Enrollment
136
Middle
DISTRICT 328 · STATE 594
SCHOOL COMMUNITY·MERCER AREA SD·NCES 421512000792
Mercer Area Middle School
545 W Butler Street, Mercer, PA 16137 · (724) 662-5104 · Mercer County
GRADES 07–08MIDDLE42-RURALTITLE IREGULAR SCHOOL136 STUDENTS
B+
allk12 Grade
Scored higher than 69% of Pennsylvania public middle schools
- B-Test 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
13.9:1
10 FTE teachers
DISTRICT 13.3:1 · STATE 13.2:1
Free / Reduced Lunch
98%
133 students
DISTRICT 103% · STATE 75%
Community
0
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 7 | 70 | 51% |
| Grade 8 | 66 | 49% |
Student demographics
17%Diversity index
The chance that two students picked at random belong to different racial or ethnic groups.
DISTRICT 13% · 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
Mercer Area Middle School→Mercer Area SHS
Feeds from
Based on grade levels within Mercer Area SD. Attendance zones can vary; confirm enrollment with the district.
Test scores
PSSA + Keystone 2024-25 . % Proficient or AdvancedEnglish Language Arts
61.5%
PA avg 51.1% . -0.7pp since 2023
Math
27.9%
PA avg 43.0% . +0.6pp since 2023
What this means: On the PSSA + Keystone, Pennsylvania's statewide test, about 62 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 have held steady since 2023, while math scores have held steady.
PSSA + Keystone results by year
| School year | English Language Arts | Math |
|---|---|---|
| 2024-25 | 61.5% | 27.9% |
| 2023-24 | 62.2% | 27.3% |
% 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
46.1%
composite math + reading, all grades
Predicted
35.7%
based on PA schools with similar FRL share
Beats by
+10.5pp
above demographic expectation
What this means: About 46% of students here test proficient in math and reading, compared with the roughly 36% 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 →
Schools most like Mercer Area Middle School
Mercer Area Middle School's state test result (46.1% proficient) is higher than 3 of the 5 schools below with a result.
| School | Students | Low-income | Proficient |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mercer Area Middle School this school | 136 | 97.8% | 46.1% |
| Tunkhannock STEM Academy Tunkhannock | 137 | 97.8% | 32.2% |
| A J McMullen School Markleysburg | 164 | 98.8% | 50.1% |
| Wilmington Area Upper Elementary School New Wilmington | 142 | 98.6% | 40.7% |
| Benton Area Middle School Benton | 100 | 97.0% | 56.0% |
| California Area Middle School Coal Center | 158 | 93.0% | 38.0% |
Matched among Pennsylvania middle schools on enrollment, the share of students from low-income families (eligible for free or reduced-price lunch), and racial and ethnic makeup. Proficient is the average share of students meeting the state standard across all of the school's state tests in 2023-24 and 2024-25, the same combined score our test-score rankings use. Online schools and schools serving specialized populations are not matched.
Where Mercer Area Middle School ranks
Among middle schools| Measure | This school | In Pennsylvania | In Mercer County |
|---|---|---|---|
| State test proficiency ranked highest first | 46.1% | #266 of 479 | N/A |
| Math proficiency ranked highest first | 27.9% | #355 of 513 ▲ 15 | #5 of 6 no change |
| Reading proficiency ranked highest first | 61.5% | #134 of 513 ▲ 40 | #1 of 6 ▲ 1 |
| Enrollment ranked largest first | 136 | #511 of 522 | #6 of 6 |
| Free and reduced lunch ranked highest share first | 97.8% | #111 of 510 | #2 of 6 |
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
136
-34 (-20%) vs 2020
-36% since 2010-11, when it was 212
Student : Teacher
13.9:1
was 18.9:1
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 | 136 | 9.8 | 13.9:1 | 98% (133) |
| 2023-24 | 133 | 10.1 | 13.2:1 | 100% (133) |
| 2022-23 | 140 | 10 | 14.0:1 | 100% (140) |
| 2020-21 | 170 | 9 | 18.9:1 | 44% (74) |
| 2017-18 | 167 | 10.9 | 15.3:1 | 46% (77) |
| 2015-16 | 170 | 11 | 15.4:1 | 42% (71) |
| 2010-11 | 212 | 13 | 16.3:1 | 35% (74) |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data. Rows are the federal collections on file for Mercer Area Middle School.
Since 2017-18: students down 19% (167 to 136); teachers down 10% (10.9 to 9.8).
About Mercer Area Middle School
Mercer Area Middle School is a small middle school that serves part of Mercer, Pennsylvania. The school enrolls 136 students, from grades 7 through 8. Average enrollment for middle schools in Pennsylvania is about 594, so this school runs 77% smaller than that.
Mercer Area SD has 3 schools and 985 students, and Mercer Area Middle School is one of those schools.
White students make up 91% of enrollment at Mercer Area Middle School. Next come 4% multiracial and 3% Black. The White share in Mercer County as a whole is similar, at about 88%. Mercer Area Middle School's diversity index is 17%, against a US figure of 70%.
The ratio of students to teachers is 13.9:1, with 9.8 full-time-equivalent teachers on staff. The school has more students per teacher than the 13.2:1 average for middle schools in Pennsylvania. Lunch subsidy eligibility at Mercer Area Middle School is 98%. Compared with the 71% average for public schools in Mercer County, the school's rate is higher.
Mercer Area Middle School is graded B+ by allk12, scoring above 69% of Pennsylvania public middle schools once test results, poverty-adjusted performance, and the recent trend are combined.
BeatsExpectations compares each school's average proficiency rate on state tests with a prediction based on free or reduced-price lunch eligibility. For Mercer Area Middle School, the prediction is 35.7% and the result is 46.1%.
According to the American Community Survey, in Mercer County, the median household income is $59,976, a bachelor's degree or higher is held by about 26% of adults, and the poverty rate is about 10%. There are 37 public schools in Mercer County, enrolling about 12,815 students in all.
Of nearby public schools, Mercer Area SHS is the closest, at less than a tenth of a mile. Mercer Area Middle School has 3 other public schools within five miles. Nearby schools with test data average 55.3% proficiency; Mercer Area Middle School posts 46.1%.
Mercer Area Middle School is coded as Rural: Distant in federal locale data.
Enrollment declined 20% from its 2020-21 level of 170. Staffing shifted too: the ratio moved from 18.9:1 to 13.9:1.
The discussion area below is open to posts about sports tryouts, band and choir, and theater. Questions from prospective families are welcome too.
Mercer County at a glance
View full county profilePopulation
109,257
Census ACS
Median income
$59,976
Household, ACS
Bachelor's+
26%
Adults 25+
Poverty rate
10%
Below federal line
Schools in county
37
12,815 students
Quick facts
Related schools
Other schools in Mercer Area SD
- Mercer Area Elementary SchoolElementary · 567 students
- Mercer Area SHSHigh · 282 students
Other schools in Mercer
- Mercer Area Elementary SchoolElementary · 567 students
- Mercer Area SHSHigh · 282 students
- Mercer County Career CenterHigh · 8 students
Nearby schools
- Mercer Area SHS0.0 mi · 282
- Mercer Area Elementary School0.3 mi · 567
- Mercer County Career Center1.8 mi · 8
- Wilmington Area Elementary School8.3 mi · 357
- Wilmington Area JSHS8.3 mi · 444
- Wilmington Area Upper Elementary School8.3 mi · 142
Frequently asked questions
About Mercer Area Middle SchoolWhat is the total enrollment at Mercer Area Middle School?
Mercer Area Middle School enrolls approximately 136 students in grades 07-08.
What grades does Mercer Area Middle School serve?
Mercer Area Middle School serves grades 07-08.
What is the student-teacher ratio at Mercer Area Middle School?
The student-to-teacher ratio at Mercer Area Middle School is approximately 13.9:1 (10 FTE teachers).
How diverse is Mercer Area Middle School?
Mercer Area Middle School reports a student body of 91% White, 1% Hispanic, 3% Black, 1% Asian, 4% Two or more.
What district is Mercer Area Middle School in?
Mercer Area Middle School is part of Mercer Area SD.
Data sourceSchool profile facts are sourced from the NCES. Community content is posted by allk12 members.