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Paxtang Elementary School

Public Grades K-5
1064th
SchoolDigger Rank ?
of 1,511 Pennsylvania Elementary Schools
Better than 30% of Pennsylvania elementary schools
Summary

Paxtang Elementary School is a public elementary school in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, serving 280 students in grades K-5. The school is part of the Central Dauphin School District, which is ranked 362 out of 606 school districts in the state.

Paxtang Elementary School has consistently ranked in the bottom half of Pennsylvania elementary schools, with a ranking between 983 and 1125 out of 1433-1534 schools over the past 10 years. The school's performance on PSSA tests is below the state and district averages, with proficiency rates in Math and English Language Arts of 34.2% and 38.2%, respectively, compared to the state averages of 41.7% and 48.5%. The school's performance is particularly low for certain student subgroups, such as male students and low socioeconomic status students, who rank in the bottom 25% of Pennsylvania elementary schools. However, the school's spending per student, ranging from $13,633 to $17,853 over the past four school years, is above the state average, and the student-teacher ratio is relatively low, ranging from 12.1 to 16.4 over the past three school years.

Interestingly, the other Central Dauphin School District elementary schools in the area, such as South Side, Tri-Community, and Phillips, also have relatively low performance on PSSA tests, with proficiency rates below the state averages. However, these nearby schools generally perform better than Paxtang Elementary School. In contrast, the Harrisburg City School District schools, such as Foose, Melrose, and Scott, have significantly lower performance on PSSA tests, with proficiency rates in the single digits for Math and English Language Arts.

281
Students ?
14.8
Student/teacher ratio ?
$15,877
Per pupil spending ?
99.6%
Free/discounted lunch ?
 3530 Rutherford St
       Harrisburg, PA  17111-1852

(717) 561-1781

District: Central Dauphin School District


Students who attend Paxtang Elementary School usually attend:

Middle:    Swatara Middle School
High:    Central Dauphin East Senior High School
Racial breakdown:

Hispanic:
26.3%
African American:
26.0%
White:
19.2%
more
 See top rated Pennsylvania elementary schools

 Compare Paxtang Elementary School to nearby elementary schools!
At a glance
Ranking trend: Holding steady — 34th percentile in 2015 → 30th in 2025
Worth a look
!Test scores below the Pennsylvania average (36% vs 45% meeting standards)
!English Language Arts scores 10 pts below the Pennsylvania average
Students meeting standards (2024-2025) ?
This school36%
District avg41%
Pennsylvania avg45%
1,064th of 1,511
Pennsylvania public elementary schools ?
Bottom 30%▼ down 5 pts since 2015
From bottom 34% (2015) to bottom 30% (2025)
See the entire ranking list of Pennsylvania Elementary Schools →
SchoolDigger rating ?
9th of 13Elementary Schools in the Central Dauphin School District
362nd of 606Central Dauphin School District among Pennsylvania districts
Statewide rank percentile over time (100 = the top-ranked school in the state; click a legend item to add a student group)
Show full rank history (all student groups)

All Students

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankPennsylvania percentileRating
202531.91064 of 151129.6%★☆☆☆☆
202438.91020 of 152633.2%★★☆☆☆
202342.5983 of 153435.9%★★☆☆☆
202235.61073 of 153430.1%★★☆☆☆
202123.11125 of 143321.5%★☆☆☆☆
201929.41155 of 154425.2%★☆☆☆☆
201833.01128 of 153026.3%★☆☆☆☆
201727.51189 of 154723.1%★☆☆☆☆
201635.71115 of 155428.2%★☆☆☆☆
201542.9971 of 147434.1%★★☆☆☆
201447.1984 of 146732.9%★★☆☆☆
201357.4836 of 151945.0%★★☆☆☆
201250.71039 of 159935.0%★★☆☆☆
201143.71149 of 159728.1%★☆☆☆☆
201034.01252 of 157920.7%★☆☆☆☆
200936.81194 of 154922.9%★☆☆☆☆
200847.91021 of 155134.2%★★☆☆☆
200767.2558 of 155564.1%★★★☆☆
200670.9453 of 154570.7%★★★★☆
200571.6372 of 129971.4%★★★★☆
200486.4128 of 130890.2%★★★★★
200376.2327 of 130274.9%★★★★☆

Female

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankPennsylvania percentileRating
202542.7908 of 146638.1%★★☆☆☆
202452.7790 of 148846.9%★★☆☆☆

Low Socio Economic Status

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankPennsylvania percentileRating
202532.2975 of 136928.8%★☆☆☆☆
202435.01013 of 143229.3%★☆☆☆☆
202348.7794 of 141443.8%★★☆☆☆

Male

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankPennsylvania percentileRating
202527.31094 of 147525.8%★☆☆☆☆
202435.71035 of 149530.8%★★☆☆☆
How student groups rank statewide ? (each group's percentile vs the same group at other schools — higher is better; the +/- beside each compares the group with this school's overall percentile)
Female (2025)38th percentile+8 vs school
Low Socio Economic Status (2025)29th percentile~ school
Male (2025)26th percentile-4 vs school
By subject vs Pennsylvania (2024-2025) ?
English Language Arts38%-10 vs state
Math34%-8 vs state

5.0
1 rating · 1 written review
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What people are saying
by a parent
Friday, September 13, 2019

Open Quote We've had an excellent experience at Paxtang Elementary with our children. It is a diverse school, both racially and economically, and the staff do a great job bringing the school together and educating the kids. Close Quote





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Frequently Asked Questions about Paxtang Elementary School

Students at Paxtang Elementary School are 26% Hispanic, 26% African American, 19% White, 16% Asian, 11% Two or more races.

Students who attend Paxtang Elementary School usually go on to attend:

Middle : Swatara Middle School
High : Central Dauphin East Senior High School

In the 2024-25 school year, 281 students attended Paxtang Elementary School.

Paxtang Elementary School ranks 1064th of 1511 Pennsylvania elementary schools. SchoolDigger rates this school 1 star out of 5.


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SchoolDigger data sources: National Center for Education Statistics, U.S. Department of Education, the U.S. Census Bureau and the Pennsylvania Department of Education.

IMPORTANT DISCLAIMERS: Not all boundaries are included. We make every effort to ensure that boundaries are up-to-date. But it's important to note that these are approximations and are for general informational purposes only. To verify legal descriptions of boundaries or school locations, contact your local tax assessor's office and/or school district.





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