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Schools›Kentucky›Fort Thomas
SCHOOL COMMUNITY·FORT THOMAS INDEPENDENT·NCES 210204001400

Highlands Middle School

2350 Memorial Pkwy, Fort Thomas, KY 41075 · (859) 441-5222 · Campbell County
GRADES 06–08MIDDLE21-SUBURBREGULAR SCHOOL717 STUDENTS
A-
allk12 Grade
Scored higher than 80% of Kentucky public middle schools
  • ATest scores Share of students meeting the state standard in reading, math, and other tested subjects, 2023-24 and 2024-25.
  • BBeats expectations How far test scores land above or below what the share of low-income students predicts for a school in this state.
  • ·Three-year trend Not available for this school, so the grade uses the other parts.

Grades compare a school only with schools in the same state, because every state gives its own test. How grades work · Top-graded Kentucky public middle schools

Enrollment
717
Middle
DISTRICT 634 · STATE 558
Student : Teacher
15.7:1
46 FTE teachers
DISTRICT 16.3:1 · STATE 15.8:1
Free / Reduced Lunch
11%
78 students
DISTRICT 9% · STATE 63%
Community
5
0 members
Enrollment and student:teacher ratio compared against other middle schools. Free/Reduced Lunch and demographics compared against all schools.

Enrollment by grade, 2024-25

GradeStudentsShare
Grade 622131%
Grade 725636%
Grade 824033%
Student demographics
20%Diversity index
The chance that two students picked at random belong to different racial or ethnic groups.
DISTRICT 21% · STATE 47% · US 70%
White
64189%
DISTRICT 89% · STATE 71% · US 43%
Hispanic
233%
DISTRICT 4% · STATE 10% · US 30%
Black
142%
DISTRICT 1% · STATE 11% · US 15%
Asian
71%
DISTRICT 1% · STATE 2% · US 6%
Two+
314%
DISTRICT 5% · STATE 6% · US 5%
Native American
10%
DISTRICT 0% · STATE 0% · US 1%
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
Male
35449%
Female
36351%

School pathway

Students here typically continue to
Highlands Middle School→Highlands High School
Feeds from
Woodfill Elementary SchoolKG–05Johnson Elementary SchoolPK–05Moyer Elementary SchoolPK–05
Based on grade levels within Fort Thomas Independent. Attendance zones can vary; confirm enrollment with the district.

Discussions

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Test scores

KSA (K-PREP) 2024-25 . % Proficient/Distinguished
English Language Arts
64.3%
KY avg 47.9%
Math
65.7%
KY avg 42.8%

What this means: On the KSA (K-PREP), Kentucky's statewide test, about 64 of every 100 students at this school read and write at grade level and about 66 of 100 do math at grade level. Across all Kentucky schools, those numbers are about 48 and 43.

Source: KSA (K-PREP). All students, all grades. See all years and grades →

BeatsExpectations

Demographically-adjusted score · methodology
Tier
AS EXPECTED
Performing as predicted given the school's student profile
Actual proficiency
60.7%
composite math + reading, all grades
Predicted
60.9%
based on KY schools with similar FRL share
Beats by
-0.2pp
below demographic expectation

What this means: About 61% of students here test proficient in math and reading, compared with the roughly 61% typical for Kentucky 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 Kentucky'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 Highlands Middle School

Highlands Middle School's state test result (60.7% proficient) is higher than 4 of the 5 schools below with a result.

SchoolStudentsLow-incomeProficient
Highlands Middle School this school71710.9%60.7%
North Oldham Middle School
Goshen
72011.3%64.5%
East Oldham Middle School
Crestwood
57017.7%59.7%
South Oldham Middle School
Crestwood
84821.5%58.5%
Eastside Middle School
Mount Washington
68226.2%46.4%
Ballyshannon Middle School
Union
60927.4%51.7%
Matched among Kentucky middle 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 Highlands Middle School ranks

Among middle schools
MeasureThis schoolIn Kentucky
State test proficiency
ranked highest first
60.7%#12 of 216
Math proficiency
ranked highest first
65.7%#9 of 216
Reading proficiency
ranked highest first
64.3%#18 of 217
Enrollment
ranked largest first
717#54 of 221
Students per teacher
ranked fewest first
15.7:1#91 of 210
Diversity index
ranked most diverse first
19.7%#153 of 210
Free and reduced lunch
ranked highest share first
10.9%#219 of 219
Enrollment change since 2017-18
ranked steepest decline first
-3.9%#136 of 156
Ranked against other public middle 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 2024-25
Enrollment
717
-50 (-7%) vs 2020
+88% since 2000-01, when it was 381
Student : Teacher
15.7:1
was 18.3:1
Source: NCES Common Core of Data

Enrollment and staffing by year

School yearStudentsTeachers (FTE)Students per teacherFree and reduced lunch
2024-2571745.715.7:111% (78)
2023-247334615.9:1N/A
2022-2373244.516.4:111% (78)
2020-217674218.3:17% (53)
2017-1874640.518.4:111% (84)
2015-167374018.4:112% (85)
2010-116253219.5:117% (106)
2000-013812614.7:10% (0)
Source: NCES Common Core of Data. Rows are the federal collections on file for Highlands Middle School.

Since 2017-18: students down 4% (746 to 717); teachers up 13% (40.5 to 45.7).

About Highlands Middle School

This page covers Highlands Middle School, a medium-sized middle school in Fort Thomas, Kentucky. The school had 717 students in grades 6 through 8 in 2024-25. An average school in this group (middle schools in Kentucky) has about 558 students.

Within Fort Thomas Independent, Highlands Middle School is one of 5 schools. The district enrolls 3,170 students.

White students make up 89% of enrollment at Highlands Middle School. Other students are 4% multiracial and 3% Hispanic. For comparison, Campbell County is about 91% White. The school's diversity index is 20%, meaning two students picked at random have a 20% chance of belonging to different racial or ethnic groups.

With 45.7 full-time-equivalent teachers in 2024-25, the ratio at Highlands Middle School was 15.7:1. For comparison, middle schools in Kentucky average 15.8:1. Highlands Middle School's free or reduced-price lunch eligibility rate is 11%. The 44% average for public schools in Campbell County is 33 points higher.

allk12 grades Highlands Middle School an A-. The grade compares the school only with Kentucky public middle schools, because each state gives its own test.

Highlands Middle School sits between the top and bottom 10% of Kentucky schools on BeatsExpectations, with an actual average proficiency rate on state tests of 60.7% and a predicted 60.9%.

In Campbell County (population about 93,426), the median household income is $77,567, about 40% of adults have at least a bachelor's degree, and roughly 7% of residents are in poverty. In all, Campbell County has 27 public schools and roughly 11,168 students.

The nearest other public school, Highlands High School, is less than a tenth of a mile away. There are at least 8 more public schools inside five miles. On state test proficiency, Highlands Middle School ranks 5th in a group of 8 nearby schools.

NCES assigns Highlands Middle School the locale Suburb: Large, meaning in a suburban area outside a principal city, within an urbanized area with a population of 250,000 or more.

Compared with 2020-21, the school had 50 fewer students in 2024-25. By 2024-25, the school had 15.7 students per teacher, compared with 18.3 in 2020-21.

Discussion on this page can cover school events, clubs, and volunteer needs. Posting is open to anyone connected to the school.

Campbell County at a glance

View full county profile
Population
93,426
Census ACS
Median income
$77,567
Household, ACS
Bachelor's+
40%
Adults 25+
Poverty rate
7%
Below federal line
Schools in county
27
11,168 students

Quick facts

School name
Highlands Middle School
District
Fort Thomas Independent
Address
2350 Memorial Pkwy, Fort Thomas, KY 41075
Phone
(859) 441-5222
County
Campbell County
Level
Middle
Grade range
06–08
Total enrollment
717
Teachers (FTE)
46
Student–teacher ratio
15.7:1
Free and reduced lunch
78 (11%)
Locale
21-Suburb: Large
NCES ID
210204001400
Charter school
No
Virtual school
No

Related schools

Other schools in Fort Thomas Independent
Other schools in Fort Thomas
Other Highlands Middle schools

4 other US public schools in 5 states are named Highlands Middle. Highlands Middle School is the 2nd largest of the 5.

Nearby schools

Frequently asked questions

About Highlands Middle School
How many students attend Highlands Middle School?
Highlands Middle School enrolls approximately 717 students in grades 06-08.
What grades does Highlands Middle School serve?
Highlands Middle School serves grades 06-08.
What is the student-teacher ratio at Highlands Middle School?
The student-to-teacher ratio at Highlands Middle School is approximately 15.7:1 (46 FTE teachers).
What is the student diversity at Highlands Middle School?
Student demographics at Highlands Middle School are roughly 89% White, 3% Hispanic, 2% Black, 1% Asian, 4% Two or more.
Is Highlands Middle School public or private?
Highlands Middle School is a public K-12 school, overseen by Fort Thomas Independent.
Data sourceSchool profile facts are sourced from the NCES. Community content is posted by allk12 members.
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