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Welcome to the Highlands MS community. What's one thing that would make Highlands MS even better?
Community prompt from u/allk12. Replies below.
Enrollment
575
Middle
DISTRICT 501 · STATE 594
SCHOOL COMMUNITY·HIGHLANDS SD·NCES 421188007275
Highlands Middle School
1350 Broadview Boulevard, Natrona Heights, PA 15065 · (724) 226-0600 · Allegheny County
GRADES 05–08MIDDLE21-SUBURBTITLE IREGULAR SCHOOL575 STUDENTS
B-
allk12 Grade
Scored higher than 51% of Pennsylvania public middle schools
- CTest 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 middle schools
Student : Teacher
9.7:1
59 FTE teachers
DISTRICT 13.0:1 · STATE 13.2:1
Free / Reduced Lunch
104%
596 students
DISTRICT 104% · STATE 75%
Community
1
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
| Grade | Students | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Grade 5 | 162 | 28% |
| Grade 6 | 131 | 23% |
| Grade 7 | 150 | 26% |
| Grade 8 | 132 | 23% |
Student demographics
45%Diversity index
The chance that two students picked at random belong to different racial or ethnic groups.
DISTRICT 46% · 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
Highlands Middle School→Highlands SHS
Feeds from
Based on grade levels within Highlands SD. Attendance zones can vary; confirm enrollment with the district.
Test scores
PSSA + Keystone 2024-25 . % Proficient or AdvancedEnglish Language Arts
40.6%
PA avg 51.1% . -5.6pp since 2023
Math
31.8%
PA avg 43.0% . +3.2pp since 2023
What this means: On the PSSA + Keystone, Pennsylvania's statewide test, about 41 of every 100 students at this school read and write at grade level and about 32 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 6 points since 2023, while math scores are up about 3 points.
PSSA + Keystone results by year
| School year | English Language Arts | Math |
|---|---|---|
| 2024-25 | 40.6% | 31.8% |
| 2023-24 | 46.2% | 28.6% |
% 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
37.6%
composite math + reading, all grades
Predicted
33.2%
based on PA schools with similar FRL share
Beats by
+4.5pp
above demographic expectation
What this means: About 38% of students here test proficient in math and reading, compared with the roughly 33% 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 →
Where Highlands Middle School ranks
Among middle schools| Measure | This school | In Pennsylvania | In Allegheny County |
|---|---|---|---|
| State test proficiency ranked highest first | 37.6% | #364 of 479 | #35 of 47 |
| Math proficiency ranked highest first | 31.8% | #317 of 513 ▲ 36 | #33 of 51 ▲ 2 |
| Reading proficiency ranked highest first | 40.6% | #383 of 513 ▼ 8 | #36 of 51 no change |
| Enrollment ranked largest first | 575 | #249 of 522 | #30 of 51 |
| Students per teacher ranked fewest first | 9.7:1 | #19 of 486 | #4 of 46 |
| Diversity index ranked most diverse first | 44.9% | #190 of 486 | #17 of 46 |
| Free and reduced lunch ranked highest share first | 104% | #40 of 510 | #6 of 51 |
| Enrollment change since 2017-18 ranked fastest growth first | +2.0% | #109 of 131 | #14 of 18 |
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 2024-25Enrollment
575
-142 (-20%) vs 2020
-21% since 1990-91, when it was 725
Student : Teacher
9.7:1
was 12.8:1
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 | 575 | 59.4 | 9.7:1 | N/A |
| 2023-24 | 596 | 52.2 | 11.4:1 | 100% (596) |
| 2022-23 | 652 | 56.1 | 11.6:1 | 100% (652) |
| 2020-21 | 717 | 56 | 12.8:1 | 100% (714) |
| 2017-18 | 564 | 45 | 12.5:1 | 92% (520) |
| 2015-16 | 619 | 43 | 14.4:1 | 100% (619) |
| 2010-11 | 609 | 52 | 11.7:1 | 62% (375) |
| 2000-01 | 737 | 49 | 15.0:1 | 40% (293) |
| 1990-91 | 725 | 56 | 12.9:1 | N/A |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data. Rows are the federal collections on file for Highlands Middle School.
Since 2017-18: students up 2% (564 to 575); teachers up 32% (45 to 59.4).
About Highlands Middle School
Highlands Middle School is one of the public schools in Natrona Heights, Pennsylvania. It is a mid-sized middle-grades school. There are 575 students enrolled, covering grades 5 through 8.
Besides Highlands Middle School, Highlands SD runs 3 other schools. The district enrolls 2,004 students.
White students are 73% of those enrolled at Highlands Middle School. The rest of enrollment is 13% multiracial, 9% Black, and 3% Hispanic. That is in line with Allegheny County, where about 76% of residents are White. On the diversity index, which measures the chance that two random students are from different groups, Highlands Middle School scores 45%.
There are 59.4 full-time-equivalent teachers at the school, a ratio of 9.7:1. The gap from the 13.2:1 average for middle schools in Pennsylvania is 3.5 students per teacher.
On the allk12 Grade, Highlands Middle School lands at B-, ahead of 51% of Pennsylvania public middle schools.
Highlands Middle School's actual average proficiency rate across its state test results (37.6%) and its predicted rate (33.2%) put it outside the top and bottom 10% of Pennsylvania schools.
In the wider Allegheny County area, median household income comes to about $78,548, 46% of adults hold a bachelor's degree or higher, and about 7% of people live in poverty. Allegheny County's 277 public schools enroll about 141,392 students and include Highlands Middle School.
Straight-line distance to the nearest public school, Highlands SHS, is about 0.3 miles. Around the school, at least 8 other public schools are within five miles. On state test proficiency, Highlands Middle School ranks 5th in a group of 7 nearby schools.
On the NCES locale scale, the school is Suburb: Large.
From 2020-21 to 2024-25, enrollment fell from 717 to 575, a 20% drop. Staffing shifted too: the ratio moved from 12.8:1 to 9.7:1.
The Highlands Middle School discussion page is a place for homework, tutoring, and testing dates. Teachers and staff are welcome to share updates too.
Allegheny County at a glance
View full county profilePopulation
1,238,177
Census ACS
Median income
$78,548
Household, ACS
Bachelor's+
46%
Adults 25+
Poverty rate
7%
Below federal line
Schools in county
277
141,392 students
Quick facts
Related schools
Other schools in Highlands SD
- Highlands SHSHigh · 665 students
- Highlands Elementary SchoolElementary · 559 students
- Highlands Early Childhood CenterElementary · 205 students
Other Highlands Middle schools
4 other US public schools in 5 states are named Highlands Middle. Highlands Middle School is the 4th largest of the 5.
- Highlands Middle SchoolKENNEWICK, WA · 745 students
- Highlands Middle SchoolFort Thomas, KY · 717 students
- HIGHLANDS MIDDLE SCHOOLJACKSONVILLE, FL · 685 students
- Highlands Middle SchoolLa Grange Highlands, IL · 429 students
Nearby schools
- Highlands SHS0.3 mi · 665
- Highlands Early Childhood Center0.6 mi · 205
- Highlands Elementary School1.6 mi · 559
- Stewart Elementary School1.9 mi · 259
- Bon Air Elementary School2.6 mi · 447
- Burrell High School2.9 mi · 566
Frequently asked questions
About Highlands Middle SchoolHow large is Highlands Middle School?
Highlands Middle School enrolls approximately 575 students in grades 05-08.
Is Highlands Middle School an elementary, middle, or high school?
Highlands Middle School is a middle school covering grades 05-08.
How many teachers does Highlands Middle School have?
Highlands Middle School employs 59 FTE teachers, for a student-to-teacher ratio of 9.7:1.
What is the student diversity at Highlands Middle School?
Student demographics at Highlands Middle School are roughly 73% White, 3% Hispanic, 9% Black, 2% Asian, 13% Two or more.
Is Highlands Middle School public or private?
Highlands Middle School is a public K-12 school, overseen by Highlands SD.
Data sourceSchool profile facts are sourced from the NCES. Community content is posted by allk12 members.