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Honest take: what's the hardest part about being a student at Highlands SHS?
Community prompt from u/allk12. Replies below.
Enrollment
665
High
DISTRICT 501 · STATE 738
SCHOOL COMMUNITY·HIGHLANDS SD·NCES 421188005153
Highlands SHS
1500 Pacific Ave, Natrona Heights, PA 15065 · (724) 226-1000 · Allegheny County
GRADES 09–12HIGH21-SUBURBTITLE IREGULAR SCHOOL665 STUDENTS
C+
allk12 Grade
Scored higher than 37% of Pennsylvania public high schools
- C+Test scores Share of students meeting the state standard in reading, math, and other tested subjects, 2023-24 and 2024-25.
- ·Beats expectations Not available for this school, so the grade uses the other parts.
- ·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 high schools
Student : Teacher
14.4:1
46 FTE teachers
DISTRICT 13.0:1 · STATE 12.8:1
Free / Reduced Lunch
107%
711 students
DISTRICT 104% · STATE 75%
Community
1
0 members
Enrollment and student:teacher ratio compared against other high schools. Free/Reduced Lunch and demographics compared against all schools.
Enrollment by grade, 2024-25
| Grade | Students | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Grade 9 | 175 | 26% |
| Grade 10 | 164 | 25% |
| Grade 11 | 166 | 25% |
| Grade 12 | 160 | 24% |
Student demographics
39%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
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
58.6%
PA avg 51.1% . +1.0pp since 2023
Math
43.4%
PA avg 43.0% . +6.4pp since 2023
What this means: On the PSSA + Keystone, Pennsylvania's statewide test, about 59 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 Pennsylvania schools, those numbers are about 51 and 43. Reading and writing scores are up about 1 points since 2023, while math scores are up about 6 points.
PSSA + Keystone results by year
| School year | English Language Arts | Math |
|---|---|---|
| 2024-25 | 58.6% | 43.4% |
| 2023-24 | 57.6% | 37.0% |
% Proficient or Advanced, all students and all tested grades.
Source: PSSA + Keystone. All students, all grades. See all years and grades →
Where Highlands SHS ranks
Among high schools| Measure | This school | In Pennsylvania | In Allegheny County |
|---|---|---|---|
| Math proficiency ranked highest first | 43.4% | #257 of 626 ▲ 69 | #27 of 53 ▼ 1 |
| Reading proficiency ranked highest first | 58.6% | #320 of 626 ▲ 35 | #30 of 53 ▲ 3 |
| Enrollment ranked largest first | 665 | #298 of 713 | #29 of 59 |
| Students per teacher ranked fewest first | 14.4:1 | #363 of 601 | #36 of 52 |
| Diversity index ranked most diverse first | 39.0% | #230 of 604 | #29 of 52 |
| Free and reduced lunch ranked highest share first | 107% | #28 of 619 | #6 of 52 |
| Enrollment change since 2017-18 ranked steepest decline first | -13.7% | #116 of 373 | #11 of 29 |
Ranked against other public high 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
665
-61 (-8%) vs 2020
-35% since 1990-91, when it was 1,020
Student : Teacher
14.4:1
was 15.4:1
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 | 665 | 46 | 14.4:1 | N/A |
| 2023-24 | 701 | 47.1 | 14.9:1 | N/A |
| 2022-23 | 713 | 39.5 | 18.1:1 | 90% (644) |
| 2020-21 | 726 | 47 | 15.4:1 | 92% (665) |
| 2017-18 | 771 | 44 | 17.5:1 | 85% (655) |
| 2015-16 | 796 | 56 | 14.2:1 | 100% (796) |
| 2010-11 | 853 | 58 | 14.7:1 | 57% (482) |
| 2000-01 | 972 | 61 | 15.9:1 | 26% (252) |
| 1990-91 | 1,020 | 58 | 17.6:1 | N/A |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data. Rows are the federal collections on file for Highlands SHS.
Since 2017-18: students down 14% (771 to 665); teachers up 5% (44 to 46).
About Highlands SHS
Highlands SHS is a medium-sized high school in Natrona Heights, Pennsylvania, one of the schools in Highlands SD. The latest federal count shows 665 students in grades 9 through 12.
Highlands SHS is part of Highlands SD, where 4 schools serve 2,004 students.
White students make up a majority at Highlands SHS, at 77%. The remaining shares are 10% multiracial, 9% Black, and 3% Hispanic. The White share in Allegheny County as a whole is similar, at about 76%. Pick two students at random and there is a 39% chance they belong to different racial or ethnic groups; that figure is the school's diversity index.
Teachers at the school number 46 full-time equivalents, and the ratio is 14.4:1. This ratio sits 1.7 above the 12.8:1 average for high schools in Pennsylvania.
Measured against Pennsylvania public high schools, Highlands SHS receives a C+. The grade weighs proficiency most heavily, then how results compare with what the school's low-income share predicts, then the three-year change.
Allegheny County census figures show that the median household income is $78,548, 46% of adults hold a bachelor's degree or higher, and about 7% of people live in poverty. There are 277 public schools in Allegheny County, enrolling about 141,392 students in all.
The next-closest public school is Highlands Middle School, about 0.3 miles away. Highlands SHS is one of several public schools in the area, with at least 8 others within five miles.
By NCES locale, the school is Suburb: Large, or in a suburban area outside a principal city, within an urbanized area with a population of 250,000 or more.
Enrollment declined 8% from its 2020-21 level of 726. The student-to-teacher ratio went down from 15.4:1 to 14.4:1.
The Highlands SHS community page is open for posts about sports schedules, lunch menus, and spirit week. Anyone with firsthand experience at this school can post or comment.
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 Middle SchoolMiddle · 575 students
- Highlands Elementary SchoolElementary · 559 students
- Highlands Early Childhood CenterElementary · 205 students
Other schools in Natrona Heights
- Highlands Middle SchoolMiddle · 575 students
Nearby schools
- Highlands Middle School0.3 mi · 575
- Highlands Early Childhood Center0.8 mi · 205
- Highlands Elementary School1.9 mi · 559
- Stewart Elementary School2.0 mi · 259
- Bon Air Elementary School2.6 mi · 447
- Burrell High School2.8 mi · 566
Frequently asked questions
About Highlands SHSHow large is Highlands SHS?
Highlands SHS enrolls approximately 665 students in grades 09-12.
What age range does Highlands SHS serve?
Highlands SHS serves students from grade 09 through grade 12.
How many students per teacher at Highlands SHS?
Approximately 14.4:1 students per teacher at Highlands SHS.
What is the student diversity at Highlands SHS?
Student demographics at Highlands SHS are roughly 77% White, 3% Hispanic, 9% Black, 1% Asian, 10% Two or more.
Who oversees Highlands SHS?
Highlands SHS is overseen by Highlands SD in Allegheny County.
Data sourceSchool profile facts are sourced from the NCES. Community content is posted by allk12 members.