The top reported proficiency rate is 41% in Math. The lowest is 40% in English language arts.
Original Research by School Decision on Highland Elementary
Highland Elementary serves kindergarten through sixth grade in Clarkston, a compact riverfront city that is the smaller half of the Lewiston-Clarkston metropolitan area. The school is one of the district's four elementary buildings and is located in a residential area of the city. Clarkston itself is a working river town where agriculture, especially wheat, and the Port of Clarkston drive the local economy. The average commute is short, the housing market is relatively affordable, and the community has a stable, modest growth pattern.
The student body at Highland is predominantly white, with a small Hispanic share and an even smaller representation of other racial and ethnic groups. A substantial share of students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, indicating a significant level of economic need across the school community. The school enrolls a moderate number of students for a kindergarten-through-sixth-grade building, with the largest single cohort entering in kindergarten and the smallest in fifth grade.
State assessment results from the most recent testing year are available for grades three through five, while sixth-grade results were suppressed, which often reflects a small tested population. In mathematics, the share of students meeting proficiency declined across grades: third graders scored above half proficient, fourth graders dropped to about a third, and fifth graders came in at roughly the same level as fourth. English language arts followed a similar pattern, with third graders scoring above half proficient and both fourth and fifth graders at roughly a third of students meeting the bar. In science, tested only in fifth grade, about two in five students were proficient. The overall proficiency index, which averages results across all tested subjects and grades, places the school at the lower end relative to other districts in Asotin County. A parent may want to look into this further with the school to understand what supports are in place.
A significant district-level change affects Highland directly. In early 2023, the school board voted to close Highland Elementary and another elementary school at the end of that school year, citing declining enrollment and state funding reductions. Students were reassigned to other district elementary schools and attendance boundaries were reconfigured. This means the school that currently exists under this name and at this location may no longer be operating as it was during the testing year for which data is available. A family considering Highland should verify its current operational status and determine which elementary school their address now feeds into.
Additionally, voters in the district rejected a replacement school bond in the fall of 2024 that would have funded facility improvements across the district. The bond's failure leaves aging infrastructure needs unaddressed and means that an expiring bond rate had no replacement. This context matters for any family evaluating the district's long-term financial health and physical plant.
The academic picture at Highland shows a school with a strong start for its youngest tested students, particularly in reading and math in third grade, followed by a drop-off in the upper elementary grades. The student body carries a high level of economic disadvantage, and the building itself has been subject to a closure decision, which changes the practical landscape for families. The school is part of a small district in a stable river town, and the broader district faces financial and facilities challenges that are publicly documented.
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