SHSHigh · 1,044 students
- Mars Area El SchElementary · 880 students
- Mars Area Centennial SchMiddle · 627 students
- Mars Area Primary CtrElementary · 506 students
Nearby schools
- Mars Area SHS0.3 mi · 1,044
- Mars Area El Sch0.4 mi · 880
- Mars Area Centennial Sch0.4 mi · 627
- Mars Area Primary Ctr0.5 mi · 506
- Eden Hall Upper El Sch2.7 mi · 1,076
- Richland El Sch2.9 mi · 470
Frequently asked questions
About Mars Area MSWhat is the total enrollment at Mars Area MS?
Mars Area MS enrolls approximately 563 students in grades 07-08.
What grades does Mars Area MS serve?
Mars Area MS serves grades 07-08.
How many teachers does Mars Area MS have?
Mars Area MS employs 40 FTE teachers, for a student-to-teacher ratio of 14.0:1.
What is the student diversity at Mars Area MS?
Student demographics at Mars Area MS are roughly 92% White, 2% Hispanic, 1% Black, 4% Asian, 1% Two or more.
What district is Mars Area MS in?
Mars Area MS is part of Mars Area SD.
Data sourceSchool profile facts are sourced from the NCES. Community content is posted by allk12 members.