Summary
Hartstern Elementary in Louisville’s Jefferson County serves 597 students from prekindergarten through grade 5, in an area where nearby schools are mostly low-ranked. The most important concern is that academic results are weak across subjects: in 2025–2026, Hartstern scored 16% in math, 25% in reading, 18% in science, 13% in social studies, and 25% in editing and mechanics, below district and state results in every subject.
Math is the clearest weakness against nearby schools, the district, and the state: Hartstern’s 16% compares with nearby schools’ average of 28%, the district’s 31%, and the state’s 43%. Reading was 25%, versus 29% nearby, 38% districtwide, and 50% statewide. Science and social studies also trailed nearby averages—18% versus 21% in science, and 13% versus 20% in social studies. Editing and mechanics is a relative bright spot locally: Hartstern’s 25% was above the nearby average of 23%, though below the district’s 37% and the state’s 48%. The writing score was suppressed, so it cannot be assessed.
Results have generally declined over time: third-grade math fell from 53% in 2022–2023 to 17% in 2025–2026, and SchoolDigger’s overall percentile ranking fell from 25 to 3. In the latest data, SchoolDigger ranked Hartstern 664th of 684 schools statewide and gave it 0 stars; nearby percentiles range from 0 to 45. Attendance improved, falling from a 38.5% chronic absenteeism rate in 2023–2024 to 23.6% in 2025–2026, nearly matching the state’s 23.5%. For context, 65% of students were free/reduced lunch eligible in 2024–2025, below the nearby-school average of 74%; the student-teacher ratio was 17.9, compared with 16.4 nearby. SchoolDigger’s statewide effectiveness percentile for Hispanic students fell from 57 in 2023–2024 to 8 in 2025–2026, a sharp drop in its comparative standing for serving that group. Its percentile for African American students was 18 in 2025–2026, higher than the school’s overall percentile of 3.
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