Is Highland Community a good school?

Highland Community ranks in the bottom 0.6% of California elementary schools.

How many students attend Highland Community?

In the 2023-24 school year, 453 students attended Highland Community.

What is the racial makeup of Highland Community?

Students at Highland Community are 75% Hispanic, 19% African American, 4% Two or more races, 1% Asian.

What schools do graduates of Highland Community attend?

Students who attend Highland Community usually go on to attend: High : Castlemont High

Highland Community

Summary:

Highland Community is an elementary school in Oakland, California, serving 447 students in grades K-5. The school is part of the Oakland Unified School District, which has a 1-star rating and is ranked 1160 out of 1568 districts in the state.

Highland Community has consistently ranked in the bottom 5% of California elementary schools, with a 0-star rating from SchoolDigger. The school faces significant challenges, including a dramatic increase in chronic absenteeism, from 16.3% in 2017-2018 to 75.0% in 2022-2023. Academically, Highland Community's performance is well below the district and state averages, with only 8.85% of students proficient or better in English Language Arts/Literacy and just 6.6% proficient in Mathematics. The school's struggles are particularly pronounced for African American, Hispanic, and low-income students.

The challenges faced by Highland Community are not unique, as nearby schools in the Oakland Unified School District, such as East Oakland Pride Elementary, Markham Elementary, and Lockwood STEAM Academy Elementary, also struggle with low academic performance and high chronic absenteeism. These systemic issues within the district suggest that addressing the underlying factors, such as poverty and lack of resources, will be crucial to improving outcomes for students at Highland Community and the surrounding schools.

Detail:

Public K-5

8521 A St.
Oakland, CA 94621-1619

(510) 879-2125

District: Oakland Unified

SchoolDigger Rank:
5826^th of 5,862 California Elementary Schools

Per Pupil Expenditures: $6,236

Students who attend Highland Community usually attend:

High:

Castlemont High

Student/teacher ratio: 25.1

Number of students: 453

Racial breakdown:

Hispanic:

75.3%

African American:

19.2%

Two or more races:

3.5%

Free/discounted lunch recipients: 99.3%

See top rated California elementary schools

Compare Highland Community to nearby elementary schools!

Performance Trends

Compare Details Highland Community ranks worse than 99.4% of elementary schools in California. It also ranks 45^th among 49 ranked elementary schools in the Oakland Unified School District. (See more...)

Compare Details In 2024 the calculated Average Standard Score was 6.17. (See more...)

Chronic absenteeism in a school refers to a situation where students repeatedly miss school, with the threshold often defined as missing 10% or more of school days for any reason, excused or unexcused.

Student Body

Compare Details Racial makeup is: Hispanic (75.3%), African American (19.2%), two or more races (3.5%). (See more...)

Compare Details 99.3% of students are receiving a free or discounted lunch. (See more...)

Compare Details (See more...)

Teachers

Compare Details The student/teacher ratio at Highland Community is 25.1. 36 elementary schools in the Oakland Unified School District have better student/teacher ratios. (See more...)

Compare Highland Community employs 18 full-time teachers.

Finance

Compare Details The average total spent per student at Highland Community is $6,236. 27 elementary schools in the Oakland Unified School District spend more per student.

Schooldigger 2024 Rankings:

Highland Community:

SchoolDigger ranks Highland Community 5826^th of 5862 California public elementary schools. (See Highland Community in the ranking list.)

Elementary School Test Score Ratings by Student Subgroup:

English Language Learner students:

Low Socio Economic Status students:

Female students:

Male students:

Hispanic students:

Oakland Unified:

SchoolDigger ranks Oakland Unified 1160^th of 1568 California school districts. (See district ranking list.)

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Rank History for Highland Community

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Rank History for all students at Highland Community

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Elementary Schools	CA State Percentile
2004	10.83	4627^th	4809	3.8%
2005	8.53	4714^th	4822	2.2%
2006	2.52	4807^th	4818	0.2%
2007	3.18	5095^th	5113	0.4%
2008	5.80	5073^rd	5113	0.8%
2009	13.59	4826^th	5193	7.1%
2010	32.48	3660^th	5314	31.1%
2011	21.87	4545^th	5377	15.5%
2012	13.85	5026^th	5390	6.8%
2013	10.31	5278^th	5530	4.6%
2015	11.11	5414^th	5611	3.5%
2016	5.79	5587^th	5614	0.5%
2017	7.63	5605^th	5692	1.5%
2018	4.55	5633^rd	5662	0.5%
2019	5.53	5743^rd	5789	0.8%
2022	8.45	5799^th	5883	1.4%
2023	6.26	5852^nd	5874	0.4%
2024	6.17	5826^th	5862	0.6%

See the entire list of California Elementary School Rankings!

Rank History for English Language Learner students at Highland Community

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Elementary Schools	CA State Percentile
2018	18.66	3118^th	3246	3.9%
2019	21.50	3112^th	3275	5.0%
2022	23.06	3055^th	3311	7.7%
2023	18.57	3190^th	3250	1.8%
2024	32.96	2341^st	3160	25.9%

See the entire list of Best California Elementary Schools for English Language Learner Students!

Rank History for Special Education students at Highland Community

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Elementary Schools	CA State Percentile	SchoolDigger Rating
2023	17.92	2273^rd	2420	6.1%

See the entire list of Best California Elementary Schools for Special Education Students!

Rank History for Low Socio Economic Status students at Highland Community

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Elementary Schools	CA State Percentile
2018	5.56	5053^rd	5084	0.6%
2019	6.74	5125^th	5173	0.9%
2022	10.76	5155^th	5264	2.1%
2023	7.29	5347^th	5374	0.5%
2024	7.58	5466^th	5511	0.8%

See the entire list of Best California Elementary Schools for Low Socio Economic Status Students!

Rank History for Female students at Highland Community

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Elementary Schools	CA State Percentile
2018	4.97	5392^nd	5413	0.4%
2019	6.36	5447^th	5492	0.8%
2022	7.71	5606^th	5635	0.5%
2023	7.88	5572^nd	5617	0.8%
2024	7.04	5570^th	5605	0.6%

See the entire list of Best California Elementary Schools for Female Students!

Rank History for Male students at Highland Community

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Elementary Schools	CA State Percentile
2018	5.22	5407^th	5431	0.4%
2019	6.18	5474^th	5510	0.7%
2022	11.04	5502^nd	5663	2.8%
2023	6.64	5638^th	5650	0.2%
2024	6.35	5612^th	5636	0.4%

See the entire list of Best California Elementary Schools for Male Students!

Rank History for African American students at Highland Community

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Elementary Schools	CA State Percentile	SchoolDigger Rating
2023	15.38	640^th	662	3.3%

See the entire list of Best California Elementary Schools for African American Students!

Rank History for Hispanic students at Highland Community

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Elementary Schools	CA State Percentile
2018	6.10	4801^st	4830	0.6%
2019	7.12	4922^nd	4963	0.8%
2022	11.42	4970^th	5084	2.2%
2023	7.97	5063^rd	5098	0.7%
2024	7.49	5068^th	5102	0.7%

See the entire list of Best California Elementary Schools for Hispanic Students!

Data source: test scores: California Department of Education, rankings: SchoolDigger.com

As you review the school rankings data, please be aware that some of the information from certain demographics is missing. The reason for this omission is that the data has been redacted from the source data itself due to low population samples in these specific demographic groups.

Redacting data from low population samples is a necessary step to ensure the reliability and accuracy of the results, as small sample sizes may not be representative of the broader population. Additionally, this measure helps protect the privacy of individuals belonging to these demographic groups.

Data source: California Department of Education

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Enrollment information for Highland Community

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Year	White	African American	Asian	Hispanic	American Indian	Pacific Islander	Two or More Races	Not Specified	Total
1988	17	657	20	169	0	n/a	n/a	0	863
1989	12	615	33	180	0	n/a	n/a	0	840
1990	13	581	38	205	1	n/a	n/a	0	838
1991	12	631	37	249	0	n/a	n/a	0	929
1992	4	581	69	295	0	n/a	n/a	0	949
1993	2	584	72	318	0	n/a	n/a	0	976
1994	17	498	79	308	1	n/a	n/a	0	903
1995	25	482	70	367	0	n/a	n/a	0	944
1996	25	482	70	367	0	n/a	n/a	0	944
1997	11	436	69	382	0	n/a	n/a	0	898
1998	7	381	60	414	0	n/a	n/a	0	862
1999	5	352	51	453	1	n/a	n/a	47	909
2000	2	333	47	476	1	n/a	n/a	45	904
2001	0	334	31	432	0	n/a	n/a	7	804
2002	1	257	24	424	0	n/a	n/a	4	710
2003	1	257	24	424	0	n/a	n/a	4	710
2004	0	219	26	394	1	n/a	n/a	1	641
2005	0	201	19	414	0	n/a	n/a	1	635
2006	0	138	17	281	0	n/a	n/a	1	437
2007	0	72	15	221	0	n/a	n/a	26	334
2008	1	69	11	235	n/a	n/a	n/a	0	316
2009	1	68	5	231	0	4	26	0	335
2010	2	63	6	242	0	2	20	0	335
2011	3	59	5	237	0	2	18	0	324
2012	2	44	2	245	0	1	3	0	297
2013	5	45	2	244	0	0	2	0	298
2014	5	41	3	258	0	0	6	0	313
2015	4	56	6	299	0	2	8	0	375
2016	3	47	9	293	0	2	4	0	358
2017	0	45	8	291	0	5	5	0	354
2018	0	47	5	290	0	4	5	0	351
2019	0	51	7	287	0	4	7	0	356
2020	0	45	8	286	2	2	5	0	348
2021	1	39	7	260	1	1	8	0	317
2022	1	26	7	252	1	1	8	0	296
2023	1	72	9	344	0	0	21	0	447
2024	0	87	6	341	3	0	16	0	453

Data source: National Center for Education Statistics, U.S. Dept of Education.

About Enrollment/Ethnicity

For more information about how the Department of Education defines ethnicity, see Defining Race and Ethnicity Data, National Center for Education Statistics

Students eligible for free or discounted lunch at Highland Community

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Year	# Students	Full-time Teachers	Student/Teacher ratio	% Free/Discounted Lunch
1988	863	37.0	23.3	n/a
1989	840	40.0	21.0	n/a
1990	838	33.0	25.3	n/a
1991	929	35.0	26.5	n/a
1992	949	35.6	26.6	80.2
1993	976	38.0	25.7	62.1
1994	903	39.0	23.2	84.7
1995	944	32.0	29.5	67.5
1996	944	32.0	29.5	67.5
1997	898	36.0	24.9	79
1998	862	45.0	19.2	75.6
1999	909	44.0	20.7	78.8
2000	904	45.0	20.1	81.7
2001	804	44.0	18.3	89.1
2002	710	38.0	18.7	86.8
2003	710	38.0	18.7	86.8
2004	641	32.0	20.0	90.2
2005	635	34.0	18.7	87.9
2006	437	20.0	21.9	87.2
2007	334	18.0	18.6	101.6
2008	316	21.1	15.0	99.1
2009	335	20.2	15.8	84.5
2010	335	19.6	17.0	81.5
2011	324	n/a	n/a	84.9
2012	297	16.0	18.5	81.8
2013	298	15.0	19.8	99
2014	313	15.0	20.8	98.4
2015	375	16.0	23.4	75.2
2016	358	14.0	25.5	93.9
2017	354	16.0	22.1	94.1
2018	351	13.0	27.0	97.4
2019	356	15.0	23.7	97.2
2020	348	n/a	n/a	91.1
2021	317	14.0	22.6	93.4
2022	296	11.0	26.9	98.3
2023	447	19.0	23.5	98.4
2024	453	18.0	25.1	99.3

Data source: National Center for Education Statistics, U.S. Dept of Education.

About Students eligible for discounted/free lunch:

The National School Lunch Program (NSLP) provides low-cost or free meals to students in U.S. public and nonprofit private schools based on household income. Those with incomes below 130% of the poverty line receive free lunch, while those between 130% and 185% qualify for reduced-price lunch. The percentage of students receiving free or reduced-price lunch serves as a marker for poverty, as it reflects the socioeconomic status of families in a given school or district. A higher FRPL rate typically indicates a higher concentration of low-income families, suggesting that the school or district may face additional challenges in providing adequate resources and support for student success.

Student/Teacher Ratio Highland Community

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Year	# Students	Full-time Teachers	Student/Teacher ratio	% Free/Discounted Lunch
1988	863	37.0	23.3	n/a
1989	840	40.0	21.0	n/a
1990	838	33.0	25.3	n/a
1991	929	35.0	26.5	n/a
1992	949	35.6	26.6	80.2
1993	976	38.0	25.7	62.1
1994	903	39.0	23.2	84.7
1995	944	32.0	29.5	67.5
1996	944	32.0	29.5	67.5
1997	898	36.0	24.9	79
1998	862	45.0	19.2	75.6
1999	909	44.0	20.7	78.8
2000	904	45.0	20.1	81.7
2001	804	44.0	18.3	89.1
2002	710	38.0	18.7	86.8
2003	710	38.0	18.7	86.8
2004	641	32.0	20.0	90.2
2005	635	34.0	18.7	87.9
2006	437	20.0	21.9	87.2
2007	334	18.0	18.6	101.6
2008	316	21.1	15.0	99.1
2009	335	20.2	15.8	84.5
2010	335	19.6	17.0	81.5
2011	324	n/a	n/a	84.9
2012	297	16.0	18.5	81.8
2013	298	15.0	19.8	99
2014	313	15.0	20.8	98.4
2015	375	16.0	23.4	75.2
2016	358	14.0	25.5	93.9
2017	354	16.0	22.1	94.1
2018	351	13.0	27.0	97.4
2019	356	15.0	23.7	97.2
2020	348	n/a	n/a	91.1
2021	317	14.0	22.6	93.4
2022	296	11.0	26.9	98.3
2023	447	19.0	23.5	98.4
2024	453	18.0	25.1	99.3

Data source: National Center for Education Statistics, U.S. Dept of Education.

About Student-Teacher Ratio

Student/teacher ratio is calculated by dividing the total number of students by the total number of full-time equivalent teachers. Please note that a smaller student/teacher ratio does not necessarily translate to smaller class size. In some instances, schools hire teachers part time, and some teachers are hired for specialized instruction with very small class sizes. These and other factors contribute to the student/teacher ratio. Note: For private schools, Student/teacher ratio may not include Pre-Kindergarten.

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