The top reported proficiency rate is 71% in English language arts. The lowest is 41% in Math.
Original Research by School Decision on Highlands Elementary School
Highlands Elementary School serves students in kindergarten through sixth grade in Dothan, Alabama, as part of the Dothan City school district. The school sits in a city that functions as a regional commercial and transportation hub for southeastern Alabama, southwest Georgia, and the Florida Panhandle. Dothan’s economy includes healthcare, poultry processing, and manufacturing, with major employers such as Michelin and General Electric operating facilities there. The area is known as the Peanut Capital of the World due to the volume of peanut production and processing nearby. The city has grown steadily over the decades and its built environment is low-density and car-dependent, typical of a sprawling Sun Belt city.
The student body at Highlands Elementary is predominantly white, with a substantial share of Black and Asian students as well as a smaller Hispanic presence. A meaningful portion of the student population qualifies for free or reduced-price lunch, indicating a modest economic diversity among families. The school serves a single neighborhood within Dothan, and the housing market in the area shows home values that sit above both the state and national benchmarks. Rents also run above the state average, contributing to a housing context where owning a home is somewhat more expensive relative to renting compared to the national picture.
On state assessments, Highlands Elementary’s performance is mixed and varies by grade level and subject. In English language arts, proficiency rates are solid in the lower grades and remain strong through fifth grade, marking a clear academic strength for the school. Reading and writing skills appear well-supported across the elementary span. In math, the picture is more uneven. Proficiency in third grade is solid, but it drops meaningfully in fourth grade and falls further in fifth grade. This pattern suggests that as students move into more complex math content, many struggle to keep pace. Science results for fourth grade show that roughly half of students meet the proficiency mark. There is only a single year of assessment data available, so no trend can be established yet.
Compared to other districts in Houston County, Highlands Elementary’s overall proficiency across tested subjects and grades sits above the midpoint among the two other districts for which data is available. This places the school in a reasonably competitive position relative to its county peers, though the comparison set includes only two other districts.
The school does not serve high school grades, so there is no graduation rate to report. Information on chronic absenteeism was not available, and the data did not include discipline statistics, staffing ratios, course access, or special education and English learner counts. A parent who wants a fuller picture of student support services would need to inquire with the school directly.
The Dothan City district, which Highlands Elementary belongs to, did not have any recent parent-relevant changes such as curriculum shifts, referendums, or boundary adjustments surfaced in publicly available reporting. The district appears to be operating without major recent disruption.
For a family considering Highlands Elementary, the English language arts results are a clear draw. The school does well in reading and writing across the elementary grades. The math results, especially in the upper elementary grades, are a soft spot worth looking into further with the school to understand what interventions or supports are in place. The student body is diverse by race and income, and the surrounding housing market is relatively expensive for the region. The school is a regular public school, not a charter or magnet, so it draws from its attendance zone. Families who value a neighborhood school with solid literacy instruction and who are willing to engage with the school on math performance may find this a good fit.
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