As of 2019, Highlands is ranked 354th in the nation and 3rd within Kentucky by U.S. News & World Report. They boast ACT and SAT scores well above both state and national averages. Approximately 90% of the school's graduates go to college, and it is the only public high school in the state with a chapter of the Cum Laude Society. Highlands also has chapters of the National Honor Society, National English Honor Society, and Mu Alpha Theta. Twenty Advanced Placement classes are offered and the school is consistently a local leader in National Merit Finalists. Until 2009, Highlands won the State Championships in six out of seven years, and placed in the top 25 at the National Finals in 2007. The school was named a 2007 No Child Left BehindBlue Ribbon School, the highest award that can be given to a school by the US Department of Education and received a national "High Schools That Work" Gold Achievement Award in 2008. The Washington Post named Highlands the number one most challenging school in Kentucky in 2014.
Athletics
The school's nickname was "the Devils" until the 1830s, when the sports teams were renamed "the Bluebirds" due to public outrage from local churches concerning the use of "Devils." The school currently competes in the following sports: With the exception of football, Highlands plays in the AA division. The football team currently plays in 5A and was consistently one of the top teams in the commonwealth of Kentucky until their loss in the first round of the KHSAA State Playoffs to the superior Conner High School Cougars. Prior to the realignment effected in the fall of 2007 that expanded the sport from four divisions to six, the football team played 3A. The Bluebirds football team won their 22nd state title in 2012, tying with Louisville Trinity for the state record and setting a new record for consecutive state football championships, six in a row. These are two of eight team state records that Highlands holds. Highlands is also ranked second nationally, and first in the state, in all-time wins with 842, and have finished the football season nationally ranked on eight occasions. The football team has had thirteen undefeated seasons, and 88 winning seasons out of a total of 98. The girls' soccer team won back to back state championships in 2005 and 2006, and the boys' soccer team was state runner-up in 2008. The girls' cross country team won three consecutive state championships in 2012-2014, 2002-2004, and in 1978-1980. and the girls' track team also won state in 2009. Highlands has 51 state titles across all sports. The Bluebirds baseball team has won 3 consecutive regional championships.
