The top reported proficiency rate is 90% in Science. The lowest is 46% in English language arts.
Original Research by School Decision on Sharpsville Area El Sch
Sharpsville Area Elementary School serves kindergarten through fifth grade in a small mill town in western Mercer County, Pennsylvania. The school enrolls roughly four hundred students, with nearly half coming from families who qualify for free or reduced-price lunch. The student body is predominantly white, with smaller shares of students from Black, Hispanic, and multiracial backgrounds; data on special education enrollment and English learners was not available.
The borough itself is a quiet, close-knit community of former industrial character along the Shenango River, about seventy miles north of Pittsburgh. It is a place where locally owned eateries anchor the small commercial strip and chain restaurants have been deliberately kept out. The median age runs older than state and national averages. Housing values are modest, and the area reflects long, gradual decline from its industrial peak rather than active growth; the population has remained essentially flat for many years. All three Sharpsville schools—elementary, middle, and high—share a single consolidated campus in the middle of town, allowing students to walk and giving parents a single drop-off point.
On state tests in mathematics and English language arts administered in spring 2025 to grades three through five, the school's results fell below the midpoint. In math, about three-fifths of tested students scored at proficient levels or above. In English language arts, less than half of tested students met that benchmark. A parent may want to ask the school what intervention strategies it has in place for students not yet proficient in these core subjects, and what support looks like for families.
The school performs notably better in science. Data from spring 2023 (the most recent available for science) showed nine in ten tested students at proficient levels or above, with a strong average scale score. When measured across all tested subjects and grades as a single index, the school's overall proficiency places it in the top quartile relative to districts in Mercer County.
The school's profile does not include data on chronic absenteeism, disciplinary rates, course offerings, or staffing. State testing results for kindergarten through second grade are not reported by the state; gaps in the data are common for elementary schools serving these grades.
At the district level, property taxes rose in 2024-25 and have been held flat for the coming year. For the average homeowner, school real estate taxes now run about a hundred dollars more annually than before. This is a lasting change to the cost of owning a home in the district and worth factoring in if you are considering a move to the area.
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