Is Harvard Elementary School a good school?

Harvard Elementary School ranks in the bottom 5.6% of Illinois elementary schools.

How many students attend Harvard Elementary School?

In the 2022-23 school year, 341 students attended Harvard Elementary School.

What is the racial makeup of Harvard Elementary School?

Students at Harvard Elementary School are 98% African American, 2% Hispanic.

Harvard Elementary School

Summary:

Harvard Elementary School is a public elementary school serving grades PK-8 in the Chicago Public Schools District 299, with 341 students located in the South Side of Chicago. Unfortunately, Harvard Elementary has consistently ranked among the lowest-performing schools in Illinois, with a statewide ranking between 1934 and 2054 out of over 2,000 elementary schools in recent years and a 0 out of 5-star rating from SchoolDigger, indicating very poor performance.

Some key factors that differentiate Harvard Elementary include extremely high chronic absenteeism rates ranging from 39.7% to 51.3%, significantly lower academic proficiency rates compared to the district and state averages (e.g., only 12.2% of students were proficient or better in English Language Arts in 2023-2024, compared to 30.5% for the district and 41.2% for the state), and poor performance across all student subgroups. Despite spending significantly more per student ($21,873 in 2022-2023) than the district average, the school's academic outcomes remain poor. Nearby schools like Deneen Elementary, Westcott Elementary, and Oglesby Elementary also struggle with low academic performance, but they generally outperform Harvard Elementary.

The persistent low performance of Harvard Elementary is concerning, as the school has shown no significant improvement in its statewide ranking or academic proficiency rates over the past decade. In contrast, Lenart Elementary Regional Gifted Center, located within a mile of Harvard Elementary, is a stark outlier, ranking among the top elementary schools in the state with high academic proficiency rates and low chronic absenteeism. The challenges faced by Harvard Elementary suggest that a more comprehensive approach to addressing the underlying issues may be necessary to drive meaningful improvements in student performance.

Detail:

Public PK, KG-8

7525 S Harvard Ave
Chicago, IL 60620-1616

(773) 535-3045

District: Chicago Public Schools District 299

SchoolDigger Rank:
1952^nd of 2,067 Illinois Elementary Schools

Per Pupil Expenditures: $23,659

Student/teacher ratio: 13.9

Number of students: 341

Racial breakdown:

African American:

97.7%

Hispanic:

2.1%

Two or more races:

0.3%

Free/discounted lunch recipients: 93.3%

See top rated Illinois elementary schools

Compare Harvard Elementary School to nearby elementary schools!

Performance Trends

Compare Details Harvard Elementary School ranks worse than 94.4% of elementary schools in Illinois. It also ranks 387^th among 452 ranked elementary schools in the Chicago Public Schools District 299. (See more...)

Compare Details In 2024 the calculated Average Standard Score was 12.7. (See more...)

Compare Details Harvard Elementary School ranks worse than 94.9% of middle schools in Illinois. (See more...)

Compare Details In 2024 the calculated Average Standard Score was 11.9. (See more...)

Chronic absenteeism in a school refers to a situation where students repeatedly miss school, with the threshold often defined as missing 10% or more of school days for any reason, excused or unexcused.

Student Body

Compare Details Harvard Elementary School has the largest elementary school student body size in the Chicago Public Schools District 299. (See more...)

Compare Details

Teachers

Compare Details

Compare

Finance

Compare Details The average total spent per student at Harvard Elementary School is $23,659, which is the 128^th highest among 452 elementary schools in the Chicago Public Schools District 299.

Schooldigger 2024 Rankings:

Harvard Elementary School:

SchoolDigger ranks Harvard Elementary School 1952^nd of 2067 Illinois public elementary schools. (See Harvard Elementary School in the ranking list.)

Elementary School Test Score Ratings by Student Subgroup:

Special Education students:

Low Socio Economic Status students:

Female students:

Disabled students:

Male students:

African American students:

SchoolDigger ranks Harvard Elementary School 1293^rd of 1363 Illinois public middle schools. (See Harvard Elementary School in the ranking list.)

Middle School Test Score Ratings by Student Subgroup:

Special Education students:

Low Socio Economic Status students:

Female students:

Disabled students:

Male students:

African American students:

Chicago Public Schools District 299:

SchoolDigger ranks Chicago Public Schools District 299 688^th of 813 Illinois school districts. (See district ranking list.)

What do you think?

Your rating for Harvard Elementary School?

(Ranking FAQ)

Rank History for Harvard Elementary School

Compare

Rank History for all elementary school students at Harvard Elementary School

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Elementary Schools	IL State Percentile
2003	1.08	2013^th	2020	0.3%
2004	0.89	2017^th	2030	0.6%
2005	0.16	2022^nd	2022	0.0%
2006	0.31	2084^th	2086	0.1%
2007	0.59	2089^th	2095	0.3%
2008	0.89	2088^th	2092	0.2%
2009	9.97	1948^th	2120	8.1%
2010	5.27	2061^st	2139	3.6%
2011	9.69	2003^rd	2147	6.7%
2012	14.10	1958^th	2166	9.6%
2013	16.50	1887^th	2167	12.9%
2014	11.60	1918^th	2093	8.4%
2015	15.18	1842^nd	2052	10.2%
2016	9.88	1972^nd	2046	3.6%
2017	9.29	1985^th	2044	2.9%
2018	11.42	1934^th	2037	5.1%
2019	9.43	2024^th	2086	3.0%
2022	11.21	2030^th	2082	2.5%
2023	9.62	2054^th	2077	1.1%
2024	12.70	1952^nd	2067	5.6%

See the entire list of Illinois Elementary School Rankings!

Rank History for elementary school Special Education students at Harvard Elementary School

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Elementary Schools	IL State Percentile	SchoolDigger Rating
2022	19.63	1101^st	1113	1.1%
2024	16.39	1140^th	1195	4.6%

See the entire list of Best Illinois Elementary Schools for Special Education Students!

Rank History for elementary school Low Socio Economic Status students at Harvard Elementary School

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Elementary Schools	IL State Percentile
2018	17.92	1633^rd	1765	7.5%
2019	14.55	1737^th	1816	4.4%
2022	15.94	1697^th	1763	3.7%
2023	12.82	1785^th	1808	1.3%
2024	18.22	1651^st	1793	7.9%

See the entire list of Best Illinois Elementary Schools for Low Socio Economic Status Students!

Rank History for elementary school Female students at Harvard Elementary School

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Elementary Schools	IL State Percentile
2018	10.84	1882^nd	1964	4.2%
2019	10.61	1932^nd	2019	4.3%
2022	11.38	1912^th	1970	2.9%
2023	9.65	1936^th	1957	1.1%
2024	14.65	1766^th	1942	9.1%

See the entire list of Best Illinois Elementary Schools for Female Students!

Rank History for elementary school Disabled students at Harvard Elementary School

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Elementary Schools	IL State Percentile	SchoolDigger Rating
2024	21.57	797^th	886	10.0%

See the entire list of Best Illinois Elementary Schools for Disabled Students!

Rank History for elementary school Male students at Harvard Elementary School

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Elementary Schools	IL State Percentile
2018	14.19	1806^th	1972	8.4%
2019	9.96	1964^th	2019	2.7%
2022	11.94	1923^rd	1977	2.7%
2023	11.10	1923^rd	1984	3.1%
2024	13.37	1825^th	1959	6.8%

See the entire list of Best Illinois Elementary Schools for Male Students!

Rank History for elementary school African American students at Harvard Elementary School

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Elementary Schools	IL State Percentile
2018	31.46	495^th	698	29.1%
2019	24.24	626^th	711	12.0%
2022	26.70	586^th	684	14.3%
2023	22.22	643^rd	692	7.1%
2024	30.71	491^st	655	25.0%

See the entire list of Best Illinois Elementary Schools for African American Students!

Data source: test scores: Illinois State Board of Education, rankings: SchoolDigger.com

Rank History for Harvard Elementary School

Compare

Rank History for all middle school students at Harvard Elementary School

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Middle Schools	IL State Percentile
2003	11.60	1030^th	1185	13.1%
2004	3.72	1170^th	1204	2.8%
2005	1.59	1203^rd	1209	0.5%
2006	0.58	1269^th	1272	0.2%
2007	1.00	1283^rd	1287	0.3%
2008	3.50	1261^st	1293	2.5%
2009	20.44	1095^th	1318	16.9%
2010	12.87	1188^th	1327	10.5%
2011	43.57	871^st	1344	35.2%
2012	23.63	1124^th	1365	17.7%
2013	19.01	1156^th	1367	15.4%
2014	16.05	1162^nd	1322	12.1%
2015	17.76	1111^th	1302	14.7%
2016	9.45	1258^th	1294	2.8%
2017	9.91	1248^th	1293	3.5%
2018	13.06	1188^th	1293	8.1%
2019	12.10	1266^th	1356	6.6%
2022	11.50	1335^th	1369	2.5%
2023	12.86	1285^th	1367	6.0%
2024	11.90	1293^rd	1363	5.1%

See the entire list of Illinois Elementary School Rankings!

Rank History for middle school Special Education students at Harvard Elementary School

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Middle Schools	IL State Percentile	SchoolDigger Rating
2024	17.04	776^th	802	3.2%

See the entire list of Best Illinois Elementary Schools for Special Education Students!

Rank History for middle school Low Socio Economic Status students at Harvard Elementary School

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Middle Schools	IL State Percentile
2018	19.17	1026^th	1161	11.6%
2019	17.75	1094^th	1217	10.1%
2022	15.09	1181^st	1221	3.3%
2023	16.40	1158^th	1234	6.2%
2024	16.82	1113^th	1219	8.7%

See the entire list of Best Illinois Elementary Schools for Low Socio Economic Status Students!

Rank History for middle school Female students at Harvard Elementary School

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Middle Schools	IL State Percentile
2018	12.13	1142^nd	1226	6.9%
2019	13.84	1158^th	1276	9.2%
2022	11.10	1248^th	1286	3.0%
2023	12.67	1200^th	1275	5.9%
2024	14.70	1131^st	1251	9.6%

See the entire list of Best Illinois Elementary Schools for Female Students!

Rank History for middle school Disabled students at Harvard Elementary School

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Middle Schools	IL State Percentile	SchoolDigger Rating
2024	21.85	588^th	639	8.0%

See the entire list of Best Illinois Elementary Schools for Disabled Students!

Rank History for middle school Male students at Harvard Elementary School

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Middle Schools	IL State Percentile
2018	15.54	1087^th	1223	11.1%
2019	10.91	1257^th	1296	3.0%
2022	13.65	1211^th	1286	5.8%
2023	15.48	1164^th	1292	9.9%
2024	10.78	1231^st	1264	2.6%

See the entire list of Best Illinois Elementary Schools for Male Students!

Rank History for middle school African American students at Harvard Elementary School

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Middle Schools	IL State Percentile
2018	32.40	357^th	511	30.1%
2019	31.25	415^th	565	26.5%
2022	24.43	515^th	573	10.1%
2023	28.47	442^nd	569	22.3%
2024	25.43	443^rd	548	19.2%

See the entire list of Best Illinois Elementary Schools for African American Students!

Data source: test scores: Illinois State Board of Education, rankings: SchoolDigger.com

As you review the school rankings data, please be aware that some of the information from certain demographics is missing. The reason for this omission is that the data has been redacted from the source data itself due to low population samples in these specific demographic groups.

Redacting data from low population samples is a necessary step to ensure the reliability and accuracy of the results, as small sample sizes may not be representative of the broader population. Additionally, this measure helps protect the privacy of individuals belonging to these demographic groups.

Data source: Illinois State Board of Education

We're sorry, but no reviews have been submitted for Harvard Elementary School.

If you have first-hand knowledge about Harvard Elementary School, submit a rating!

Reviews:
No reviews have been submitted!

Enrollment information for Harvard Elementary School

Compare

Year	White	African American	Asian	Hispanic	American Indian	Pacific Islander	Two or More Races	Not Specified	Total
1989	n/a	753	n/a	n/a	n/a	n/a	n/a	0	753
1990	n/a	707	n/a	n/a	n/a	n/a	n/a	0	707
1991	0	678	0	0	0	n/a	n/a	0	678
1992	0	695	1	0	0	n/a	n/a	0	696
1993	0	668	0	0	0	n/a	n/a	0	668
1994	0	665	0	0	0	n/a	n/a	0	665
1995	0	637	0	0	0	n/a	n/a	0	637
1996	0	637	0	0	0	n/a	n/a	0	637
1997	0	643	0	0	0	n/a	n/a	0	643
1998	0	656	0	0	0	n/a	n/a	0	656
1999	0	641	0	0	0	n/a	n/a	0	641
2000	2	644	0	0	0	n/a	n/a	0	646
2001	0	712	0	0	0	n/a	n/a	0	712
2002	2	662	0	0	0	n/a	n/a	0	664
2003	2	662	0	0	0	n/a	n/a	0	664
2004	2	627	0	0	0	n/a	n/a	0	629
2005	0	583	0	0	0	n/a	n/a	0	583
2006	0	541	0	2	0	n/a	n/a	1	544
2007	2	518	0	0	0	n/a	n/a	0	520
2008	2	508	0	3	2	n/a	n/a	2	517
2009	3	527	0	1	0	n/a	n/a	0	531
2010	1	459	0	0	0	n/a	n/a	0	460
2011	1	450	0	2	0	0	0	0	453
2012	1	466	0	3	0	2	2	0	474
2013	1	424	0	3	0	1	1	0	430
2014	1	494	0	0	0	0	1	0	496
2015	0	457	0	1	0	0	1	0	459
2016	1	407	0	2	0	1	1	0	412
2017	1	417	0	4	0	1	2	0	425
2018	1	385	0	3	0	0	1	0	390
2019	1	362	0	3	0	0	0	0	366
2020	1	370	0	2	0	0	0	0	373
2021	1	343	0	1	0	0	1	0	346
2022	0	360	1	6	0	0	1	0	368
2023	0	333	0	7	0	0	1	0	341

Data source: National Center for Education Statistics, U.S. Dept of Education.

About Enrollment/Ethnicity

For more information about how the Department of Education defines ethnicity, see Defining Race and Ethnicity Data, National Center for Education Statistics

Students eligible for free or discounted lunch at Harvard Elementary School

Compare

Year	# Students	Full-time Teachers	Student/Teacher ratio	% Free/Discounted Lunch
1989	753	31.0	24.2	n/a
1990	707	29.0	24.3	n/a
1991	678	28.0	24.2	n/a
1992	696	35.0	19.8	n/a
1993	668	36.0	18.6	n/a
1994	665	31.0	21.5	n/a
1995	637	32.0	19.9	n/a
1996	637	32.0	19.9	n/a
1997	643	33.0	19.5	n/a
1998	656	30.0	21.9	n/a
1999	641	32.0	20.0	n/a
2000	646	33.0	19.6	n/a
2001	712	31.0	23.0	n/a
2002	664	27.0	24.6	97
2003	664	27.0	24.6	97
2004	629	29.9	21.0	99.5
2005	583	28.5	20.5	95.2
2006	544	29.2	18.6	99.6
2007	520	27.0	19.3	89.8
2008	517	23.0	22.5	95.5
2009	531	27.0	19.7	94.7
2010	460	28.0	16.4	99.3
2011	453	25.0	18.1	99.3
2012	474	25.0	18.9	98.9
2013	430	28.6	15.0	97
2014	496	28.0	17.7	98.2
2015	459	25.0	18.3	99.1
2016	412	24.0	17.1	97.1
2017	425	22.1	19.1	98.6
2018	390	20.6	18.9	98.2
2019	366	18.5	19.7	96.2
2020	373	22.5	16.5	97.6
2021	346	n/a	n/a	n/a
2022	368	23.0	16.0	93.8
2023	341	24.5	13.9	93.3

Data source: National Center for Education Statistics, U.S. Dept of Education.

About Students eligible for discounted/free lunch:

The National School Lunch Program (NSLP) provides low-cost or free meals to students in U.S. public and nonprofit private schools based on household income. Those with incomes below 130% of the poverty line receive free lunch, while those between 130% and 185% qualify for reduced-price lunch. The percentage of students receiving free or reduced-price lunch serves as a marker for poverty, as it reflects the socioeconomic status of families in a given school or district. A higher FRPL rate typically indicates a higher concentration of low-income families, suggesting that the school or district may face additional challenges in providing adequate resources and support for student success.

Student/Teacher Ratio Harvard Elementary School

Compare

Year	# Students	Full-time Teachers	Student/Teacher ratio	% Free/Discounted Lunch
1989	753	31.0	24.2	n/a
1990	707	29.0	24.3	n/a
1991	678	28.0	24.2	n/a
1992	696	35.0	19.8	n/a
1993	668	36.0	18.6	n/a
1994	665	31.0	21.5	n/a
1995	637	32.0	19.9	n/a
1996	637	32.0	19.9	n/a
1997	643	33.0	19.5	n/a
1998	656	30.0	21.9	n/a
1999	641	32.0	20.0	n/a
2000	646	33.0	19.6	n/a
2001	712	31.0	23.0	n/a
2002	664	27.0	24.6	97
2003	664	27.0	24.6	97
2004	629	29.9	21.0	99.5
2005	583	28.5	20.5	95.2
2006	544	29.2	18.6	99.6
2007	520	27.0	19.3	89.8
2008	517	23.0	22.5	95.5
2009	531	27.0	19.7	94.7
2010	460	28.0	16.4	99.3
2011	453	25.0	18.1	99.3
2012	474	25.0	18.9	98.9
2013	430	28.6	15.0	97
2014	496	28.0	17.7	98.2
2015	459	25.0	18.3	99.1
2016	412	24.0	17.1	97.1
2017	425	22.1	19.1	98.6
2018	390	20.6	18.9	98.2
2019	366	18.5	19.7	96.2
2020	373	22.5	16.5	97.6
2021	346	n/a	n/a	n/a
2022	368	23.0	16.0	93.8
2023	341	24.5	13.9	93.3

Data source: National Center for Education Statistics, U.S. Dept of Education.

About Student-Teacher Ratio

Student/teacher ratio is calculated by dividing the total number of students by the total number of full-time equivalent teachers. Please note that a smaller student/teacher ratio does not necessarily translate to smaller class size. In some instances, schools hire teachers part time, and some teachers are hired for specialized instruction with very small class sizes. These and other factors contribute to the student/teacher ratio. Note: For private schools, Student/teacher ratio may not include Pre-Kindergarten.

Immunization Rates