The top reported proficiency rate is 39% in English language arts. The lowest is 19% in Science.
Original Research by School Decision on Phillip Sharp Middle School
Phillip Sharp Middle School serves sixth through eighth grade students in the Pendleton County school district and is located in Butler, a very small rural town in northern Kentucky. The school is a regular public school, and not a charter or magnet school. Butler sits along the Licking River, less than an hour south of Cincinnati and about an hour north of Lexington. The town itself is a quiet, primarily residential community with a modest civic core along Front Street. Historically tied to a railroad and river navigation, Butler today is a place where residents likely commute to larger employment centers in Northern Kentucky or the Cincinnati area for work. The town’s population has seen a slight decline in recent years, and its land area is very small, limiting the potential for new development.
The student body at this middle school is overwhelmingly white, reflecting the demographics of the surrounding county. A substantial share of students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, which places the school in a context where a majority of families are managing lower household incomes. Butler’s own reported median household income is below the national figure, and the poverty rate in the town is notably higher than the national average.
On state assessments, reading and language arts results are where the school shows its clearest relative strength, though the pattern is uneven across grade levels. Sixth and seventh grade students reached proficiency at a rate noticeably higher than eighth graders, where the proficiency rate dropped off. Math proficiency was low across all three grades, with the highest rate among sixth graders and declining slightly in seventh and eighth grades. Science results for seventh graders, the only grade tested in that subject, were also low, and eighth grade social studies proficiency fell in a similar range. These are the school’s own reported numbers from the Kentucky Summative Assessment, and taken together, they paint a picture of a middle school where many students are not yet meeting state proficiency benchmarks, particularly in math and science. A parent considering this school may want to ask the school directly about how it supports students who are below grade level in math and what interventions are in place.
The comparison data for districts in Pendleton County was not usable because there is only one district in the county, so the school cannot be placed relative to local peers. That is simply a limitation of the county’s size. No data was available on discipline, staffing levels, chronic absenteeism, or course access. A parent looking into these areas would need to request that information from the school or district directly. The school does not serve high school grades, so there is no graduation rate to report.
Housing in the area has become more expensive recently, with home values rising at a pace that outpaced national trends. Even so, the typical home price in this ZIP code is lower than the national median, and estimated monthly mortgage payments are moderate compared to many parts of the country. For a family considering a move to Butler for this school, the local housing market is not cheap by rural Kentucky standards but remains more affordable than much of the United States.
The district itself is simply the Pendleton County school system, and no recent parent-relevant changes such as boundary adjustments, program cuts, or new initiatives were found in available public records. That absence does not imply stability or change; it simply means nothing was publicly reported in the search conducted.
For a family, this is a small middle school in a rural, quiet town where the academic picture is mixed, with reading as the stronger subject and math and science lagging behind. The student body is not diverse, and a significant portion of the families are lower-income. Housing is modest and has gotten more expensive, but remains within reach for many buyers. A parent whose child needs strong math or science support should ask specific questions about instruction and remediation at the school before enrolling.
See more original research from School Decision →