Summary
Harvard High School is a public high school serving 798 students in grades 9-12 in Harvard, Illinois. The school is part of the Harvard CUSD 50 district, which is ranked 778 out of 811 districts in the state and has a 0-star rating from SchoolDigger.
Harvard High School has consistently been ranked in the bottom half of Illinois high schools, with a 1-star or 2-star rating from SchoolDigger. The school's academic performance, as measured by standardized test scores, is significantly below the state averages. For example, in the 2024-2025 school year, only 38.4% of 11th-grade students were proficient or better in ACT/English Language Arts, compared to the state average of 51.7%. Similarly, only 12.2% were proficient or better in ACT/Mathematics, compared to the state average of 39.3%. Harvard High School's four-year graduation rate has been around 87-89% in recent years, slightly below the state average, and the school's dropout rate has been higher than the state average.
When comparing Harvard High School to nearby high schools, such as Belvidere High School, Belvidere North High School, and Richmond-Burton High School, it becomes clear that Harvard High School is underperforming academically. These nearby schools generally have higher test scores, graduation rates, and lower chronic absenteeism rates. Additionally, the high per-student spending at Harvard High School, at $18,235 in the 2023-2024 school year, suggests that simply increasing funding may not be the sole solution, and a more comprehensive approach to improving educational outcomes may be necessary.
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