H. W. Harkness Elementary is a public elementary school in Sacramento, California, serving 257 students from kindergarten to 6th grade. The school is part of the Sacramento City Unified school district, which is ranked 986 out of 1,560 districts in the state.
H. W. Harkness Elementary faces significant challenges, including low academic performance, high chronic absenteeism, and a student population with a high percentage of economic disadvantage. The school consistently ranks in the bottom 10-15% of California elementary schools, with only 19.21% of students proficient or better in English Language Arts/Literacy and 14.38% proficient or better in Mathematics, compared to the district and state averages. The school's chronic absenteeism rate has also risen sharply, from 11.1% in 2018-2019 to 31.9% in 2022-2023, which is notably higher than nearby schools. Additionally, 89.49% of H. W. Harkness students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, indicating a high level of economic disadvantage.
While H. W. Harkness Elementary struggles academically, some nearby schools, such as Pony Express Elementary and Alice Birney Waldorf-Inspired, perform significantly better on standardized tests and have higher SchoolDigger rankings. For example, Pony Express Elementary had 43.9% of its students proficient or better in English Language Arts/Literacy, compared to 19.21% at H. W. Harkness. The racial makeup of the nearby schools also varies, with some having a higher percentage of White and Asian students, while others have a larger Hispanic and African American population.
Students who attend H. W. Harkness Elementary usually go on to attend:High : Luther Burbank High
Sacramento City Unified
Students at H. W. Harkness Elementary are 54% Hispanic, 16% Asian, 13% African American, 9% Two or more races, 4% White, 2% Pacific Islander, 1% American Indian.
In the 2022-23 school year, 257 students attended H. W. Harkness Elementary.
H. W. Harkness Elementary ranks in the bottom 10.8% of California elementary schools.