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SCHOOL COMMUNITY·MONTGOMERY COUNTY PUBLIC SCHOOLS·NCES 240048000850

Highland Elementary

3100 Medway St, Silver Spring, MD 20902 · (240) 740-1770 · Montgomery County
GRADES PK–05ELEMENTARY21-SUBURBTITLE IREGULAR SCHOOL509 STUDENTS
Enrollment
509
Elementary
DISTRICT 514 · STATE 481
Student : Teacher
12.3:1
41 FTE teachers
DISTRICT 12.9:1 · STATE 13.8:1
Free / Reduced Lunch
60%
305 students
DISTRICT 40% · STATE 54%
Community
5
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

GradeStudentsShare
Pre-K398%
Kindergarten7615%
Grade 17515%
Grade 28016%
Grade 38817%
Grade 47114%
Grade 58016%

This year's kindergarten class (76) is 5% smaller than its 5th grade class (80).

Student demographics
32%Diversity index
The chance that two students picked at random belong to different racial or ethnic groups.
DISTRICT 75% · STATE 73% · US 70%
White
306%
DISTRICT 23% · STATE 31% · US 43%
Hispanic
41782%
DISTRICT 36% · STATE 24% · US 30%
Black
275%
DISTRICT 22% · STATE 32% · US 15%
Asian
286%
DISTRICT 14% · STATE 7% · US 6%
Two+
71%
DISTRICT 5% · STATE 5% · US 5%
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
26251%
Female
24749%

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Test scores

MCAP 2024-25 . % Proficient (Levels 3-4)
English Language Arts
49.4%
MD avg 50.6% . -3.4pp since 2023
Math
43.4%
MD avg 34.8% . +2.9pp since 2023

What this means: On the MCAP, Maryland's statewide test, about 49 of every 100 students at this school read and write at grade level and about 43 of 100 do math at grade level. Across all Maryland schools, those numbers are about 51 and 35. Reading and writing scores are down about 3 points since 2023, while math scores are up about 3 points.

MCAP results by year

School yearEnglish Language ArtsMath
2024-2549.4%43.4%
2023-2452.8%40.5%
% Proficient (Levels 3-4), all students and all tested grades.
Source: MCAP. 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
46.5%
composite math + reading, all grades
Predicted
38.8%
based on MD schools with similar FRL share
Beats by
+7.8pp
above demographic expectation

What this means: About 47% of students here test proficient in math and reading, compared with the roughly 39% typical for Maryland 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 Maryland'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 Elementary

Highland Elementary's state test result (46.5% proficient) is higher than 5 of the 5 schools below with a result.

SchoolStudentsLow-incomeProficient
Highland Elementary this school50959.9%46.5%
Georgian Forest Elementary
Silver Spring
60057.8%29.7%
Harmony Hills Elementary
Silver Spring
65565.0%28.3%
Weller Road Elementary
Silver Spring
69165.3%34.9%
Harriet R. Tubman Elementary
Gaithersburg
57161.6%27.9%
Gaithersburg Elementary
Gaithersburg
60367.5%20.9%
Matched among Maryland 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 Elementary ranks

Among elementary schools
MeasureThis schoolIn MarylandIn Montgomery County
State test proficiency
ranked highest first
46.5%#384 of 853#81 of 131
Math proficiency
ranked highest first
43.4%#387 of 853
▲ 15
#82 of 131
▲ 5
Reading proficiency
ranked highest first
49.4%#440 of 853
▼ 113
#85 of 131
▼ 8
Enrollment
ranked largest first
509#364 of 898#70 of 139
Students per teacher
ranked fewest first
12.3:1#216 of 857#63 of 136
Diversity index
ranked most diverse first
31.9%#709 of 857#130 of 136
Free and reduced lunch
ranked highest share first
59.9%#410 of 885#29 of 137
Enrollment change since 2017-18
ranked steepest decline first
-12.7%#276 of 551#45 of 97
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 2024-25
Enrollment
509
-21 (-4%) vs 2020
-16% since 1990-91, when it was 603
Student : Teacher
12.3:1
was 11.0:1
Source: NCES Common Core of Data

Enrollment and staffing by year

School yearStudentsTeachers (FTE)Students per teacherFree and reduced lunch
2024-2550941.212.3:160% (305)
2023-2451041.612.3:157% (293)
2022-2351547.310.9:179% (408)
2020-215304811.0:174% (393)
2017-1858349.511.8:181% (472)
2015-165584811.6:179% (443)
2010-114614510.2:184% (387)
2000-017585813.1:164% (484)
1990-916033318.3:1N/A
Source: NCES Common Core of Data. Rows are the federal collections on file for Highland Elementary.

Since 2017-18: students down 13% (583 to 509); teachers down 17% (49.5 to 41.2).

About Highland Elementary

Highland Elementary is a mid-sized elementary school located in Silver Spring, Maryland. It has an enrollment of 509 students in pre-K through 5.

Federal data list 208 schools in Montgomery County Public Schools, with 159,181 students enrolled.

The share of students at Highland Elementary who are Hispanic is 82%. The remaining students are 6% White, 6% Asian, and 5% Black. Among people living in Montgomery County, the Hispanic share is about 21%. Its diversity index, the chance that two randomly chosen students belong to different racial or ethnic groups, is 32%.

The school's 41.2 full-time-equivalent teachers translate to a student-to-teacher ratio of 12.3:1. Elementary schools in Maryland average 13.8:1, 1.5 more students per teacher than here. Income data for the school show 60% of students eligible for free or reduced-price lunch. That is higher than the 40% average for public schools in Montgomery County.

Highland Elementary posts an average proficiency rate across its state test results of 46.5%, compared with a predicted 38.8%. It is not in the top or bottom 10% of Maryland schools on BeatsExpectations.

For Montgomery County, Census Bureau data show median household income comes to about $132,450, about 61% of adults have at least a bachelor's degree, and roughly 5% of residents are in poverty. There are 211 public schools in the county, enrolling about 159,181, Highland Elementary among them.

Highland Elementary is about 0.6 miles from Wheaton High, its nearest public school. Highland Elementary has at least 8 other public schools within five miles. Ranking the closest schools with test data puts Highland Elementary at 1st of 9.

In the federal locale system, Highland Elementary is coded Suburb: Large, for schools in a suburban area outside a principal city, within an urbanized area with a population of 250,000 or more.

Enrollment in 2024-25 stood at 509, compared with 530 in 2020-21. Federal data show the ratio rising from 11.0:1 to 12.3:1.

Anyone can start a thread about open houses, carpools, and field trips at Highland Elementary. Parents, students, alumni, and staff are welcome to post.

Montgomery County at a glance

View full county profile
Population
1,065,949
Census ACS
Median income
$132,450
Household, ACS
Bachelor's+
61%
Adults 25+
Poverty rate
5%
Below federal line
Schools in county
211
159,181 students

Quick facts

School name
Highland Elementary
District
Montgomery County Public Schools
Address
3100 Medway St, Silver Spring, MD 20902
Phone
(240) 740-1770
County
Montgomery County
Level
Elementary
Grade range
PK–05
Total enrollment
509
Teachers (FTE)
41
Student–teacher ratio
12.3:1
Free and reduced lunch
305 (60%)
Locale
21-Suburb: Large
NCES ID
240048000850
Charter school
No
Virtual school
No

Related schools

Other schools in Montgomery County Public Schools
Other schools in Silver Spring
Other Highland Elementary schools

55 other US public schools in 26 states are named Highland Elementary. Highland Elementary is the 20th largest of the 56.

Nearby schools

Frequently asked questions

About Highland Elementary
How large is Highland Elementary?
Highland Elementary enrolls approximately 509 students in grades PK-05.
What grades does Highland Elementary serve?
Highland Elementary serves grades PK-05.
What is the student-teacher ratio at Highland Elementary?
The student-to-teacher ratio at Highland Elementary is approximately 12.3:1 (41 FTE teachers).
What is the racial breakdown of students at Highland Elementary?
At Highland Elementary, the student body is approximately 6% White, 82% Hispanic, 5% Black, 6% Asian, 1% Two or more.
Is Highland Elementary public or private?
Highland Elementary is a public K-12 school, overseen by Montgomery County Public Schools.
Data sourceSchool profile facts are sourced from the NCES. Community content is posted by allk12 members.
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