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If you could change one rule at Rutherford El Sch, what would it be?
Community prompt from u/allk12. Replies below.
Enrollment
461
Elementary
DISTRICT 451 · STATE 443
SCHOOL COMMUNITY·CENTRAL DAUPHIN SD·NCES 420540001811
Rutherford Elementary School
6500 Clearfield St, Harrisburg, PA 17111 · (717) 561-1990 · Dauphin County
GRADES KG–05ELEMENTARY21-SUBURBTITLE IREGULAR SCHOOL461 STUDENTS
B-
allk12 Grade
Scored higher than 53% of Pennsylvania public elementary schools
- C+Test scores Share of students meeting the state standard in reading, math, and other tested subjects, 2023-24 and 2024-25.
- A-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 Pennsylvania public elementary schools
Student : Teacher
15.2:1
30 FTE teachers
DISTRICT 13.8:1 · STATE 13.1:1
Free / Reduced Lunch
103%
473 students
DISTRICT 87% · STATE 75%
Community
1
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 | 67 | 15% |
| Grade 1 | 71 | 15% |
| Grade 2 | 74 | 16% |
| Grade 3 | 86 | 19% |
| Grade 4 | 84 | 18% |
| Grade 5 | 79 | 17% |
This year's kindergarten class (67) is 15% smaller than its 5th grade class (79).
Student demographics
78%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
41.8%
PA avg 51.1% . -6.0pp since 2023
Math
43.6%
PA avg 43.0% . -0.2pp since 2023
What this means: On the PSSA + Keystone, Pennsylvania's statewide test, about 42 of every 100 students at this school read and write at grade level and about 44 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 have held steady.
PSSA + Keystone results by year
| School year | English Language Arts | Math |
|---|---|---|
| 2024-25 | 41.8% | 43.6% |
| 2023-24 | 47.8% | 43.8% |
% 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
46.9%
composite math + reading, all grades
Predicted
33.6%
based on PA schools with similar FRL share
Beats by
+13.3pp
above demographic expectation
What this means: About 47% of students here test proficient in math and reading, compared with the roughly 34% 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 →
Where Rutherford Elementary School ranks
Among elementary schools| Measure | This school | In Pennsylvania | In Dauphin County |
|---|---|---|---|
| State test proficiency ranked highest first | 46.9% | #940 of 1,396 | #21 of 31 |
| Math proficiency ranked highest first | 43.6% | #931 of 1,511 ▼ 38 | #20 of 36 ▲ 1 |
| Reading proficiency ranked highest first | 41.8% | #968 of 1,511 ▼ 3 | #17 of 36 ▲ 4 |
| Enrollment ranked largest first | 461 | #649 of 1,638 | #14 of 40 |
| Students per teacher ranked fewest first | 15.2:1 | #1,293 of 1,528 | #32 of 39 |
| Diversity index ranked most diverse first | 77.9% | #7 of 1,531 | #7 of 40 |
| Free and reduced lunch ranked highest share first | 103% | #188 of 1,600 | #6 of 37 |
| Enrollment change since 2017-18 ranked fastest growth first | +14.4% | #139 of 450 | #7 of 19 |
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
461
+60 (+15%) vs 2020
+84% since 1990-91, when it was 250
Student : Teacher
15.2:1
was 15.4:1
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 | 461 | 30.3 | 15.2:1 | N/A |
| 2023-24 | 473 | 29.8 | 15.9:1 | 100% (473) |
| 2022-23 | 441 | 26.8 | 16.4:1 | 100% (439) |
| 2020-21 | 401 | 26 | 15.4:1 | 100% (401) |
| 2017-18 | 403 | 29.5 | 13.7:1 | 100% (403) |
| 2015-16 | 439 | 30 | 14.6:1 | 60% (265) |
| 2010-11 | 332 | 23 | 14.4:1 | 45% (148) |
| 2000-01 | 456 | 27 | 16.9:1 | 34% (153) |
| 1990-91 | 250 | 17 | 14.7:1 | N/A |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data. Rows are the federal collections on file for Rutherford Elementary School.
Since 2017-18: students up 14% (403 to 461); teachers up 3% (29.5 to 30.3).
About Rutherford Elementary School
Rutherford Elementary School is a mid-sized elementary school found in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. It teaches 461 students in kindergarten through 5.
Central Dauphin SD counts 19 schools and 12,389 students, including Rutherford Elementary School.
Black students account for 28% of enrollment at Rutherford Elementary School, more than any other group. Enrollment also includes 26% Asian, 21% White, 15% Hispanic, and 10% multiracial. Among people living in Dauphin County, the Black share is about 17%. The diversity index for Rutherford Elementary School is 78%. For US public schools as a whole it is 70%.
The school had 30.3 full-time-equivalent teachers in 2024-25. Its student-to-teacher ratio is 15.2:1. The school's 15.2:1 compares with an average of 13.1:1 for elementary schools in Pennsylvania.
Rutherford Elementary School holds a B- allk12 Grade, placing it above 53% of Pennsylvania public elementary schools.
BeatsExpectations compares each school's average proficiency rate across its state test results with a prediction based on free or reduced-price lunch eligibility. For Rutherford Elementary School, the prediction is 33.6% and the result is 46.9%.
The school's county is Dauphin County. According to Census Bureau estimates, the median household earns about $76,242 a year, roughly 34% of adults have a four-year degree or more, and about 9% of residents live below the federal poverty line. Public schools in Dauphin County number 75, with about 72,718 students.
Rutherford Elementary School is about 0.8 miles from Chambers Hill Elementary School, its nearest public school. Rutherford Elementary School has at least 8 other public schools within five miles. Rutherford Elementary School's average proficiency of 46.9% compares with 43.0% for its nearest scored neighbors.
The NCES locale for Rutherford Elementary School is Suburb: Large, which covers schools in a suburban area outside a principal city, within an urbanized area with a population of 250,000 or more.
Over the 4 years from 2020-21 to 2024-25, enrollment increased 15%.
Anyone can start a thread about open houses, carpools, and field trips at Rutherford Elementary School. Parents, students, alumni, and staff are welcome to post.
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
Other Rutherford Elementary schools
4 other US public schools in 5 states are named Rutherford Elementary. Rutherford Elementary School is the 4th largest of the 5.
- Rutherford Elementary SchoolMESQUITE, TX · 803 students
- RUTHERFORD ELEMENTARYSTILLWATER, MN · 573 students
- Rutherford ElementaryLouisville, KY · 476 students
- Rutherford ElementaryRutherford, TN · 282 students
Nearby schools
- Chambers Hill Elementary School0.8 mi · 257
- Central Dauphin East Middle School1.7 mi · 702
- Lawnton Elementary School1.8 mi · 310
- Dauphin County Technical School1.9 mi · 1,187
- Central Dauphin East SHS1.9 mi · 1,573
- South Side Elementary School1.9 mi · 603
Frequently asked questions
About Rutherford Elementary SchoolWhat is the total enrollment at Rutherford Elementary School?
Rutherford Elementary School enrolls approximately 461 students in grades KG-05.
What grades does Rutherford Elementary School serve?
Rutherford Elementary School serves grades KG-05.
How many students per teacher at Rutherford Elementary School?
Approximately 15.2:1 students per teacher at Rutherford Elementary School.
What is the racial breakdown of students at Rutherford Elementary School?
At Rutherford Elementary School, the student body is approximately 21% White, 15% Hispanic, 28% Black, 26% Asian, 10% Two or more.
Is Rutherford Elementary School public or private?
Rutherford Elementary School is a public K-12 school, overseen by Central Dauphin SD.
Data sourceSchool profile facts are sourced from the NCES. Community content is posted by allk12 members.