Is Highlands Elementary a good school?

Highlands Elementary ranks in the bottom 9.4% of California elementary schools.

How many students attend Highlands Elementary?

In the 2023-24 school year, 473 students attended Highlands Elementary.

What is the racial makeup of Highlands Elementary?

Students at Highlands Elementary are 58% Hispanic, 17% African American, 10% Asian, 7% White, 6% Two or more races.

What schools do graduates of Highlands Elementary attend?

Students who attend Highlands Elementary usually go on to attend: Middle : Hillview Junior High High : Pittsburg Senior High

Highlands Elementary

Summary:

Highlands Elementary is a public elementary school in Pittsburg, CA, serving 483 students in grades K-5. The school is part of the Pittsburg Unified School District, which is ranked 1357 out of 1568 districts in California and has a 1-star rating from SchoolDigger.

Highlands Elementary faces significant challenges, with high chronic absenteeism rates, low test scores, and struggles to support the academic achievement of several student subgroups. The school consistently underperforms compared to the Pittsburg Unified district and the state of California in Smarter Balanced Assessments for English Language Arts/Literacy and Mathematics, as well as in the California Science Assessment (CAST). For example, in 2023-2024, only 22.66% of Highlands Elementary students were proficient or better in ELA/Literacy, compared to 28.45% for the district and 47.04% for the state. In Mathematics, only 14.42% of Highlands Elementary students were proficient or better, compared to 15.17% for the district and 35.54% for the state.

When compared to other elementary schools in the Pittsburg Unified district, such as Willow Cove, Los Medanos, Parkside, Foothill, and Heights Elementary, Highlands Elementary performs significantly worse. The school's consistent underperformance across multiple years and the lack of improvement in key metrics suggest that Highlands Elementary may need more targeted interventions and support from the district and state to address the root causes of its challenges.

Detail:

Public K-5

4141 Harbor St.
Pittsburg, CA 94565-6199

(925) 473-2440

District: Pittsburg Unified

SchoolDigger Rank:
5312^th of 5,862 California Elementary Schools

Per Pupil Expenditures: $7,635

Students who attend Highlands Elementary usually attend:

Middle:	Hillview Junior High
High:	Pittsburg Senior High

Student/teacher ratio: 23.6

Number of students: 473

Racial breakdown:

Hispanic:

58.4%

African American:

16.7%

Asian:

9.7%

Free/discounted lunch recipients: 77.2%

See top rated California elementary schools

Compare Highlands Elementary to nearby elementary schools!

Performance Trends

Compare Details Highlands Elementary ranks worse than 90.6% of elementary schools in California. It also ranks 7^th among 8 ranked elementary schools in the Pittsburg Unified School District. (See more...)

Compare Details In 2024 the calculated Average Standard Score was 14.85. (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 Highlands Elementary has the smallest elementary school student body size in the Pittsburg Unified School District. Racial makeup is: Hispanic (58.4%), African American (16.7%), Asian (9.7%). (See more...)

Compare Details 77.2% of students are receiving a free or discounted lunch. (See more...)

Compare Details (See more...)

Teachers

Compare Details The student/teacher ratio at Highlands Elementary is 23.6. 6 elementary schools in the Pittsburg Unified School District have better student/teacher ratios. (See more...)

Compare Highlands Elementary employs 20 full-time teachers.

Finance

Compare Details The average total spent per student at Highlands Elementary is $7,635, which is the 3^rd highest among 8 elementary schools in the Pittsburg Unified School District.

Schooldigger 2024 Rankings:

Highlands Elementary:

SchoolDigger ranks Highlands Elementary 5312^th of 5862 California public elementary schools. (See Highlands Elementary in the ranking list.)

Elementary School Test Score Ratings by Student Subgroup:

English Language Learner students:

Special Education students:

Low Socio Economic Status students:

Female students:

Military Connected students:

Male students:

African American students:

Hispanic students:

Pittsburg Unified:

SchoolDigger ranks Pittsburg Unified 1357^th of 1568 California school districts. (See district ranking list.)

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Rank History for Highlands Elementary

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Rank History for all students at Highlands Elementary

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Elementary Schools	CA State Percentile
2004	14.38	4385^th	4809	8.8%
2005	16.04	4254^th	4822	11.8%
2006	16.58	4246^th	4818	11.9%
2007	18.18	4434^th	5113	13.3%
2008	13.75	4735^th	5113	7.4%
2009	9.61	5016^th	5193	3.4%
2010	12.32	5042^nd	5314	5.1%
2011	10.39	5192^nd	5377	3.4%
2012	19.20	4698^th	5390	12.8%
2013	16.34	4969^th	5530	10.1%
2015	18.33	4803^rd	5611	14.4%
2016	26.77	4032^nd	5614	28.2%
2017	18.80	4807^th	5692	15.5%
2018	25.45	4202^nd	5662	25.8%
2019	18.95	4903^rd	5789	15.3%
2022	14.70	5385^th	5883	8.5%
2023	16.64	5182^nd	5874	11.8%
2024	14.85	5312^th	5862	9.4%

See the entire list of California Elementary School Rankings!

Rank History for English Language Learner students at Highlands Elementary

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Elementary Schools	CA State Percentile
2018	44.94	1508^th	3246	53.5%
2019	25.69	2813^th	3275	14.1%
2022	20.61	3176^th	3311	4.1%
2023	32.88	2332^nd	3250	28.2%
2024	19.18	3099^th	3160	1.9%

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

Rank History for Special Education students at Highlands Elementary

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Elementary Schools	CA State Percentile	SchoolDigger Rating
2023	19.88	2204^th	2420	8.9%
2024	16.12	2602^nd	2634	1.2%

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

Rank History for Low Socio Economic Status students at Highlands Elementary

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Elementary Schools	CA State Percentile
2018	29.01	3853^rd	5084	24.2%
2019	23.89	4303^rd	5173	16.8%
2022	20.16	4642^nd	5264	11.8%
2023	20.42	4681^st	5374	12.9%
2024	15.39	5116^th	5511	7.2%

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

Rank History for Female students at Highlands Elementary

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Elementary Schools	CA State Percentile
2018	25.23	4150^th	5413	23.3%
2019	25.14	4215^th	5492	23.3%
2022	15.49	5144^th	5635	8.7%
2023	19.55	4738^th	5617	15.6%
2024	15.01	5116^th	5605	8.7%

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

Rank History for Disabled students at Highlands Elementary

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Elementary Schools	CA State Percentile	SchoolDigger Rating
2018	24.46	1736^th	2128	18.4%
2019	16.47	2556^th	2585	1.1%

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

Rank History for Military Connected students at Highlands Elementary

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Elementary Schools	CA State Percentile
2022	8.85	123^rd	130	5.4%
2023	7.95	134^th	140	4.3%
2024	19.52	99^th	118	16.1%

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

Rank History for Male students at Highlands Elementary

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Elementary Schools	CA State Percentile
2018	26.25	3997^th	5431	26.4%
2019	14.84	5066^th	5510	8.1%
2022	16.04	5117^th	5663	9.6%
2023	15.07	5169^th	5650	8.5%
2024	16.30	5049^th	5636	10.4%

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

Rank History for African American students at Highlands Elementary

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Elementary Schools	CA State Percentile
2018	23.30	583^rd	700	16.7%
2019	20.78	655^th	747	12.3%
2022	19.76	611^th	663	7.8%
2023	30.33	463^rd	662	30.1%
2024	24.54	484^th	593	18.4%

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

Rank History for Hispanic students at Highlands Elementary

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Elementary Schools	CA State Percentile
2018	37.64	3029^th	4830	37.3%
2019	31.57	3586^th	4963	27.7%
2022	15.17	4785^th	5084	5.9%
2023	16.23	4721^st	5098	7.4%
2024	12.89	4881^st	5102	4.3%

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 Highlands Elementary

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Year	White	African American	Asian	Hispanic	American Indian	Pacific Islander	Two or More Races	Not Specified	Total
1988	294	174	95	127	7	n/a	n/a	0	697
1989	285	195	74	139	6	n/a	n/a	0	699
1990	324	184	67	136	4	n/a	n/a	0	715
1991	290	237	68	136	2	n/a	n/a	0	733
1992	285	234	68	141	1	n/a	n/a	0	729
1993	219	240	82	157	1	n/a	n/a	0	699
1994	221	257	86	157	3	n/a	n/a	0	724
1995	195	265	74	168	4	n/a	n/a	0	706
1996	195	265	74	168	4	n/a	n/a	0	706
1997	168	272	77	185	4	n/a	n/a	0	706
1998	142	290	89	203	2	n/a	n/a	0	726
1999	145	294	70	191	2	n/a	n/a	0	702
2000	114	289	67	224	2	n/a	n/a	0	696
2001	95	260	51	268	7	n/a	n/a	10	691
2002	75	188	49	290	34	n/a	n/a	48	684
2003	75	188	49	290	34	n/a	n/a	48	684
2004	92	157	57	354	6	n/a	n/a	54	720
2005	79	148	54	372	2	n/a	n/a	84	739
2006	70	132	55	367	2	n/a	n/a	99	725
2007	63	147	51	370	1	n/a	n/a	85	717
2008	47	148	52	357	1	n/a	n/a	0	605
2009	45	136	52	301	0	9	105	0	648
2010	61	153	64	329	1	15	20	0	643
2011	49	134	51	335	4	16	35	0	624
2012	58	133	48	358	0	13	20	0	630
2013	53	113	47	358	0	8	36	0	615
2014	41	115	44	340	1	5	28	0	574
2015	35	111	32	335	1	5	36	0	555
2016	42	98	35	319	1	3	21	0	519
2017	38	94	38	331	1	7	24	0	533
2018	43	81	40	307	0	5	22	0	498
2019	39	84	39	322	1	4	28	0	517
2020	37	80	44	336	3	5	31	0	536
2021	30	76	47	318	2	3	29	0	505
2022	34	71	47	300	4	5	23	0	484
2023	39	82	43	281	3	7	28	0	483
2024	34	79	46	276	4	4	29	1	473

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 Highlands Elementary

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Year	# Students	Full-time Teachers	Student/Teacher ratio	% Free/Discounted Lunch
1988	697	29.0	24.0	n/a
1989	699	28.4	24.6	n/a
1990	715	28.5	25.0	n/a
1991	733	30.1	24.3	n/a
1992	729	30.6	23.8	47.3
1993	699	30.0	23.3	56.5
1994	724	29.6	24.5	52.6
1995	706	29.0	24.3	57.2
1996	706	29.0	24.3	57.2
1997	706	32.0	22.1	69.7
1998	726	33.0	22.0	67.5
1999	702	33.0	21.3	74.4
2000	696	36.0	19.3	68.2
2001	691	36.0	19.2	66.8
2002	684	37.0	18.5	72.2
2003	684	37.0	18.5	72.2
2004	720	38.0	18.9	71.5
2005	739	39.3	18.8	72.2
2006	725	38.1	19.0	81
2007	717	38.2	18.8	81.5
2008	605	40.0	15.1	85.8
2009	648	33.0	19.1	71.8
2010	643	28.4	22.6	74.2
2011	624	n/a	n/a	81.4
2012	630	26.5	23.7	n/a
2013	615	25.0	24.6	81.8
2014	574	22.0	26.0	84.5
2015	555	22.0	25.2	80.9
2016	519	21.0	24.7	82.1
2017	533	22.0	24.2	76.9
2018	498	23.0	21.6	78.7
2019	517	24.0	21.5	75.6
2020	536	n/a	n/a	76.1
2021	505	22.2	22.7	76.2
2022	484	22.9	21.0	68.2
2023	483	21.6	22.3	73.7
2024	473	20.0	23.6	77.2

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 Highlands Elementary

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Year	# Students	Full-time Teachers	Student/Teacher ratio	% Free/Discounted Lunch
1988	697	29.0	24.0	n/a
1989	699	28.4	24.6	n/a
1990	715	28.5	25.0	n/a
1991	733	30.1	24.3	n/a
1992	729	30.6	23.8	47.3
1993	699	30.0	23.3	56.5
1994	724	29.6	24.5	52.6
1995	706	29.0	24.3	57.2
1996	706	29.0	24.3	57.2
1997	706	32.0	22.1	69.7
1998	726	33.0	22.0	67.5
1999	702	33.0	21.3	74.4
2000	696	36.0	19.3	68.2
2001	691	36.0	19.2	66.8
2002	684	37.0	18.5	72.2
2003	684	37.0	18.5	72.2
2004	720	38.0	18.9	71.5
2005	739	39.3	18.8	72.2
2006	725	38.1	19.0	81
2007	717	38.2	18.8	81.5
2008	605	40.0	15.1	85.8
2009	648	33.0	19.1	71.8
2010	643	28.4	22.6	74.2
2011	624	n/a	n/a	81.4
2012	630	26.5	23.7	n/a
2013	615	25.0	24.6	81.8
2014	574	22.0	26.0	84.5
2015	555	22.0	25.2	80.9
2016	519	21.0	24.7	82.1
2017	533	22.0	24.2	76.9
2018	498	23.0	21.6	78.7
2019	517	24.0	21.5	75.6
2020	536	n/a	n/a	76.1
2021	505	22.2	22.7	76.2
2022	484	22.9	21.0	68.2
2023	483	21.6	22.3	73.7
2024	473	20.0	23.6	77.2

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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