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Highlands Elementary

Public Grades PK, KG-5

903^rd

SchoolDigger Rank ?

of 1,044 Wisconsin Elementary Schools

Better than 14% of Wisconsin elementary schools

Summary

Highlands Elementary is a public elementary school in Appleton, Wisconsin, serving 499 students in grades PK-6. The school is part of the Appleton Area School District, which is ranked 264 out of 426 school districts in the state.

Highlands Elementary faces significant academic challenges, consistently ranking in the bottom 20% of Wisconsin elementary schools with a 1-star rating from SchoolDigger. The school's proficiency rates in English Language Arts and Mathematics are significantly lower than the district and state averages, ranging from 22-33% for 3rd-5th graders compared to 49-54% and 51-55%, respectively. The school also has a higher percentage of economically disadvantaged students, as well as a higher proportion of English Language Learners and students with special needs.

Interestingly, nearby charter schools like Classical School and Fox River Academy consistently outperform Highlands Elementary, ranking in the top 15% and top 5% of Wisconsin elementary schools, respectively. Other nearby public schools, such as Ferber Elementary, Houdini Elementary, and Ronald C. Dunlap Elementary, also outperform Highlands Elementary in academic proficiency, though they still lag behind the top-performing charter schools.

417

Students ?

10.0

Student/teacher ratio ?

$11,283

Per pupil spending ?

60.4%

Free/discounted lunch ?

2037 N Elinor St
Appleton, WI 54914-2299

(920) 852-5480

District: Appleton Area School District

Students who attend Highlands Elementary usually attend:

Middle:	Wilson Middle
High:	West High

Racial breakdown:

White:

41.0%

Asian:

28.8%

Hispanic:

16.1%

See top rated Wisconsin elementary schools

Compare Highlands Elementary to nearby elementary schools!

At a glance

▼ Ranking trend: Declining — 21st percentile in 2015 → 14th in 2025

Strengths

✓Small classes — about 10 students per teacher

Worth a look

!Test scores below the Wisconsin average (30% vs 54% meeting standards)

!In the lower quartile statewide (14th percentile)

!Ranking has slipped — down 7 percentile points since 2015

Students meeting standards (2024-2025) ?

This school30%

District avg53%

Wisconsin avg54%

903^rd of 1,044

Wisconsin public elementary schools ?

Bottom 14%▼ down 8 pts since 2015

From bottom 21% (2015) to bottom 14% (2025)

See the entire ranking list of Wisconsin Elementary Schools →

★★★★★

SchoolDigger rating ?

20^th of 20Elementary Schools in the Appleton Area School District

264^th of 426Appleton Area School District among Wisconsin 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	Wisconsin percentile	Rating
2025	15.3	903 of 1044	13.5%	★☆☆☆☆
2024	22.4	868 of 1061	18.2%	★☆☆☆☆
2023	27.8	837 of 1067	21.6%	★☆☆☆☆
2022	24.1	871 of 1067	18.4%	★☆☆☆☆
2021	18.2	892 of 1050	15.0%	★☆☆☆☆
2019	20.8	875 of 1037	15.6%	★☆☆☆☆
2018	27.9	818 of 1025	20.2%	★☆☆☆☆
2017	28.3	843 of 1071	21.3%	★☆☆☆☆
2016	30.5	823 of 1075	23.4%	★☆☆☆☆
2015	31.6	847 of 1076	21.3%	★☆☆☆☆
2014	25.1	894 of 1061	15.7%	★☆☆☆☆
2013	17.7	935 of 1053	11.2%	★☆☆☆☆
2012	21.9	918 of 1045	12.2%	★☆☆☆☆
2011	21.2	938 of 1046	10.3%	★☆☆☆☆
2010	31.2	862 of 1045	17.5%	★☆☆☆☆
2009	31.8	843 of 1030	18.2%	★☆☆☆☆
2008	24.3	887 of 1021	13.1%	★☆☆☆☆
2007	45.4	475 of 689	31.1%	★★☆☆☆
2006	41.1	520 of 712	27.0%	★☆☆☆☆
2005	63.1	295 of 632	53.3%	★★★☆☆
2004	26.5	515 of 633	18.6%	★☆☆☆☆

Asian

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Wisconsin percentile	Rating
2025	13.5	108 of 116	6.9%	☆☆☆☆☆
2024	18.3	108 of 123	12.2%	★☆☆☆☆
2023	21.5	95 of 116	18.1%	★☆☆☆☆
2022	21.4	91 of 110	17.3%	★☆☆☆☆
2021	19.2	96 of 106	9.4%	★☆☆☆☆
2019	24.2	93 of 122	23.8%	★☆☆☆☆
2018	33.1	64 of 107	40.2%	★★☆☆☆

English Language Learner

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Wisconsin percentile	Rating
2025	21.3	238 of 255	6.7%	☆☆☆☆☆
2024	30.8	196 of 269	27.1%	★☆☆☆☆
2023	39.8	143 of 249	42.6%	★★☆☆☆
2022	35.9	169 of 248	31.9%	★★☆☆☆
2021	30.1	173 of 222	22.1%	★☆☆☆☆
2019	39.0	166 of 275	39.6%	★★☆☆☆
2018	55.1	93 of 287	67.6%	★★★☆☆

Female

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Wisconsin percentile	Rating
2025	22.5	827 of 1001	17.4%	★☆☆☆☆
2024	28.3	794 of 1011	21.5%	★☆☆☆☆
2023	28.3	786 of 1010	22.2%	★☆☆☆☆
2022	22.7	836 of 1017	17.8%	★☆☆☆☆
2021	16.5	872 of 1004	13.1%	★☆☆☆☆
2019	22.3	836 of 1002	16.6%	★☆☆☆☆
2018	31.5	771 of 997	22.7%	★☆☆☆☆

Hispanic

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Wisconsin percentile	Rating
2025	14.1	308 of 322	4.3%	☆☆☆☆☆
2024	35.1	214 of 331	35.3%	★★☆☆☆
2023	39.0	170 of 290	41.4%	★★☆☆☆
2022	42.1	156 of 296	47.3%	★★☆☆☆
2021	39.5	158 of 274	42.3%	★★☆☆☆
2019	38.7	156 of 266	41.4%	★★☆☆☆
2018	45.7	126 of 271	53.5%	★★★☆☆

Low Socio Economic Status

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Wisconsin percentile	Rating
2025	15.7	792 of 870	9.0%	☆☆☆☆☆
2024	27.6	690 of 866	20.3%	★☆☆☆☆
2023	28.1	701 of 871	19.5%	★☆☆☆☆
2022	28.2	681 of 859	20.7%	★☆☆☆☆
2021	22.5	733 of 847	13.5%	★☆☆☆☆
2019	25.6	730 of 874	16.5%	★☆☆☆☆
2018	38.9	586 of 854	31.4%	★★☆☆☆

Male

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Wisconsin percentile	Rating
2025	12.6	887 of 1000	11.3%	★☆☆☆☆
2024	21.0	848 of 1012	16.2%	★☆☆☆☆
2023	30.4	771 of 1011	23.7%	★☆☆☆☆
2022	28.8	799 of 1017	21.4%	★☆☆☆☆
2021	23.9	820 of 1003	18.2%	★☆☆☆☆
2019	22.8	833 of 1002	16.9%	★☆☆☆☆
2018	28.2	797 of 997	20.1%	★☆☆☆☆

Special Education

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Wisconsin percentile	Rating
2025	20.8	680 of 802	15.2%	★☆☆☆☆
2024	30.5	571 of 790	27.7%	★☆☆☆☆
2023	41.6	438 of 770	43.1%	★★☆☆☆
2022	33.0	522 of 748	30.2%	★★☆☆☆
2021	21.8	634 of 746	15.0%	★☆☆☆☆
2019	29.8	546 of 742	26.4%	★☆☆☆☆
2018	33.3	497 of 721	31.1%	★★☆☆☆

White

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Wisconsin percentile	Rating
2025	19.7	630 of 718	12.3%	★☆☆☆☆
2024	23.4	608 of 727	16.4%	★☆☆☆☆
2023	40.3	469 of 715	34.4%	★★☆☆☆
2022	23.0	592 of 704	15.9%	★☆☆☆☆
2021	13.9	649 of 699	7.2%	☆☆☆☆☆
2019	13.2	660 of 718	8.1%	☆☆☆☆☆
2018	15.8	628 of 686	8.5%	☆☆☆☆☆

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)

Female (2025)17th percentile+4 vs school

Special Education (2025)15th percentile~ school

White (2025)12th percentile~ school

Male (2025)11th percentile~ school

Low Socio Economic Status (2025)9th percentile-5 vs school

Asian (2025)7th percentile-7 vs school

English Language Learner (2025)7th percentile-7 vs school

Hispanic (2025)4th percentile-9 vs school

By subject vs Wisconsin (2024-2025) ?

Social Studies39%-24 vs state

Mathematics30%-23 vs state

Science30%-21 vs state

English Language Arts26%-26 vs state

★

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Schools Near Highlands Elementary

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

School													Students/Teachers											Ranking (2025)				Ranking (2024)				Forward Exam English Language Arts (2025)						Forward Exam Mathematics (2025)						Forward Exam Social Studies (2025)		Forward Exam Science (2025)		Per Pupil Expenditures (2021)
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	Forward Exam English Language Arts 3rd Grade	Forward Exam English Language Arts 4th Grade	Forward Exam English Language Arts 5th Grade	Forward Exam English Language Arts 6th Grade	Forward Exam English Language Arts 7th Grade	Forward Exam English Language Arts 8th Grade	Forward Exam Mathematics 3rd Grade	Forward Exam Mathematics 4th Grade	Forward Exam Mathematics 5th Grade	Forward Exam Mathematics 6th Grade	Forward Exam Mathematics 7th Grade	Forward Exam Mathematics 8th Grade	Forward Exam Social Studies 4th Grade	Forward Exam Social Studies 8th Grade	Forward Exam Science 4th Grade	Forward Exam Science 8th Grade	Per Pupil Expenditures Total	Sub-total from Federal Funds	Sub-total from State/Local Funds
Highlands Elementary	Public	PK, KG-5	2037 N Elinor St	Appleton	54914	Outagamie County	Appleton Area School District	No	No	No	Yes	(920) 852-5480	417	42	10.0	60.4%	171 (41.0%)	21 (5.0%)	67 (16.1%)	120 (28.8%)	1 (0.2%)	3 (0.7%)	34 (8.2%)	15.3	903^rd of 1044 public elementary schools	13.5%		22.4	868^th of 1061 public elementary schools	18.2%	35	31.9	23.0	22.4				33.3	29.5	28.4				39.3		29.5		$11,283	$911	$10,372
Ronald C Dunlap Elementary School	Public	PK, KG-5	1000 N Mason St	Appleton	54914	Outagamie County	Appleton Area School District	No	No	No	Yes	(920) 852-5455	314	31	10.0	65.6%	131 (41.7%)	33 (10.5%)	46 (14.6%)	58 (18.5%)	2 (0.6%)	0 (0.0%)	44 (14.0%)	35.4	768^th of 1044 public elementary schools	26.4%		33	795^th of 1061 public elementary schools	25.1%	27	45.8	37.7	39.6				40.7	47.2	37.5				60.4		41.5		$11,409	$911	$10,498
Houdini Elementary	Public	PK, KG-5	2305 W Capitol Dr	Appleton	54914	Outagamie County	Appleton Area School District	No	No	No	No	(920) 852-5490	501	36	13.8	34.1%	323 (64.5%)	14 (2.8%)	58 (11.6%)	58 (11.6%)	0 (0.0%)	4 (0.8%)	44 (8.8%)	51.6	569^th of 1044 public elementary schools	45.5%		59.1	500^th of 1061 public elementary schools	52.9%	69	44.6	47.5	58.7				48.7	59.5	61.3				60.0		45.6		$11,085	$911	$10,174
Franklin Elementary	Public	PK, KG-5	2212 N Jarchow St	Appleton	54911	Outagamie County	Appleton Area School District	No	No	No	Yes	(920) 852-5475	277	25	11.1	52.7%	137 (49.5%)	24 (8.7%)	49 (17.7%)	39 (14.1%)	1 (0.4%)	1 (0.4%)	26 (9.4%)	43	681^st of 1044 public elementary schools	34.8%		46.9	655^th of 1061 public elementary schools	38.3%	26	47.9	45.0	41.5				50.0	46.3	47.6				56.1		51.2		$11,597	$911	$10,686
Columbus Elementary	Public	PK, KG-5	913 N Oneida St	Appleton	54911	Outagamie County	Appleton Area School District	No	No	No	Yes	(920) 852-5450	88	8	10.7	70.5%	43 (48.9%)	12 (13.6%)	18 (20.5%)	6 (6.8%)	0 (0.0%)	2 (2.3%)	7 (8.0%)	24.3	844^th of 1044 public elementary schools	19.2%		18.3	899^th of 1061 public elementary schools	15.3%	55	7.7	37.5	0.0				15.4	62.5	0.0				75.0		62.5		$12,460	$911	$11,549
Appleton Bilingual School	Public, Charter	K-5	912 N Oneida St	Appleton	54911	Outagamie County	Appleton Area School District	Yes	No	No	Yes	(920) 852-5535	139	8	16.4	39.6%	37 (26.6%)	2 (1.4%)	94 (67.6%)	2 (1.4%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	4 (2.9%)	42.3	694^th of 1044 public elementary schools	33.5%		29.8	814^th of 1061 public elementary schools	23.3%	120	55.6	42.1	40.9				66.7	57.9	22.7				52.6		31.6		$11,427	$911	$10,516
Classical School	Public, Charter	K-8	3310 N Durkee St	Appleton	54911	Outagamie County	Appleton Area School District	Yes	No	No	No	(920) 852-5525	487	27	18.3	16.2%	279 (57.3%)	20 (4.1%)	34 (7.0%)	119 (24.4%)	2 (0.4%)	0 (0.0%)	33 (6.8%)	83.5	113^th of 1044 public elementary schools	89.2%		78.9	174^th of 1061 public elementary schools	83.6%	61	70.6	81.5	64.3	69.5	63.3	78.0	76.5	81.5	67.9	69.5	70.0	84.0	88.9	92.0	68.5	86.0	$11,399	$911	$10,488
Ferber Elementary	Public	PK, KG-5	515 E Capitol Dr	Appleton	54911	Outagamie County	Appleton Area School District	No	No	No	No	(920) 852-5465	499	37	13.5	32.3%	347 (69.5%)	12 (2.4%)	39 (7.8%)	64 (12.8%)	2 (0.4%)	0 (0.0%)	35 (7.0%)	48.6	606^th of 1044 public elementary schools	42.0%		64.2	416^th of 1061 public elementary schools	60.8%	190	53.3	35.4	67.1				65.2	40.2	86.3				39.0		36.6		$11,019	$911	$10,108
Fox River Academy	Public, Charter	K-8	1000 S Mason St	Appleton	54914	Outagamie County	Appleton Area School District	Yes	No	No	No	(920) 852-5500	150	8	17.8	23.3%	119 (79.3%)	0 (0.0%)	12 (8.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	19 (12.7%)	80.8	148^th of 1044 public elementary schools	85.8%		84.4	96^th of 1061 public elementary schools	91.0%	52	79.2	60.9	85.7	76.9		60.0	91.7	65.2	85.7	61.5		90.0	73.9	80.0	60.9	90.0	$11,105	$911	$10,194
Jefferson Elementary	Public	PK, KG-5	1000 S Mason St	Appleton	54914	Outagamie County	Appleton Area School District	No	No	No	Yes	(920) 852-5500	212	23	9.3	65.6%	98 (46.2%)	24 (11.3%)	35 (16.5%)	16 (7.5%)	5 (2.4%)	0 (0.0%)	34 (16.0%)	37.5	752^nd of 1044 public elementary schools	28.0%		37.1	761^st of 1061 public elementary schools	28.3%	9	50.0	53.3	36.7				40.0	40.0	23.3				63.3		46.7		$11,574	$911	$10,663

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 : Wilson Middle
High : West High

What is the racial makeup of Highlands Elementary?

Students at Highlands Elementary are 41% White, 29% Asian, 16% Hispanic, 8% Two or more races, 5% African American.

How many students attend Highlands Elementary?

In the 2024-25 school year, 417 students attended Highlands Elementary.

Is Highlands Elementary a good school?

Highlands Elementary ranks in the bottom 13.5% of Wisconsin elementary schools.

What district is Highlands Elementary in?

Appleton Area School District

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SchoolDigger data sources: National Center for Education Statistics, U.S. Department of Education, the U.S. Census Bureau and the Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction.

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.