Highlands Elementary School, Huntsville AL

Original Research by School Decision on Highlands Elementary School

Highlands Elementary sits in north Huntsville, serving pre-kindergarten through sixth grade. It is one of many elementary schools within Huntsville City Schools, a large district that covers a mid-size city experiencing rapid growth. The school itself is on the smaller side for its grade band, drawing from a residential area in the city's northern quadrant.

The student body is predominantly Black, with a substantial Hispanic population and smaller shares of white, Asian, and multiracial students. A very large majority of students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, indicating a community where economic need is widespread. Data on special education and English learner enrollment was not available in the source materials, so a parent should ask the school directly about those support offerings.

State test results are available from the 2024-25 school year, the only year for which data was reported here, so no trend is observable. Across all tested grades, the share of students scoring proficient in math is low, with rates that are roughly one in seven students overall. In English language arts, proficiency is higher than in math but still where roughly two out of five students meet the bar. Science, tested in fourth grade only, shows a proficiency rate similar to the math results. When compared to other school districts in Madison County, Highlands' combined proficiency index places it in the bottom quarter. A parent considering this school will want to understand what academic supports and interventions are in place, particularly in math and science.

No program offerings were listed in the available data, such as specialized magnet pathways, gifted programs, or after-school options. Huntsville City Schools as a whole shifted to a balanced calendar starting in the 2023-24 school year, which moved the first day to late July or early August and redistributed breaks through the year. That change affects family scheduling and summer plans on a lasting basis for all district families.

The surrounding city of Huntsville blends residential neighborhoods with a technology-driven economy anchored by NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center, Redstone Arsenal, and Cummings Research Park. The city is among the fastest-growing in the country, with major employers in aerospace, defense, and manufacturing. Housing in the zip code covering Highlands Elementary is moderately priced relative to state and national benchmarks, with rents and home values well below the national median. This makes the area more accessible for families on a typical budget, though the school's high rate of economic disadvantage reflects the local reality for many households.

Highlands Elementary is a regular public school with no charter or magnet designation. It does not serve grades that produce a graduation rate, so that metric does not apply. A family evaluating this school will want to focus on the specific academic programs, class sizes, and teacher supports that are not detailed in the public data. The test results present clear challenges, and the school's position relative to other districts in the county is a soft spot that warrants direct inquiry with the school or district about improvement efforts. It fits a family who values a neighborhood school in an affordable part of a growing city and who will be proactive about understanding and supplementing the academic environment.

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Academic performance

How students perform on state tests, by grade, set against the district.

Math

Grade 315%

School 15% · District 39% · ▼ 25 pts below district

▼ 28 pts below state median · ▼ 33 pts below county median

Grade 424%

School 24% · District 39% · ▼ 14 pts below district

▼ 13 pts below state median · ▼ 23 pts below county median

Grade 55%

School 5% · District 32% · ▼ 28 pts below district

▼ 29 pts below state median · ▼ 36 pts below county median

Grade 616%

School 16% · District 34% · ▼ 18 pts below district

▼ 13 pts below state median · ▼ 23 pts below county median

English language arts

Grade 341%

School 41% · District 58% · ▼ 17 pts below district

▼ 24 pts below state median · ▼ 30 pts below county median

Grade 447%

School 47% · District 55% · ▼ 8 pts below district

▼ 12 pts below state median · ▼ 21 pts below county median

Grade 540%

School 40% · District 64% · ▼ 23 pts below district

▼ 27 pts below state median · ▼ 33 pts below county median

Grade 633%

School 33% · District 58% · ▼ 24 pts below district

▼ 22 pts below state median · ▼ 36 pts below county median

Science

Grade 418%

School 18% · District 40% · ▼ 22 pts below district

▼ 21 pts below state median · ▼ 36 pts below county median

This schoolHuntsville City, same grade

Graduation rate (ACGR) reflects the federally published Adjusted Cohort Graduation Rate for the most recent year available. We refresh this data annually at the close of each academic year in June. The federal source publishes a banded rate (for example, "90-94%") instead of an exact number for cohorts small enough to risk identifying individual students. The state distribution chart, where shown, plots every school in the state with a published rate or band; schools whose rate is federally suppressed are excluded. Where the federal source publishes a band rather than an exact rate, the school is placed within its band using a stable, ID-derived offset, so its position is consistent across visits.

Proficiency by household income

Mathematics

Grade 5Lower-income6%Higher-income0%6 pp gap