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Highland Community

Q: Is Highland Community a good school?

Highland Community ranks in the bottom 0.8% of California elementary schools.

Q: How many students attend Highland Community?

In the 2024-25 school year, 457 students attended Highland Community.

Q: What is the racial makeup of Highland Community?

Students at Highland Community are 78% Hispanic, 16% African American, 4% Two or more races, 1% Asian.

Q: What schools do graduates of Highland Community attend?

Students who attend Highland Community usually go on to attend: High : Castlemont High

Public Grades K-5

5813^th

SchoolDigger Rank ?

of 5,857 California Elementary Schools

Better than 1% of California elementary schools

Summary

Highland Community is a public elementary school (grades K-5) serving 457 students in a high-need neighborhood of East Oakland within the Oakland Unified district, where nearly every student qualifies for free or reduced-price lunch.

The school faces significant challenges, with academic proficiency in English, math, and science below 11% and ranking in the bottom 1% of California schools; however, it's important to note that Highland Community performs slightly better in some subjects than its closest district neighbors like East Oakland Pride Elementary and Markham Elementary. A promising sign is the school's reduction in chronic absenteeism, which at 32.7% is now lower than several nearby schools, and a notable one-year improvement in outcomes for English Language Learners.

Looking at the broader area, some schools with similar student populations achieve stronger results, suggesting different approaches can make an impact. For instance, the district's ACORN Woodland Elementary, which shares the same community demographics, has much higher attendance and academic scores. Additionally, local charter schools like Cox Academy and Aspire Monarch Academy show higher performance, often with lower per-student spending, highlighting a complex relationship between resources and outcomes in this community.

457

Students ?

22.2

Student/teacher ratio ?

$24,101

Per pupil spending ?

99.3%

Free/discounted lunch ?

8521 A St.
Oakland, CA 94621-1619

(510) 879-2125

District: Oakland Unified

Students who attend Highland Community usually attend:

High:

Castlemont High

Racial breakdown:

Hispanic:

78.1%

African American:

16.0%

Two or more races:

3.7%

See top rated California elementary schools

Compare Highland Community to nearby elementary schools!

At a glance

▬ Ranking trend: Holding steady — 5th percentile in 2013 → 1st in 2025

Worth a look

!Test scores below the California average (8% vs 41% meeting standards)

!In the lower quartile statewide (1st percentile)

!High chronic absenteeism (33% vs 19% California)

Students meeting standards (2024-2025) ?

This school8%

District avg29%

California avg41%

5,813^th of 5,857

California public elementary schools ?

Bottom 1%▼ down 3 pts since 2015

See the entire ranking list of California Elementary Schools →

★★★★★

SchoolDigger rating ?

43^rd of 49Elementary Schools in the Oakland Unified

1194^th of 1,543Oakland Unified 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	5.8	5813 of 5857	0.8%	☆☆☆☆☆
2024	6.2	5833 of 5869	0.6%	☆☆☆☆☆
2023	6.3	5837 of 5859	0.4%	☆☆☆☆☆
2022	8.5	5799 of 5883	1.4%	☆☆☆☆☆
2019	5.5	5743 of 5789	0.8%	☆☆☆☆☆
2018	4.5	5633 of 5662	0.5%	☆☆☆☆☆
2017	7.6	5605 of 5692	1.5%	☆☆☆☆☆
2016	5.8	5587 of 5614	0.5%	☆☆☆☆☆
2015	11.1	5414 of 5611	3.5%	☆☆☆☆☆
2013	10.3	5278 of 5530	4.6%	☆☆☆☆☆
2012	13.9	5026 of 5390	6.8%	☆☆☆☆☆
2011	21.9	4545 of 5377	15.5%	★☆☆☆☆
2010	32.5	3660 of 5314	31.1%	★★☆☆☆
2009	13.6	4826 of 5193	7.1%	☆☆☆☆☆
2008	5.8	5073 of 5113	0.8%	☆☆☆☆☆
2007	3.2	5095 of 5113	0.4%	☆☆☆☆☆
2006	2.5	4807 of 4818	0.2%	☆☆☆☆☆
2005	8.5	4714 of 4822	2.2%	☆☆☆☆☆
2004	10.8	4627 of 4809	3.8%	☆☆☆☆☆

African American

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2025	20.8	497 of 569	12.7%	★☆☆☆☆
2023	15.4	639 of 661	3.3%	☆☆☆☆☆

English Language Learner

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2024	33.0	2343 of 3162	25.9%	★☆☆☆☆
2023	18.6	3185 of 3245	1.8%	☆☆☆☆☆
2022	23.1	3055 of 3311	7.7%	☆☆☆☆☆
2019	21.5	3112 of 3275	5.0%	☆☆☆☆☆
2018	18.7	3118 of 3246	3.9%	☆☆☆☆☆

Female

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2025	5.1	5592 of 5597	0.1%	☆☆☆☆☆
2024	7.0	5577 of 5612	0.6%	☆☆☆☆☆
2023	7.9	5564 of 5609	0.8%	☆☆☆☆☆
2022	7.7	5606 of 5635	0.5%	☆☆☆☆☆
2019	6.4	5447 of 5492	0.8%	☆☆☆☆☆
2018	5.0	5392 of 5413	0.4%	☆☆☆☆☆

Hispanic

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2025	7.7	5059 of 5107	0.9%	☆☆☆☆☆
2024	7.5	5073 of 5107	0.7%	☆☆☆☆☆
2023	8.0	5053 of 5087	0.7%	☆☆☆☆☆
2022	11.4	4970 of 5084	2.2%	☆☆☆☆☆
2019	7.1	4922 of 4963	0.8%	☆☆☆☆☆
2018	6.1	4801 of 4830	0.6%	☆☆☆☆☆

Low Socio Economic Status

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2025	7.0	5414 of 5460	0.8%	☆☆☆☆☆
2024	7.6	5472 of 5517	0.8%	☆☆☆☆☆
2023	7.3	5336 of 5363	0.5%	☆☆☆☆☆
2022	10.8	5155 of 5264	2.1%	☆☆☆☆☆
2019	6.7	5125 of 5173	0.9%	☆☆☆☆☆
2018	5.6	5053 of 5084	0.6%	☆☆☆☆☆

Male

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2025	8.4	5515 of 5628	2.0%	☆☆☆☆☆
2024	6.3	5619 of 5643	0.4%	☆☆☆☆☆
2023	6.6	5626 of 5638	0.2%	☆☆☆☆☆
2022	11.0	5502 of 5663	2.8%	☆☆☆☆☆
2019	6.2	5474 of 5510	0.7%	☆☆☆☆☆
2018	5.2	5407 of 5431	0.4%	☆☆☆☆☆

Special Education

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2023	17.9	2273 of 2420	6.1%	☆☆☆☆☆

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)26th percentile+25 vs school

African American (2025)13th percentile+12 vs school

Special Education (2023)6th percentile+6 vs school

Male (2025)2nd percentile~ school

Hispanic (2025)1st percentile~ school

Low Socio Economic Status (2025)1st percentile~ school

Female (2025)<1st percentile~ school

By subject vs California (2024-2025) ?

English Language Arts/Literacy10%-38 vs state

Mathematics7%-31 vs state

Science6%-27 vs state

★

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Schools Near Highland Community

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 (2024)
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	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
Highland Community	Public	K-5	8521 A St.	Oakland	94621	Alameda County	Oakland Unified	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(510) 879-2125	457	21	22.2	99.3%	0 (0.0%)	73 (16.0%)	357 (78.1%)	6 (1.3%)	3 (0.7%)	1 (0.2%)	17 (3.7%)	5.8	5813^th of 5857 public elementary schools	0.8%		6.2	5833^rd of 5869 public elementary schools	0.6%	20	6.0	6.0	6.6	11.8	13.4	10.5	6.5	7.8	6.0	6.8	86.1	88.9	88.9	86.1	88.9	88.9	$24,101	$3,989	$20,112
EnCompass Academy Elementary	Public	K-5	1025 81st Ave.	Oakland	94621	Alameda County	Oakland Unified	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(510) 879-2181	283	14	20.5	98.2%	17 (6.0%)	32 (11.3%)	221 (78.1%)	5 (1.8%)	0 (0.0%)	3 (1.1%)	5 (1.8%)	14.5	5314^th of 5857 public elementary schools	9.3%		13.1	5470^th of 5869 public elementary schools	6.8%	156	10.6	10.6	10.0	8.7	36.2	18.8	22.5	17.4	17.0	18.8	80.7	86.0	91.2	82.5	80.7	80.7	$26,500	$4,409	$22,091
ACORN Woodland Elementary	Public	K-5	1025 81st Ave.	Oakland	94621	Alameda County	Oakland Unified	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(510) 879-5570	291	12	24.2	97.3%	7 (2.4%)	25 (8.6%)	250 (85.9%)	5 (1.7%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	4 (1.4%)	18.8	4937^th of 5857 public elementary schools	15.7%		19.1	4934^th of 5869 public elementary schools	15.9%	3	13.0	13.0	12.8	19.6	27.8	20.4	27.7	23.9	27.8	26.5	84.1			86.4	90.9	93.2	$24,506	$3,926	$20,580
East Oakland Pride Elementary	Public	K-5	8000 Birch St.	Oakland	94621	Alameda County	Oakland Unified	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(510) 879-2107	314	14	22.4	97.8%	9 (2.9%)	62 (19.7%)	225 (71.7%)	0 (0.0%)	2 (0.6%)	6 (1.9%)	10 (3.2%)	4.1	5852^nd of 5857 public elementary schools	0.1%		4.8	5861^st of 5869 public elementary schools	0.1%	9	1.6	1.6	0.0	4.3	11.1	5.7	2.1	4.2	3.2	3.1	77.1	85.4	91.7	81.3	79.2	81.3	$24,091	$3,994	$20,097
Aspire College Academy	Public, Charter	K-5	8030 Atherton St.	Oakland	94605	Alameda County	Aspire College Academy District	Yes	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(510) 562-8030	206	11	18.7	96.1%	0 (0.0%)	45 (21.8%)	137 (66.5%)	1 (0.5%)	1 (0.5%)	3 (1.5%)	19 (9.2%)	22.7	4620^th of 5857 public elementary schools	21.1%		25.6	4315^th of 5869 public elementary schools	26.5%	305	14.3	14.3	37.0	17.2	23.8	25.5	60.7	10.3	9.5	24.2							$29,738	$4,569	$25,169
Aspire Monarch Academy	Public, Charter	K-5	1445 101st Ave.	Oakland	94603	Alameda County	Aspire Monarch Academy District	Yes	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(510) 568-3101	374	18	20.4	85.0%	2 (0.5%)	12 (3.2%)	355 (94.9%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	2 (0.5%)	3 (0.8%)	25.3	4370^th of 5857 public elementary schools	25.4%		17.1	5116^th of 5869 public elementary schools	12.8%	746	23.7	23.7	21.5	19.7	48.3	29.1	27.3	13.9	30.5	23.7							$22,202	$4,093	$18,109
Markham Elementary	Public	K-5	7220 Krause Ave.	Oakland	94605	Alameda County	Oakland Unified	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(510) 879-2138	327	14	24.2	98.8%	6 (1.8%)	73 (22.3%)	226 (69.1%)	2 (0.6%)	1 (0.3%)	2 (0.6%)	17 (5.2%)	5.1	5836^th of 5857 public elementary schools	0.4%		3.9	5867^th of 5869 public elementary schools	0.0%	31	1.8	1.8	5.7	13.5	13.0	10.7	5.4	7.7	1.8	4.9	80.0	90.0	92.0	88.0	88.0	94.0	$26,583	$3,891	$22,692
Lockwood STEAM Academy Elementary	Public	K-5	6701 International Blvd.	Oakland	94621	Alameda County	Oakland Unified	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(510) 879-2123	678	28	24.6	99.3%	55 (8.1%)	120 (17.7%)	451 (66.5%)	21 (3.1%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	31 (4.6%)	6.4	5799^th of 5857 public elementary schools	1.0%		6.1	5834^th of 5869 public elementary schools	0.6%	35	2.3	2.3	14.6	11.3	9.3	11.5	12.1	9.1	7.0	9.2	84.4	92.6			87.7		$24,473	$3,907	$20,566
Reach Academy Elementary	Public	K-5	9845 Bancroft Ave.	Oakland	94603	Alameda County	Oakland Unified	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(510) 879-2193	425	18	24.2	99.5%	11 (2.6%)	96 (22.6%)	278 (65.4%)	7 (1.6%)	2 (0.5%)	21 (4.9%)	10 (2.4%)	13.7	5377^th of 5857 public elementary schools	8.2%		11.9	5562^nd of 5869 public elementary schools	5.2%	185	15.5	15.5	19.2	20.4	16.1	18.6	25.6	18.2	10.3	18.9	91.8	96.9		92.9	93.9	94.9	$22,960	$3,657	$19,303
Cox Academy	Public, Charter	K-5	9860 Sunnyside St.	Oakland	94603	Alameda County	Cox Academy District	Yes	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(510) 904-6300	446	19	22.9	87.4%	1 (0.2%)	66 (14.8%)	351 (78.7%)	6 (1.3%)	3 (0.7%)	14 (3.1%)	5 (1.1%)	27.4	4182^nd of 5857 public elementary schools	28.6%		23.3	4556^th of 5869 public elementary schools	22.4%	374	21.7	21.7	30.4	15.4	36.8	27.7	40.6	13.9	31.9	29.1	93.0	95.0		94.0	95.0	93.0	$11,710	$2,867	$8,843

Frequently Asked Questions about Highland Community

What is the racial makeup of Highland Community?

Students at Highland Community are 78% Hispanic, 16% African American, 4% Two or more races, 1% Asian.

How many students attend Highland Community?

In the 2024-25 school year, 457 students attended Highland Community.

What district is Highland Community in?

Oakland Unified

Is Highland Community a good school?

Highland Community ranks in the bottom 0.8% of California elementary schools.

What schools do graduates of Highland Community attend?

Students who attend Highland Community usually go on to attend:

High : Castlemont High

Rate Highland Community!

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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.