Summary:
ZIP code 43130 in Ohio has three middle schools: two in Lancaster City — General Sherman Junior High School and Thomas Ewing Junior High School, both serving grades 6–8 — and one in Fairfield Union Local, Fairfield Union Rushville Middle School, which serves grades 5–8. Enrollment ranges from 612 to 693 students. The available data cover school ranks, chronic absenteeism, Ohio State Test proficiency, student-teacher ratios, and per-student spending (from 2018–2019). Free/reduced lunch percentages were not reported for any of the three, so socioeconomic context is not available here.
Fairfield Union Rushville Middle is the clear standout. It ranks 307 of 1,046 (71st percentile, 4 stars), the only 4-star school in this group, and its district ranks 290 of 773 (62nd percentile, 3 stars) versus Lancaster City's 473 of 773 (39th percentile, 2 stars). It also has the lowest chronic absenteeism (12.8%), the lowest student-teacher ratio (17.4), and the highest historical spending ($10,174). Its test scores exceeded the state in 10 of 11 reported tests, including 7th-grade ELA (81.6% vs 62.7%) and 8th-grade science (71.9% vs 61.2%). Because it serves grade 5, those results are not directly comparable to the 6–8 schools.
Among the Lancaster City schools, General Sherman has the stronger latest profile: rank 438 of 1,046 (58th percentile, 3 stars) versus Thomas Ewing's 501 of 1,046 (52nd percentile, 3 stars), and lower absenteeism (26.9% vs 29.5%). In 2025–2026, General Sherman outscored Thomas Ewing in all eight tests the two share. Thomas Ewing has a lower student-teacher ratio (18.2 vs 19.4) and higher historical spending ($6,649 vs $6,258), yet trails in latest rank and test results — a reminder that spending and staffing alone do not determine outcomes. Algebra I proficiency is high at all three, though those classes likely represent a small, advanced cohort.
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