The top reported proficiency rate is 68% in Math. The lowest is 48% in Science.
Original Research by School Decision on Highland Elementary School
Highland Elementary School serves students in pre-kindergarten through fifth grade in Riverside, a small rural community in Washington County that is part of the Iowa City metropolitan area. The school is a regular public school and the only elementary school in the Highland Community School District. Because it serves only early and elementary grades, it has no graduation rate.
The student body is about the size typical for a single elementary school in a rural district, with a grade-level distribution that rises slightly in the upper grades. The vast majority of students are white, with a very small Hispanic population and negligible representation from other racial and ethnic groups. Just over a fifth of students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, a share that is relatively modest for a rural Iowa district. Special education and English learner counts were not available in the data, so a parent with a child who may need those services should follow up directly with the school.
On the Iowa Statewide Assessment of Student Progress, the school's overall proficiency rate across tested subjects places it in the bottom quartile among the three districts in Washington County. That performance is uneven by subject. In math, a solid majority of students scored proficient or above, a result that is the school's strongest showing. In English language arts, the proficiency rate is a bit lower, with roughly three in five students meeting the bar. Science proficiency is notably weaker, with under half of tested students reaching the proficient threshold. Participation rates for all three subjects were complete, meaning nearly every enrolled student took the assessments. No multi-year trend data is available, so it is not possible to say whether these results represent a stable pattern or a change.
The school building itself is located in town in Riverside, while the district's middle and high school are on a separate campus a few miles south in an unincorporated area. The elementary and the town's civic life, centered on the downtown district along Greene Street, are close to one another. Families who live in Riverside will find their elementary-aged child attending a school within the community, with the shift to a campus outside town beginning in middle school.
Riverside is a car-dependent community where most residents commute to work, with typical travel times and vehicle ownership rates for a rural small town. The local economy is anchored by health care, education, and retail trade, with the Riverside Casino and Golf Resort serving as a significant destination employer. The town has three city parks, a senior village within walking distance of downtown, and a few civic and religious institutions close together. The housing market sits above state benchmarks in value, reflecting the area's proximity to the Iowa City metropolitan area. The community describes itself as growing, and a past gaming referendum and a general obligation bond indicate development activity, though the district brief turned up no recent curriculum changes, property-tax shifts, or other parent-relevant policy moves.
For a family weighing this school, the picture is straightforward. Highland Elementary is a small, largely homogeneous rural school where math achievement is the strongest subject, English language arts is solid but lower, and science is an area where a parent may want to look into this further with the school. The elementary is embedded in the town, while older students move to a shared campus outside it. The district-level academic context, compared only to other Washington County districts, shows room for growth.
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