The top reported proficiency rate is 41% in Math. The lowest is 11% in English language arts.
Original Research by School Decision on Highland Elem
Highland Elementary serves only second and third graders in Columbus, Kansas, the county seat of Cherokee County. The school is part of the Columbus public school district. Because it covers only two early-elementary grades, many of the metrics used to evaluate older schools do not apply here. There is no graduation rate, no college-going data, and no chronic absenteeism figure, all of which are measures for upper grades. The school’s academic performance is captured entirely by state assessments in math and English language arts for third graders.
On the 2023-24 Kansas Assessment Program, third graders at Highland Elementary showed a split result. In math, a substantial share of students met the state’s proficiency benchmark. In English language arts, the share was much lower. The school’s overall proficiency index, which combines both subjects, placed it in the bottom quartile relative to other districts in Cherokee County. A parent may want to ask the school how it supports early literacy and whether the gap between math and reading performance is something the school is addressing.
The student body is small and predominantly white, with a modest share of students from other racial backgrounds. A substantial share of students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, indicating that a significant portion of families in the attendance zone have lower household incomes. The school serves only second and third graders, so the peer group is young and the environment is focused on foundational academic skills.
Columbus itself is a small, rural county-seat town with a declining population. The town’s historical economy was built on mining and agricultural trade, and today it functions as a local government and services hub. Housing is affordable relative to state and national benchmarks, and the cost of living is low. The district did not have any recent parent-relevant changes publicly reported, so the school’s programming and operations appear stable in the near term.
Highland Elementary is a small school with a student body that is overwhelmingly white and includes a substantial share of children from lower-income households. The school’s grade span means children attend for only two years before moving to another building. For a family considering Columbus, the school offers a straightforward early-elementary experience in a small, rural district. The math results are a relative strength, while the English language arts results are an area a parent would want to understand better by speaking with the school about its literacy instruction and interventions.
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