Summary:
ZIP code 53543 is home to three small public schools — Highland Community Elementary (PK–5, 124 students), Highland Community Middle (6–8, 58 students), and Highland Community High (9–12, 94 students) — all part of the Highland School District, sharing one campus at 1030 Cardinal Dr in Highland, Wisconsin, and serving 276 students in total.
The Highland School District as a whole ranks 339 of 432 in Wisconsin (22nd percentile, 1 star), but the individual schools differ noticeably. Highland Community High has the strongest latest results, ranking 293 of 533 (45th percentile, 2 stars), down from 55th percentile and 3 stars the year before. Its graduation rate is 92.5% (state 92.0%) and its dropout rate 0.0% (state 1.1%). High school math is a clear strength — ACT math proficiency was 64.29% versus 42.73% state in 2024–2025 and 50% versus 42.93% in 2025–2026 — while science and ELA stay below state. Highland Community Elementary ranks 625 of 1039 (40th percentile, 2 stars), with strong 3rd grade ELA (60% vs 52.08%), 3rd grade math (66.67% vs 54.75%) and 4th grade social studies (75% vs 65.51%), but weaker 5th grade ELA (38.89% vs 53.63%) and math (27.78% vs 51.81%). Highland Community Middle is the most challenged: 471 of 643 (27th percentile, 1 star), the highest free/reduced lunch rate (44.83%), the highest student-teacher ratio (12.5), the lowest per-student spending ($17,104), and 8th grade scores well below state.
Attendance is a shared strength across the area — every school's chronic absenteeism is below the state's 17.3%, ranging from the elementary school's 3.1% to the middle school's 9.4%, which is still only about half the state rate. Because these schools are very small, a single student can shift a grade-level proficiency rate by several percentage points, so families should weigh multi-year trends more heavily than any one year's change.
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