Dr. Henry H. Davis Elementary School, Camden NJ

Original Research by School Decision on Dr. Henry H. Davis Elementary School

Dr. Henry H. Davis Elementary School serves students from pre-kindergarten through eighth grade in the Camden City School District. It is a regular public school located in the city's Cramer Street neighborhood, a dense urban setting within a small, post-industrial city that sits directly across the Delaware River from Philadelphia. The school's enrollment is predominantly Hispanic, with a substantial Black student population and small shares of Asian and White students. About half of the students come from households with incomes low enough to qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, a share that is modest compared to many urban districts in the region where that figure is higher.

State testing data from the New Jersey Student Learning Assessments shows that academic proficiency across math, English language arts, and science is low and declines notably as students move through the grades. In math, the share of students scoring proficient or above falls from about a quarter of third graders to very small shares in grades five through eight, including results where no students reached proficiency in grades six and eight. In English language arts, proficiency rates hover in the low teens to low twenties for most tested grades, with a modestly higher result in seventh grade at about three in ten students. In science, tested in grades five and eight, the rates are very low. When the school’s overall proficiency across all tested subjects and grades is compared to other districts in Camden County, it falls in the bottom quartile. A parent reading these results will see that the school serves a student body facing considerable academic challenges; it would be reasonable to ask how the school targets additional support, particularly in the upper elementary and middle school grades where performance drops most sharply.

Because Dr. Henry H. Davis Elementary goes only through eighth grade, there is no graduation rate to report, and data on chronic absenteeism and other civil rights indicators were not available in the profile. The school's program offerings, staffing ratios, and discipline data are also absent from the information provided, so a parent may want to ask the school directly about the breadth of academic and enrichment programs available.

The housing market around the school is modest by regional standards. Home values in the area are well below the New Jersey state average and have seen a slight decline recently. The county housing market overall shows an increase in active listings and median prices, suggesting a market that is active but not overheated. For a family considering a move to this part of Camden, the housing stock is older urban fabric, including row houses and institutional buildings, and the city continues to pursue redevelopment along the waterfront and downtown that has attracted corporate headquarters and medical-educational anchors like Cooper University Hospital and Rutgers-Camden. Despite these investments, the city's population has continued a slow decline.

Camden is a place where poverty rates are significant and the economy has shifted from industrial manufacturing to healthcare and education. The school sits in a neighborhood that is part of this larger urban context. For families already living in this corner of Camden, Dr. Henry H. Davis Elementary is the neighborhood school for pre-K through eighth grade. For families considering it, the academic data point to a school where proficiency levels are well below county averages, and the broader city context is one of ongoing but incomplete redevelopment. The school's size and demographics reflect the surrounding community, and a parent would want to understand what specific academic interventions and supports are in place to address the achievement gaps the state tests reveal.

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Academic performance

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

Math

Grade 328%

School 28% · District 21% · ▲ 8 pts above district

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

Grade 423%

School 23% · District 14% · ▲ 9 pts above district

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

Grade 57%

School 7% · District 8% · ▼ 1 pts below district

▼ 36 pts below state median · ▼ 32 pts below county median

Grade 60%

School 0% · District 5% · ▼ 5 pts below district

▼ 34 pts below state median · ▼ 22 pts below county median

Grade 79%

School 9% · District 7% · ▲ 2 pts above district

▼ 26 pts below state median · ▼ 17 pts below county median

Grade 80%

School 0% · District 2% · ▼ 2 pts below district

▼ 17 pts below state median · ▼ 9 pts below county median

English language arts

Grade 322%

School 22% · District 15% · ▲ 7 pts above district

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

Grade 414%

School 14% · District 26% · ▼ 11 pts below district

▼ 41 pts below state median · ▼ 36 pts below county median

Grade 517%

School 17% · District 16% · ▲ 1 pts above district

▼ 37 pts below state median · ▼ 35 pts below county median

Grade 68%

School 8% · District 11% · ▼ 3 pts below district

▼ 46 pts below state median · ▼ 37 pts below county median

Grade 731%

School 31% · District 11% · ▲ 20 pts above district

▼ 26 pts below state median · ▼ 13 pts below county median

Grade 818%

School 18% · District 9% · ▲ 9 pts above district

▼ 40 pts below state median · ▼ 33 pts below county median

Science

Grade 56%

School 6% · District 6%

▼ 22 pts below state median · ▼ 22 pts below county median

Grade 80%

School 0% · District 0%

▼ 13 pts below state median · ▼ 9 pts below county median

This schoolCamden City School District, 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.