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Highlands Elementary School

Public Grades PK, KG-6

592^nd

SchoolDigger Rank ?

of 680 Alabama Elementary Schools

Better than 13% of Alabama elementary schools

Summary

Highlands Elementary School is a public elementary school in Huntsville, Alabama, serving 380 students in grades PK-6. The school is part of the Huntsville City School District, which is ranked 79 out of 135 districts in the state and has a 2-star rating from SchoolDigger.

Highlands Elementary School faces significant challenges, consistently performing below the Huntsville City and Alabama state averages in standardized test scores across all grade levels and subjects. For example, in the 2024-2025 school year, only 14.52% of 3rd-grade students at Highlands were proficient or better in Mathematics, compared to 39.35% for Huntsville City and 45.47% for the state. The school also has high chronic absenteeism rates, ranging from 13.3% to 18.1% over the past few years, significantly higher than the state average. Additionally, Highlands Elementary has a very high percentage of students eligible for free or reduced-price lunch, ranging from 83.29% to 86.18% in recent years, indicating a high concentration of students from low-socioeconomic backgrounds.

When comparing Highlands Elementary to other nearby schools in the Huntsville City district, it consistently performs worse academically. For instance, the nearby Academy for Science and Foreign Language, a magnet school, outperforms Highlands Elementary by a significant margin in both Mathematics and English Language Arts. Highlands Elementary's performance is particularly low for certain student subgroups, such as Special Education students, who ranked in the bottom 5% of Alabama elementary schools in 2023-2024. The school has consistently ranked in the bottom 20% of Alabama elementary schools over the past several years, with a ranking as low as 652 out of 688 schools in 2016-2017.

370

Students ?

17.0

Student/teacher ratio ?

$10,057

Per pupil spending ?

72.2%

Free/discounted lunch ?

2500 Barney Terrace NW
Huntsville, AL 35810

(256) 428-7200

District: Huntsville City

Students who attend Highlands Elementary School usually attend:

Middle:	Ronald McNair 78
High:	Jemison High School

Racial breakdown:

African American:

70.5%

Hispanic:

17.6%

Two or more races:

4.9%

See top rated Alabama elementary schools

Compare Highlands Elementary School to nearby elementary schools!

At a glance

▼ Ranking trend: Declining — 32nd percentile in 2015 → 13th in 2025

Worth a look

!Test scores below the Alabama average (26% vs 50% meeting standards)

!In the lower quartile statewide (13th percentile)

!Ranking has slipped — down 19 percentile points since 2015

Students meeting standards (2024-2025) ?

This school26%

District avg46%

Alabama avg50%

592^nd of 680

Alabama public elementary schools ?

Bottom 13%▼ down 19 pts since 2015

From bottom 32% (2015) to bottom 13% (2025)

See the entire ranking list of Alabama Elementary Schools →

★★★★★

SchoolDigger rating ?

18^th of 24Elementary Schools in the Huntsville City

79^th of 135Huntsville City among Alabama districts

Statewide rank percentile over time (100 = the top-ranked school in the state; click a legend item to add a student group)

Show full rank history (all student groups)

All Students

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Alabama percentile	Rating
2025	14.5	592 of 680	12.9%	★☆☆☆☆
2024	20.2	548 of 684	19.9%	★☆☆☆☆
2023	17.2	554 of 680	18.5%	★☆☆☆☆
2022	17.4	566 of 687	17.6%	★☆☆☆☆
2021	16.0	587 of 692	15.2%	★☆☆☆☆
2019	13.1	612 of 681	10.1%	★☆☆☆☆
2018	15.7	583 of 680	14.3%	★☆☆☆☆
2017	9.0	652 of 688	5.2%	☆☆☆☆☆
2016	21.1	558 of 691	19.2%	★☆☆☆☆
2015	34.4	470 of 691	32.0%	★★☆☆☆
2014	27.9	534 of 695	23.2%	★☆☆☆☆
2013	50.9	431 of 696	38.1%	★★☆☆☆
2012	57.7	351 of 696	49.6%	★★☆☆☆
2011	43.0	491 of 709	30.7%	★★☆☆☆
2010	16.2	657 of 704	6.7%	☆☆☆☆☆
2009	16.3	649 of 696	6.8%	☆☆☆☆☆
2008	24.2	612 of 698	12.3%	★☆☆☆☆
2007	11.3	667 of 698	4.4%	☆☆☆☆☆
2006	21.2	617 of 689	10.4%	★☆☆☆☆
2005	28.1	565 of 688	17.9%	★☆☆☆☆
2004	44.2	378 of 623	39.3%	★★☆☆☆

African American

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Alabama percentile	Rating
2025	27.7	334 of 427	21.8%	★☆☆☆☆
2024	32.7	297 of 420	29.3%	★☆☆☆☆
2023	35.2	277 of 427	35.1%	★★☆☆☆
2022	30.5	303 of 426	28.9%	★☆☆☆☆
2021	26.7	323 of 426	24.2%	★☆☆☆☆
2019	31.0	322 of 426	24.4%	★☆☆☆☆
2018	31.6	315 of 423	25.5%	★☆☆☆☆

Female

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Alabama percentile	Rating
2025	17.8	542 of 649	16.5%	★☆☆☆☆
2024	18.2	546 of 650	16.0%	★☆☆☆☆
2023	21.5	516 of 645	20.0%	★☆☆☆☆
2022	17.9	545 of 656	16.9%	★☆☆☆☆
2021	20.6	523 of 656	20.3%	★☆☆☆☆
2019	18.4	546 of 646	15.5%	★☆☆☆☆
2018	23.0	517 of 640	19.2%	★☆☆☆☆
2017	13.7	578 of 639	9.5%	☆☆☆☆☆

Low Socio Economic Status

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Alabama percentile	Rating
2025	18.2	577 of 660	12.6%	★☆☆☆☆
2024	26.6	513 of 670	23.4%	★☆☆☆☆
2023	28.2	471 of 623	24.4%	★☆☆☆☆
2022	24.9	509 of 651	21.8%	★☆☆☆☆
2021	22.2	524 of 653	19.8%	★☆☆☆☆
2019	20.2	559 of 649	13.9%	★☆☆☆☆
2018	21.1	551 of 651	15.4%	★☆☆☆☆
2017	12.8	522 of 567	7.9%	☆☆☆☆☆

Male

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Alabama percentile	Rating
2025	16.2	552 of 651	15.2%	★☆☆☆☆
2024	23.9	508 of 655	22.4%	★☆☆☆☆
2023	16.3	544 of 649	16.2%	★☆☆☆☆
2022	18.4	545 of 669	18.5%	★☆☆☆☆
2021	12.9	601 of 669	10.2%	★☆☆☆☆
2019	9.6	617 of 650	5.1%	☆☆☆☆☆
2018	14.1	580 of 650	10.8%	★☆☆☆☆
2017	8.0	615 of 639	3.8%	☆☆☆☆☆

Special Education

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Alabama percentile	Rating
2024	9.3	392 of 395	0.8%	☆☆☆☆☆
2018	17.8	312 of 344	9.3%	☆☆☆☆☆

How student groups rank statewide ? (each group's percentile vs the same group at other schools — higher is better; the +/- beside each compares the group with this school's overall percentile)

African American (2025)22nd percentile+9 vs school

Female (2025)16th percentile+4 vs school

Male (2025)15th percentile~ school

Low Socio Economic Status (2025)13th percentile~ school

Special Education (2024)1st percentile-19 vs school

By subject vs Alabama (2024-2025) ?

English40%-22 vs state

Science18%-25 vs state

Mathematics15%-25 vs state

5.0

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Schools Near Highlands Elementary School

Choose columns to see: Summary School Students/Teachers Ranking Test Scores Finance All

School													Students/Teachers											Ranking (2025)				Ranking (2024)				Summative Assessment Mathematics (2025)				Summative Assessment Science (2025)	Summative Assessment English (2025)				Per Pupil Expenditures (2019)
Name	Type	Grades	Address	City	Zip	County	District	Is Charter	Is Magnet	Is Virtual	Is Title I	Phone	Enrollment	Full-time Teachers	Student/ Teacher Ratio	Free/Discounted Lunch Recipients	White	Black	Hispanic	Asian	American Indian	Pacific Islander	Two or More Races	Average Standard Score (2025)	Statewide Rank (2025)	State Percentile (2025)	SchoolDigger Rating (2025)	Average Standard Score (2024)	Statewide Rank (2024)	State Percentile (2024)	Rank Change from Previous Year	Summative Assessment Mathematics 3rd Grade	Summative Assessment Mathematics 4th Grade	Summative Assessment Mathematics 5th Grade	Summative Assessment Mathematics 6th Grade	Summative Assessment Science 4th Grade	Summative Assessment English 3rd Grade	Summative Assessment English 4th Grade	Summative Assessment English 5th Grade	Summative Assessment English 6th Grade	Per Pupil Expenditures Total	Sub-total from Federal Funds	Sub-total from State/Local Funds
Highlands Elementary School	Public	PK, KG-6	2500 Barney Terrace NW	Huntsville	35810	Madison County	Huntsville City	No	No	No	Yes	(256) 428-7200	370	22	17.0	72.2%	16 (4.3%)	261 (70.5%)	65 (17.6%)	7 (1.9%)	2 (0.5%)	1 (0.3%)	18 (4.9%)	14.5	592^nd of 680 public elementary schools	12.9%		20.2	548^th of 684 public elementary schools	19.9%	44	14.5	24.4	4.6	15.9	17.8	41.0	46.7	40.0	33.3	$10,057	$2,041	$8,016
Academy For Academics Arts Elementary School	Public, Magnet	PK, KG-5	4800 Sparkman Drive NE	Huntsville	35810	Madison County	Huntsville City	No	Yes	No	No	(256) 428-7600	400	23	17.3	48.3%	95 (23.8%)	229 (57.3%)	27 (6.8%)	1 (0.3%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	48 (12.0%)	28.7	483^rd of 680 public elementary schools	29.0%		33.4	473^rd of 684 public elementary schools	30.8%	10	18.5	20.6	23.0		26.5	50.8	41.2	78.4		$10,574	$1,039	$9,535
James Dawson Elementary	Public	PK, KG-6	5308 Mastin Lake Rd NW	Huntsville	35810	Madison County	Huntsville City	No	No	No	Yes	(256) 428-7500	447	26	17.0	70.7%	26 (5.8%)	311 (69.6%)	80 (17.9%)	3 (0.7%)	1 (0.2%)	4 (0.9%)	22 (4.9%)	11.2	625^th of 680 public elementary schools	8.1%		11.3	626^th of 684 public elementary schools	8.5%	1	25.0	18.8	11.1	9.8	17.0	39.6	33.3	38.9	21.2	$10,784	$2,478	$8,304
Montview Elementary School	Public	PK, KG-5	2600 Garvin Rd NW	Huntsville	35810	Madison County	Huntsville City	No	No	No	Yes	(256) 428-7320	213	13	16.5	74.2%	7 (3.3%)	142 (66.7%)	41 (19.2%)	2 (0.9%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	21 (9.9%)	18	560^th of 680 public elementary schools	17.6%		11.9	618^th of 684 public elementary schools	9.6%	58	26.9	16.1	13.9		16.1	65.4	33.3	35.1		$13,217	$3,064	$10,152
Academy For Science Foreign Language	Public, Magnet	PK, KG-5	3221 Mastin Lake Rd	Huntsville	35810	Madison County	Huntsville City	No	Yes	No	No	(256) 428-7000	303	22	13.7	44.2%	55 (18.2%)	177 (58.4%)	35 (11.6%)	3 (1.0%)	3 (1.0%)	0 (0.0%)	30 (9.9%)	69.7	196^th of 680 public elementary schools	71.2%		63.5	234^th of 684 public elementary schools	65.8%	38	67.4	48.3	29.3		58.6	76.1	71.9	70.7		$9,962	$1,114	$8,847
Sonnie Hereford Elementary School	Public	PK, KG-6	2755 Wilson Drive	Huntsville	35816	Madison County	Huntsville City	No	No	No	Yes	(256) 428-7440	578	31	18.6	79.4%	36 (6.2%)	356 (61.6%)	120 (20.8%)	5 (0.9%)	0 (0.0%)	3 (0.5%)	58 (10.0%)	10.9	630^th of 680 public elementary schools	7.4%		15.1	582^nd of 684 public elementary schools	14.9%	48	17.1	10.8	17.7	13.8	7.3	33.3	22.2	51.4	28.8	$9,093	$1,716	$7,376
Lakewood Elementary School	Public	PK, KG-6	3501 Kenwood Dr NW	Huntsville	35810	Madison County	Huntsville City	No	No	No	Yes	(256) 428-7240	397	23	17.3	75.1%	22 (5.5%)	245 (61.7%)	105 (26.4%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	25 (6.3%)	11.9	621^st of 680 public elementary schools	8.7%		9	658^th of 684 public elementary schools	3.8%	37	20.0	11.3	10.7	4.1	13.0	50.8	24.5	30.9	43.8	$10,184	$2,205	$7,978
Rolling Hills Elementary School	Public	PK, KG-6	2901 Hilltop Terrace NW	Huntsville	35810	Madison County	Huntsville City	No	No	No	Yes	(256) 428-7400	483	28	17.0	72.3%	20 (4.1%)	318 (65.8%)	114 (23.6%)	2 (0.4%)	0 (0.0%)	2 (0.4%)	27 (5.6%)	17.4	564^th of 680 public elementary schools	17.1%		13.3	599^th of 684 public elementary schools	12.4%	35	23.6	20.4	27.1	15.1	22.0	36.5	42.6	41.4	35.3	$10,037	$2,504	$7,532
Morris Elementary School	Public	PK, KG-5	4801 Bob Wallace Ave SW	Huntsville	35805	Madison County	Huntsville City	No	No	No	Yes	(256) 428-7340	532	30	18.0	71.2%	53 (10.0%)	263 (49.4%)	172 (32.3%)	3 (0.6%)	4 (0.8%)	2 (0.4%)	35 (6.6%)	12.2	619^th of 680 public elementary schools	9.0%		12.7	603^rd of 684 public elementary schools	11.8%	16	29.2	15.4	6.0		12.8	41.1	33.3	45.5		$8,314	$1,925	$6,388
Martin Luther King Junior Elementary School	Public	PK, KG-5	3112 Meridian St N	Huntsville	35811	Madison County	Huntsville City	No	No	No	Yes	(256) 428-7100	458	27	16.9	79.9%	37 (8.1%)	310 (67.7%)	77 (16.8%)	2 (0.4%)	0 (0.0%)	1 (0.2%)	31 (6.8%)	6.8	668^th of 680 public elementary schools	1.8%		11.3	624^th of 684 public elementary schools	8.8%	44	19.3	8.8	8.2		10.3	34.2	23.5	35.6		$9,541	$2,631	$6,909

Frequently Asked Questions about Highlands Elementary School

How many students attend Highlands Elementary School?

In the 2024-25 school year, 370 students attended Highlands Elementary School.

What schools do graduates of Highlands Elementary School attend?

Students who attend Highlands Elementary School usually go on to attend:

Middle : Ronald McNair 78
High : Jemison High School

What district is Highlands Elementary School in?

Huntsville City

Is Highlands Elementary School a good school?

Highlands Elementary School ranks in the bottom 12.9% of Alabama elementary schools.

What is the racial makeup of Highlands Elementary School?

Students at Highlands Elementary School are 71% African American, 18% Hispanic, 5% Two or more races, 4% White, 2% Asian.

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SchoolDigger data sources: National Center for Education Statistics, U.S. Department of Education, the U.S. Census Bureau and the Alabama State Department of Education.

IMPORTANT DISCLAIMERS: Not all boundaries are included. We make every effort to ensure that boundaries are up-to-date. But it's important to note that these are approximations and are for general informational purposes only. To verify legal descriptions of boundaries or school locations, contact your local tax assessor's office and/or school district.