1
What's the vibe like in the hallways at Harding Elementary right now?
Community prompt from u/allk12. Replies below.
Enrollment
601
Elementary
DISTRICT 412 · STATE 465
SCHOOL COMMUNITY·EL CENTRO ELEMENTARY·NCES 061203001334
Harding Elementary
950 South Seventh St., El Centro, CA 92243 · (760) 352-4791 · Imperial County
GRADES KG–06ELEMENTARY13-CITYTITLE IREGULAR SCHOOL601 STUDENTS
Student : Teacher
24.0:1
25 FTE teachers
DISTRICT 22.8:1 · STATE 22.3:1
Free / Reduced Lunch
71%
424 students
DISTRICT 80% · STATE 65%
Community
6
0 members
Enrollment and student:teacher ratio compared against other elementary schools. Free/Reduced Lunch and demographics compared against all schools.
Enrollment by grade, 2024-25
| Grade | Students | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Kindergarten | 107 | 18% |
| Grade 1 | 76 | 13% |
| Grade 2 | 88 | 15% |
| Grade 3 | 81 | 13% |
| Grade 4 | 91 | 15% |
| Grade 5 | 80 | 13% |
| Grade 6 | 78 | 13% |
This year's kindergarten class (107) is 37% larger than its 6th grade class (78).
Student demographics
13%Diversity index
The chance that two students picked at random belong to different racial or ethnic groups.
DISTRICT 8% · STATE 62% · US 70%
Student head counts by race/ethnicity from federal NCES enrollment data. District, state, and US figures are each group's share of all public school students in that area (US excludes territories). Very small groups may be suppressed in the source, so categories do not always sum exactly to total enrollment.
Gender split
Test scores
CAASPP 2024-25 . % met or exceeded standardEnglish Language Arts
37.1%
CA avg 49.1% . +16.1pp since 2014
Math
25.2%
CA avg 37.7% . +10.2pp since 2014
What this means: On the CAASPP, California's statewide test, about 37 of every 100 students at this school read and write at grade level and about 25 of 100 do math at grade level. Across all California schools, those numbers are about 49 and 38. Reading and writing scores are up about 16 points since 2014, while math scores are up about 10 points.
Performance levels, 2024-25
| Subject | Standard Exceeded | Standard Met | Standard Nearly Met | Standard Not Met |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| English Language Arts | 12.9% | 24.2% | 22.3% | 40.6% |
| Math | 8.4% | 16.8% | 31.4% | 43.5% |
Share of tested students at each CAASPP level. Each student counts in one level, so a row adds to about 100%.
CAASPP results by year
| School year | English Language Arts | Math |
|---|---|---|
| 2024-25 | 37.1% | 25.2% |
| 2023-24 | 36.6% | 30.6% |
| 2022-23 | 38.2% | 27.8% |
| 2021-22 | 38.6% | 24.1% |
| 2018-19 | 47.4% | 33.9% |
| 2017-18 | 49.2% | 29.8% |
| 2016-17 | 32.1% | 25.0% |
| 2015-16 | 23.0% | 20.0% |
| 2014-15 | 21.0% | 15.0% |
% met or exceeded standard, all students and all tested grades.
Source: CAASPP. All students, all grades. See all years and grades →
BeatsExpectations
Demographically-adjusted score · methodologyTier
AS EXPECTED
Performing as predicted given the school's student profile
Actual proficiency
32.5%
composite math + reading, all grades
Predicted
38.2%
based on CA schools with similar FRL share
Beats by
-5.7pp
below demographic expectation
What this means: About 33% of students here test proficient in math and reading, compared with the roughly 38% typical for California schools with a similar share of low-income students. BeatsExpectations measures results against demographically similar schools rather than by raw scores, and this school falls within the typical range, neither among California's top nor bottom 10%.
BeatsExpectations runs a per-state regression of proficiency on free/reduced-lunch share, then scores each school by residual. How this is calculated →
Schools most like Harding Elementary
Harding Elementary's state test result (32.5% proficient) is higher than 0 of the 4 schools below with a result.
| School | Students | Low-income | Proficient |
|---|---|---|---|
| Harding Elementary this school | 601 | 70.5% | 32.5% |
| The Language Academy of Sacramento Sacramento | 615 | 71.2% | N/A |
| Ladera Palma Elementary La Habra | 583 | 70.3% | 45.4% |
| Dogwood Elementary Heber | 606 | 71.3% | 46.9% |
| Riverbank Language Academy Riverbank | 557 | 72.7% | 45.3% |
| Sanger Academy Charter Sanger | 609 | 69.0% | 52.5% |
Matched among California elementary schools on enrollment, the share of students from low-income families (eligible for free or reduced-price lunch), and racial and ethnic makeup. Proficient is the average share of students meeting the state standard across all of the school's state tests in 2023-24 and 2024-25, the same combined score our test-score rankings use. Online schools and schools serving specialized populations are not matched.
Where Harding Elementary ranks
Among elementary schools| Measure | This school | In California | In Imperial County |
|---|---|---|---|
| State test proficiency ranked highest first | 32.5% | #3,218 of 5,151 | #15 of 35 |
| Math proficiency ranked highest first | 25.2% | #3,750 of 5,172 ▼ 735 | #22 of 35 ▼ 10 |
| Reading proficiency ranked highest first | 37.1% | #3,210 of 5,172 ▼ 147 | #17 of 35 ▼ 2 |
| 3-year test score change ranked biggest drop first | -0.2pp | #1,723 of 5,116 | #6 of 35 |
| Enrollment ranked largest first | 601 | #1,390 of 5,915 | #13 of 38 |
| Students per teacher ranked fewest first | 24.0:1 | #3,784 of 5,352 | #28 of 34 |
| Diversity index ranked most diverse first | 13.0% | #4,804 of 5,354 | #11 of 34 |
| Free and reduced lunch ranked highest share first | 70.5% | #2,925 of 5,625 | #28 of 36 |
| Enrollment change since 2017-18 ranked fastest growth first | +9.1% | #541 of 1,139 | #5 of 8 |
Ranked against other public elementary schools. Online schools are left out of every list, and test-score lists leave out schools that serve specialized populations. Each rank links to the full list. Arrows under a test-score rank show places moved since the prior test year, among schools tested both years.
4-year change
SY 2020-21 vs SY 2024-25Enrollment
601
+30 (+5%) vs 2020
-7% since 1990-91, when it was 647
Student : Teacher
24.0:1
was 24.8:1
Source: NCES Common Core of Data
Enrollment and staffing by year
| School year | Students | Teachers (FTE) | Students per teacher | Free and reduced lunch |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024-25 | 601 | 25 | 24.0:1 | 71% (424) |
| 2023-24 | 585 | 25 | 23.4:1 | 70% (409) |
| 2022-23 | 551 | 23 | 24.0:1 | 68% (376) |
| 2020-21 | 571 | 23 | 24.8:1 | 74% (423) |
| 2017-18 | 551 | 22 | 25.1:1 | 76% (420) |
| 2015-16 | 517 | 21 | 24.6:1 | 78% (401) |
| 2010-11 | 488 | N/A | N/A | 86% (419) |
| 2000-01 | 554 | 27 | 20.5:1 | 78% (433) |
| 1990-91 | 647 | 23 | 28.1:1 | N/A |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data. Rows are the federal collections on file for Harding Elementary.
Since 2017-18: students up 9% (551 to 601); teachers up 14% (22 to 25).
About Harding Elementary
Students in El Centro, California, attend Harding Elementary, a medium-sized elementary school. The grade span is kindergarten through 6, and enrollment is 601 students. Average enrollment for elementary schools in California is about 465, so this school runs 29% bigger than that.
Within El Centro Elementary, Harding Elementary is one of 12 schools. The district enrolls 5,157 students.
The large majority of students at Harding Elementary, 93%, are Hispanic. The rest of enrollment is 4% White. By the diversity index, Harding Elementary comes in at 13%.
With 25 full-time-equivalent teachers in 2024-25, the ratio at Harding Elementary was 24.0:1. The 22.3:1 average for elementary schools in California is lower than this school's figure. A measure often used for student poverty, free or reduced-price lunch eligibility, stands at 71%.
Harding Elementary sits between the top and bottom 10% of California schools on BeatsExpectations, with an actual average proficiency rate on state tests of 32.5% and a predicted 38.2%.
In the county around the school, Imperial County, median household income is about $57,681, roughly 16% of adults have a four-year degree or more, and the share of residents below the poverty line is 17%. Harding Elementary is among the 76 public schools in Imperial County.
Mt. Signal Virtual Academy is the nearest neighboring public school, about 0.4 miles away. A five-mile radius around the school includes at least 8 other public schools. Harding Elementary ranks 4th of 5 among nearby schools on average proficiency, with 32.5% against a local average of 35.0%.
The federal government classifies Harding Elementary's location as City: Small.
Harding Elementary had 571 students in 2020-21 and 601 in 2024-25, a 5% rise.
Questions about sports schedules, lunch menus, and spirit week can be posted here. Questions from prospective families are welcome too.
Imperial County at a glance
View full county profilePopulation
180,202
Census ACS
Median income
$57,681
Household, ACS
Bachelor's+
16%
Adults 25+
Poverty rate
17%
Below federal line
Schools in county
76
36,513 students
Quick facts
Related schools
Other schools in El Centro Elementary
- Wilson Jr. HighMiddle · 605 students
- De Anza MagnetElementary · 504 students
- McKinley ElementaryElementary · 456 students
- Margaret Hedrick ElementaryElementary · 446 students
- Martin Luther King Jr. ElementaryElementary · 445 students
- Kennedy MiddleMiddle · 434 students
Other schools in El Centro
- Central Union HighHigh · 2,006 students
- Southwest HighHigh · 1,846 students
- McCabe ElementaryElementary · 1,109 students
- Wilson Jr. HighMiddle · 605 students
- De Anza MagnetElementary · 504 students
- McKinley ElementaryElementary · 456 students
Other Harding Elementary schools
5 other US public schools in 4 states are named Harding Elementary. Harding Elementary is the largest of the 6.
- Harding ElementaryBakersfield, CA · 542 students
- Harding ElementaryEl Cerrito, CA · 481 students
- Harding Elementary SchoolLebanon, PA · 555 students
- Harding Elementary SchoolMason City, IA · 387 students
- Harding Elementary SchoolYoungstown, OH · 324 students
Nearby schools
- Mt. Signal Virtual Academy0.4 mi · 60
- Central Union High0.4 mi · 2,006
- Wilson Jr. High0.5 mi · 605
- Desert Garden Elementary0.6 mi · 358
- Phoenix Rising High0.6 mi · 20
- Desert Oasis High (Continuation)0.6 mi · 138
Frequently asked questions
About Harding ElementaryHow large is Harding Elementary?
Harding Elementary enrolls approximately 601 students in grades KG-06.
What grades does Harding Elementary serve?
Harding Elementary serves grades KG-06.
What is the student-teacher ratio at Harding Elementary?
The student-to-teacher ratio at Harding Elementary is approximately 24.0:1 (25 FTE teachers).
How diverse is Harding Elementary?
Harding Elementary reports a student body of 4% White, 93% Hispanic, 1% Black, 0% Asian, 2% Two or more.
Who oversees Harding Elementary?
Harding Elementary is overseen by El Centro Elementary in Imperial County.
Data sourceSchool profile facts are sourced from the NCES. Community content is posted by allk12 members.