Enrollment
281
Elementary
DISTRICT 451 · STATE 443
SCHOOL COMMUNITY·CENTRAL DAUPHIN SD·NCES 420540001795
Paxtang Elementary School
3530 Rutherford St, Harrisburg, PA 17111 · (717) 561-1781 · Dauphin County
GRADES KG–05ELEMENTARY21-SUBURBTITLE IREGULAR SCHOOL281 STUDENTS
C+
allk12 Grade
Scored higher than 42% of Pennsylvania public elementary schools
- CTest scores Share of students meeting the state standard in reading, math, and other tested subjects, 2023-24 and 2024-25.
- BBeats 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 Pennsylvania public elementary schools
Student : Teacher
14.8:1
19 FTE teachers
DISTRICT 13.8:1 · STATE 13.1:1
Free / Reduced Lunch
100%
280 students
DISTRICT 87% · STATE 75%
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Kindergarten | 137 | 49% |
| Grade 1 | 27 | 10% |
| Grade 2 | 31 | 11% |
| Grade 3 | 36 | 13% |
| Grade 4 | 27 | 10% |
| Grade 5 | 23 | 8% |
This year's kindergarten class (137) is 496% larger than its 5th grade class (23).
Student demographics
79%Diversity index
The chance that two students picked at random belong to different racial or ethnic groups.
DISTRICT 74% · STATE 59% · 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
PSSA + Keystone 2024-25 . % Proficient or AdvancedEnglish Language Arts
38.3%
PA avg 51.1% . -6.0pp since 2023
Math
34.1%
PA avg 43.0% . -2.6pp since 2023
What this means: On the PSSA + Keystone, Pennsylvania's statewide test, about 38 of every 100 students at this school read and write at grade level and about 34 of 100 do math at grade level. Across all Pennsylvania schools, those numbers are about 51 and 43. Reading and writing scores are down about 6 points since 2023, while math scores are down about 3 points.
PSSA + Keystone results by year
| School year | English Language Arts | Math |
|---|---|---|
| 2024-25 | 38.3% | 34.1% |
| 2023-24 | 44.3% | 36.7% |
% Proficient or Advanced, all students and all tested grades.
Source: PSSA + Keystone. 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
42.6%
composite math + reading, all grades
Predicted
34.9%
based on PA schools with similar FRL share
Beats by
+7.7pp
above demographic expectation
What this means: About 43% of students here test proficient in math and reading, compared with the roughly 35% typical for Pennsylvania 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 Pennsylvania'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 Paxtang Elementary School
Paxtang Elementary School's state test result (42.6% proficient) is higher than 5 of the 5 schools below with a result.
| School | Students | Low-income | Proficient |
|---|---|---|---|
| Paxtang Elementary School this school | 281 | 99.6% | 42.6% |
| Crossan Kennedy C School Philadelphia | 327 | 97.2% | 33.2% |
| Sharswood George School Philadelphia | 364 | 97.0% | 31.4% |
| John Adams #4 Scranton | 214 | 90.7% | 23.4% |
| Vare-Washington Elementary School Philadelphia | 375 | 87.7% | 40.8% |
| Bregy F Amedee School Philadelphia | 264 | 95.1% | 21.7% |
Matched among Pennsylvania 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 Paxtang Elementary School ranks
Among elementary schools| Measure | This school | In Pennsylvania | In Dauphin County |
|---|---|---|---|
| State test proficiency ranked highest first | 42.6% | #1,028 of 1,396 | #22 of 31 |
| Math proficiency ranked highest first | 34.1% | #1,094 of 1,511 ▼ 82 | #23 of 36 ▼ 1 |
| Reading proficiency ranked highest first | 38.3% | #1,049 of 1,511 ▼ 4 | #20 of 36 ▲ 2 |
| Enrollment ranked largest first | 281 | #1,314 of 1,638 | #34 of 40 |
| Students per teacher ranked fewest first | 14.8:1 | #1,234 of 1,528 | #29 of 39 |
| Diversity index ranked most diverse first | 78.6% | #2 of 1,531 | #2 of 40 |
| Free and reduced lunch ranked highest share first | 99.6% | #322 of 1,600 | #10 of 37 |
| Enrollment change since 2017-18 ranked steepest decline first | -4.1% | #885 of 1,045 | #15 of 17 |
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
281
+86 (+44%) vs 2020
+46% since 1990-91, when it was 192
Student : Teacher
14.8:1
was 10.8:1
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 | 281 | 18.9 | 14.8:1 | 100% (280) |
| 2023-24 | 280 | 17.1 | 16.4:1 | 100% (280) |
| 2022-23 | 294 | 20.8 | 14.1:1 | 100% (293) |
| 2020-21 | 195 | 18 | 10.8:1 | 100% (195) |
| 2017-18 | 293 | 18.7 | 15.7:1 | 100% (293) |
| 2015-16 | 266 | 17 | 15.7:1 | 67% (178) |
| 2010-11 | 221 | 18 | 12.3:1 | 43% (94) |
| 2000-01 | 231 | 16 | 14.4:1 | 16% (38) |
| 1990-91 | 192 | 15 | 12.8:1 | N/A |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data. Rows are the federal collections on file for Paxtang Elementary School.
Since 2017-18: students down 4% (293 to 281); teachers up 1% (18.7 to 18.9).
About Paxtang Elementary School
Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, is home to Paxtang Elementary School, a small elementary school. The school's enrollment of 281 students covers kindergarten through 5. Enrollment is 37% lower than the average for elementary schools in Pennsylvania, which is about 443.
District-wide, Central Dauphin SD has 19 schools and 12,389 students.
Paxtang Elementary School's enrollment has no majority group, and Hispanic students are the largest at 26%. The remaining students are 26% Black, 19% White, 16% Asian, and 11% multiracial. Among people living in Dauphin County, the Hispanic share is about 12%. By the diversity index, Paxtang Elementary School comes in at 79%.
The school reported 18.9 full-time-equivalent teachers in 2024-25 and a ratio of 14.8:1. The 13.1:1 average for elementary schools in Pennsylvania is lower than this school's figure. Eligible students account for 100% of enrollment in the free or reduced-price lunch program. The gap from the 59% average for public schools in Dauphin County is 41 points.
Paxtang Elementary School is graded C+ by allk12, scoring above 42% of Pennsylvania public elementary schools once test results, poverty-adjusted performance, and the recent trend are combined.
Schools in Pennsylvania with a similar free or reduced-price lunch share are predicted to score about 34.9%. Paxtang Elementary School scores 42.6%.
Recent Census Bureau figures for Dauphin County show that median household income is about $76,242, roughly 34% of adults have a four-year degree or more, and about 9% of residents live below the federal poverty line. Federal data list 75 public schools in Dauphin County, with a combined enrollment of about 72,718.
The nearest other public school, Marshall Math Science Academy, is about 1.0 miles away. The count of other public schools within five miles is at least 8. Ranked by average proficiency, Paxtang Elementary School places 1st out of 5 schools in its immediate area.
Paxtang Elementary School is in a suburban area outside a principal city, within an urbanized area with a population of 250,000 or more, a location NCES labels Suburb: Large.
Paxtang Elementary School had 195 students in 2020-21 and 281 in 2024-25, according to federal records. Those counts may cover different grade spans. The ratio of students to teachers went from 10.8:1 to 14.8:1 over the same years.
The discussion area below is open to posts about enrollment questions, class placement, and PTA news. Reviews and ratings from people who know the school are welcome.
Dauphin County at a glance
View full county profilePopulation
289,593
Census ACS
Median income
$76,242
Household, ACS
Bachelor's+
34%
Adults 25+
Poverty rate
9%
Below federal line
Schools in county
75
72,718 students
Quick facts
Related schools
Other schools in Central Dauphin SD
- Central Dauphin SHSHigh · 1,966 students
- Central Dauphin East SHSHigh · 1,573 students
- Linglestown Middle SchoolMiddle · 841 students
- Central Dauphin Middle SchoolMiddle · 834 students
- North Side Elementary SchoolElementary · 722 students
- Central Dauphin East Middle SchoolMiddle · 702 students
Other schools in Harrisburg
- Commonwealth Charter Academy CSCombined · 29,320 students
- Reach Cyber CSCombined · 5,721 students
- Central Dauphin SHSHigh · 1,966 students
- Central Dauphin East SHSHigh · 1,573 students
- Harrisburg High SchoolHigh · 1,343 students
- Dauphin County Technical SchoolHigh · 1,187 students
Nearby schools
- Marshall Math Science Academy1.0 mi · 408
- Harrisburg High School1.1 mi · 1,343
- Reach Cyber CS1.1 mi · 5,721
- Lawnton Elementary School1.2 mi · 310
- Melrose School1.3 mi · 536
- Susquehanna Twp Middle School1.4 mi · 820
Frequently asked questions
About Paxtang Elementary SchoolWhat is the total enrollment at Paxtang Elementary School?
Paxtang Elementary School enrolls approximately 281 students in grades KG-05.
Is Paxtang Elementary School an elementary, middle, or high school?
Paxtang Elementary School is an elementary school covering grades KG-05.
How many teachers does Paxtang Elementary School have?
Paxtang Elementary School employs 19 FTE teachers, for a student-to-teacher ratio of 14.8:1.
What is the student diversity at Paxtang Elementary School?
Student demographics at Paxtang Elementary School are roughly 19% White, 26% Hispanic, 26% Black, 16% Asian, 11% Two or more.
Who oversees Paxtang Elementary School?
Paxtang Elementary School is overseen by Central Dauphin SD in Dauphin County.
Data sourceSchool profile facts are sourced from the NCES. Community content is posted by allk12 members.