The top reported proficiency rate is 49% in Science. The lowest is 21% in Math.
Original Research by School Decision on Sixteenth & Haak El Sch
Sixteenth & Haak Elementary serves the youngest learners in Reading, an urban school of about that size across six grades from pre-K through fourth. Every student qualifies for free or reduced-price lunch, and the enrollment is almost entirely Latino, with a substantial minority of Black and white students. This composition reflects Reading itself, a densely packed city where Spanish-language life is woven through neighborhoods and storefronts, and where families face high material hardship.
The school's tested academic performance, available for grades three and four, shows a clear picture. In English language arts and math on the Pennsylvania System of School Assessment, proficiency sits at roughly one in five students. Science proficiency is higher, near half the students, though that data is from an earlier year. Across the tested subjects and grades reported here, the school's proficiency index places it in the bottom quartile among Berks County's school buildings. A parent should know directly that this is not a high-performing school by state measures, and a parent considering Reading as a place to raise children may want to look further into what academic supports the school and district offer to students working toward state standards.
The broader context matters. Reading School District is an urban, high-poverty district that has been allocated new state aid under Pennsylvania's post-2023 equity reforms, and for the 2025-26 school year the board held the property tax line flat while surrounding wealthier districts raised rates. The city of Reading itself is in the midst of downtown revival: a major tax-increment zone launched in late 2024, historic buildings are being restored with mixed-use housing, and the school district is building a new STEM-focused high school to relieve overcrowding and expand pathway choices at the secondary level. These are signs of intentional reinvestment in the city's future, though they unfold against a long history of disinvestment.
Housing in the Reading zip code is affordable by state and national standards. Median listing prices sit in the low-to-mid range, rents are modest, and families working with conventional down payments and a median household income can own here. The city is unusually walkable for a small Pennsylvania metro, with downtown Penn Street and surrounding neighborhoods scoring high for pedestrian access, transit connectivity via the BARTA bus system, and proximity to parks and the Schuylkill River Trail.
Sixteenth & Haak is a traditional elementary school serving a neighborhood. It sits at the heart of a place where nearly all families are navigating economic constraint, and where state test results have not yet reached proficiency benchmarks. The school's strengths, challenges, and peer group all reflect that starting point.
See more original research from School Decision →