The top reported proficiency rate is 37% in Math. The lowest is 23% in English language arts.
Original Research by School Decision on Highland Park Es
Highland Park Elementary, serving pre-kindergarten through fifth grade, sits in the southern part of Stillwater, a city whose identity is shaped by Oklahoma State University. The school is part of the Stillwater Public Schools district, the area’s fourth-largest employer, and draws its student body from a residential neighborhood near the university. For families considering this school, the context matters: Stillwater is a college town with a historic downtown, a mix of university families and long-term residents, and an economy that spreads beyond the campus into aerospace, biotech, and manufacturing.
The student population at Highland Park is diverse in background. White students make up a majority, but a substantial share of the children come from Hispanic, two-or-more-races, Black, and American Indian or Alaska Native families, with small numbers of Asian and Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander students as well. A family looking for a school where their child will interact with peers from a range of racial and ethnic backgrounds will find that here. Data on free or reduced-price meal eligibility, special education, and English learner status were not available, so a parent should ask the school directly about the supports offered for students with economic or learning needs.
Academic performance on the Oklahoma School Testing Program shows a mixed picture, with caution needed because the state changed its cut scores for English language arts and math in the 2024-25 school year, making direct comparisons to earlier years unreliable. In math, proficiency varied across grades: roughly a third of third graders met the state standard, about a fifth of fourth graders did, and around half of fifth graders were proficient. English language arts results were lower overall, with fifth grade showing just over a third proficient and fourth grade a small fraction. Data for third grade ELA and fifth grade science were not reported — that may reflect suppression rules for small groups — so those areas cannot be assessed here.
When placed against other districts in Payne County, Highland Park’s overall proficiency across tested subjects and grades sits above the midpoint. That is a relative strength within the local context, though the absolute figures indicate room for growth, particularly in fourth-grade literacy. A parent focused on early reading outcomes may want to ask the school about interventions and support structures in place.
The housing market around the school is moderately priced relative to national benchmarks. Home values and rents in the school’s ZIP code run above the Oklahoma state average but below the national median, placing the neighborhood in a sweet spot for affordability compared with many parts of the country. The broader Stillwater area is stable in population and economy, without major new development booms reported, and the district itself has not had a recent wave of bond measures or curriculum changes that surfaced in public records.
Highland Park Elementary is a mid-sized public school in a college-town setting, with a diverse enrollment and academic results that are strongest in fifth-grade math and weakest in fourth-grade English. The district’s position relative to its county peers is solid, but the gaps in available student-support data and the low ELA proficiency in fourth grade are points worth investigating further with the school. This is a school that will appeal to families who value diversity and a stable community anchored by a major university, and who want to understand the specific academic supports their child would receive.
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