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Honest take: what's the hardest part about being a student at Harvard High School?
Community prompt from u/allk12. Replies below.
Enrollment
815
High
DISTRICT 506 · STATE 834
SCHOOL COMMUNITY·HARVARD CUSD 50·NCES 171842002125
Harvard High School
1103 N Jefferson St, Harvard, IL 60033 · (815) 943-6461 · McHenry County
GRADES 09–12HIGH32-TOWNTITLE IREGULAR SCHOOL815 STUDENTS
D
allk12 Grade
Scored higher than 6% of Illinois public high schools
- C-Test scores Share of students meeting the state standard in reading, math, and other tested subjects, 2023-24 and 2024-25.
- FBeats expectations How far test scores land above or below what the share of low-income students predicts for a school in this state.
- ·Three-year trend Not available for this school, so the grade uses the other parts.
Grades compare a school only with schools in the same state, because every state gives its own test. How grades work · Top-graded Illinois public high schools
Student : Teacher
10.4:1
78 FTE teachers
DISTRICT 11.4:1 · STATE 13.8:1
Free / Reduced Lunch
45%
363 students
DISTRICT 56% · STATE 56%
Community
5
0 members
Enrollment and student:teacher ratio compared against other high schools. Free/Reduced Lunch and demographics compared against all schools.
Enrollment by grade, 2024-25
| Grade | Students | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Grade 9 | 205 | 25% |
| Grade 10 | 198 | 24% |
| Grade 11 | 212 | 26% |
| Grade 12 | 200 | 25% |
Student demographics
39%Diversity index
The chance that two students picked at random belong to different racial or ethnic groups.
DISTRICT 41% · STATE 69% · 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
School pathway
Feeds from
Based on grade levels within Harvard CUSD 50. Attendance zones can vary; confirm enrollment with the district.
BeatsExpectations
Demographically-adjusted score · methodologyTier
UNDERPERFORMING
Bottom 10% of IL schools after controlling for student poverty
Actual proficiency
19.7%
composite math + reading, all grades
Predicted
45.8%
based on IL schools with similar FRL share
Beats by
-26.1pp
below demographic expectation
What this means: About 20% of students here test proficient in math and reading, below the roughly 46% typical for Illinois schools with a similar share of low-income students. BeatsExpectations compares each school with others at the same poverty level, not by raw scores, so a school lands here when its results trail those comparable schools, which is not the same as having low scores. A higher-scoring school can still fall in this tier if similar schools score higher still.
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 Harvard High School
Harvard High School's state test result (19.7% proficient) is higher than 0 of the 5 schools below with a result.
| School | Students | Low-income | Proficient |
|---|---|---|---|
| Harvard High School this school | 815 | 44.5% | 19.7% |
| Fenton High School Bensenville | 1,396 | 42.7% | 35.4% |
| Plano High School Plano | 757 | 49.9% | 29.2% |
| Disney II Magnet High School Chicago | 738 | 46.5% | 39.6% |
| Proviso Math and Science Academy Forest Park | 925 | 53.6% | 55.0% |
| East Leyden High School Franklin Park | 1,840 | 54.0% | 38.1% |
Matched among Illinois high 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 Harvard High School ranks
Among high schools| Measure | This school | In Illinois | In McHenry County |
|---|---|---|---|
| State test proficiency ranked highest first | 19.7% | #450 of 573 | #13 of 13 |
| Enrollment ranked largest first | 815 | #255 of 708 | #10 of 14 |
| Students per teacher ranked fewest first | 10.4:1 | #28 of 528 | #1 of 13 |
| Diversity index ranked most diverse first | 39.0% | #250 of 537 | #10 of 13 |
| Free and reduced lunch ranked highest share first | 44.5% | #350 of 578 | #2 of 13 |
| Enrollment change since 2017-18 ranked fastest growth first | +13.5% | #52 of 191 | N/A |
Ranked against other public high 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
815
+38 (+5%) vs 2020
+57% since 1990-91, when it was 520
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 | 815 | 78 | 10.4:1 | 45% (363) |
| 2023-24 | 798 | 73 | 10.9:1 | 43% (343) |
| 2022-23 | 816 | 70.5 | 11.6:1 | 40% (326) |
| 2020-21 | 777 | N/A | N/A | N/A |
| 2017-18 | 718 | 63.7 | 11.3:1 | 50% (361) |
| 2015-16 | 671 | 55 | 12.2:1 | 64% (428) |
| 2010-11 | 703 | 48 | 14.7:1 | 55% (387) |
| 2000-01 | 617 | 41 | 15.1:1 | N/A |
| 1990-91 | 520 | 34 | 15.3:1 | N/A |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data. Rows are the federal collections on file for Harvard High School.
Since 2017-18: students up 14% (718 to 815); teachers up 22% (63.7 to 78).
About Harvard High School
Harvard High School is a medium-sized high school in Harvard, Illinois, (ZIP code 60033). The school counts 815 students across grades 9 through 12.
Harvard CUSD 50 has 2,532 students in 5 schools, and Harvard High School is one of those schools.
Hispanic students are the majority at Harvard High School, with 74% of enrollment. Enrollment also includes 24% White. The school's Hispanic share is 58 points above the 16% share among McHenry County residents. Harvard High School's diversity index is 39%, against a US figure of 70%.
Teacher staffing is 78 full-time equivalents, or about 10.4 students per teacher. This ratio sits 3.3 below the 13.8:1 average for high schools in Illinois. Eligibility for subsidized school meals is 45%. Across public schools in McHenry County, the average is 35%.
Measured against Illinois public high schools, Harvard High School receives a D. The grade weighs proficiency most heavily, then how results compare with what the school's low-income share predicts, then the three-year change.
On allk12's BeatsExpectations measure, Harvard High School is among the bottom 10% of schools in Illinois. Predicted: 45.8%. Actual: 19.7%.
Federal survey data for McHenry County show that the median household income is $104,802, 35% of adults hold a bachelor's degree or higher, and about 4% of people live in poverty. There are 89 public schools in McHenry County, enrolling about 50,123 students in all.
Nearby, Jefferson Elementary School is about 0.1 miles away. Within five miles of Harvard High School, there are 4 other public schools. The average proficiency across nearby scored schools is 34.3%; Harvard High School's is 19.7%, ranking 6th of 8.
The federal government classifies Harvard High School's location as Town: Distant.
Enrollment climbed 5% from its 2020-21 level of 777.
If you have questions about enrollment questions, class placement, and PTA news at Harvard High School, you can post them here. Posting is open to anyone connected to the school.
McHenry County at a glance
View full county profilePopulation
312,591
Census ACS
Median income
$104,802
Household, ACS
Bachelor's+
35%
Adults 25+
Poverty rate
4%
Below federal line
Schools in county
89
50,123 students
Quick facts
Related schools
Other schools in Harvard CUSD 50
- Crosby Elementary SchoolElementary · 655 students
- Harvard Jr High SchoolMiddle · 593 students
- Jefferson Elementary SchoolElementary · 319 students
- Washington Elementary SchoolElementary · 150 students
Other schools in Harvard
- Crosby Elementary SchoolElementary · 655 students
- Harvard Jr High SchoolMiddle · 593 students
- Jefferson Elementary SchoolElementary · 319 students
- Washington Elementary SchoolElementary · 150 students
Other Harvard High schools
One other US public school is named Harvard High. Harvard High School is the largest of the 2.
- HARVARD HIGH SCHOOLHARVARD, NE · 50 students
Nearby schools
- Jefferson Elementary School0.1 mi · 319
- Harvard Jr High School0.3 mi · 593
- Washington Elementary School0.9 mi · 150
- Crosby Elementary School1.8 mi · 655
- Big Foot High6.8 mi · 437
- Walworth Elementary7.1 mi · 409
Frequently asked questions
About Harvard High SchoolHow large is Harvard High School?
Harvard High School enrolls approximately 815 students in grades 09-12.
What age range does Harvard High School serve?
Harvard High School serves students from grade 09 through grade 12.
What is the student-teacher ratio at Harvard High School?
The student-to-teacher ratio at Harvard High School is approximately 10.4:1 (78 FTE teachers).
How diverse is Harvard High School?
Harvard High School reports a student body of 24% White, 74% Hispanic, 0% Black, 1% Asian, 1% Two or more.
Is Harvard High School public or private?
Harvard High School is a public K-12 school, overseen by Harvard CUSD 50.
Data sourceSchool profile facts are sourced from the NCES. Community content is posted by allk12 members.