Highlands Elem School, Naperville IL

Original Research by School Decision on Highlands Elem School

Highlands Elementary serves kindergarten through fifth grade in Naperville, a large suburban city about 28 miles west of Chicago. The school enrolls a small student body drawn from a notably affluent and predominantly white residential area, with substantial representation from Asian families as well. Housing values in the zip code are high, and the community reflects the prosperity typical of Naperville's more established neighborhoods.

Academically, Highlands shows strong proficiency across the tested grades. In mathematics, proficiency rates for third through fifth grade students cluster in the upper range, with third graders meeting proficiency at the highest clip and fifth graders slightly lower. English language arts results follow a similar pattern, with third graders performing at the highest rate and proficiency holding firm through fifth grade. Science testing data are available only for fifth grade, where proficiency matches the rate for that grade in mathematics. Across all tested subjects and grades, the school's overall proficiency index places it in the top quartile relative to other elementary schools in DuPage County. Participation in state assessments is essentially complete, indicating strong test administration compliance.

This is an elementary-only school with no data on graduation rates or high school outcomes, as the school serves grades that are not measured on those metrics. The school does not report data on chronic absenteeism, special education enrollment, or English learner population, so parents may want to look into those details directly with the school if they are relevant to their family.

The school sits within Naperville Community Unit School District 203, which is moving through a major curriculum and instructional redesign. The district approved a substantial three-year investment in K-12 literacy materials to replace outdated reading and language arts texts, restructured junior high electives and English learner programs district-wide, and added new career-focused high school pathways with college credit options. The district is also planning a school day redesign for 2026-27 that would alter schedules and daily routines across all grades, a proposal that has generated community discussion. These changes suggest an active district working to modernize instruction, though families considering Highlands should understand that the broader district environment is in flux.

Highlands' setting and academic profile make it a fit for families seeking a traditional elementary school in an affluent, well-resourced community with strong proficiency outcomes in the tested grades.

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Academic performance

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

Math

Grade 393%

School 93% · District 80% · ▲ 13 pts above district

▲ 47 pts above state median · ▲ 28 pts above county median

Grade 490%

School 90% · District 78% · ▲ 13 pts above district

▲ 54 pts above state median · ▲ 27 pts above county median

Grade 582%

School 82% · District 71% · ▲ 12 pts above district

▲ 53 pts above state median · ▲ 28 pts above county median

English language arts

Grade 393%

School 93% · District 79% · ▲ 15 pts above district

▲ 49 pts above state median · ▲ 31 pts above county median

Grade 489%

School 89% · District 82% · ▲ 7 pts above district

▲ 41 pts above state median · ▲ 21 pts above county median

Grade 590%

School 90% · District 87% · ▲ 3 pts above district

▲ 38 pts above state median · ▲ 19 pts above county median

Science

Grade 582%

School 82% · District 74% · ▲ 8 pts above district

▲ 46 pts above state median · ▲ 27 pts above county median

This schoolNaperville CUSD 203, 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.