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Highland High

Q: Is Highland High a good school?

Highland High ranks in the bottom 21.4% of New Mexico high schools.

Q: How many students attend Highland High?

In the 2024-25 school year, 1,144 students attended Highland High.

Q: What is the racial makeup of Highland High?

Students at Highland High are 71% Hispanic, 8% American Indian, 7% White, 6% African American, 5% Two or more races, 2% Asian.

Q: What schools feed into Highland High?

Highland High is fed by the following schools: Elementary : Emerson Elementary Elementary : Hawthorne Elementary Elementary : La Mesa Elementary Elementary : Manzano Mesa Elementary Elementary : Mark Twain Elementary Elementary : Sandia Base Elementary Elementary : Wherry Elementary Elementary : Whittier Elementary Middle : Hayes Middle Middle : Van Buren Middle

Public Grades 9-12

103^rd

SchoolDigger Rank ?

of 131 New Mexico High Schools

Better than 21% of New Mexico high schools

Summary

Highland High is a public high school in Albuquerque, New Mexico, serving 1,169 students in grades 9-12. The school is part of the Albuquerque School District, which is ranked 54 out of 82 districts in the state and has a 2-star rating from SchoolDigger. Over the past several years, Highland High has consistently ranked in the bottom half of New Mexico high schools, with a ranking between 102-164 out of the state's high schools.

Highland High has struggled with low graduation rates, ranging from 66.1% to 78.0% over the past few years, significantly lower than the state average. The school's students also perform well below state and district averages on standardized tests, with only 29.61% of 11th-grade students proficient or better in science, 28.83% in English Language Arts, and just 8.11% in mathematics. Additionally, Highland High has an extremely high percentage of students eligible for free or reduced-price lunch, ranging from 100% to 100.43% over the past few years.

When compared to other high schools in the Albuquerque area, such as Early College Academy and Albuquerque High, Highland High performs significantly worse in terms of test scores, graduation rates, and overall rankings. However, the school's performance for Native American students suggests that it has the potential to improve outcomes for other subgroups as well, and identifying and replicating the strategies that are working for this group could be a starting point for the school's improvement efforts.

1,144

Students ?

13.4

Student/teacher ratio ?

$11,903

Per pupil spending ?

98.7%

Free/discounted lunch ?

4700 Coal Av SE
Albuquerque, NM 87108

(505) 265-3711

District: Albuquerque

Feeder schools for Highland High:

Elementary:	Emerson Elementary
	Hawthorne Elementary
	La Mesa Elementary
	Manzano Mesa Elementary
	More...
	Mark Twain Elementary
	Sandia Base Elementary
	Wherry Elementary
	Whittier Elementary
Middle:	Hayes Middle
	Van Buren Middle

Racial breakdown:

Hispanic:

70.6%

American Indian:

8.2%

White:

7.4%

See top rated New Mexico high schools

Compare Highland High to nearby high schools!

At a glance

▬ Ranking trend: Holding steady — 25th percentile in 2014 → 21st in 2025

Worth a look

!Test scores below the New Mexico average (22% vs 31% meeting standards)

!In the lower quartile statewide (21st percentile)

!Graduation rate below the New Mexico average (68% vs 81%)

Students meeting standards (2024-2025) ?

This school22%

District avg33%

New Mexico avg31%

103^rd of 131

New Mexico public high schools ?

Bottom 21%▼ down 17 pts since 2015

From bottom 38% (2015) to bottom 21% (2025)

See the entire ranking list of New Mexico High Schools →

★★★★★

SchoolDigger rating ?

16^th of 20High Schools in the Albuquerque

54^th of 82Albuquerque among New Mexico 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 Mexico percentile	Rating
2025	21.7	103 of 131	21.4%	★☆☆☆☆
2024	18.4	144 of 172	16.3%	★☆☆☆☆
2023	12.1	161 of 170	5.3%	☆☆☆☆☆
2022	31.7	102 of 177	42.4%	★★☆☆☆
2019	16.6	164 of 181	9.4%	☆☆☆☆☆
2018	15.9	161 of 182	11.5%	★☆☆☆☆
2017	14.7	146 of 158	7.6%	☆☆☆☆☆
2016	23.4	146 of 185	21.1%	★☆☆☆☆
2015	31.8	119 of 193	38.3%	★★☆☆☆
2014	31.4	148 of 198	25.3%	★☆☆☆☆
2013	27.9	130 of 177	26.6%	★☆☆☆☆
2012	38.6	104 of 163	36.2%	★★☆☆☆
2011	30.4	114 of 157	27.4%	★☆☆☆☆
2010	55.5	62 of 154	59.7%	★★★☆☆
2009	33.7	98 of 151	35.1%	★★☆☆☆
2008	45.1	76 of 146	47.9%	★★☆☆☆
2007	30.4	108 of 150	28.0%	★☆☆☆☆
2006	24.5	103 of 134	23.1%	★☆☆☆☆
2005	38.9	79 of 129	38.8%	★★☆☆☆

African American

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	New Mexico percentile	Rating
2022	20.8	20 of 24	16.7%	★☆☆☆☆
2019	5.3	20 of 21	4.8%	☆☆☆☆☆
2018	13.4	14 of 15	6.7%	★☆☆☆☆

Asian

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	New Mexico percentile	Rating
2019	17.5	12 of 14	14.3%	★☆☆☆☆
2018	7.2	14 of 14	0.0%	☆☆☆☆☆

Disabled

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	New Mexico percentile	Rating
2018	26.5	42 of 51	17.6%	★☆☆☆☆

English Language Learner

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	New Mexico percentile	Rating
2024	16.2	36 of 42	14.3%	★☆☆☆☆

Female

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	New Mexico percentile	Rating
2024	18.5	118 of 142	16.9%	★☆☆☆☆
2023	13.2	130 of 143	9.1%	☆☆☆☆☆
2022	32.0	102 of 157	35.0%	★★☆☆☆
2019	13.6	138 of 144	4.2%	☆☆☆☆☆
2018	15.2	137 of 145	5.5%	☆☆☆☆☆

Hispanic

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	New Mexico percentile	Rating
2025	17.6	89 of 98	9.2%	★☆☆☆☆
2024	16.5	117 of 136	14.0%	★☆☆☆☆
2023	11.3	126 of 132	4.5%	☆☆☆☆☆
2022	31.3	96 of 150	36.0%	★★☆☆☆
2019	16.8	131 of 139	5.8%	☆☆☆☆☆
2018	14.6	124 of 133	6.8%	☆☆☆☆☆

Homeless

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	New Mexico percentile	Rating
2024	16.7	1 of 1	0.0%	★★★★★

Low Socio Economic Status

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	New Mexico percentile	Rating
2025	25.1	87 of 115	24.3%	★☆☆☆☆
2024	21.1	102 of 127	19.7%	★☆☆☆☆
2023	15.5	138 of 157	12.1%	★☆☆☆☆
2022	40.8	62 of 154	59.7%	★★★☆☆
2019	20.3	143 of 161	11.2%	★☆☆☆☆
2018	19.5	143 of 164	12.8%	★☆☆☆☆

Male

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	New Mexico percentile	Rating
2024	13.2	138 of 150	8.0%	☆☆☆☆☆
2023	13.7	137 of 146	6.2%	☆☆☆☆☆
2022	27.8	125 of 159	21.4%	★☆☆☆☆
2019	15.0	147 of 151	2.6%	☆☆☆☆☆
2018	13.9	139 of 143	2.8%	☆☆☆☆☆

Military Connected

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	New Mexico percentile	Rating
2022	15.0	22 of 24	8.3%	★☆☆☆☆

Multi-racial

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	New Mexico percentile	Rating
2025	17.7	13 of 14	7.1%	★☆☆☆☆
2024	63.0	7 of 18	61.1%	★★★☆☆
2023	33.0	14 of 23	39.1%	★★☆☆☆
2022	22.3	25 of 31	19.4%	★☆☆☆☆

Native American

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	New Mexico percentile	Rating
2023	80.3	5 of 42	88.1%	★★★★★
2019	6.8	47 of 47	0.0%	☆☆☆☆☆
2018	35.7	31 of 47	34.0%	★★☆☆☆

Special Education

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	New Mexico percentile	Rating
2022	20.4	50 of 58	13.8%	★☆☆☆☆
2019	11.3	62 of 62	0.0%	☆☆☆☆☆

White

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	New Mexico percentile	Rating
2025	18.3	97 of 117	17.1%	★☆☆☆☆
2024	14.0	121 of 136	11.0%	★☆☆☆☆
2023	7.5	154 of 157	1.9%	☆☆☆☆☆
2022	46.2	65 of 133	51.1%	★★★☆☆
2019	20.0	91 of 109	16.5%	★☆☆☆☆
2018	6.0	112 of 115	2.6%	☆☆☆☆☆

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)

Native American (2023)88th percentile+83 vs school

Low Socio Economic Status (2025)24th percentile+3 vs school

Disabled (2018)18th percentile+6 vs school

White (2025)17th percentile-4 vs school

Female (2024)17th percentile~ school

African American (2022)17th percentile-26 vs school

English Language Learner (2024)14th percentile~ school

Asian (2019)14th percentile+5 vs school

Special Education (2022)14th percentile-29 vs school

Hispanic (2025)9th percentile-12 vs school

Military Connected (2022)8th percentile-34 vs school

Male (2024)8th percentile-8 vs school

Multi-racial (2025)7th percentile-14 vs school

Homeless (2024)<1st percentile-16 vs school

By subject vs New Mexico (2024-2025) ?

Science30%-12 vs state

English Language Arts29%-10 vs state

Mathematics8%-4 vs state

5.0

1 rating · 1 written review

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What people are saying

by a parent
Wednesday, May 6, 2015

After transferring my son to HHS in the middle of his sophomore year we came to find that HHS is a school with extremely caring teachers and wonderful administration. Unfortunately for the school it has garnered an extremely bad reputation for being a rough inner city school which is completely false. In the time that my son has been there, graduating this year, he has never once had any problems. he has never been in a fight, harassed, been approached to buy drugs or any other problems that are prevalent in other heights schools. Unfortunately, because of these rumors, the academics and athletics suffer.

I would highly recommend to any parent and/or student that lives in Highland district to stay and give the school an opportunity. Close Quote

Schools Near Highland High

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

School													Students/Teachers											Ranking (2025)				Ranking (2024)				SAT School Day English Language Arts (2025)	SAT School Day Mathematics (2025)	NM-ASR Science (2025)			NM-MSSA English Language Arts (2025)			NM-MSSA Mathematics (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	SAT School Day English Language Arts 11th Grade	SAT School Day Mathematics 11th Grade	NM-ASR Science 8th Grade	NM-ASR Science 11th Grade	NM-ASR Science All Grades	NM-MSSA English Language Arts 6th Grade	NM-MSSA English Language Arts 7th Grade	NM-MSSA English Language Arts All Grades	NM-MSSA Mathematics 6th Grade	NM-MSSA Mathematics 7th Grade	NM-MSSA Mathematics 8th Grade	NM-MSSA Mathematics All Grades	Total
Highland High	Public	9-12	4700 Coal Av SE	Albuquerque	87108	Bernalillo County	Albuquerque	No	(n/a)	No	Yes	(505) 265-3711	1,144	85	13.4	98.7%	85 (7.4%)	73 (6.4%)	808 (70.6%)	24 (2.1%)	94 (8.2%)	2 (0.2%)	58 (5.1%)	21.7	103^rd of 131 public high schools	21.4%		18.4	144^th of 172 public high schools	16.3%	41	28.8	8.1		29.6									$11,903
New Mexico Academy For The Media Arts	Public, Charter	6-12	4401 Central Ave NE Bldg 2	Albuquerque	87108	Bernalillo County	New Mexico Academy For The Media Arts	Yes	(n/a)	No	Yes	(505) 243-1957	109	11	9.7	28.4%	26 (23.9%)	8 (7.3%)	51 (46.8%)	0 (0.0%)	9 (8.3%)	0 (0.0%)	15 (13.8%)	59.5	42^nd of 131 public high schools	67.9%		62.5	51^st of 172 public high schools	70.3%	9	50.0			48.0	42.1	58.3	38.1	45.7					$11,054
Cesar Chavez Community School	Public, Charter	9-12	1325 Palomas Dr SE	Albuquerque	87108	Bernalillo County	Cesar Chavez Community School	Yes	(n/a)	No	Yes	(505) 877-0558	181	18	10.2	100.0%	10 (5.5%)	7 (3.9%)	136 (75.1%)	0 (0.0%)	12 (6.6%)	1 (0.6%)	15 (8.3%)								(n/a)													$11,619
College And Career High School	Public	9-12	525 Buena Vista Dr SE	Albuquerque	87106	Bernalillo County	Albuquerque	No	(n/a)	No	No	(505) 224-4880	280	16	17.3	25.7%	49 (17.5%)	3 (1.1%)	201 (71.8%)	12 (4.3%)	4 (1.4%)	0 (0.0%)	11 (3.9%)	87	18^th of 131 public high schools	86.3%		87.5	18^th of 172 public high schools	89.5%		66.2	33.8		69.1									$7,185
Ecademy	Public, Virtual	9-12	5300 Cutler NE	Albuquerque	87110	Bernalillo County	Albuquerque	No	(n/a)	Yes	Yes	(505) 247-4209	973	109	8.8	99.7%	157 (16.1%)	25 (2.6%)	687 (70.6%)	11 (1.1%)	55 (5.7%)	0 (0.0%)	38 (3.9%)	8.4	128^th of 131 public high schools	2.3%		18.7	142^nd of 172 public high schools	17.4%	14	18.9			16.8									$9,635
Connected	Public, Virtual	9-12	5300 Cutler NE	Albuquerque	87110	Bernalillo County	Albuquerque	No	(n/a)	Yes	(n/a)	(505) 247-4209	0	0			0 ()	0 ()	0 ()	0 ()	0 ()	0 ()	0 ()								(n/a)
Freedom High	Public	9-12	5200 Cutler NE	Albuquerque	87110	Bernalillo County	Albuquerque	No	(n/a)	No	Yes	(505) 884-6012	111	10	10.7	95.5%	17 (15.3%)	4 (3.6%)	75 (67.6%)	2 (1.8%)	8 (7.2%)	0 (0.0%)	5 (4.5%)								(n/a)													$11,512
New Futures High School	Public	7-12	5400 Cutler NE	Albuquerque	87110	Bernalillo County	Albuquerque	No	(n/a)	No	Yes	(505) 883-5680	73	18	4.0	100.0%	6 (8.2%)	1 (1.4%)	55 (75.3%)	0 (0.0%)	7 (9.6%)	0 (0.0%)	4 (5.5%)								(n/a)													$36,833
Albuquerque Institute Of Math & Science	Public, Charter	6-12	933 Bradbury SE	Albuquerque	87106	Bernalillo County	Albuquerque Institute Of Math & Science	Yes	(n/a)	No	Yes	(505) 559-4249	311	16	19.1		58 (18.6%)	3 (1.0%)	149 (47.9%)	51 (16.4%)	5 (1.6%)	0 (0.0%)	45 (14.5%)								(n/a)			84.2		88.9	90.6	92.7	93.3	77.4	94.6	84.2	85.5	$8,884
Career Enrichment	Public	9-12	807 Mountain Rd NE	Albuquerque	87102	Bernalillo County	Albuquerque	No	(n/a)	No	No	(505) 247-3658	0	38	.0		0 ()	0 ()	0 ()	0 ()	0 ()	0 ()	0 ()								(n/a)

Frequently Asked Questions about Highland High

What district is Highland High in?

Albuquerque

What schools feed into Highland High?

Highland High is fed by the following schools:

Elementary : Emerson Elementary
Elementary : Hawthorne Elementary
Elementary : La Mesa Elementary
Elementary : Manzano Mesa Elementary
Elementary : Mark Twain Elementary
Elementary : Sandia Base Elementary
Elementary : Wherry Elementary
Elementary : Whittier Elementary
Middle : Hayes Middle
Middle : Van Buren Middle

How many students attend Highland High?

In the 2024-25 school year, 1,144 students attended Highland High.

What is the racial makeup of Highland High?

Students at Highland High are 71% Hispanic, 8% American Indian, 7% White, 6% African American, 5% Two or more races, 2% Asian.

Is Highland High a good school?

Highland High ranks in the bottom 21.4% of New Mexico high schools.

Rate Highland High!

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Schools in Albuquerque, NM

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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 Mexico Public Education Department.

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.