The top reported proficiency rate is 60% in Science. The lowest is 33% in Math.
Original Research by School Decision on Emory H Markle Ms
Emory H. Markle Middle School serves grades six through eight in Hanover, a mixed-use borough anchored by snack-food manufacturing, historic downtown, and surrounding subdivisions. The school draws from a student body that is predominantly white, with smaller shares of Hispanic, Black, and Asian students. A substantial share of students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch.
On state testing, the school's proficiency results are mixed. In English language arts, about half of students tested meet proficiency. In math, proficiency is considerably lower, with less than one-third of students at proficiency levels. Science proficiency, most recently measured a couple of school years ago, was above fifty percent. Relative to other districts in York County, the school's overall proficiency index places it below the midpoint of the county comparison set. A parent may want to look into what instructional support and intervention strategies the school is deploying, particularly in mathematics, to understand how the school is responding to that softer performance.
The school sits within South Western School District, which serves Hanover and surrounding townships. The district has been the focus of significant policy changes in recent years that parents should be aware of. In 2023 the board adopted a facilities policy creating three categories of bathrooms and locker rooms: spaces organized by sex assigned at birth, by gender identity, and single-user gender-neutral options. That decision led to related policies in 2024 requiring parental notification if a student uses a name or pronouns different from their birth certificate or assigned sex, and restricting transgender students from sports teams that do not match their assigned sex at birth. Additionally, the district has adopted a parental opt-out for classroom reading lists, allowing parents to decline a teacher's selections if they believe the books address age-inappropriate topics. These changes directly shape the school experience and are worth understanding in detail through the district's website or by speaking with school leadership.
Hanover itself is a growing community. The borough is known as the Snack Food Capital of the World, home to major employers like Utz Brands and Snyder's of Hanover. Downtown Hanover is organized around Center Square, where five streets converge to create a walkable historic core with attached mid-rise buildings, retail, dining, and events like Oktoberfest and the Snack Town Street Fair. Outlying areas include newer single-family subdivisions. Civic anchors include Guthrie Memorial Library, the Eichelberger Performing Arts Center, and Codorus State Park nearby. Public transit is provided by rabbittransit, which operates fixed routes connecting Hanover to York and Gettysburg. Housing in the area is moderately priced relative to state and national benchmarks, with median home values roughly stable year over year. Rents have been rising modestly. The employment rate in the region is relatively steady.
The school building is located at an address on Bowman Road. The enrollment sits at just over one thousand students, with roughly balanced numbers across the three middle-grade levels. The district operates five schools serving the borough, so Markle is one of several options within the local system.
See more original research from School Decision →