1
What clubs or activities at Highland El Sch are worth joining?
Community prompt from u/allk12. Replies below.
Enrollment
438
Elementary
DISTRICT 347 · STATE 443
SCHOOL COMMUNITY·EPHRATA AREA SD·NCES 420927002570
Highland Elementary School
99 Highland Ave, Ephrata, PA 17522 · (717) 721-1160 · Lancaster County
GRADES KG–04ELEMENTARY21-SUBURBTITLE IREGULAR SCHOOL438 STUDENTS
A-
allk12 Grade
Scored higher than 82% of Pennsylvania 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.
- A-Beats 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 Pennsylvania public elementary schools
Student : Teacher
14.1:1
31 FTE teachers
DISTRICT 13.6:1 · STATE 13.1:1
Free / Reduced Lunch
55%
240 students
DISTRICT 56% · STATE 75%
Community
1
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 | 53 | 12% |
| Grade 1 | 88 | 20% |
| Grade 2 | 101 | 23% |
| Grade 3 | 91 | 21% |
| Grade 4 | 105 | 24% |
This year's kindergarten class (53) is 50% smaller than its 4th grade class (105).
Student demographics
36%Diversity index
The chance that two students picked at random belong to different racial or ethnic groups.
DISTRICT 41% · STATE 59% · 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
School pathway
Students here typically continue to
Based on grade levels within Ephrata Area SD. Attendance zones can vary; confirm enrollment with the district.
Test scores
PSSA + Keystone 2024-25 . % Proficient or AdvancedEnglish Language Arts
53.8%
PA avg 51.1% . -17.4pp since 2023
Math
57.1%
PA avg 43.0% . -10.2pp since 2023
What this means: On the PSSA + Keystone, Pennsylvania's statewide test, about 54 of every 100 students at this school read and write at grade level and about 57 of 100 do math at grade level. Across all Pennsylvania schools, those numbers are about 51 and 43. Reading and writing scores are down about 17 points since 2023, while math scores are down about 10 points.
PSSA + Keystone results by year
| School year | English Language Arts | Math |
|---|---|---|
| 2024-25 | 53.8% | 57.1% |
| 2023-24 | 71.2% | 67.3% |
% Proficient or Advanced, all students and all tested grades.
Source: PSSA + Keystone. 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
67.3%
composite math + reading, all grades
Predicted
54.1%
based on PA schools with similar FRL share
Beats by
+13.2pp
above demographic expectation
What this means: About 67% of students here test proficient in math and reading, compared with the roughly 54% typical for Pennsylvania 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 Pennsylvania'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 School
Highland Elementary School's state test result (67.3% proficient) is higher than 5 of the 5 schools below with a result.
| School | Students | Low-income | Proficient |
|---|---|---|---|
| Highland Elementary School this school | 438 | 54.8% | 67.3% |
| Plainfield Elementary School Nazareth | 434 | 53.0% | 58.5% |
| George Wolf Elementary School Bath | 428 | 55.8% | 54.2% |
| Conewago Twp Elementary School Hanover | 475 | 57.1% | 63.9% |
| Lincoln Elementary School Gettysburg | 393 | 55.2% | 46.6% |
| Dingman-Delaware Elementary School Dingmans Ferry | 470 | 56.2% | 60.8% |
Matched among Pennsylvania 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 School ranks
Among elementary schools| Measure | This school | In Pennsylvania | In Lancaster County |
|---|---|---|---|
| State test proficiency ranked highest first | 67.3% | #370 of 1,396 | #14 of 60 |
| Math proficiency ranked highest first | 57.1% | #617 of 1,511 ▼ 322 | #31 of 62 ▼ 24 |
| Reading proficiency ranked highest first | 53.8% | #628 of 1,511 ▼ 322 | #35 of 62 ▼ 27 |
| Enrollment ranked largest first | 438 | #726 of 1,638 | #29 of 67 |
| Students per teacher ranked fewest first | 14.1:1 | #1,083 of 1,528 | #48 of 65 |
| Diversity index ranked most diverse first | 36.4% | #844 of 1,531 | #48 of 65 |
| Free and reduced lunch ranked highest share first | 54.8% | #912 of 1,600 | #29 of 65 |
| Enrollment change since 2017-18 ranked steepest decline first | -2.2% | #960 of 1,045 | #46 of 49 |
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
438
-10 (-2%) vs 2020
-35% since 1990-91, when it was 669
Student : Teacher
14.1:1
was 14.9:1
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 | 438 | 31.1 | 14.1:1 | 55% (240) |
| 2023-24 | 466 | 31.6 | 14.8:1 | 52% (240) |
| 2022-23 | 468 | 31.5 | 14.9:1 | 50% (232) |
| 2020-21 | 448 | 30 | 14.9:1 | 49% (218) |
| 2017-18 | 448 | 27.6 | 16.2:1 | 49% (219) |
| 2015-16 | 448 | 27 | 16.6:1 | 48% (216) |
| 2010-11 | 426 | 24 | 17.8:1 | 37% (158) |
| 2000-01 | 538 | 27 | 19.9:1 | 17% (91) |
| 1990-91 | 669 | 34 | 19.7:1 | N/A |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data. Rows are the federal collections on file for Highland Elementary School.
Since 2017-18: students down 2% (448 to 438); teachers up 13% (27.6 to 31.1).
About Highland Elementary School
Highland Elementary School is one of the public schools in Ephrata, Pennsylvania. It is a mid-sized elementary school. The school covers kindergarten through 4 and reported 438 students in 2024-25.
District-wide, Ephrata Area SD has 7 schools and 3,904 students.
Of every 100 students at Highland Elementary School, about 78 are White. The school is also 14% Hispanic and 5% multiracial. Among Lancaster County residents, the White share is about 82%. On the diversity index, which measures the chance that two random students are from different groups, Highland Elementary School scores 36%.
The school has 31.1 full-time-equivalent teachers and a ratio of 14.1 students per teacher. Elementary schools in Pennsylvania average 13.1:1, 1.0 fewer students per teacher than here. Of all students at Highland Elementary School, 55% are eligible for free or reduced-price lunch. The average for public schools in Lancaster County is similar, at 55%.
Among Pennsylvania public elementary schools, Highland Elementary School outscored 82%, which works out to an A- on the allk12 Grade.
The model predicts 54.1% for a school in Pennsylvania with Highland Elementary School's free or reduced-price lunch share. Highland Elementary School posts 67.3%.
For Lancaster County, Census Bureau data show the median household earns about $86,959 a year, about 32% of adults have at least a bachelor's degree, and roughly 5% of residents are in poverty. There are 114 public schools in the county, enrolling about 62,719, Highland Elementary School among them.
Fulton Elementary School is the nearest public school to Highland Elementary School, about 0.5 miles away. Counting only straight-line distance, at least 8 other public schools are within five miles. On proficiency, Highland Elementary School is ahead of the 60.0% nearby average, ranking 2nd of 8.
The NCES locale for Highland Elementary School is Suburb: Large, which covers 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 was 438, close to the 448 recorded in 2020-21.
Highland Elementary School has a community page on allk12 for topics such as special education services, counseling, and support programs. You can also rate the school on this page.
Lancaster County at a glance
View full county profilePopulation
557,931
Census ACS
Median income
$86,959
Household, ACS
Bachelor's+
32%
Adults 25+
Poverty rate
5%
Below federal line
Schools in county
114
62,719 students
Quick facts
Related schools
Other schools in Ephrata Area SD
- Ephrata SHSHigh · 1,347 students
- Ephrata Middle SchoolMiddle · 601 students
- Ephrata Intermediate SchoolMiddle · 568 students
- Clay Elementary SchoolElementary · 377 students
- Fulton Elementary SchoolElementary · 297 students
- Akron Elementary SchoolElementary · 276 students
Other schools in Ephrata
- Ephrata SHSHigh · 1,347 students
- Ephrata Middle SchoolMiddle · 601 students
- Ephrata Intermediate SchoolMiddle · 568 students
- Clay Elementary SchoolElementary · 377 students
- Fulton Elementary SchoolElementary · 297 students
- Lancaster County Career and Technology Center - BrownstownHigh · 25 students
Other Highland Elementary schools
55 other US public schools in 26 states are named Highland Elementary. Highland Elementary School is the 28th largest of the 56.
- Highland Elementary SchoolCamp Hill, PA · 375 students
- Highland Elementary SchoolAmbridge, PA · 284 students
- HIGHLAND ELEMENTARY SCHOOLLAKE WORTH, FL · 976 students
- Highland ElementarySanford, NC · 854 students
- Highland Elementary SchoolMarengo, OH · 836 students
Nearby schools
- Fulton Elementary School0.5 mi · 297
- Ephrata SHS0.7 mi · 1,347
- Ephrata Intermediate School0.9 mi · 568
- Ephrata Middle School0.9 mi · 601
- Akron Elementary School2.3 mi · 276
- Reamstown Elementary School3.3 mi · 375
Frequently asked questions
About Highland Elementary SchoolHow many students attend Highland Elementary School?
Highland Elementary School enrolls approximately 438 students in grades KG-04.
What grades does Highland Elementary School serve?
Highland Elementary School serves grades KG-04.
What is the student-teacher ratio at Highland Elementary School?
The student-to-teacher ratio at Highland Elementary School is approximately 14.1:1 (31 FTE teachers).
What is the racial breakdown of students at Highland Elementary School?
At Highland Elementary School, the student body is approximately 78% White, 14% Hispanic, 1% Black, 2% Asian, 5% Two or more.
What district is Highland Elementary School in?
Highland Elementary School is part of Ephrata Area SD.
Data sourceSchool profile facts are sourced from the NCES. Community content is posted by allk12 members.