Is Harvard Elementary a good school?

Harvard Elementary ranks in the bottom 7.5% of Washington elementary schools.

How many students attend Harvard Elementary?

In the 2023-24 school year, 421 students attended Harvard Elementary.

What is the racial makeup of Harvard Elementary?

Students at Harvard Elementary are 60% Hispanic, 14% White, 10% African American, 9% Two or more races, 5% Asian, 2% Pacific Islander.

What schools do graduates of Harvard Elementary attend?

Students who attend Harvard Elementary usually go on to attend: Middle : Morris Ford Middle School High : Franklin Pierce High School

Harvard Elementary

Summary:

Harvard Elementary is a public elementary school in Tacoma, Washington, serving students from kindergarten to 5th grade as part of the Franklin Pierce School District. With a diverse student population that is majority Hispanic, Harvard Elementary faces significant academic challenges, consistently ranking in the bottom half of Washington elementary schools.

Harvard Elementary's academic performance, as measured by test scores, is significantly lower than the state and district averages across all grade levels and subject areas. For example, in 2023-2024, only 25.25% of Harvard Elementary students were proficient or better in English Language Arts, compared to 52.63% statewide and 37.75% in the Franklin Pierce School District. The school's performance is particularly low for certain student subgroups, such as Hispanic students and students from low socioeconomic backgrounds. However, Harvard Elementary has been effective in supporting its homeless student population, ranking 2 out of 14 Washington elementary schools in this area.

Interestingly, the nearby schools, such as Christensen Elementary and Midland Elementary, which are also part of the Franklin Pierce School District, perform better academically than Harvard Elementary. However, these nearby schools also have a lower percentage of Hispanic and low-income students compared to Harvard Elementary, suggesting that the school's unique demographic profile may be a contributing factor to its academic challenges.

Detail:

Public K-5

1709 85th Street E
Tacoma, WA 98445

(253) 298-4105

District: Franklin Pierce School District

SchoolDigger Rank:
1080^th of 1,168 Washington Elementary Schools

Per Pupil Expenditures: $20,261

Students who attend Harvard Elementary usually attend:

Middle:	Morris Ford Middle School
High:	Franklin Pierce High School

Student/teacher ratio: 12.5

Number of students: 421

Racial breakdown:

Hispanic:

59.6%

White:

14.3%

African American:

10.0%

Free/discounted lunch recipients: 77.7%

See top rated Washington elementary schools

Compare Harvard Elementary to nearby elementary schools!

Performance Trends

Compare Details Harvard Elementary ranks worse than 92.5% of elementary schools in Washington. It also ranks last among 8 ranked elementary schools in the Franklin Pierce School District. (See more...)

Compare Details In 2024 the calculated Average Standard Score was 12.09. (See more...)

Student Body

Compare Details Racial makeup is: Hispanic (59.6%), White (14.3%), African American (10%). (See more...)

Compare Details 77.7% of students are receiving a free or discounted lunch. This is the highest percentage in the Franklin Pierce School District. (See more...)

Compare Details (See more...)

Teachers

Compare Details The student/teacher ratio at Harvard Elementary is 12.5, which is the lowest among 10 elementary schools in the Franklin Pierce School District! (See more...)

Compare Harvard Elementary employs 33.4 full-time teachers.

Finance

Compare Details The average total spent per student at Harvard Elementary is $20,261, which is the 3^rd highest among 8 elementary schools in the Franklin Pierce School District.

Schooldigger 2024 Rankings:

Harvard Elementary:

SchoolDigger ranks Harvard Elementary 1080^th of 1168 Washington public elementary schools. (See Harvard Elementary in the ranking list.)

Elementary School Test Score Ratings by Student Subgroup:

Low Socio Economic Status students:

Female students:

Male students:

Hispanic students:

Franklin Pierce School District:

SchoolDigger ranks Franklin Pierce School District 205^th of 247 Washington school districts. (See district ranking list.)

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Rank History for Harvard Elementary

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Rank History for all students at Harvard Elementary

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Elementary Schools	WA State Percentile
2004	9.77	969^th	1026	5.6%
2005	14.00	935^th	1031	9.3%
2006	19.32	922^nd	1051	12.3%
2007	15.06	970^th	1069	9.3%
2008	22.41	896^th	1067	16.0%
2009	15.67	963^rd	1072	10.2%
2010	35.90	747^th	1088	31.3%
2011	33.81	792^nd	1092	27.5%
2012	42.39	684^th	1097	37.6%
2013	35.94	757^th	1106	31.6%
2015	18.87	915^th	1067	14.2%
2016	29.53	771^st	1053	26.8%
2017	40.77	642^nd	1056	39.2%
2018	41.80	618^th	1054	41.4%
2019	29.21	839^th	1130	25.8%
2021	30.46	752^nd	1107	32.1%
2022	36.79	729^th	1169	37.6%
2023	21.11	960^th	1169	17.9%
2024	12.09	1080^th	1168	7.5%

See the entire list of Washington Elementary School Rankings!

Rank History for English Language Learner students at Harvard Elementary

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Elementary Schools	WA State Percentile
2018	30.91	263^rd	333	21.0%
2019	53.44	77^th	248	69.0%
2022	57.64	54^th	213	74.6%
2023	37.75	146^th	254	42.5%

See the entire list of Best Washington Elementary Schools for English Language Learner Students!

Rank History for Special Education students at Harvard Elementary

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Elementary Schools	WA State Percentile	SchoolDigger Rating
2018	41.73	358^th	637	43.8%

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

Rank History for Low Socio Economic Status students at Harvard Elementary

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Elementary Schools	WA State Percentile
2019	48.27	525^th	979	46.4%
2021	41.67	479^th	854	43.9%
2022	44.67	552^nd	1019	45.8%
2023	34.68	705^th	1013	30.4%
2024	23.21	862^nd	1024	15.8%

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

Rank History for Homeless students at Harvard Elementary

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Elementary Schools	WA State Percentile	SchoolDigger Rating
2022	94.59	2^nd	14	85.7%

See the entire list of Best Washington Elementary Schools for Homeless Students!

Rank History for Female students at Harvard Elementary

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Elementary Schools	WA State Percentile
2018	48.06	546^th	1004	45.6%
2019	34.22	751^st	1068	29.7%
2021	30.70	680^th	1008	32.5%
2022	36.67	694^th	1100	36.9%
2023	23.20	870^th	1094	20.5%
2024	11.77	1017^th	1093	7.0%

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

Rank History for Male students at Harvard Elementary

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Elementary Schools	WA State Percentile
2018	34.05	675^th	999	32.4%
2019	25.47	853^rd	1075	20.7%
2021	36.32	622^nd	1025	39.3%
2022	35.30	712^th	1113	36.0%
2023	17.42	958^th	1099	12.8%
2024	14.39	984^th	1099	10.5%

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

Rank History for Asian students at Harvard Elementary

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Elementary Schools	WA State Percentile	SchoolDigger Rating
2018	80.84	31^st	169	81.7%

See the entire list of Best Washington Elementary Schools for Asian Students!

Rank History for Hispanic students at Harvard Elementary

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Elementary Schools	WA State Percentile
2018	46.08	279^th	540	48.3%
2019	45.68	378^th	697	45.8%
2021	28.95	366^th	501	26.9%
2022	46.18	339^th	694	51.2%
2023	28.82	483^rd	633	23.7%
2024	13.77	608^th	651	6.6%

See the entire list of Best Washington Elementary Schools for Hispanic Students!

Rank History for White students at Harvard Elementary

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Elementary Schools	WA State Percentile
2018	40.90	516^th	833	38.1%
2019	71.27	297^th	1027	71.1%
2022	82.59	144^th	1031	86.0%

See the entire list of Best Washington Elementary Schools for White Students!

Data source: test scores: Washington Office of Superindentent of Public Instruction, 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: Washington State Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction

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Enrollment information for Harvard Elementary

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Year	White	African American	Asian	Hispanic	American Indian	Pacific Islander	Two or More Races	Not Specified	Total
1988	328	11	10	9	7	n/a	n/a	0	365
1989	342	25	14	7	1	n/a	n/a	0	389
1990	353	16	16	13	7	n/a	n/a	0	405
1991	357	19	11	5	3	n/a	n/a	0	395
1992	370	20	17	6	7	n/a	n/a	0	420
1993	378	21	26	8	8	n/a	n/a	0	441
1994	427	35	30	9	3	n/a	n/a	0	504
1995	387	23	21	9	3	n/a	n/a	0	443
1996	387	23	21	9	3	n/a	n/a	0	443
1997	362	24	25	8	6	n/a	n/a	0	425
1998	377	35	31	11	5	n/a	n/a	0	459
1999	352	42	27	11	11	n/a	n/a	0	443
2000	314	59	35	44	14	n/a	n/a	0	466
2001	301	72	36	48	22	n/a	n/a	0	479
2002	287	48	40	60	16	n/a	n/a	0	451
2003	287	48	40	60	16	n/a	n/a	0	451
2004	234	55	56	112	18	n/a	n/a	0	475
2005	192	67	54	102	16	n/a	n/a	26	457
2006	176	54	54	123	19	n/a	n/a	37	463
2007	166	42	57	115	15	n/a	n/a	70	465
2008	152	45	63	132	10	n/a	n/a	68	470
2009	136	50	60	130	10	n/a	n/a	65	451
2010	95	50	61	123	10	n/a	n/a	68	407
2011	81	31	42	175	1	16	61	0	407
2012	68	27	39	183	2	17	54	0	390
2013	68	27	43	195	1	14	58	0	406
2014	64	38	42	192	2	11	56	0	405
2015	58	35	37	235	1	11	49	0	426
2016	57	19	31	230	0	9	46	0	392
2017	62	18	29	237	3	12	39	0	400
2018	59	22	32	253	1	13	55	0	435
2019	59	31	20	244	0	21	57	0	432
2020	60	22	16	246	1	14	45	0	404
2021	65	34	17	223	2	9	38	0	388
2022	76	35	22	227	1	12	40	0	413
2023	60	34	19	244	1	13	37	0	408
2024	60	42	19	251	2	9	38	0	421

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

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Year	# Students	Full-time Teachers	Student/Teacher ratio	% Free/Discounted Lunch
1988	365	15.0	24.3	0
1989	389	15.0	25.9	n/a
1990	405	17.8	22.7	0
1991	395	18.9	20.8	n/a
1992	420	19.0	22.1	n/a
1993	441	19.0	23.2	n/a
1994	504	20.5	24.6	n/a
1995	443	19.5	22.7	n/a
1996	443	19.5	22.7	n/a
1997	425	20.5	20.7	n/a
1998	459	20.5	22.4	n/a
1999	443	21.5	20.6	n/a
2000	466	22.5	20.7	n/a
2001	479	24.1	19.9	n/a
2002	451	23.5	19.2	56.8
2003	451	23.5	19.2	56.8
2004	475	24.0	19.8	61.3
2005	457	23.5	19.4	71
2006	463	24.0	19.3	70.9
2007	465	24.6	18.9	74.2
2008	470	24.6	19.1	78.4
2009	451	24.6	18.3	88.1
2010	407	23.6	17.2	102.7
2011	407	24.2	16.8	76.2
2012	390	22.4	17.3	87.2
2013	406	23.0	17.6	84.2
2014	405	n/a	n/a	99
2015	426	28.0	15.2	80.5
2016	392	25.0	15.6	87.2
2017	400	23.8	16.8	86
2018	435	24.6	17.6	82.1
2019	432	25.6	16.8	91.9
2020	404	27.3	14.7	85.1
2021	388	28.1	13.8	69.3
2022	413	29.1	14.1	65.4
2023	408	30.1	13.5	74.8
2024	421	33.4	12.5	77.7

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

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Year	# Students	Full-time Teachers	Student/Teacher ratio	% Free/Discounted Lunch
1988	365	15.0	24.3	0
1989	389	15.0	25.9	n/a
1990	405	17.8	22.7	0
1991	395	18.9	20.8	n/a
1992	420	19.0	22.1	n/a
1993	441	19.0	23.2	n/a
1994	504	20.5	24.6	n/a
1995	443	19.5	22.7	n/a
1996	443	19.5	22.7	n/a
1997	425	20.5	20.7	n/a
1998	459	20.5	22.4	n/a
1999	443	21.5	20.6	n/a
2000	466	22.5	20.7	n/a
2001	479	24.1	19.9	n/a
2002	451	23.5	19.2	56.8
2003	451	23.5	19.2	56.8
2004	475	24.0	19.8	61.3
2005	457	23.5	19.4	71
2006	463	24.0	19.3	70.9
2007	465	24.6	18.9	74.2
2008	470	24.6	19.1	78.4
2009	451	24.6	18.3	88.1
2010	407	23.6	17.2	102.7
2011	407	24.2	16.8	76.2
2012	390	22.4	17.3	87.2
2013	406	23.0	17.6	84.2
2014	405	n/a	n/a	99
2015	426	28.0	15.2	80.5
2016	392	25.0	15.6	87.2
2017	400	23.8	16.8	86
2018	435	24.6	17.6	82.1
2019	432	25.6	16.8	91.9
2020	404	27.3	14.7	85.1
2021	388	28.1	13.8	69.3
2022	413	29.1	14.1	65.4
2023	408	30.1	13.5	74.8
2024	421	33.4	12.5	77.7

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.

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