The top reported proficiency rate is 59% in Science. The lowest is 23% in Math.
Original Research by School Decision on Harding El Sch
Harding Elementary serves grades pre-K through five in Lebanon, Pennsylvania, a small third-class city serving as the county seat in the Lebanon Valley. The city has a walkable downtown core with 19th- and early 20th-century rowhomes, and a working economy centered in health care, government, manufacturing, and logistics. Lebanon County as a whole is described as one of the fastest-growing in Pennsylvania, with families drawn by relatively affordable housing compared to neighboring saturated markets.
The school sits on a campus rather than in downtown proper, on Chestnut Street. Its enrollment is approximately a mid-sized figure for an elementary school, and the student population is predominantly Hispanic, with a smaller share of white students and very small populations of other races and ethnicities. All students in the school qualify for free or reduced-price meals, a marker of the economic circumstances of the families it serves.
Harding's state assessment results reveal a school in significant academic stress. In math, proficiency on Pennsylvania System of School Assessment tests sits at a low level; in English language arts, it is similarly low. Science proficiency is notably stronger, reflecting something different in how the school approaches or supports that content. The math and English results place Harding at the bottom of the proficiency distribution among schools in Lebanon County. A parent may want to look into this further with the school to understand what specific supports are in place for students in reading and mathematics, which are foundational to later learning.
The district backdrop matters here. Lebanon School District recently opened a new junior high school in fall 2024 funded entirely from cash reserves and federal COVID relief without raising taxes, and restructured its grade configuration so that Harding's upper-grade students (now fifth and sixth) will transition to a new intermediate school rather than a traditional middle school. The district also shifted bell schedules district-wide as part of that transition. Additionally, the district relies on state funding for a majority of its operating budget and during the 2025 Pennsylvania budget impasse paused tutoring programs and placed critical positions on hold, a sign of funding fragility that can affect program continuity.
For families considering Harding, the practical picture is an elementary school serving a predominantly Hispanic, economically disadvantaged population in a city experiencing growth and downtown revitalization, but with low academic proficiency in literacy and mathematics. State and federal testing data, the comparison positioning against county peers, and the district's recent structural changes and funding constraints are all factors a family would weigh together when evaluating whether this school matches their child's needs and their own capacity to supplement or advocate for additional support.
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