Enrollment
387
Elementary
DISTRICT 347 · STATE 325
SCHOOL COMMUNITY·MASON CITY COMM SCHOOL DISTRICT·NCES 191878001102
Harding Elementary School
1239 N. Rhode Island Ave, Mason City, IA 50401 · (641) 421-4406 · Cerro Gordo County
GRADES PK–04ELEMENTARY33-TOWNTITLE IREGULAR SCHOOL387 STUDENTS
C
allk12 Grade
Scored higher than 28% of Iowa public elementary schools
- CTest scores Share of students meeting the state standard in reading, math, and other tested subjects, 2023-24 and 2024-25.
- CBeats 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 Iowa public elementary schools
Student : Teacher
14.6:1
27 FTE teachers
DISTRICT 12.8:1 · STATE 13.7:1
Free / Reduced Lunch
45%
175 students
DISTRICT 49% · STATE 41%
Community
0
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Pre-K | 143 | 37% |
| Kindergarten | 56 | 14% |
| Grade 1 | 42 | 11% |
| Grade 2 | 50 | 13% |
| Grade 3 | 48 | 12% |
| Grade 4 | 48 | 12% |
This year's kindergarten class (56) is 17% larger than its 4th grade class (48).
Student demographics
47%Diversity index
The chance that two students picked at random belong to different racial or ethnic groups.
DISTRICT 50% · STATE 48% · 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
Students here typically continue to
Based on grade levels within Mason City Comm School District. Attendance zones can vary; confirm enrollment with the district.
Test scores
ISASP 2024-25 . % ProficientEnglish Language Arts
71.9%
IA avg 73.6% . +12.6pp since 2023
Math
71.9%
IA avg 70.9% . +7.9pp since 2023
What this means: On the ISASP, Iowa's statewide test, about 72 of every 100 students at this school read and write at grade level and about 72 of 100 do math at grade level. Across all Iowa schools, those numbers are about 74 and 71. Reading and writing scores are up about 13 points since 2023, while math scores are up about 8 points.
ISASP results by year
| School year | English Language Arts | Math |
|---|---|---|
| 2024-25 | 71.9% | 71.9% |
| 2023-24 | 59.3% | 64.0% |
% Proficient, all students and all tested grades.
Source: ISASP. 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
66.8%
composite math + reading, all grades
Predicted
69.3%
based on IA schools with similar FRL share
Beats by
-2.5pp
below demographic expectation
What this means: About 67% of students here test proficient in math and reading, compared with the roughly 69% typical for Iowa 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 Iowa'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 School
Harding Elementary School's state test result (66.8% proficient) is higher than 2 of the 4 schools below with a result.
| School | Students | Low-income | Proficient |
|---|---|---|---|
| Harding Elementary School this school | 387 | 45.2% | 66.8% |
| Bloomer Elementary School Council Bluffs | 396 | 48.0% | 57.5% |
| Eagle Heights Elementary School Clinton | 443 | 47.2% | 73.1% |
| Irving Elementary School Dubuque | 409 | 45.2% | 72.2% |
| Roosevelt Elementary School Council Bluffs | 455 | 44.6% | 54.4% |
| Fairview Elementary School Carroll | 419 | 40.1% | N/A |
Matched among Iowa 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 School ranks
Among elementary schools| Measure | This school | In Iowa | In Cerro Gordo County |
|---|---|---|---|
| State test proficiency ranked highest first | 66.8% | #381 of 564 | #4 of 6 |
| Math proficiency ranked highest first | 71.9% | #355 of 564 ▲ 87 | #4 of 6 ▲ 2 |
| Reading proficiency ranked highest first | 71.9% | #301 of 564 ▲ 137 | #4 of 6 ▲ 2 |
| Enrollment ranked largest first | 387 | #238 of 705 | #3 of 6 |
| Students per teacher ranked fewest first | 14.6:1 | #413 of 561 | #6 of 6 |
| Diversity index ranked most diverse first | 46.7% | #240 of 561 | #3 of 6 |
| Free and reduced lunch ranked highest share first | 45.2% | #280 of 666 | #3 of 6 |
| Enrollment change since 2017-18 ranked fastest growth first | +12.2% | #73 of 168 | N/A |
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
387
+97 (+33%) vs 2020
-4% since 1990-91, when it was 403
Student : Teacher
14.6:1
was 11.2:1
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 | 387 | 26.6 | 14.6:1 | 45% (175) |
| 2023-24 | 357 | 27.3 | 13.1:1 | 61% (218) |
| 2022-23 | 380 | 24.4 | 15.6:1 | 54% (205) |
| 2020-21 | 290 | 26 | 11.2:1 | 63% (183) |
| 2017-18 | 345 | 25.9 | 13.3:1 | 51% (175) |
| 2015-16 | 381 | 27 | 14.1:1 | 62% (235) |
| 2010-11 | 388 | 29 | 13.4:1 | 64% (247) |
| 2000-01 | 467 | 32 | 14.6:1 | 46% (215) |
| 1990-91 | 403 | 21 | 19.2:1 | N/A |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data. Rows are the federal collections on file for Harding Elementary School.
Since 2017-18: students up 12% (345 to 387); teachers up 3% (25.9 to 26.6).
About Harding Elementary School
Harding Elementary School is a mid-sized elementary school located in Mason City, Iowa. It enrolls 387 students in 2024-25. The grades offered are pre-K through 4.
Mason City Comm School District has 9 schools; together they serve 3,406 students.
About 71% of the student body at Harding Elementary School is White. The remaining students are 13% Hispanic, 6% Black, 5% Pacific Islander, and 4% multiracial. Among people living in Cerro Gordo County, the White share is about 90%. On the diversity index, which measures the chance that two random students are from different groups, Harding Elementary School scores 47%.
The school lists 26.6 full-time-equivalent teachers and a student-to-teacher ratio of 14.6:1. The average for elementary schools in Iowa, 13.7:1, is lower. A total of 175 students, or 45%, are eligible for free or reduced-price lunch. That is in line with the 43% average for public schools in Cerro Gordo County.
Among Iowa public elementary schools, Harding Elementary School outscored 28%, which works out to a C on the allk12 Grade.
Based on its free or reduced-price lunch share, the BeatsExpectations model predicts an average proficiency rate across its state test results of 69.3% for Harding Elementary School. The school posts 66.8%, 2.5 points below the prediction.
Five-year Census Bureau estimates for Cerro Gordo County show that the median household earns about $68,189 a year, about 24% of adults have at least a bachelor's degree, and the poverty rate is about 6%. Across Cerro Gordo County, 13 public schools serve about 5,248 students.
John Adams Middle School is the nearest public school to Harding Elementary School, about 1.2 miles away. Harding Elementary School is one of several public schools in the area, with at least 8 others within five miles. Nearby schools with test data average 67.0% proficiency; Harding Elementary School posts 66.8%.
Locale data from NCES put Harding Elementary School in a town far from an urbanized area (Town: Remote).
Since 2020-21, enrollment has grown 33%, from 290 to 387. From 2020-21 to 2024-25, the ratio increased from 11.2:1 to 14.6:1.
This page collects posts and questions about Harding Elementary School, such as open houses, carpools, and field trips. Current and former families are welcome to add their experience.
Cerro Gordo County at a glance
View full county profilePopulation
42,632
Census ACS
Median income
$68,189
Household, ACS
Bachelor's+
24%
Adults 25+
Poverty rate
6%
Below federal line
Schools in county
13
5,248 students
Quick facts
Related schools
Other schools in Mason City Comm School District
- Mason City High SchoolHigh · 891 students
- Lincoln IntermediateMiddle · 485 students
- John Adams Middle SchoolMiddle · 463 students
- Hoover Elementary SchoolElementary · 361 students
- Roosevelt Elementary SchoolElementary · 348 students
- Jefferson Elementary SchoolElementary · 292 students
Other schools in Mason City
- Mason City High SchoolHigh · 891 students
- Lincoln IntermediateMiddle · 485 students
- John Adams Middle SchoolMiddle · 463 students
- Hoover Elementary SchoolElementary · 361 students
- Roosevelt Elementary SchoolElementary · 348 students
- Jefferson Elementary SchoolElementary · 292 students
Other Harding Elementary schools
5 other US public schools in 4 states are named Harding Elementary. Harding Elementary School is the 5th largest of the 6.
- Harding ElementaryEl Centro, CA · 601 students
- Harding Elementary SchoolLebanon, PA · 555 students
- Harding ElementaryBakersfield, CA · 542 students
- Harding ElementaryEl Cerrito, CA · 481 students
- Harding Elementary SchoolYoungstown, OH · 324 students
Nearby schools
- John Adams Middle School1.2 mi · 463
- Mason City Virtual Academy1.2 mi · 88
- Alternative School1.2 mi · 91
- Jefferson Elementary School1.3 mi · 292
- Mason City High School1.3 mi · 891
- Hoover Elementary School1.9 mi · 361
Frequently asked questions
About Harding Elementary SchoolHow many students attend Harding Elementary School?
Harding Elementary School enrolls approximately 387 students in grades PK-04.
Is Harding Elementary School an elementary, middle, or high school?
Harding Elementary School is an elementary school covering grades PK-04.
How many teachers does Harding Elementary School have?
Harding Elementary School employs 27 FTE teachers, for a student-to-teacher ratio of 14.6:1.
How diverse is Harding Elementary School?
Harding Elementary School reports a student body of 71% White, 13% Hispanic, 6% Black, 1% Asian, 4% Two or more.
Who oversees Harding Elementary School?
Harding Elementary School is overseen by Mason City Comm School District in Cerro Gordo County.
Data sourceSchool profile facts are sourced from the NCES. Community content is posted by allk12 members.