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Hightstown High School

Q: Is Hightstown High School a good school?

Hightstown High School ranks 278 th of 434 New Jersey high schools. SchoolDigger rates this school 2 stars out of 5.

Public Grades 9-12

278^th

SchoolDigger Rank ?

of 434 New Jersey High Schools

Better than 36% of New Jersey high schools

Summary

Hightstown High School is a public high school serving grades 9-12 in Hightstown, New Jersey, with a student population of 1,633. The school is part of the East Windsor Regional School District, which is ranked 427 out of 609 districts in the state and has a 2-star rating from SchoolDigger.

Academically, Hightstown High School has consistently ranked in the bottom half of New Jersey high schools over the past decade, with below-average performance on standardized tests. In 2024-2025, only 37.8% of 9th graders were proficient or better in English Language Arts, compared to the state average of 49.9%. The school's math performance is particularly low, with only 9.1% of 10th graders proficient or better in Algebra I, compared to the state average of 17.9%. However, the school's four-year graduation rate has been relatively strong, ranging from 91.1% to 96.3% in recent years.

When compared to nearby high schools, such as Robbinsville High School and the West Windsor-Plainsboro High School North and West Windsor-Plainsboro High School South, Hightstown High School generally performs worse on academic measures. The school's high percentage of students from low-income families, ranging from 30-41%, may be a contributing factor to its academic challenges, as research has shown that socioeconomic status can significantly impact student achievement. To improve, the school may need to focus on targeted interventions, data-driven decision-making, and a comprehensive approach to supporting the diverse needs of its student population.

1,616

Students ?

12.1

Student/teacher ratio ?

$13,837

Per pupil spending ?

47.4%

Free/discounted lunch ?

25 Leshin Lane
Hightstown, NJ 08520-4006

(609) 443-7738

District: East Windsor Regional School District

Feeder schools for Hightstown High School:

Elementary:	Ethel McKnight Elementary School
	Grace N. Rogers Elementary School
	Perry L. Drew Elementary School
	Walter C. Black Elementary School
Middle:	Melvin H. Kreps Middle School

Racial breakdown:

Hispanic:

51.0%

White:

23.0%

Asian:

13.9%

See top rated New Jersey high schools

Compare Hightstown High School to nearby high schools!

At a glance

▼ Ranking trend: Declining — 64th percentile in 2015 → 36th in 2025

Strengths

✓96% graduate in 4 years — above the New Jersey average (91%)

Worth a look

!Test scores below the New Jersey average (40% vs 49% meeting standards)

!Ranking has slipped — down 28 percentile points since 2015

!Geometry scores 29 pts below the New Jersey average

Students meeting standards (2024-2025) ?

This school40%

District avg43%

New Jersey avg49%

278^th of 434

New Jersey public high schools ?

Bottom 36%▼ down 28 pts since 2015

From top 36% (2015) to bottom 36% (2025)

See the entire ranking list of New Jersey High Schools →

★★★★★

SchoolDigger rating ?

427^th of 609East Windsor Regional School District among New Jersey 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	New Jersey percentile	Rating
2025	37.4	278 of 434	35.9%	★★☆☆☆
2024	44.1	234 of 429	45.5%	★★☆☆☆
2023	28.4	285 of 422	32.5%	★★☆☆☆
2022	29.4	277 of 415	33.3%	★★☆☆☆
2021	50.4	154 of 405	62.0%	★★★☆☆
2019	40.5	218 of 416	47.6%	★★☆☆☆
2018	45.7	182 of 415	56.1%	★★★☆☆
2017	44.6	190 of 411	53.8%	★★★☆☆
2016	42.8	201 of 409	50.9%	★★★☆☆
2015	49.4	146 of 406	64.0%	★★★☆☆
2014	60.1	217 of 411	47.2%	★★☆☆☆
2013	59.4	211 of 396	46.7%	★★☆☆☆
2012	65.4	170 of 388	56.2%	★★★☆☆
2011	48.3	255 of 378	32.5%	★★☆☆☆
2010	54.3	227 of 371	38.8%	★★☆☆☆
2009	52.7	229 of 370	38.1%	★★☆☆☆
2008	62.8	165 of 359	54.0%	★★★☆☆
2007	47.2	240 of 361	33.5%	★★☆☆☆
2006	52.8	228 of 357	36.1%	★★☆☆☆
2005	46.1	236 of 351	32.8%	★★☆☆☆
2004	47.0	235 of 348	32.5%	★★☆☆☆
2003	48.2	223 of 343	35.0%	★★☆☆☆

African American

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	New Jersey percentile	Rating
2025	58.4	86 of 283	69.6%	★★★★☆
2024	74.3	37 of 282	86.9%	★★★★☆
2023	49.4	81 of 250	67.6%	★★★☆☆
2022	44.1	111 of 256	56.6%	★★★☆☆
2021	53.9	83 of 247	66.4%	★★★☆☆
2019	56.1	86 of 254	66.1%	★★★☆☆
2018	59.1	71 of 266	73.3%	★★★★☆

Asian

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	New Jersey percentile	Rating
2025	57.0	75 of 190	60.5%	★★★☆☆
2024	30.6	145 of 191	24.1%	★☆☆☆☆
2023	35.1	107 of 172	37.8%	★★☆☆☆
2022	32.7	123 of 175	29.7%	★★☆☆☆
2021	32.3	122 of 165	26.1%	★☆☆☆☆
2019	27.0	155 of 191	18.8%	★☆☆☆☆
2018	35.7	137 of 198	30.8%	★★☆☆☆

English Language Learner

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	New Jersey percentile	Rating
2025	27.9	164 of 215	23.7%	★☆☆☆☆
2024	31.7	126 of 191	34.0%	★★☆☆☆
2023	33.0	101 of 161	37.3%	★★☆☆☆
2022	28.1	103 of 137	24.8%	★☆☆☆☆
2021	40.5	46 of 101	54.5%	★★★☆☆
2019	50.7	49 of 138	64.5%	★★★☆☆
2018	41.2	70 of 146	52.1%	★★★☆☆

Female

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	New Jersey percentile	Rating
2025	38.5	275 of 426	35.4%	★★☆☆☆
2024	58.3	160 of 420	61.9%	★★★☆☆
2023	24.1	300 of 416	27.9%	★☆☆☆☆
2022	33.3	249 of 414	39.9%	★★☆☆☆
2021	12.1	372 of 402	7.5%	☆☆☆☆☆
2019	45.2	198 of 408	51.5%	★★★☆☆
2018	49.5	176 of 403	56.3%	★★★☆☆

Hispanic

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	New Jersey percentile	Rating
2025	27.4	311 of 406	23.4%	★☆☆☆☆
2024	38.8	245 of 403	39.2%	★★☆☆☆
2023	26.0	288 of 385	25.2%	★☆☆☆☆
2022	26.1	282 of 382	26.2%	★☆☆☆☆
2021	37.2	220 of 374	41.2%	★★☆☆☆
2019	32.5	239 of 364	34.3%	★★☆☆☆
2018	38.0	214 of 368	41.8%	★★☆☆☆

Low Socio Economic Status

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	New Jersey percentile	Rating
2025	29.2	275 of 377	27.1%	★☆☆☆☆
2024	50.3	154 of 358	57.0%	★★★☆☆
2023	30.8	240 of 344	30.2%	★★☆☆☆
2022	29.5	227 of 324	29.9%	★★☆☆☆
2021	37.8	201 of 326	38.3%	★★☆☆☆
2019	42.9	164 of 347	52.7%	★★★☆☆
2018	46.0	155 of 345	55.1%	★★★☆☆

Male

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	New Jersey percentile	Rating
2025	41.9	228 of 426	46.5%	★★☆☆☆
2024	41.9	233 of 419	44.4%	★★☆☆☆
2023	35.1	222 of 414	46.4%	★★☆☆☆
2022	34.1	223 of 410	45.6%	★★☆☆☆
2021	51.2	144 of 402	64.2%	★★★☆☆
2019	44.4	181 of 407	55.5%	★★★☆☆
2018	48.2	162 of 405	60.0%	★★★☆☆

Special Education

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	New Jersey percentile	Rating
2025	51.6	127 of 359	64.6%	★★★☆☆
2024	56.7	108 of 361	70.1%	★★★★☆
2023	43.2	152 of 339	55.2%	★★★☆☆
2022	56.0	95 of 344	72.4%	★★★★☆
2019	49.9	137 of 349	60.7%	★★★☆☆
2018	39.7	187 of 355	47.3%	★★☆☆☆

White

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	New Jersey percentile	Rating
2025	47.6	181 of 347	47.8%	★★☆☆☆
2024	56.1	134 of 345	61.2%	★★★☆☆
2023	32.5	199 of 335	40.6%	★★☆☆☆
2022	41.9	160 of 335	52.2%	★★★☆☆
2021	46.6	126 of 336	62.5%	★★★☆☆
2019	53.8	117 of 339	65.5%	★★★☆☆
2018	55.2	108 of 340	68.2%	★★★☆☆

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 (2025)70th percentile+34 vs school

Special Education (2025)65th percentile+29 vs school

Asian (2025)61st percentile+25 vs school

White (2025)48th percentile+12 vs school

Male (2025)46th percentile+11 vs school

Female (2025)35th percentile~ school

Low Socio Economic Status (2025)27th percentile-9 vs school

English Language Learner (2025)24th percentile-12 vs school

Hispanic (2025)23rd percentile-13 vs school

By subject vs New Jersey (2024-2025) ?

Algebra II88%+6 vs state

English Language Arts79%~ state avg

Mathematics55%-3 vs state

Science30%~ state avg

Geometry27%-29 vs state

Algebra I7%-24 vs state

5.0

1 rating · 1 written review

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What people are saying

by a parent
Wednesday, February 19, 2020

i have had 3 children go there. they have an excellent music and AP program. Plenty of electives. Foreign exchange trips. Dual enrollment college programs. Excellent sports and a robust guidance office for college admission. They have Votech training and advanced honors placement. Each year many students receive scholarships and all major colleges stop by and tour the school. One of my children performed at Disney world, another went to Europe as a Student ambassador. My youngest is going to Spain this Summer while her sister is graduating Rutgers on the Dean's list and less than 6500 in debt even though we did not qualify for Pell. Close Quote

Schools Near Hightstown High School

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

School													Students/Teachers											Ranking (2025)				Ranking (2024)				NJGPA English Language Arts (2025)	NJGPA Mathematics (2025)	NJSLA-S Science (2025)	NJSLA English Language Arts (2025)	NJSLA Algebra I (2025)			NJSLA Geometry (2025)		NJSLA Algebra II (2025)		Per Pupil Expenditures (2019)
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	NJGPA English Language Arts 11th Grade	NJGPA Mathematics 11th Grade	NJSLA-S Science 11th Grade	NJSLA English Language Arts 9th Grade	NJSLA Algebra I 9th Grade	NJSLA Algebra I 10th Grade	NJSLA Algebra I End of Course	NJSLA Geometry 9th Grade	NJSLA Geometry End of Course	NJSLA Algebra II 9th Grade	NJSLA Algebra II End of Course	Per Pupil Expenditures Total	Sub-total from Federal Funds	Sub-total from State/Local Funds
Hightstown High School	Public	9-12	25 Leshin Lane	Hightstown	08520	Mercer County	East Windsor Regional School District	No	(n/a)	No	Yes	(609) 443-7738	1,616	133	12.1	47.4%	371 (23.0%)	153 (9.5%)	824 (51.0%)	225 (13.9%)	1 (0.1%)	2 (0.1%)	35 (2.2%)	37.4	278^th of 434 public high schools	35.9%		44.1	234^th of 429 public high schools	45.5%	44	79.2	55.4	30.1	37.8	7.3	9.1	7.4	26.6	26.6	87.9	87.9	$13,837	$184	$13,653
Robbinsville High School	Public	9-12	155 Robbinsville Edinburg Rd	Robbinsville	08691	Mercer County	Robbinsville Public School District	No	(n/a)	No	No	(609) 632-0950	1,046	79	13.2	7.2%	505 (48.3%)	29 (2.8%)	65 (6.2%)	421 (40.2%)	1 (0.1%)	0 (0.0%)	24 (2.3%)	76.8	62^nd of 434 public high schools	85.7%		78.7	61^st of 429 public high schools	85.8%	1		79.8	57.3	71.8	39.3		39.3	100.0	100.0	88.6	88.6	$5,500		$5,500
West Windsor-Plainsboro High School North	Public	9-12	90 Grovers Mill Road	Plainsboro	08536	Middlesex County	West Windsor-Plainsboro Regional School District	No	(n/a)	No	Yes	(609) 716-5100	1,510	117	12.8	6.3%	199 (13.2%)	64 (4.2%)	61 (4.0%)	1,157 (76.6%)	2 (0.1%)	1 (0.1%)	25 (1.7%)	70.2	94^th of 434 public high schools	78.3%		64.5	128^th of 429 public high schools	70.2%	34			64.5	84.3	12.7		12.7	100.0	100.0	76.3	76.3	$14,022	$110	$13,912
West Windsor-Plainsboro High School South	Public	9-12	346 Clarksville Road	West Windsor	08550	Mercer County	West Windsor-Plainsboro Regional School District	No	(n/a)	No	Yes	(609) 716-5050	1,627	119	13.7	9.3%	214 (13.2%)	82 (5.0%)	93 (5.7%)	1,201 (73.8%)	1 (0.1%)	1 (0.1%)	35 (2.2%)	67.7	106^th of 434 public high schools	75.6%		71	94^th of 429 public high schools	78.1%	12		87.5	68.4	81.4	33.9		33.3	99.0	99.0	58.9	58.9	$12,191	$163	$12,028
MCVS Assunpink Shared Time Center/Rubino	Public	7-12	1085 Old Trenton Rd	Trenton	08690	Mercer County	Area Vocational Technical School District of Mercer County	No	(n/a)	No	No	(609) 586-2129	96	10	10.1	66.7%	8 (8.3%)	66 (68.8%)	21 (21.9%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)								(n/a)												$22,784		$22,784
Mercer County Technical School Health Sciences Academy	Public	9-12	1085 Old Trenton Road	Trenton	08690	Mercer County	Area Vocational Technical School District of Mercer County	No	(n/a)	No	No	(609) 586-5144	137	9	15.7	47.4%	15 (10.9%)	24 (17.5%)	53 (38.7%)	34 (24.8%)	3 (2.2%)	0 (0.0%)	7 (5.1%)	46.6	225^th of 434 public high schools	48.2%		80.6	53^rd of 429 public high schools	87.6%	172		72.7	21.2	68.4	3.8		3.8	27.3	27.3			$6,185		$6,185
Mercer High School	Public	9-12	1030 Old Trenton Road	Hamilton	08690	Mercer County	Mercer County Special Services School District	No	(n/a)	No	No	(609) 588-8454	200	33	6.0	49.5%	39 (19.5%)	78 (39.0%)	65 (32.5%)	13 (6.5%)	1 (0.5%)	0 (0.0%)	4 (2.0%)								(n/a)												$52,381		$52,381
Monroe Township High School	Public	9-12	200 Schoolhouse Road	Monroe Township	08831	Middlesex County	Monroe Township School District	No	(n/a)	No	Yes	(732) 521-2882	2,583	187	13.8	13.9%	885 (34.3%)	103 (4.0%)	356 (13.8%)	1,197 (46.3%)	0 (0.0%)	2 (0.1%)	38 (1.5%)	71.3	90^th of 434 public high schools	79.3%		76	73^rd of 429 public high schools	83.0%	17	89.2	75.1	42.9	58.6	41.4		41.4	70.0	70.0	97.1	97.1	$13,410	$49	$13,361
Allentown High School	Public	9-12	27 High Street	Allentown	08501	Monmouth County	Upper Freehold Regional School District	No	(n/a)	No	Yes	(609) 259-7292	1,033	75	13.7	6.3%	823 (79.7%)	33 (3.2%)	81 (7.8%)	77 (7.5%)	1 (0.1%)	0 (0.0%)	15 (1.5%)	65.7	114^th of 434 public high schools	73.7%		60.4	142^nd of 429 public high schools	66.9%	28	89.4	78.6	30.5	50.5	33.7		32.4	63.8	62.5	93.3	93.3	$8,870	$234	$8,636
Hamilton East - Steinert	Public	9-12	2900 Klockner Road	Hamilton	08690	Mercer County	Hamilton Township Public School District	No	(n/a)	No	No	(609) 631-4150	1,437	104	13.7	36.6%	738 (51.4%)	161 (11.2%)	430 (29.9%)	56 (3.9%)	0 (0.0%)	3 (0.2%)	49 (3.4%)	33	300^th of 434 public high schools	30.9%		29.7	313^th of 429 public high schools	27.0%	13	74.8	48.7	21.1	33.5	12.6		12.7	60.4	58.2	88.3	83.3	$9,572	$26	$9,546

Frequently Asked Questions about Hightstown High School

Is Hightstown High School a good school?

Hightstown High School ranks 278^th of 434 New Jersey high schools. SchoolDigger rates this school 2 stars out of 5.

What district is Hightstown High School in?

East Windsor Regional School District

How many students attend Hightstown High School?

In the 2024-25 school year, 1,616 students attended Hightstown High School.

What schools feed into Hightstown High School?

Hightstown High School is fed by the following schools:

Elementary : Ethel McKnight Elementary School
Elementary : Grace N. Rogers Elementary School
Elementary : Perry L. Drew Elementary School
Elementary : Walter C. Black Elementary School
Middle : Melvin H. Kreps Middle School

What is the racial makeup of Hightstown High School?

Students at Hightstown High School are 51% Hispanic, 23% White, 14% Asian, 9% African American, 2% Two or more races.

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