The top reported proficiency rate is 50% in English language arts. The lowest is 30% in Science.
Original Research by School Decision on Highlands Borough School District
Highlands Borough School District served students from prekindergarten through sixth grade in the borough of Highlands, a small coastal community in Monmouth County. As of the most recent data, the district has since been dissolved. In July 2024, following a voter-approved ballot measure, it merged with the neighboring Atlantic Highlands School District and the Henry Hudson Regional School District to form a single PK-12 regional district. Families in Highlands now send their children to the new Henry Hudson Regional PK-12 School District, a structural change that unified what had been separate elementary and regional arrangements. The data here reflects the standalone Highlands Borough School District before that merger.
The district was small. Its enrollment included a student body that was predominantly white, with a substantial Hispanic population and a much smaller share of Black students and students identifying as two or more races. The district served only elementary and middle grades, so there was no high school graduation rate because the district did not operate a high school.
On state assessments administered in the 2023-24 school year, students took the New Jersey Student Learning Assessments in math and English language arts in grades three through six, and in science in grade five. In math, the share of students scoring proficient or above was below the midpoint among Monmouth County's districts. In English language arts, results were mixed. In grades three, four, and five, the share of students meeting proficiency was higher than in math, reaching the majority range in each of those three grades. Sixth grade ELA results were lower. In fifth-grade science, the share of students scoring proficient was modest. Overall proficiency across all tested subjects and grades placed the district in the bottom quartile when compared with other districts in Monmouth County.
Chronic absenteeism was notably low, placing the district in the top quartile among county districts, meaning a very small share of students missed a substantial number of school days. Per-pupil current spending was in the upper range relative to other Monmouth County districts, reflecting a level of investment that was among the highest in the county.
The district's single school, Highlands Elementary School, housed all grades. Because the district has been dissolved and replaced by a unified PK-12 regional district, any parent considering the area should look to the Henry Hudson Regional School District for current information on governance, programming, academic performance, and the full K-12 pathway.
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