Original Research by School Decision on Harvey 38
Harvey Public School District #38 serves students from pre-kindergarten through twelfth grade in Wells County, North Dakota. It operates two schools: BM Hanson Elementary School and Harvey High School. The district is small, with an enrollment that reflects a rural, close-knit community where most students are white, and a small number come from other racial and ethnic backgrounds. The district did not report free-or-reduced-price-lunch counts, special education rates, or English learner figures in the data we received, so we cannot speak to those dimensions here.
On state assessments, Harvey uses the ND A-PLUS, which is a relatively new assessment with changed cut scores, so the results should be read as a baseline rather than compared to prior years. In mathematics, the early elementary grades show a solid share of students reaching proficiency, with third and sixth graders landing in a moderate-to-strong range. Fourth grade sits more mixed, while fifth, seventh, and eighth grades show lower proficiency, with fifth grade being the weakest. The pattern in English language arts is patchier. Third and fourth grades are mixed, fifth grade dips lower, sixth grade is the lowest across both subjects, and seventh grade recovers to a mixed range before settling back in eighth. Science results are available only for fourth and eighth grades; fourth grade shows a lower band of proficiency, while eighth grade science is one of the district's stronger results. Participation rates were consistent across grades and subjects. Tested counts were not reported, which is common for small districts where reporting a precise number could identify individual students.
The housing market in the district area is affordable relative to both North Dakota and the nation. Typical home values sit well below the state benchmark and far below the national one, and the area has seen a modest decline in values recently. The price-to-income ratio is low, meaning homes here are within reach for local earners compared to much of the country. Mortgage rates are in line with current national trends. Rent data was not available for this district.
Wells County is the county context for this district. We looked for a locale brief to give more detail about Harvey and the surrounding area, but none was provided, so we cannot speak to the town's history, employers, or community character beyond what the housing and enrollment data suggest. Similarly, the district brief turned up no parent-relevant changes, such as new programs, building projects, or leadership shifts, that would clear a lasting-impact bar. This does not mean nothing is happening locally; it means the search did not find changes that meet that threshold.
Graduation rate data was not included in what we received. Since the district does serve high school grades through twelfth grade, this is a gap a parent may want to ask the district about directly. We also did not receive data on course access, staffing ratios, attendance, discipline, Title I status, or specific program offerings such as career and technical education, dual credit, or advanced coursework. Without those, we cannot characterize the breadth of the academic pathway beyond what the assessment results show. A comparison fact-set positioning Harvey against neighboring districts in its county was also absent, so we cannot place its performance in a local peer context.
What the data does show is a small rural district where assessment results vary widely by grade and subject, with some real bright spots in early elementary math and middle school science, and softer stretches in upper elementary and middle grade English. For a family considering this district, the affordable housing and small-school setting are concrete draws. The gaps in the data, especially around graduation, programs, and student support services, are worth raising with the district directly to get a fuller picture before deciding.
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