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What advice would you give to incoming students at Highland Ranch Elementary?
Community prompt from u/allk12. Replies below.
Enrollment
661
Elementary
DISTRICT 607 · STATE 465
SCHOOL COMMUNITY·POWAY UNIFIED·NCES 063153001204
Highland Ranch Elementary
14840 Waverley Downs Way, San Diego, CA 92128 · (858) 674-4707 · San Diego County
GRADES KG–05ELEMENTARY11-CITYREGULAR SCHOOL661 STUDENTS
B
allk12 Grade
Scored higher than 55% of California public elementary schools
- A-Test scores Share of students meeting the state standard in reading, math, and other tested subjects, 2023-24 and 2024-25.
- CBeats expectations How far test scores land above or below what the share of low-income students predicts for a school in this state.
- CThree-year trend Change in reading and math proficiency over the last three test years.
Grades compare a school only with schools in the same state, because every state gives its own test. How grades work · Top-graded California public elementary schools
Student : Teacher
23.2:1
28 FTE teachers
DISTRICT 22.1:1 · STATE 22.3:1
Free / Reduced Lunch
15%
97 students
DISTRICT 17% · STATE 65%
Community
6
0 members
Enrollment and student:teacher ratio compared against other elementary schools. Free/Reduced Lunch and demographics compared against all schools.
Enrollment by grade, 2024-25
| Grade | Students | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Kindergarten | 146 | 22% |
| Grade 1 | 85 | 13% |
| Grade 2 | 98 | 15% |
| Grade 3 | 102 | 15% |
| Grade 4 | 115 | 17% |
| Grade 5 | 115 | 17% |
This year's kindergarten class (146) is 27% larger than its 5th grade class (115).
Student demographics
72%Diversity index
The chance that two students picked at random belong to different racial or ethnic groups.
DISTRICT 72% · STATE 62% · US 70%
Student head counts by race/ethnicity from federal NCES enrollment data. District, state, and US figures are each group's share of all public school students in that area (US excludes territories). Very small groups may be suppressed in the source, so categories do not always sum exactly to total enrollment.
Gender split
Test scores
CAASPP 2024-25 . % met or exceeded standardEnglish Language Arts
68.0%
CA avg 49.1% . +1.0pp since 2014
Math
64.4%
CA avg 37.7% . +10.4pp since 2014
What this means: On the CAASPP, California's statewide test, about 68 of every 100 students at this school read and write at grade level and about 64 of 100 do math at grade level. Across all California schools, those numbers are about 49 and 38. Reading and writing scores are up about 1 points since 2014, while math scores are up about 10 points.
Performance levels, 2024-25
| Subject | Standard Exceeded | Standard Met | Standard Nearly Met | Standard Not Met |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| English Language Arts | 40.6% | 27.4% | 17.5% | 14.5% |
| Math | 39.0% | 25.5% | 22.4% | 13.2% |
Share of tested students at each CAASPP level. Each student counts in one level, so a row adds to about 100%.
CAASPP results by year
| School year | English Language Arts | Math |
|---|---|---|
| 2024-25 | 68.0% | 64.4% |
| 2023-24 | 64.8% | 64.9% |
| 2022-23 | 65.6% | 64.8% |
| 2021-22 | 71.1% | 63.5% |
| 2018-19 | 74.0% | 65.3% |
| 2017-18 | 62.8% | 51.7% |
| 2016-17 | 62.5% | 52.0% |
| 2015-16 | 67.0% | 58.0% |
| 2014-15 | 67.0% | 54.0% |
% met or exceeded standard, all students and all tested grades.
Source: CAASPP. All students, all grades. See all years and grades →
BeatsExpectations
Demographically-adjusted score · methodologyTier
AS EXPECTED
Performing as predicted given the school's student profile
Actual proficiency
65.2%
composite math + reading, all grades
Predicted
70.9%
based on CA schools with similar FRL share
Beats by
-5.7pp
below demographic expectation
What this means: About 65% of students here test proficient in math and reading, compared with the roughly 71% typical for California schools with a similar share of low-income students. BeatsExpectations measures results against demographically similar schools rather than by raw scores, and this school falls within the typical range, neither among California's top nor bottom 10%.
BeatsExpectations runs a per-state regression of proficiency on free/reduced-lunch share, then scores each school by residual. How this is calculated →
Schools most like Highland Ranch Elementary
Highland Ranch Elementary's state test result (65.2% proficient) is higher than 0 of the 4 schools below with a result.
| School | Students | Low-income | Proficient |
|---|---|---|---|
| Highland Ranch Elementary this school | 661 | 14.7% | 65.2% |
| Anza Elementary Torrance | 613 | 14.8% | 76.2% |
| Oxford Preparatory Academy - Saddleback Valley Lake Forest | 565 | 16.1% | N/A |
| Altamont Creek Elementary Livermore | 620 | 15.6% | 66.5% |
| Courreges (Roch) Elementary Fountain Valley | 631 | 19.2% | 79.8% |
| Walteria Elementary Torrance | 650 | 16.8% | 81.6% |
Matched among California elementary schools on enrollment, the share of students from low-income families (eligible for free or reduced-price lunch), and racial and ethnic makeup. Proficient is the average share of students meeting the state standard across all of the school's state tests in 2023-24 and 2024-25, the same combined score our test-score rankings use. Online schools and schools serving specialized populations are not matched.
Where Highland Ranch Elementary ranks
Among elementary schools| Measure | This school | In California | In San Diego County |
|---|---|---|---|
| State test proficiency ranked highest first | 65.2% | #871 of 5,151 | #103 of 392 |
| Math proficiency ranked highest first | 64.4% | #854 of 5,172 ▼ 36 | #104 of 393 ▼ 10 |
| Reading proficiency ranked highest first | 68.0% | #849 of 5,172 ▲ 120 | #104 of 393 ▲ 8 |
| 3-year test score change ranked biggest drop first | -1.1pp | #1,470 of 5,116 | #135 of 387 |
| Enrollment ranked largest first | 661 | #953 of 5,915 | #80 of 453 |
| Students per teacher ranked fewest first | 23.2:1 | #3,168 of 5,352 | #219 of 418 |
| Diversity index ranked most diverse first | 71.5% | #448 of 5,354 | #36 of 418 |
| Free and reduced lunch ranked highest share first | 14.7% | #5,329 of 5,625 | #402 of 442 |
| Enrollment change since 2017-18 ranked steepest decline first | -6.8% | #3,090 of 3,837 | #218 of 279 |
Ranked against other public elementary schools. Online schools are left out of every list, and test-score lists leave out schools that serve specialized populations. Each rank links to the full list. Arrows under a test-score rank show places moved since the prior test year, among schools tested both years.
4-year change
SY 2020-21 vs SY 2024-25Enrollment
661
+32 (+5%) vs 2020
-6% since 2000-01, when it was 702
Student : Teacher
23.2:1
was 23.3:1
Source: NCES Common Core of Data
Enrollment and staffing by year
| School year | Students | Teachers (FTE) | Students per teacher | Free and reduced lunch |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024-25 | 661 | 28.5 | 23.2:1 | 15% (97) |
| 2023-24 | 661 | 28 | 23.6:1 | 18% (120) |
| 2022-23 | 630 | 25.7 | 24.5:1 | 14% (89) |
| 2020-21 | 629 | 27 | 23.3:1 | 12% (74) |
| 2017-18 | 709 | 28.2 | 25.1:1 | 15% (107) |
| 2015-16 | 716 | 27 | 26.5:1 | 14% (99) |
| 2010-11 | 737 | N/A | N/A | 9% (66) |
| 2000-01 | 702 | 34 | 20.6:1 | 4% (25) |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data. Rows are the federal collections on file for Highland Ranch Elementary.
Since 2017-18: students down 7% (709 to 661); teachers up 1% (28.2 to 28.5).
About Highland Ranch Elementary
Highland Ranch Elementary is a medium-sized elementary school for students in San Diego, California. The school's 661 students are in kindergarten through 5. Enrollment is 42% higher than the average for elementary schools in California, which is about 465.
A total of 39 schools make up Poway Unified, with 34,259 students enrolled.
Highland Ranch Elementary's enrollment has no majority group, and Asian students are the largest at 40%. The school is also 29% White, 15% Hispanic, 12% multiracial, and 3% Black. The Asian share of the county population is lower, at 12%. The chance that two students picked at random at Highland Ranch Elementary belong to different racial or ethnic groups, known as the diversity index, is 72%.
The school reports 28.5 full-time-equivalent teachers, which works out to about 23.2 students per teacher. The 22.3:1 average for elementary schools in California is lower than this school's figure. The free or reduced-price lunch share, often used to gauge student poverty, is 15%. The gap from the 54% average for public schools in San Diego County is 39 points.
Highland Ranch Elementary is graded B by allk12, scoring above 55% of California public elementary schools once test results, poverty-adjusted performance, and the recent trend are combined.
Schools in California with a similar free or reduced-price lunch share are predicted to score about 70.9%. Highland Ranch Elementary scores 65.2%.
Among San Diego County residents, median household income is about $106,268, about 43% of adults have at least a bachelor's degree, and roughly 7% of residents are in poverty. Highland Ranch Elementary is one of 766 public schools in San Diego County, which together enroll about 467,437 students.
The closest other public school is Rancho Bernardo High, about 0.8 miles away. Around the school, at least 8 other public schools are within five miles. Of 8 schools in the immediate area with test results, Highland Ranch Elementary ranks 5th on average proficiency.
NCES describes the area around Highland Ranch Elementary as City: Large, meaning inside a principal city with a population of 250,000 or more.
Enrollment was 629 in 2020-21 and 661 in 2024-25, a increase of 32 students.
Discussion on this page can cover school safety, transportation, and start times. Reviews and ratings from people who know the school are welcome.
San Diego County at a glance
View full county profilePopulation
3,288,774
Census ACS
Median income
$106,268
Household, ACS
Bachelor's+
43%
Adults 25+
Poverty rate
7%
Below federal line
Schools in county
766
467,437 students
Quick facts
Related schools
Other schools in Poway Unified
- Del Norte HighHigh · 2,557 students
- Rancho Bernardo HighHigh · 2,210 students
- Westview HighHigh · 2,116 students
- Poway HighHigh · 2,101 students
- Mt. Carmel HighHigh · 1,800 students
- Oak Valley MiddleMiddle · 1,503 students
Other schools in San Diego
- Del Norte HighHigh · 2,557 students
- Torrey Pines HighHigh · 2,536 students
- Henry HighHigh · 2,485 students
- Rancho Bernardo HighHigh · 2,210 students
- Mira Mesa HighHigh · 2,187 students
- Canyon Crest AcademyHigh · 2,147 students
Nearby schools
- Rancho Bernardo High0.8 mi · 2,210
- Abraxas Continuation High0.9 mi · 216
- Bernardo Heights Middle1.0 mi · 1,487
- Rolling Hills Elementary1.3 mi · 490
- Shoal Creek Elementary1.3 mi · 500
- Meadowbrook Middle1.4 mi · 972
Frequently asked questions
About Highland Ranch ElementaryHow many students attend Highland Ranch Elementary?
Highland Ranch Elementary enrolls approximately 661 students in grades KG-05.
What age range does Highland Ranch Elementary serve?
Highland Ranch Elementary serves students from grade KG through grade 05.
What is the student-teacher ratio at Highland Ranch Elementary?
The student-to-teacher ratio at Highland Ranch Elementary is approximately 23.2:1 (28 FTE teachers).
What is the racial breakdown of students at Highland Ranch Elementary?
At Highland Ranch Elementary, the student body is approximately 29% White, 15% Hispanic, 3% Black, 40% Asian, 12% Two or more.
What district is Highland Ranch Elementary in?
Highland Ranch Elementary is part of Poway Unified.
Data sourceSchool profile facts are sourced from the NCES. Community content is posted by allk12 members.