Summary:
Zip code 30360 in Doraville, GA, is served by a single elementary school, Hightower Elementary School, part of the DeKalb County School District, which enrolls 604 students in grades PK through 5.
Hightower Elementary is a high-need school, with 88.58% of students qualifying for free/reduced lunch, yet it receives substantial resources: per-student spending is $19,101 and the student-teacher ratio is a favorable 12.3:1. The school has shown meaningful progress in recent years, climbing from the 5th percentile statewide in 2023-2024 to the 15th percentile in 2025-2026, though it still ranks in the bottom quintile. A notable bright spot is chronic absenteeism, which sits at 15.3%—well below the district average of 26.7% and even slightly better than the state average of 17.7%. This is an impressive achievement for a school serving such a high-poverty population and may be contributing to academic gains.
Academically, the school shows a mixed picture. Math proficiency improved significantly in lower grades, with 3rd grade rising from 29.1% to 32.3% and 4th grade jumping from 27.8% to 33.3% year-over-year. However, 5th grade math remains stagnant at 17.7%, creating a 15.6-point internal gap between 4th and 5th grade performance. Science proficiency in 5th grade dropped sharply from 25% to 16.7%, a concerning 8.3-point decline. Compared to district and state averages, Hightower trails across all subjects, with the gap widening in upper grades—for example, 5th grade math lags the district by 14 points and the state by 26.4 points. While the school's upward ranking trend and early-grade math gains are encouraging, sustained focus on upper-grade math and science will be critical for continued improvement.
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