The top reported proficiency rate is 50% in Science. The lowest is 19% in Math.
Original Research by School Decision on Tuscarora Ms
Tuscarora Middle School serves students in grades six through eight in Mifflintown, a very small rural borough and county seat along the Juniata River west of Harrisburg. The school enrolls a student body that is majority white, with a meaningful Hispanic population and a substantial share of students who qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, reflecting the economic profile of rural Juniata County.
The school's academic performance, measured by Pennsylvania state assessments in 2024-25, shows proficiency rates well below the state standard. In mathematics, fewer than one in five students scored at proficient or above on the state assessment. In English Language Arts, about three in ten students met proficiency. A more recent science assessment from the prior year showed half the tested students proficient. The district as a whole acknowledges through its 2025-28 Comprehensive Plan that students typically fall below state average in math and ELA, and the board has set this as an area of explicit instructional focus. Parents considering this school should understand that academic achievement data indicates a significant portion of students are not yet meeting grade-level standards in core subjects, and a parent may want to look into the specific supports and interventions the school offers to address this.
Mifflintown itself is a walkable compact downtown built around the Juniata County Courthouse and seated along Pennsylvania Route 35, though the school campus sits outside the downtown grid. The broader economic context reflects a mix of small-scale manufacturing and agricultural work. Major employers include Empire Kosher Poultry, which operates the nation's largest kosher poultry processing facility nearby, as well as modular home building, cabinetry makers, banking institutions headquartered in town, and county and state government. The median home value in the local housing market sits below the state benchmark, making it relatively affordable, though property owners should be aware that Juniata County is undergoing its first countywide reassessment since the early 2000s, which will reset tax-assessed values and may shift what individual property owners pay in school taxes going forward. The district has also approved two consecutive years of property-tax increases to address budget shortfalls, with more fiscal pressure anticipated. These factors matter directly to families weighing whether to move into or stay in the area.
The school is part of the Juniata County School District, a single-district county system that also operates Juniata High School and Juniata Elementary School in Mifflintown and serves multiple townships across the county. State testing data and program offerings for the middle school itself were limited in available sources, so a parent should contact the school directly to learn about specific courses, electives, special education services, English learner supports, or extracurricular offerings. No graduation rate applies to a middle school, and comparisons to other schools within the county were not available because there is only one school district in Juniata County.
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