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Harvard Elementary

Public Grades K-5
1034th
SchoolDigger Rank ?
of 1,160 Washington Elementary Schools
Better than 11% of Washington elementary schools
Summary

Harvard Elementary is a K-5 public school serving 445 students in the Franklin Pierce School District in Tacoma, a district that faces significant challenges statewide.

The school's academic performance is below state averages, with about 25% of students proficient in English and math, though its 40% proficiency in science is a relative strength and exceeds the district average. It serves a high-needs population, with over 75% of students qualifying for free or reduced-price lunch, which is among the highest rates when compared to nearby schools like Christensen Elementary and Birney Elementary School. Harvard achieves these results with the lowest per-student spending among compared schools, but its statewide rank has declined sharply in recent years.

Performance varies when compared to other local schools; for instance, Fern Hill Elementary School in the neighboring Tacoma School District performs significantly higher. Within its own district, schools like Midland Elementary also rank higher. Notably, Harvard shows promising improvement in upper grades, with 5th graders performing better in English and math, suggesting a foundation to build upon despite the overall difficult context.

445
Students ?
15.6
Student/teacher ratio ?
$20,089
Per pupil spending ?
75.7%
Free/discounted lunch ?
 1709 85th Street E
       Tacoma, WA  98445

(253) 298-4105

District: Franklin Pierce School District


Students who attend Harvard Elementary usually attend:

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

Hispanic:
60.2%
White:
13.0%
African American:
10.1%
more
 See top rated Washington elementary schools

 Compare Harvard Elementary to nearby elementary schools!
At a glance
Ranking trend: Holding steady — 14th percentile in 2015 → 11th in 2025
Worth a look
!Test scores below the Washington average (30% vs 48% meeting standards)
!In the lower quartile statewide (11th percentile)
!English Language Arts scores 28 pts below the Washington average
Students meeting standards (2024-2025) ?
This school30%
District avg33%
Washington avg48%
1,034th of 1,160
Washington public elementary schools ?
Bottom 11%▼ down 3 pts since 2015
From bottom 14% (2015) to bottom 11% (2025)
See the entire ranking list of Washington Elementary Schools →
SchoolDigger rating ?
7th of 8Elementary Schools in the Franklin Pierce School District
200th of 247Franklin Pierce School District among Washington 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 rankWashington percentileRating
202514.51034 of 116010.9%★☆☆☆☆
202412.11080 of 11687.5%☆☆☆☆☆
202321.1960 of 116917.9%★☆☆☆☆
202236.8729 of 116937.6%★★☆☆☆
202130.5752 of 110732.1%★★☆☆☆
201929.2839 of 113025.8%★☆☆☆☆
201841.8618 of 105441.4%★★☆☆☆
201740.8642 of 105639.2%★★☆☆☆
201629.5771 of 105326.8%★☆☆☆☆
201518.9915 of 106714.2%★☆☆☆☆
201335.9757 of 110631.6%★★☆☆☆
201242.4684 of 109737.6%★★☆☆☆
201133.8792 of 109227.5%★☆☆☆☆
201035.9747 of 108831.3%★★☆☆☆
200915.7963 of 107210.2%★☆☆☆☆
200822.4896 of 106716.0%★☆☆☆☆
200715.1970 of 10699.3%☆☆☆☆☆
200619.3922 of 105112.3%★☆☆☆☆
200514.0935 of 10319.3%☆☆☆☆☆
20049.8969 of 10265.6%☆☆☆☆☆

Asian

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankWashington percentileRating
201880.831 of 16981.7%★★★★☆

English Language Learner

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankWashington percentileRating
202514.7281 of 3037.3%☆☆☆☆☆
202337.8146 of 25442.5%★★☆☆☆
202257.654 of 21374.6%★★★★☆
201953.477 of 24869.0%★★★☆☆
201830.9263 of 33321.0%★☆☆☆☆

Female

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankWashington percentileRating
202513.11002 of 10928.2%☆☆☆☆☆
202411.81017 of 10937.0%☆☆☆☆☆
202323.2870 of 109420.5%★☆☆☆☆
202236.7694 of 110036.9%★★☆☆☆
202130.7680 of 100832.5%★★☆☆☆
201934.2751 of 106829.7%★☆☆☆☆
201848.1546 of 100445.6%★★☆☆☆

Hispanic

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankWashington percentileRating
202519.1582 of 65911.7%★☆☆☆☆
202413.8608 of 6516.6%☆☆☆☆☆
202328.8483 of 63323.7%★☆☆☆☆
202246.2339 of 69451.2%★★★☆☆
202128.9366 of 50126.9%★☆☆☆☆
201945.7378 of 69745.8%★★☆☆☆
201846.1279 of 54048.3%★★☆☆☆

Homeless

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankWashington percentileRating
202294.62 of 1485.7%★★★★★

Low Socio Economic Status

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankWashington percentileRating
202520.6881 of 101313.0%★☆☆☆☆
202423.2862 of 102415.8%★☆☆☆☆
202334.7705 of 101330.4%★★☆☆☆
202244.7552 of 101945.8%★★☆☆☆
202141.7479 of 85443.9%★★☆☆☆
201948.3525 of 97946.4%★★☆☆☆

Male

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankWashington percentileRating
202518.3942 of 109814.2%★☆☆☆☆
202414.4984 of 109910.5%★☆☆☆☆
202317.4958 of 109912.8%★☆☆☆☆
202235.3712 of 111336.0%★★☆☆☆
202136.3622 of 102539.3%★★☆☆☆
201925.5853 of 107520.7%★☆☆☆☆
201834.1675 of 99932.4%★★☆☆☆

Special Education

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankWashington percentileRating
202522.6312 of 36314.0%★☆☆☆☆
201841.7358 of 63743.8%★★☆☆☆

White

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankWashington percentileRating
202523.6834 of 100717.2%★☆☆☆☆
202282.6144 of 103186.0%★★★★☆
201971.3297 of 102771.1%★★★★☆
201840.9516 of 83338.1%★★☆☆☆
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)
Homeless (2022)86th percentile+48 vs school
Asian (2018)82nd percentile+40 vs school
White (2025)17th percentile+6 vs school
Male (2025)14th percentile+3 vs school
Special Education (2025)14th percentile+3 vs school
Low Socio Economic Status (2025)13th percentile~ school
Hispanic (2025)12th percentile~ school
Female (2025)8th percentile-3 vs school
English Language Learner (2025)7th percentile-4 vs school
By subject vs Washington (2024-2025) ?
Science40%-9 vs state
English Language Arts25%-28 vs state
Math25%-17 vs state

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Frequently Asked Questions about Harvard Elementary

Students who attend Harvard Elementary usually go on to attend:

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

In the 2024-25 school year, 445 students attended Harvard Elementary.

Harvard Elementary ranks in the bottom 10.9% of Washington elementary schools.

Students at Harvard Elementary are 60% Hispanic, 13% White, 10% African American, 9% Two or more races, 5% Asian, 2% Pacific Islander.


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SchoolDigger data sources: National Center for Education Statistics, U.S. Department of Education, the U.S. Census Bureau, the Washington State Department of Health and the Washington Office of Superindentent of Public Instruction.

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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