Harvest Elementary, Fresno CA - Test Scores & Data

Original Research by School Decision on Harvest Elementary

Harvest Elementary is a regular public school serving about a thousand students in kindergarten through sixth grade in the western part of Fresno, in the Central Unified district. The student body is economically challenged: a substantial majority of students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch. The enrollment is ethnically diverse, with roughly half the students identifying as Hispanic, more than a quarter as Asian, and the remainder spread across other groups including white, Black, and multiracial students.

The school's academic performance reflects a district and regional context of lower proficiency. In English language arts, results vary by grade. In the upper grades, results move toward proficiency: sixth graders and fifth graders each achieved proficiency rates around half. In grade four, proficiency dropped sharply to roughly a third, and in third grade it climbed back to about mid-range. Math proficiency is notably lower across all grades. Third grade reached the low-to-mid 40s, sixth grade in the high 30s, and fifth grade in the high 20s. Fourth grade math is a particular weakness, with proficiency in the low teens. Science testing is limited to fifth grade at the elementary level; proficiency there was in the low 30s.

Across tested subjects and grades, Harvest's overall proficiency index places it in the top quartile relative to other schools in Fresno County. That ranking reflects the school's standing against its district and county peers, not against state or national norms; it signals that Harvest is among the stronger-performing schools in its immediate region, though absolute proficiency numbers show that many students across the school fall below state standards in both subjects.

The neighborhoods where Harvest sits are part of Fresno's sprawling west side, an area of single-family homes and modest commercial activity. Housing values in the school's zip code are moderate for California, and rental costs are reasonable. The broader Fresno economy carries a strong agricultural backbone alongside government and service employment, and unemployment is steady. Downtown Fresno, about five miles away, has been the focus of revitalization efforts centered on cultural districts and new housing. Most of Fresno is car-dependent, though some central neighborhoods, including historic areas like Little Italy and Chinatown, are more walkable.

The school is part of Central Unified, which spans the city and suburban fringe. The district underwent a notable change for the 2025-26 school year when a long-standing shared high school facility split into two independent campuses, the Grizzlies and Bengal Tigers, affecting assignment and identity for families moving into high school. The shift has no direct bearing on Harvest itself but signals administrative reorganization in the district.

A parent considering Harvest should understand that the school serves a low-income, diverse community and that absolute academic proficiency is well below state targets in both math and language arts. The school's standing within its county peer group suggests it is working effectively relative to similar schools in its region, but the gap to proficiency benchmarks remains substantial. A parent may want to look further into what intervention and support strategies the school deploys, especially in math and in grade four, where results are notably weaker.

See more original research from School Decision →

Academic performance

How students perform on state tests, by grade, set against the district.

Math

Grade 343%

School 43% · District 43%

even with state median · ▲ 3 pts above county median

Grade 416%

School 16% · District 33% · ▼ 17 pts below district

▼ 21 pts below state median · ▼ 18 pts below county median

Grade 530%

School 30% · District 31% · ▼ 1 pts below district

▼ 1 pts below state median · ▲ 2 pts above county median

Grade 638%

School 38% · District 33% · ▲ 6 pts above district

▲ 8 pts above state median · ▲ 8 pts above county median

English language arts

Grade 347%

School 47% · District 43% · ▲ 4 pts above district

▲ 6 pts above state median · ▲ 8 pts above county median

Grade 434%

School 34% · District 41% · ▼ 7 pts below district

▼ 8 pts below state median · ▼ 4 pts below county median

Grade 550%

School 50% · District 45% · ▲ 5 pts above district

▲ 5 pts above state median · ▲ 8 pts above county median

Grade 652%

School 52% · District 48% · ▲ 4 pts above district

▲ 8 pts above state median · ▲ 10 pts above county median

Science

Grade 530%

School 30% · District 27% · ▲ 3 pts above district

▲ 2 pts above state median · ▲ 7 pts above county median

This schoolCentral Unified, same grade

Graduation rate (ACGR) reflects the federally published Adjusted Cohort Graduation Rate for the most recent year available. We refresh this data annually at the close of each academic year in June. The federal source publishes a banded rate (for example, "90-94%") instead of an exact number for cohorts small enough to risk identifying individual students. The state distribution chart, where shown, plots every school in the state with a published rate or band; schools whose rate is federally suppressed are excluded. Where the federal source publishes a band rather than an exact rate, the school is placed within its band using a stable, ID-derived offset, so its position is consistent across visits.

Proficiency by household income

English language arts

Grade 3Lower-income44%Higher-income57%13 pp gap

Grade 4Lower-income33%Higher-income36%3 pp gap

Grade 5Lower-income50%Higher-income52%3 pp gap

Grade 6Lower-income48%Higher-income65%17 pp gap

Mathematics

Grade 3Lower-income40%Higher-income55%16 pp gap

Grade 4Lower-income16%Higher-income14%3 pp gap

Grade 5Lower-income30%Higher-income29%0 pp gap

Grade 6Lower-income33%Higher-income53%20 pp gap