Highlands Elem, Mission KS - Test Scores & Data

Original Research by School Decision on Highlands Elem

Highlands Elementary, serving students from pre‑kindergarten through sixth grade, is one of the smaller elementary schools in the Shawnee Mission School District, located in the compact suburban city of Mission, Kansas. Mission itself is a densely populated community within Johnson County, part of the Kansas City metropolitan area, with a mix of owner‑occupied homes and rental properties. The school sits in a residential neighborhood on Roe Avenue, a setting typical of the area’s small‑house, large‑lot character.

The student body is predominantly white, with a much smaller share of students who are Hispanic, two or more races, Black, Asian, or Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander. The share of students qualifying for free or reduced‑price lunch is very low. The overall enrollment is modest, with notable variation by grade level: in the year reported, the pre‑kindergarten class was relatively large, while the kindergarten through third grade classes were smaller. Fourth grade had the largest class.

Academically, Highlands Elementary stands on strong footing. On the Kansas Assessment Program (KAP) in the most recent school year, the school’s proficiency rates in math and English language arts were consistently high across tested grades. In math, proficiency was strong in third grade and even higher in fourth and fifth grades, with a slight dip in sixth grade. In English language arts, the pattern was similar: third through fifth grades all showed very strong results, with sixth grade somewhat lower but still solid. Fifth‑grade science results were also very strong. When measured against other districts in Johnson County, Highlands Elementary placed in the top quartile for overall proficiency across subjects and grades. The state adjusted its cut scores for math and English language arts in recent years, so comparisons with earlier years may be less straightforward, but the current picture is one of consistent above‑average performance.

Because Highlands serves only elementary grades, there is no graduation rate to report, and no secondary‑level programming such as Advanced Placement or career‑technical pathways. Those offerings are available to Shawnee Mission students at the district’s Center for Academic Achievement and Career Technical Campus, which houses specialized programs in fields like biotechnology, engineering, and medical health sciences, but they begin at the high school level.

The school is part of the Shawnee Mission School District, a system that has adopted a district‑wide emphasis on personalized learning plans for every student. While no recent data on chronic absenteeism or discipline was available in the source material, the school’s high proficiency rates suggest a student population that, on the whole, is performing well academically.

For a family considering this school, the picture is clear. Highlands Elementary provides a consistently strong academic foundation from early childhood through the end of elementary school. The student body is notably homogeneous in terms of both racial composition and economic background, with a very low share of students from low‑income households. The school’s setting in Mission offers a compact, walkable‑adjacent environment with community amenities like the Powell Community Center and a summer market, though the built environment remains primarily suburban rather than dense urban. The surrounding housing market reflects a mix of owners and renters, with home values and rents that are elevated relative to state and national benchmarks. Families looking for a school with high measured achievement and a relatively narrow socioeconomic range may find a strong fit here. Those seeking more diversity in the student population or a school with a broader range of income backgrounds may want to explore how the school’s demographic profile aligns with their priorities.

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Academic performance

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

Math

Grade 373%

School 73% · District 53% · ▲ 20 pts above district

▲ 32 pts above state median · ▲ 14 pts above county median

Grade 476%

School 76% · District 57% · ▲ 19 pts above district

▲ 36 pts above state median · ▲ 11 pts above county median

Grade 588%

School 88% · District 58% · ▲ 30 pts above district

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

Grade 680%

School 80% · District 58% · ▲ 23 pts above district

▲ 40 pts above state median · ▲ 18 pts above county median

English language arts

Grade 387%

School 87% · District 60% · ▲ 26 pts above district

▲ 34 pts above state median · ▲ 20 pts above county median

Grade 485%

School 85% · District 62% · ▲ 24 pts above district

▲ 37 pts above state median · ▲ 17 pts above county median

Grade 590%

School 90% · District 63% · ▲ 27 pts above district

▲ 40 pts above state median · ▲ 22 pts above county median

Grade 676%

School 76% · District 59% · ▲ 17 pts above district

▲ 34 pts above state median · ▲ 16 pts above county median

Science

Grade 588%

School 88% · District 54% · ▲ 34 pts above district

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

This schoolShawnee Mission Pub Sch, 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.