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If you could change one rule at Harding Middle School, what would it be?
Community prompt from u/allk12. Replies below.
Enrollment
710
Middle
DISTRICT 450 · STATE 400
SCHOOL COMMUNITY·CEDAR RAPIDS COMM SCHOOL DISTRICT·NCES 190654000244
Harding Middle School
4801 Golf ST NE, Cedar Rapids, IA 52405 · (319) 558-2254 · Linn County
GRADES 06–08MIDDLE12-CITYTITLE IREGULAR SCHOOL710 STUDENTS
B
allk12 Grade
Scored higher than 60% of Iowa public middle schools
- B-Test scores Share of students meeting the state standard in reading, math, and other tested subjects, 2023-24 and 2024-25.
- B+Beats 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 middle schools
Student : Teacher
16.0:1
44 FTE teachers
DISTRICT 14.6:1 · STATE 15.2:1
Free / Reduced Lunch
44%
311 students
DISTRICT 61% · STATE 41%
Community
6
0 members
Enrollment and student:teacher ratio compared against other middle schools. Free/Reduced Lunch and demographics compared against all schools.
Enrollment by grade, 2024-25
| Grade | Students | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Grade 6 | 239 | 34% |
| Grade 7 | 228 | 32% |
| Grade 8 | 243 | 34% |
Student demographics
53%Diversity index
The chance that two students picked at random belong to different racial or ethnic groups.
DISTRICT 64% · 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
Test scores
ISASP 2024-25 . % ProficientEnglish Language Arts
76.2%
IA avg 73.6% . -1.6pp since 2023
Math
77.0%
IA avg 70.9% . +1.1pp since 2023
What this means: On the ISASP, Iowa's statewide test, about 76 of every 100 students at this school read and write at grade level and about 77 of 100 do math at grade level. Across all Iowa schools, those numbers are about 74 and 71. Reading and writing scores are down about 2 points since 2023, while math scores are up about 1 points.
ISASP results by year
| School year | English Language Arts | Math |
|---|---|---|
| 2024-25 | 76.2% | 77.0% |
| 2023-24 | 77.8% | 75.9% |
% 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
75.8%
composite math + reading, all grades
Predicted
70.0%
based on IA schools with similar FRL share
Beats by
+5.7pp
above demographic expectation
What this means: About 76% of students here test proficient in math and reading, compared with the roughly 70% 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 Middle School
Harding Middle School's state test result (75.8% proficient) is higher than 4 of the 5 schools below with a result.
| School | Students | Low-income | Proficient |
|---|---|---|---|
| Harding Middle School this school | 710 | 43.8% | 75.8% |
| Southeast Polk Middle School Altoona | 1,112 | 41.0% | 79.0% |
| Stilwell Junior High School West Des Moines | 645 | 47.0% | 73.2% |
| Bettendorf Middle School Bettendorf | 952 | 36.1% | 74.1% |
| Urbandale Middle School Urbandale | 892 | 41.4% | 72.4% |
| Merrill Middle School Des Moines | 657 | 43.7% | 72.2% |
Matched among Iowa middle 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 Middle School ranks
Among middle schools| Measure | This school | In Iowa | In Linn County |
|---|---|---|---|
| State test proficiency ranked highest first | 75.8% | #113 of 224 | #8 of 17 |
| Math proficiency ranked highest first | 77.0% | #103 of 224 ▲ 2 | #9 of 17 ▼ 1 |
| Reading proficiency ranked highest first | 76.2% | #129 of 224 no change | #10 of 17 ▼ 1 |
| Enrollment ranked largest first | 710 | #32 of 246 | #3 of 17 |
| Students per teacher ranked fewest first | 16.0:1 | #149 of 180 | #14 of 15 |
| Diversity index ranked most diverse first | 52.8% | #46 of 180 | #5 of 15 |
| Free and reduced lunch ranked highest share first | 43.8% | #95 of 237 | #6 of 17 |
| Enrollment change since 2017-18 ranked steepest decline first | -9.4% | #66 of 103 | #7 of 10 |
Ranked against other public middle 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
710
+4 (+1%) vs 2020
-20% since 1990-91, when it was 886
Student : Teacher
16.0:1
was 13.8:1
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 | 710 | 44.5 | 16.0:1 | 44% (311) |
| 2023-24 | 695 | 44.3 | 15.7:1 | 38% (262) |
| 2022-23 | 713 | 46.4 | 15.4:1 | 43% (306) |
| 2020-21 | 706 | 51 | 13.8:1 | 48% (339) |
| 2017-18 | 784 | 50 | 15.7:1 | 44% (346) |
| 2015-16 | 813 | 51 | 15.9:1 | 42% (344) |
| 2010-11 | 894 | 60 | 14.9:1 | 31% (277) |
| 2000-01 | 893 | 63 | 14.2:1 | 13% (112) |
| 1990-91 | 886 | 62 | 14.3:1 | N/A |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data. Rows are the federal collections on file for Harding Middle School.
Since 2017-18: students down 9% (784 to 710); teachers down 11% (50 to 44.5).
About Harding Middle School
Harding Middle School is a large middle school in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. Federal data show 710 students enrolled in grades 6 through 8 in 2024-25. Across middle schools in Iowa, the average enrollment is about 400.
Harding Middle School is one of the 35 schools that make up Cedar Rapids Comm School District (15,494 students in total).
The largest group at Harding Middle School is White students, at 66%. Other groups make up 12% Hispanic, 10% multiracial, 7% Black, and 4% Asian. County-wide, 84% of Linn County residents are White. The diversity index for Harding Middle School is 53%. For US public schools as a whole it is 70%.
The student-to-teacher ratio is 16.0:1. The school has 44.5 full-time-equivalent teachers. The gap from the 15.2:1 average for middle schools in Iowa is 0.8 students per teacher. In all, 44% of students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch.
Harding Middle School holds a B allk12 Grade, placing it above 60% of Iowa public middle schools.
Based on student poverty, the model expects 70.0% at Harding Middle School; the school's average proficiency rate across its state test results is 75.8%.
For the population of Linn County, median household income comes to about $77,649, 35% of adults hold a bachelor's degree or higher, and about 6% of residents live below the federal poverty line. Linn County counts 83 public schools with about 36,480 students.
A public school about 0.7 miles away, Wright Elementary School, is the closest to Harding Middle School. Harding Middle School has at least 8 other public schools within five miles. Among 8 nearby schools that report test results, Harding Middle School ranks 2nd on proficiency.
Harding Middle School falls in the City: Mid-size locale category, used for schools inside a principal city with a population between 100,000 and 250,000.
Between 2020-21 and 2024-25, enrollment moved from 706 to 710, a small change. Staffing shifted too: the ratio moved from 13.8:1 to 16.0:1.
This community page is for conversations about open houses, carpools, and field trips. Teachers and staff are welcome to share updates too.
Linn County at a glance
View full county profilePopulation
230,004
Census ACS
Median income
$77,649
Household, ACS
Bachelor's+
35%
Adults 25+
Poverty rate
6%
Below federal line
Schools in county
83
36,480 students
Quick facts
Related schools
Other schools in Cedar Rapids Comm School District
- John F Kennedy High SchoolHigh · 1,648 students
- Thomas Jefferson High SchoolHigh · 1,501 students
- George Washington High SchoolHigh · 1,182 students
- Taft Middle SchoolMiddle · 593 students
- Viola Gibson Elementary SchoolElementary · 565 students
- West Willow Elementary SchoolElementary · 555 students
Other schools in Cedar Rapids
- Prairie High SchoolHigh · 1,766 students
- John F Kennedy High SchoolHigh · 1,648 students
- Thomas Jefferson High SchoolHigh · 1,501 students
- George Washington High SchoolHigh · 1,182 students
- Prairie PointMiddle · 868 students
- Prairie CreekMiddle · 846 students
Other Harding Middle schools
3 other US public schools in 2 states are named Harding Middle. Harding Middle School is the 2nd largest of the 4.
- Harding Middle SchoolDes Moines, IA · 603 students
- Harding Middle SchoolSteubenville, OH · 793 students
- Harding Middle SchoolLakewood, OH · 446 students
Nearby schools
- Wright Elementary School0.7 mi · 282
- Kenwood Leadership Academy School0.8 mi · 386
- Pierce Elementary School1.4 mi · 334
- Trailside Elementary School1.5 mi · 429
- John F Kennedy High School1.6 mi · 1,648
- Nixon Elementary School1.6 mi · 289
Frequently asked questions
About Harding Middle SchoolHow large is Harding Middle School?
Harding Middle School enrolls approximately 710 students in grades 06-08.
What grades does Harding Middle School serve?
Harding Middle School serves grades 06-08.
What is the student-teacher ratio at Harding Middle School?
The student-to-teacher ratio at Harding Middle School is approximately 16.0:1 (44 FTE teachers).
What is the racial breakdown of students at Harding Middle School?
At Harding Middle School, the student body is approximately 66% White, 12% Hispanic, 7% Black, 4% Asian, 10% Two or more.
Is Harding Middle School public or private?
Harding Middle School is a public K-12 school, overseen by Cedar Rapids Comm School District.
Data sourceSchool profile facts are sourced from the NCES. Community content is posted by allk12 members.