The top reported proficiency rate is 50% in Science. The lowest is 23% in Math.
Original Research by School Decision on Sharon Ms
Sharon Middle School serves grades seven and eight in Sharon, a small post-industrial city in western Mercer County on the Pennsylvania-Ohio border. The school enrolls a small cohort of students, just over half of whom are white, with a substantial Black student population and smaller numbers of Hispanic and multiracial students. All enrolled students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, reflecting the economic conditions of the city and surrounding region.
On the most recent state assessment data available, Sharon MS shows below-average performance. In English language arts, roughly one-third of students tested met proficiency; in mathematics, about one-fifth did. Science results from an earlier year showed roughly half of students meeting proficiency. Compared to other districts within Mercer County, the school's overall proficiency across tested subjects places it in the bottom quartile. A parent weighing this school may want to look into further detail with the district about what instructional supports and interventions are in place, what the trends in achievement have been, and what the school's improvement trajectory looks like.
The school sits on East State Street in central Sharon, near downtown and the Community Library of the Shenango Valley, so civic life and schooling are interwoven with the town rather than separated. Sharon itself is in a slow-growth, reinvestment posture. The city's population has declined over the past decade, with fewer young people and more residents aged fifty and older. At the same time, downtown is experiencing new business activity and investment. New apartments and restaurants have opened, and developers are planning further residential construction. Property values in Sharon are well below state and national benchmarks, making housing affordable; median home prices are modest, and the homeownership rate sits at a reasonable level for the region. The city has received community development block grants and runs repair assistance programs for low-income homeowners.
The broader Sharon City School District context includes recent budget pressures. Property taxes were raised in 2024-25 after losing pandemic-relief revenue, then held steady for 2025-26, a pattern that suggests families in the district should expect continued structural budget challenges ahead. On a positive note, the district has adopted the Community Eligibility Provision, meaning all students in Sharon MS, like all district students, receive free breakfast and lunch every school day with no application required. The district also operates its own in-house cyber academy for grades K-12, so families in Sharon City have a tuition-free virtual option run by the district itself rather than having to turn to outside cyber charters.
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