Highland Elementary School

Highland Elementary School is a public magnet elementary school located in Lake Worth, Florida, serving grades PK-5 with a total enrollment of 899 students. The school is part of the Palm Beach School District, which is ranked 38 out of 67 districts in Florida and has a 2-star rating from SchoolDigger. Unfortunately, Highland Elementary has consistently ranked in the bottom 20% of Florida elementary schools over the past several years, with a ranking between 1711 and 2175 out of around 2,200 schools.

One of the key factors contributing to Highland Elementary's low performance is its significantly higher chronic absenteeism rates compared to the district and state averages. In the 2023-2024 school year, the school had a 31.4% chronic absenteeism rate, compared to the district average of 23.4% and the state average of 23.5%. Additionally, the school consistently underperforms the district and state averages across various academic measures, including English Language Arts (ELA) and Math proficiency rates. For example, in the 2024-2025 school year, only 24-37% of Highland students were proficient in ELA, compared to 56-57% for the district and state. In Math, the school's proficiency rates ranged from 47-67%, while the district and state averaged 55-64%.

When comparing Highland Elementary to the nearby schools in the same district, such as South Olive Elementary and Palmetto Elementary, it becomes clear that Highland is an outlier in terms of academic performance and other key metrics. These nearby schools have significantly higher proficiency rates in ELA and Math, as well as lower chronic absenteeism and free/reduced lunch rates. Despite the high per-student spending and the school's status as a magnet program, Highland Elementary has not shown any meaningful improvement in its statewide ranking or academic performance over the past several years.