The top reported proficiency rate is 42% in English language arts. The lowest is 11% in Science.
Original Research by School Decision on Highland Elementary
Highland Elementary is a regular public school in Silver Spring, Maryland, serving a pre-kindergarten through fifth-grade population. It sits within Montgomery County Public Schools, the large district that covers the Washington, D.C., suburbs. Because it serves only elementary grades, there is no graduation rate data, and the school does not participate in the measures that apply to high schools.
The academic picture comes from Maryland’s state assessments in math, English language arts, and science. In math, performance varies noticeably by grade level. Third and fourth graders show a modest share of students meeting proficiency, while fifth graders drop to a substantially lower rate. A similar pattern appears in English language arts: a moderate proficiency share in third and fourth grades, then a decline in fifth. Science, which is tested only in fifth grade here, shows a very small share of students reaching the proficient bar. A parent considering this school may want to look into the fifth-grade dip specifically and ask the school what supports are in place for that transition year. The overall proficiency picture across tested subjects is soft relative to what many families in Montgomery County expect, though the absence of a countywide comparison set for this school makes it impossible to say precisely how it stacks up against neighboring elementary schools; the comparison cohort was too small to compute.
Enrollment is in the mid-range for an elementary school, with a full pre-K through fifth-grade program. The student body is heavily Hispanic, with smaller shares of students who are Black, Asian, and White, and a very small number of Native American and multiracial students. More than half of students qualify for free or reduced-price meals, indicating a substantial economically disadvantaged population. Data on students with disabilities and English learners was not available in the reporting, so a parent may want to ask directly about special education staffing and English language development services.
The school’s setting is Silver Spring, a large and diverse unincorporated community in southeastern Montgomery County that borders Washington, D.C. Silver Spring’s downtown is an urbanized core with a major transit center connecting Metro, MARC, bus, and future Purple Line light rail. The broader area includes a mix of older inner-suburban neighborhoods with parks and creeks. Housing in the school’s zip code is expensive, with home values well above national medians and rents that make homeownership challenging for many families. The area has seen significant downtown redevelopment since the early 2000s and continues to grow.
Montgomery County Public Schools, the parent district, has made several changes that affect Highland families. The district adopted a new elementary literacy curriculum starting in the 2023-24 school year, replacing the previous reading program across all elementary schools. It also continues a systemwide boundary analysis as part of long-term facilities planning, meaning attendance zones could shift for families in the future. The district’s operating budget has grown to consume a large share of the county’s overall spending, a pattern that reflects sustained public investment but also influences local property taxes.
No information was available on the school’s discipline practices, chronic absenteeism rate, staffing ratios, or course access offerings. Those are notable gaps for a parent trying to understand the daily environment and student support systems. The school does not operate as a charter or magnet school, and its Title I status was not reported. Highland Elementary appears to be a standard neighborhood school serving a diverse, low-income population in a fast-growing, high-cost area, with academic results that call for a closer look at how students perform as they move through the grades.
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