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Highlands Elementary

Q: Is Highlands Elementary a good school?

Highlands Elementary ranks 3039 th of 5857 California elementary schools. SchoolDigger rates this school 2 stars out of 5.

Public Grades K-5

3039^th

SchoolDigger Rank ?

of 5,857 California Elementary Schools

Better than 48% of California elementary schools

Summary

Highlands Elementary is a public elementary school in Spring Valley, CA, serving 446 students in grades K-6. It is part of the La Mesa-Spring Valley School District, which is ranked 728 out of 1,565 districts in California.

Highlands Elementary consistently underperforms compared to both the district and state averages. The school ranks between 3,000-4,000 out of around 5,800 California elementary schools, with only 44.44% of students proficient or better in English Language Arts in 2024-2025, compared to 48.17% in the district and 48.81% statewide. Highlands Elementary also has high chronic absenteeism rates, ranging from 20.4% to 30.1% in recent years, significantly higher than the district and state averages. The school serves a high-needs student population, with 77.58% to 81.19% of students eligible for free or reduced-price lunch.

Interestingly, nearby schools in the La Mesa-Spring Valley School District, such as Murdock Elementary and Sweetwater Springs Elementary, consistently perform better than Highlands Elementary. Additionally, the public charter school Sparrow Academy also outperforms Highlands Elementary on academic measures. The higher spending per student and student-teacher ratio at Highlands Elementary suggest that the school is allocating additional resources to address the needs of its student population, but these efforts do not appear to be translating into improved academic outcomes.

357

Students ?

27.4

Student/teacher ratio ?

$18,771

Per pupil spending ?

73.9%

Free/discounted lunch ?

3131 South Barcelona St.
Spring Valley, CA 91942-3003

(619) 668-5780

District: La Mesa-Spring Valley

Students who attend Highlands Elementary usually attend:

Middle:	Spring Valley Academy
High:	Monte Vista High

Racial breakdown:

Hispanic:

66.1%

White:

15.4%

African American:

7.3%

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Compare Highlands Elementary to nearby elementary schools!

At a glance

▲ Ranking trend: Rebounding — 29th percentile in 2018 → 48th in 2025

Strengths

✓Ranking is rebounding — up to 48th (2025) from a 29th-percentile low (2018)

Worth a look

!Some student groups rank well below the school's overall statewide standing

!Large classes — about 27 students per teacher

Students meeting standards (2024-2025) ?

This school37%

District avg41%

California avg41%

3,039^th of 5,857

California public elementary schools ?

Bottom 48%▲ up 6 pts since 2015

From bottom 42% (2015) to bottom 48% (2025)

See the entire ranking list of California Elementary Schools →

★★★★★

SchoolDigger rating ?

10^th of 17Elementary Schools in the La Mesa-Spring Valley

723^rd of 1,543La Mesa-Spring Valley among California 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	California percentile	Rating
2025	42.5	3039 of 5857	48.1%	★★☆☆☆
2024	38.9	3243 of 5869	44.7%	★★☆☆☆
2023	33.3	3615 of 5859	38.3%	★★☆☆☆
2022	28.8	3972 of 5883	32.5%	★★☆☆☆
2019	34.2	3597 of 5789	37.9%	★★☆☆☆
2018	27.9	4002 of 5662	29.3%	★☆☆☆☆
2017	30.3	3806 of 5692	33.1%	★★☆☆☆
2016	39.1	3131 of 5614	44.2%	★★☆☆☆
2015	36.4	3238 of 5611	42.3%	★★☆☆☆
2013	52.5	2539 of 5530	54.1%	★★★☆☆
2012	42.1	3128 of 5390	42.0%	★★☆☆☆
2011	50.7	2557 of 5377	52.4%	★★★☆☆
2010	48.2	2678 of 5314	49.6%	★★☆☆☆
2009	58.2	2018 of 5193	61.1%	★★★☆☆
2008	70.5	1379 of 5113	73.0%	★★★★☆
2007	60.1	1821 of 5113	64.4%	★★★☆☆
2006	60.8	1710 of 4818	64.5%	★★★☆☆
2005	68.4	1404 of 4822	70.9%	★★★★☆
2004	78.0	983 of 4809	79.6%	★★★★☆

Disabled

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2022	20.2	2011 of 2227	9.7%	☆☆☆☆☆
2019	43.6	1172 of 2585	54.7%	★★★☆☆
2018	19.4	1995 of 2128	6.3%	☆☆☆☆☆

English Language Learner

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2024	47.5	1322 of 3162	58.2%	★★★☆☆
2023	44.5	1511 of 3245	53.4%	★★★☆☆
2022	48.2	1303 of 3311	60.6%	★★★☆☆
2019	62.6	749 of 3275	77.1%	★★★★☆
2018	50.7	1222 of 3246	62.4%	★★★☆☆

Female

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2025	42.3	2934 of 5597	47.6%	★★☆☆☆
2024	50.1	2412 of 5612	57.0%	★★★☆☆
2023	33.0	3502 of 5609	37.6%	★★☆☆☆
2022	33.0	3492 of 5635	38.0%	★★☆☆☆
2019	35.1	3406 of 5492	38.0%	★★☆☆☆
2018	28.8	3849 of 5413	28.9%	★☆☆☆☆

Hispanic

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2025	46.0	2571 of 5107	49.7%	★★☆☆☆
2024	55.7	1911 of 5107	62.6%	★★★☆☆
2023	45.3	2536 of 5087	50.1%	★★★☆☆
2022	32.9	3449 of 5084	32.2%	★★☆☆☆
2019	41.4	2859 of 4963	42.4%	★★☆☆☆
2018	46.0	2480 of 4830	48.7%	★★☆☆☆

Low Socio Economic Status

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2025	49.7	2453 of 5460	55.1%	★★★☆☆
2024	43.2	2885 of 5517	47.7%	★★☆☆☆
2023	38.4	3185 of 5363	40.6%	★★☆☆☆
2022	37.4	3222 of 5264	38.8%	★★☆☆☆
2019	43.7	2847 of 5173	45.0%	★★☆☆☆
2018	35.6	3348 of 5084	34.1%	★★☆☆☆

Male

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2025	43.5	2904 of 5628	48.4%	★★☆☆☆
2024	29.1	3913 of 5643	30.7%	★★☆☆☆
2023	35.1	3402 of 5638	39.7%	★★☆☆☆
2022	27.4	4005 of 5663	29.3%	★☆☆☆☆
2019	33.6	3499 of 5510	36.5%	★★☆☆☆
2018	27.0	3942 of 5431	27.4%	★☆☆☆☆

Special Education

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2024	35.5	1529 of 2635	42.0%	★★☆☆☆
2023	39.2	1245 of 2420	48.6%	★★☆☆☆

White

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2022	26.7	2105 of 2726	22.8%	★☆☆☆☆
2019	21.2	2360 of 2834	16.7%	★☆☆☆☆

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)

English Language Learner (2024)58th percentile+13 vs school

Low Socio Economic Status (2025)55th percentile+7 vs school

Hispanic (2025)50th percentile~ school

Male (2025)48th percentile~ school

Female (2025)48th percentile~ school

Special Education (2024)42nd percentile-3 vs school

White (2022)23rd percentile-10 vs school

Disabled (2022)10th percentile-23 vs school

By subject vs California (2024-2025) ?

English Language Arts/Literacy44%-4 vs state

Science32%~ state avg

Mathematics31%-6 vs state

★

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Schools Near Highlands Elementary

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Ranking:

E Elementary M Middle H High A Alternative P Private

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

School													Students/Teachers											Ranking (2025)				Ranking (2024)				CAST Science (2025)		Smarter Balanced Assessments English Language Arts/Literacy (2025)				Smarter Balanced Assessments Mathematics (2025)				% Completely Immunized (2022)	% Polio (2022)	% Hepatitis B (2022)	% Varicella (2022)	% DTP (2022)	% MMR (2022)	Per Pupil Expenditures (2025)
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 (2025)	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	CAST Science 5th Grade	CAST Science All Grades	Smarter Balanced Assessments English Language Arts/Literacy 3rd Grade	Smarter Balanced Assessments English Language Arts/Literacy 4th Grade	Smarter Balanced Assessments English Language Arts/Literacy 5th Grade	Smarter Balanced Assessments English Language Arts/Literacy All Grades	Smarter Balanced Assessments Mathematics 3rd Grade	Smarter Balanced Assessments Mathematics 4th Grade	Smarter Balanced Assessments Mathematics 5th Grade	Smarter Balanced Assessments Mathematics All Grades	% Completely Immunized KG	% Polio KG	% Hepatitis B KG	% Varicella KG	% DTP KG	% MMR KG	Per Pupil Expenditures Total	Sub-total from Federal Funds	Sub-total from State/Local Funds
Highlands Elementary	Public	K-5	3131 South Barcelona St.	Spring Valley	91942	San Diego County	La Mesa-Spring Valley	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(619) 668-5780	357	13	27.4	73.9%	55 (15.4%)	26 (7.3%)	236 (66.1%)	11 (3.1%)	1 (0.3%)	1 (0.3%)	26 (7.3%)	42.5	3039^th of 5857 public elementary schools	48.1%		38.9	3243^rd of 5869 public elementary schools	44.7%	204	32.1	32.1	33.3	46.7	52.9	44.4	26.9	40.3	24.5	31.1							$18,771	$17,122	$1,649
Sweetwater Springs Elementary	Public	K-5	10129 Austin Dr.	Spring Valley	91941	San Diego County	La Mesa-Spring Valley	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(619) 668-5895	378	17	22.2	69.8%	65 (17.2%)	52 (13.8%)	191 (50.5%)	32 (8.5%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	38 (10.1%)	44.7	2904^th of 5857 public elementary schools	50.4%		49.2	2595^th of 5869 public elementary schools	55.8%	309	24.2	24.2	42.0	37.3	59.7	47.2	38.0	30.2	35.5	34.6	86.8	86.8		86.8	86.8	86.8	$20,511	$19,038	$1,473
Loma Elementary	Public	K-5	10355 Loma Ln.	Spring Valley	91941	San Diego County	La Mesa-Spring Valley	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(619) 668-5862	315	11	28.6	73.0%	53 (16.8%)	41 (13.0%)	169 (53.7%)	17 (5.4%)	0 (0.0%)	1 (0.3%)	34 (10.8%)	39.6	3246^th of 5857 public elementary schools	44.6%		28.4	4078^th of 5869 public elementary schools	30.5%	832	30.2	30.2	37.5	33.3	53.9	41.9	27.1	29.2	34.6	30.4							$17,290	$16,188	$1,102
Casa de Oro Elementary	Public	K-5	10227 Ramona Dr.	Spring Valley	91942	San Diego County	La Mesa-Spring Valley	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(619) 668-5715	320	13	24.6	73.8%	51 (15.9%)	26 (8.1%)	204 (63.8%)	11 (3.4%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	28 (8.8%)	23.7	4532^nd of 5857 public elementary schools	22.6%		28.1	4105^th of 5869 public elementary schools	30.1%	427	10.0	10.0	40.5	37.0	20.4	31.8	34.2	28.6	10.2	23.5							$17,272	$15,744	$1,528
Avocado Elementary	Public	K-5	3845 Avocado School Rd.	La Mesa	91941	San Diego County	Cajon Valley Union	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(619) 588-3100	573	23	25.1	73.1%	201 (35.1%)	50 (8.7%)	244 (42.6%)	27 (4.7%)	5 (0.9%)	10 (1.7%)	36 (6.3%)	40.5	3180^th of 5857 public elementary schools	45.7%		45.7	2812^th of 5869 public elementary schools	52.1%	368	30.4	30.4	32.1	37.8	48.2	40.5	31.2	32.9	33.9	32.8							$23,778	$22,252	$1,526
Murdock Elementary	Public	K-5	4354 Conrad Dr.	La Mesa	91941	San Diego County	La Mesa-Spring Valley	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(619) 668-5775	608	25	24.3	43.1%	212 (34.9%)	27 (4.4%)	254 (41.8%)	23 (3.8%)	0 (0.0%)	1 (0.2%)	91 (15.0%)	76.4	1318^th of 5857 public elementary schools	77.5%		78	1244^th of 5869 public elementary schools	78.8%	74	41.2	41.2	65.4	61.9	62.8	63.5	73.3	47.4	39.2	56.2							$16,683	$15,540	$1,143
Bancroft Elementary	Public	K-8	8805 Tyler St.	Spring Valley	91942	San Diego County	La Mesa-Spring Valley	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(619) 668-5890	391	15	25.7	93.1%	15 (3.8%)	31 (7.9%)	301 (77.0%)	15 (3.8%)	0 (0.0%)	2 (0.5%)	26 (6.6%)	15.7	5207^th of 5857 public elementary schools	11.1%		15.2	5283^rd of 5869 public elementary schools	10.0%	76	17.9	17.0	14.7	29.3	26.8	22.5	11.4	25.9	12.5	15.9							$16,820	$15,246	$1,574
Kempton Street Literacy Academy	Public	K-5	740 Kempton St.	Spring Valley	91942	San Diego County	La Mesa-Spring Valley	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(619) 668-5870	480	19	25.2	81.0%	11 (2.3%)	34 (7.1%)	396 (82.5%)	16 (3.3%)	1 (0.2%)	1 (0.2%)	21 (4.4%)	13	5419^th of 5857 public elementary schools	7.5%		14	5387^th of 5869 public elementary schools	8.2%	32	14.1	14.1	19.7	15.7	32.9	23.0	17.5	13.9	6.4	12.6	93.5	94.4	97.2	97.2	96.3	97.2	$16,849	$15,074	$1,775
La Presa Elementary	Public	K-5	519 La Presa St.	Spring Valley	91977	San Diego County	La Mesa-Spring Valley	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(619) 668-5790	346	14	24.7	79.8%	33 (9.5%)	25 (7.2%)	246 (71.1%)	23 (6.6%)	0 (0.0%)	1 (0.3%)	18 (5.2%)	33.2	3704^th of 5857 public elementary schools	36.8%		37.1	3356^th of 5869 public elementary schools	42.8%	348	13.7	13.7	43.9	45.3	31.3	40.5	31.0	38.9	14.0	28.4							$16,444	$15,310	$1,134
Lemon Grove Early Childhood Education Center	Public	K	8425 Palm St.	Lemon Grove	91945	San Diego County	Lemon Grove	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(619) 825-5600	142	8	17.7	51.4%	15 (10.6%)	15 (10.6%)	98 (69.0%)	8 (5.6%)	1 (0.7%)	0 (0.0%)	5 (3.5%)								(n/a)																	$34,955	$31,850	$3,105

Frequently Asked Questions about Highlands Elementary

What district is Highlands Elementary in?

La Mesa-Spring Valley

What is the racial makeup of Highlands Elementary?

Students at Highlands Elementary are 66% Hispanic, 15% White, 7% African American, 7% Two or more races, 3% Asian.

How many students attend Highlands Elementary?

In the 2024-25 school year, 357 students attended Highlands Elementary.

What schools do graduates of Highlands Elementary attend?

Students who attend Highlands Elementary usually go on to attend:

Middle : Spring Valley Academy
High : Monte Vista High

Is Highlands Elementary a good school?

Highlands Elementary ranks 3039^th of 5857 California elementary schools. SchoolDigger rates this school 2 stars out of 5.

Rate Highlands Elementary!

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Latest California data All new data »

2024–25 school spending dataJul 1, 2026

2024–25 attendance dataMar 13, 2026

2024–25 CSA Spanish test scoresDec 22, 2025

2024–25 dropout rates & graduation ratesNov 14, 2025

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