Harvard Elementary vs Charles H. Kim Elementary

Charles H. Kim Elementary ranks #9 of 9,533 California schools, while Harvard Elementary sits at #122 — still a top-2% statewide finish, but the gap between them is substantive. Kim's overall rating of 9.6/10 edges Harvard's 9.2/10, but that 0.4-point margin understates where the real separation lies: in raw academic achievement rather than school quality broadly defined.

The academic score delta is the sharpest contrast between these two schools. Charles H. Kim Elementary posts a 9.5/10 academic score against Harvard Elementary's 8.1/10 — a 1.4-point gap that places Kim among California's elite performers on tested proficiency. Growth scores tell a nearly identical story for both campuses: Harvard Elementary earns a 9.7/10 and Charles H. Kim Elementary a 9.8/10, meaning both schools accelerate students at an exceptional rate regardless of where they start. Strong growth at Harvard despite lower absolute proficiency suggests the school is doing meaningful instructional work with its population.

Harvard Elementary enrolls 250 students against Charles H. Kim Elementary's 472, making Harvard the smaller, more intimate campus by nearly half. Free and reduced-price lunch eligibility runs at 96% at Harvard Elementary versus 88% at Charles H. Kim Elementary — both high-need populations by any standard, but Harvard serves a materially more economically concentrated community. Student-teacher ratios are nearly identical: 17.9:1 at Harvard versus 18.2:1 at Kim, so class size is not a differentiating factor. Sitting just 0.5 miles apart, these schools draw from overlapping neighborhoods yet arrive at meaningfully different outcome profiles.

Both schools serve kindergarten through 5th grade, so families face no structural difference in grade coverage. The distinction that matters is the academic proficiency gap paired with near-equal growth — Charles H. Kim Elementary combines top-decile tested achievement with exceptional growth, while Harvard Elementary delivers elite growth from a lower proficiency baseline, within a smaller, higher-poverty enrollment.