Beta You're viewing our redesigned school page. Prefer the classic layout?

New rankings! SchoolDigger recently updated its California rankings with newly released test scores for the 2025-26 school year.

Be the first to know when we post new rankings!

Highlands Elementary

Public Grades K-5

4909^th

SchoolDigger Rank ?

of 5,804 California Elementary Schools

Better than 15% of California elementary schools

Summary

Highlands Elementary is a K–5 school in Pittsburg, California, serving 480 students in Pittsburg Unified. Its results show a clear subject-area split: math is a relative strength, while English Language Arts/Literacy (ELA) is the weakest area compared with nearby schools.

In 2025–2026, Highlands had 22% proficiency in math, 27% in ELA, and 17% in science. Math was 4 percentage points above the district, while ELA was 3 points below and science was 1 point below. Highlands remained below the state in all three subjects: by 16 points in math, 22 in ELA, and 19 in science. Compared with the 10 nearby schools, Highlands was about 2 points above their average in math and science, but 1 point below it in ELA; it ranked fifth-highest in math and science, and fourth-lowest in ELA. Fifth-grade math is a particular concern within the school: proficiency fell to 13%, from 27% in fourth grade, although that was still the third-highest fifth-grade math result among the 11 schools compared.

Math and science have improved over four years, rising by 7 percentage points each from 2022–2023 to 2025–2026; ELA rose by just 2 points, and its gap with the state widened slightly. SchoolDigger ranks Highlands 4,909th of 5,804 California schools, at the 15th percentile and one star—up from the 9th percentile in 2023–2024, but still low overall. In 2024–2025, 76% of students were free/reduced lunch eligible; the student–teacher ratio was 22.8, above the nearby-school average of 21.8. Chronic absenteeism has fallen from 44% in 2021–2022 to 29% in 2025–2026, but remains above the state’s 18%. SchoolDigger’s group rankings also show a sharp drop for Special Education Students, from the 18th percentile in 2024–2025 to the 1st in 2025–2026, indicating a much lower statewide ranking for this group than the school’s overall ranking. For English Language Learner Students, the ranking fell from the 28th percentile in 2022–2023 to the 2nd in 2023–2024.

480

Students ?

22.8

Student/teacher ratio ?

$25,769

Per pupil spending ?

76.0%

Free/reduced lunch eligible (2024-25) ?

All students in California receive free school meals.

96%

Kindergartners with all required immunizations (2024-25)

Exemptions: 0% (any vaccine)

4141 Harbor St.
Pittsburg, CA 94565-6199

(925) 473-2440

District: Pittsburg Unified

Students who attend Highlands Elementary usually attend:

Middle:	Hillview Junior High
High:	Pittsburg Senior High

Racial breakdown:

Hispanic:

59.2%

African American:

15.4%

Asian:

10.2%

See top rated California elementary schools

Compare Highlands Elementary to nearby elementary schools!

At a glance

▬ Ranking trend: Holding steady — 14th percentile in 2015 → 15th in 2026

Worth a look

!Test scores below the California average (23% vs 42% meeting standards)

!In the lower quartile statewide (15th percentile)

!High chronic absenteeism (29% vs 18% California)

Students meeting standards (2025-2026) ?

This school23%

District avg23%

California avg42%

4,909^th of 5,804

California public elementary schools ?

Bottom 15%▼ down 13 pts since 2016

From bottom 28% (2016) to bottom 15% (2026)

See the entire ranking list of California Elementary Schools →

★★★★★

SchoolDigger rating ?

5^th of 8Elementary Schools in the Pittsburg Unified

882^nd of 968Pittsburg 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
2026	18.8	4909 of 5804	15.4%	★☆☆☆☆
2025	15.6	5212 of 5857	11.0%	★☆☆☆☆
2024	14.8	5319 of 5869	9.4%	☆☆☆☆☆
2023	16.6	5169 of 5859	11.8%	★☆☆☆☆
2022	14.7	5385 of 5883	8.5%	☆☆☆☆☆
2019	19.0	4903 of 5789	15.3%	★☆☆☆☆
2018	25.5	4202 of 5662	25.8%	★☆☆☆☆
2017	18.8	4807 of 5692	15.5%	★☆☆☆☆
2016	26.8	4032 of 5614	28.2%	★☆☆☆☆
2015	18.3	4803 of 5611	14.4%	★☆☆☆☆
2013	16.3	4969 of 5530	10.1%	★☆☆☆☆
2012	19.2	4698 of 5390	12.8%	★☆☆☆☆
2011	10.4	5192 of 5377	3.4%	☆☆☆☆☆
2010	12.3	5042 of 5314	5.1%	☆☆☆☆☆
2009	9.6	5016 of 5193	3.4%	☆☆☆☆☆
2008	13.7	4735 of 5113	7.4%	☆☆☆☆☆
2007	18.2	4434 of 5113	13.3%	★☆☆☆☆
2006	16.6	4246 of 4818	11.9%	★☆☆☆☆
2005	16.0	4254 of 4822	11.8%	★☆☆☆☆
2004	14.4	4385 of 4809	8.8%	☆☆☆☆☆

African American

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2026	27.6	381 of 506	24.7%	★☆☆☆☆
2025	19.4	513 of 569	9.8%	★☆☆☆☆
2024	24.5	484 of 593	18.4%	★☆☆☆☆
2023	30.3	462 of 661	30.1%	★★☆☆☆
2022	19.8	611 of 663	7.8%	☆☆☆☆☆
2019	20.8	655 of 747	12.3%	★☆☆☆☆
2018	23.3	583 of 700	16.7%	★☆☆☆☆

Disabled

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2019	16.5	2556 of 2585	1.1%	☆☆☆☆☆
2018	24.5	1736 of 2128	18.4%	★☆☆☆☆

English Language Learner

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2024	19.2	3101 of 3162	1.9%	☆☆☆☆☆
2023	32.9	2329 of 3245	28.2%	★☆☆☆☆
2022	20.6	3176 of 3311	4.1%	☆☆☆☆☆
2019	25.7	2813 of 3275	14.1%	★☆☆☆☆
2018	44.9	1508 of 3246	53.5%	★★★☆☆

Female

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2026	21.2	4559 of 5569	18.1%	★☆☆☆☆
2025	18.0	4861 of 5597	13.1%	★☆☆☆☆
2024	15.0	5123 of 5612	8.7%	☆☆☆☆☆
2023	19.5	4731 of 5609	15.7%	★☆☆☆☆
2022	15.5	5144 of 5635	8.7%	☆☆☆☆☆
2019	25.1	4215 of 5492	23.3%	★☆☆☆☆
2018	25.2	4150 of 5413	23.3%	★☆☆☆☆

Hispanic

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2026	22.5	4244 of 5085	16.5%	★☆☆☆☆
2025	13.1	4860 of 5107	4.8%	☆☆☆☆☆
2024	12.9	4886 of 5107	4.3%	☆☆☆☆☆
2023	16.2	4711 of 5087	7.4%	☆☆☆☆☆
2022	15.2	4785 of 5084	5.9%	☆☆☆☆☆
2019	31.6	3586 of 4963	27.7%	★☆☆☆☆
2018	37.6	3029 of 4830	37.3%	★★☆☆☆

Low Socio Economic Status

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2026	17.9	4831 of 5412	10.7%	★☆☆☆☆
2025	15.4	5032 of 5460	7.8%	☆☆☆☆☆
2024	15.4	5122 of 5517	7.2%	☆☆☆☆☆
2023	20.4	4673 of 5363	12.9%	★☆☆☆☆
2022	20.2	4642 of 5264	11.8%	★☆☆☆☆
2019	23.9	4303 of 5173	16.8%	★☆☆☆☆
2018	29.0	3853 of 5084	24.2%	★☆☆☆☆

Male

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2026	18.1	4829 of 5590	13.6%	★☆☆☆☆
2025	14.8	5143 of 5628	8.6%	☆☆☆☆☆
2024	16.3	5056 of 5643	10.4%	★☆☆☆☆
2023	15.1	5159 of 5638	8.5%	☆☆☆☆☆
2022	16.0	5117 of 5663	9.6%	☆☆☆☆☆
2019	14.8	5066 of 5510	8.1%	☆☆☆☆☆
2018	26.3	3997 of 5431	26.4%	★☆☆☆☆

Military Connected

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2024	19.5	99 of 118	16.1%	★☆☆☆☆
2023	8.0	134 of 140	4.3%	☆☆☆☆☆
2022	8.9	123 of 130	5.4%	☆☆☆☆☆

Special Education

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2026	15.4	2885 of 2920	1.2%	☆☆☆☆☆
2025	25.0	2324 of 2847	18.4%	★☆☆☆☆
2024	16.1	2603 of 2635	1.2%	☆☆☆☆☆
2023	19.9	2204 of 2420	8.9%	☆☆☆☆☆

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 (2026)25th percentile+9 vs school

Female (2026)18th percentile+3 vs school

Hispanic (2026)17th percentile~ school

Military Connected (2024)16th percentile+7 vs school

Male (2026)14th percentile~ school

Low Socio Economic Status (2026)11th percentile-5 vs school

English Language Learner (2024)2nd percentile-7 vs school

Special Education (2026)1st percentile-14 vs school

Disabled (2019)1st percentile-14 vs school

By subject vs California (2025-2026) ?

English Language Arts/Literacy27%-22 vs state

Mathematics22%-16 vs state

Science17%-19 vs state

★

No ratings yet

Be the first to rate Highlands Elementary and help other families decide.

Rate Highlands Elementary

Have first-hand experience? A quick rating - and a sentence or two about what stands out (teachers, academics, safety, communication) - helps other families know what to expect.

Takes about a minute. We email you a link to verify your review - your address is never shown publicly.

Tap a star to rate

Reviews

No written reviews yet. If you know this school, be the first to share what stands out.

Schools Near Highlands Elementary

Load more schools when map is moved

Ranking:

E Elementary M Middle H High A Alternative P Private

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

School													Students/Teachers											Ranking (2026)				Ranking (2025)				CSA Spanish Overall (2026)				CSA Spanish Listening (2026)				CSA Spanish Writing (2026)				CSA Spanish Reading (2026)				CAST Science (2026)		Smarter Balanced Assessments English Language Arts/Literacy (2026)				Smarter Balanced Assessments Mathematics (2026)				Vaccination (2024-25)		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/reduced lunch (2024-25)	White	Black	Hispanic	Asian	American Indian	Pacific Islander	Two or More Races	Average Standard Score (2026)	Statewide Rank (2026)	State Percentile (2026)	SchoolDigger Rating (2026)	Average Standard Score (2025)	Statewide Rank (2025)	State Percentile (2025)	Rank Change from Previous Year	CSA Spanish Overall 3rd Grade	CSA Spanish Overall 4th Grade	CSA Spanish Overall 5th Grade	CSA Spanish Overall All Grades	CSA Spanish Listening 3rd Grade	CSA Spanish Listening 4th Grade	CSA Spanish Listening 5th Grade	CSA Spanish Listening All Grades	CSA Spanish Writing 3rd Grade	CSA Spanish Writing 4th Grade	CSA Spanish Writing 5th Grade	CSA Spanish Writing All Grades	CSA Spanish Reading 3rd Grade	CSA Spanish Reading 4th Grade	CSA Spanish Reading 5th Grade	CSA Spanish Reading All Grades	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	Vaccination: Kindergartners with all required immunizations	Vaccination: Exemption rate	Per Pupil Expenditures Total	Sub-total from Federal Funds	Sub-total from State/Local Funds
Highlands Elementary	Public	K-5	4141 Harbor St.	Pittsburg	94565	Contra Costa County	Pittsburg Unified	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(925) 473-2440	480	21	22.8	76.0%	37 (7.7%)	74 (15.4%)	284 (59.2%)	49 (10.2%)	5 (1.0%)	2 (0.4%)	29 (6.0%)	18.8	4909^th of 5804 public elementary schools	15.4%		15.6	5212^th of 5857 public elementary schools	11.0%	303																	16.9	16.9	28.6	23.7	29.5	27.0	25.7	26.9	12.8	22.0	96%	0%	$25,769	$25,026	$743
Foothill Elementary	Public	K-5	1200 Jensen Dr.	Pittsburg	94565	Contra Costa County	Pittsburg Unified	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(925) 473-2450	551	26	21.1	72.6%	37 (6.7%)	58 (10.5%)	363 (65.9%)	45 (8.2%)	4 (0.7%)	4 (0.7%)	40 (7.3%)	27.5	4179^th of 5804 public elementary schools	28.0%		33.6	3677^th of 5857 public elementary schools	37.2%	502	14.6	14.6	10.3	13.6	37.5	14.6	24.1	25.6	16.7	31.3	6.9	20.0	12.5	10.4	0.0	8.8	19.8	19.8	28.4	38.1	40.7	36.1	32.4	29.9	12.4	25.0	97%	0%	$27,871	$27,262	$609
Heights Elementary	Public	K-5	163 Alturas Ave.	Pittsburg	94565	Contra Costa County	Pittsburg Unified	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(925) 473-2410	547	23	23.7	83.4%	17 (3.1%)	57 (10.4%)	395 (72.2%)	42 (7.7%)	0 (0.0%)	13 (2.4%)	23 (4.2%)	25.3	4351^st of 5804 public elementary schools	25.0%		28.2	4121^st of 5857 public elementary schools	29.6%	230																	10.3	10.3	27.1	44.3	25.0	33.0	21.1	36.8	16.2	25.6	89%	0%	$25,045	$24,304	$741
Stoneman Elementary	Public	K-5	2929 Loveridge Rd.	Pittsburg	94565	Contra Costa County	Pittsburg Unified	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(925) 473-2430	602	27	22.2	81.2%	23 (3.8%)	149 (24.8%)	307 (51.0%)	68 (11.3%)	1 (0.2%)	12 (2.0%)	42 (7.0%)	9.6	5611^th of 5804 public elementary schools	3.3%		17.1	5093^rd of 5857 public elementary schools	13.0%	518																	8.4	8.4	17.4	19.8	19.6	19.0	17.4	14.8	7.5	13.1	96%	0%	$25,386	$24,748	$638
Los Medanos Elementary	Public	K-5	610 Crowley Ave.	Pittsburg	94565	Contra Costa County	Pittsburg Unified	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(925) 473-2460	665	31	21.8	74.7%	35 (5.3%)	55 (8.3%)	466 (70.1%)	69 (10.4%)	1 (0.2%)	5 (0.8%)	34 (5.1%)	28	4150^th of 5804 public elementary schools	28.5%		33.1	3717^th of 5857 public elementary schools	36.5%	433																	13.7	13.7	42.5	39.8	29.4	36.8	36.8	33.3	9.8	25.8	96%	1%	$24,706	$24,108	$598
Parkside Elementary	Public	K-5	985 West 17th St.	Pittsburg	94565	Contra Costa County	Pittsburg Unified	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(925) 473-2420	565	27	20.9	83.5%	18 (3.2%)	76 (13.5%)	403 (71.3%)	45 (8.0%)	1 (0.2%)	4 (0.7%)	18 (3.2%)	17.5	5010^th of 5804 public elementary schools	13.7%		20	4830^th of 5857 public elementary schools	17.5%	180																	18.3	18.3	29.9	24.1	28.0	27.4	27.6	20.5	6.6	18.0	97%	0%	$25,985	$25,120	$865
Turner Elementary	Public	K-5	4207 Delta Fair Blvd.	Antioch	94509	Contra Costa County	Antioch Unified	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(925) 779-7430	436	23	19.2	73.2%	31 (7.1%)	70 (16.1%)	226 (51.8%)	80 (18.3%)	4 (0.9%)	10 (2.3%)	15 (3.4%)	21.3	4680^th of 5804 public elementary schools	19.4%		14.7	5284^th of 5857 public elementary schools	9.8%	604																	21.0	21.0	28.4	22.7	37.1	29.2	21.2	28.8	16.1	22.2	91%	0%	$28,367	$26,050	$2,317
Marina Vista Elementary	Public	K-5	50 East Eighth St.	Pittsburg	94565	Contra Costa County	Pittsburg Unified	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(925) 473-2490	612	29	20.8	81.2%	26 (4.2%)	122 (19.9%)	358 (58.5%)	43 (7.0%)	2 (0.3%)	9 (1.5%)	52 (8.5%)	23.4	4518^th of 5804 public elementary schools	22.2%		24.8	4425^th of 5857 public elementary schools	24.4%	93																	16.0	16.0	33.3	29.7	41.4	35.3	33.7	16.2	10.9	20.2	94%	0%	$22,531	$21,804	$727
Willow Cove Elementary	Public	K-5	1880 Hanlon Way	Pittsburg	94565	Contra Costa County	Pittsburg Unified	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(925) 473-2470	592	29	20.4	76.9%	16 (2.7%)	48 (8.1%)	485 (81.9%)	31 (5.2%)	0 (0.0%)	2 (0.3%)	10 (1.7%)	12.8	5393^rd of 5804 public elementary schools	7.1%		14.1	5340^th of 5857 public elementary schools	8.8%	53	11.4	9.1	3.1	8.3	36.4	13.6	31.3	26.7	18.2	18.2	3.1	14.2	9.1	6.8	0.0	5.8	12.6	12.6	21.6	20.6	27.7	23.2	18.5	15.5	12.6	15.6	92%	0%	$25,744	$24,988	$756
Mission Elementary	Public	K-5	1711 Mission Dr.	Antioch	94509	Contra Costa County	Antioch Unified	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(925) 779-7435	512	24	20.9	82.6%	40 (7.8%)	121 (23.6%)	242 (47.3%)	62 (12.1%)	5 (1.0%)	18 (3.5%)	24 (4.7%)	17.4	5018^th of 5804 public elementary schools	13.5%		21	4737^th of 5857 public elementary schools	19.1%	281																	19.1	19.1	22.6	28.1	29.7	27.0	22.6	20.5	12.7	18.8	87%	0%	$24,043	$21,868	$2,175

Frequently Asked Questions about Highlands Elementary

What schools do graduates of Highlands Elementary attend?

Students who attend Highlands Elementary usually go on to attend:

Middle : Hillview Junior High
High : Pittsburg Senior High

What is the racial makeup of Highlands Elementary?

Students at Highlands Elementary are 59% Hispanic, 15% African American, 10% Asian, 8% White, 6% Two or more races, 1% American Indian.

How many students attend Highlands Elementary?

In the 2024-25 school year, 480 students attended Highlands Elementary.

Is Highlands Elementary a good school?

Highlands Elementary ranks in the bottom 15.4% of California elementary schools.

What district is Highlands Elementary in?

Pittsburg Unified

Rate Highlands Elementary!

Other helpful SchoolDigger resources...

Compare to nearby schools

CACalifornia Elementary School Rankings

CACalifornia District Rankings

Schools in Pittsburg, CA

Sign up for updates!

Be the first to know when there is an update for Highlands Elementary!

Latest California data All new data »

2013–14 through 2024–25 immunization rates (updated)NewOct 19, 2026

2025–26 attendance data, dropout rates & graduation ratesNewOct 15, 2026

2025–26 CAST, CSA Spanish & Smarter Balanced Assessments scoresNewOct 15, 2026

2024–25 school spending dataJul 1, 2026

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.