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Westwood Heights Elementary School

Q: Is Westwood Heights Elementary School a good school?

Westwood Heights Elementary School ranks 1169 th of 2240 Florida elementary schools. SchoolDigger rates this school 2 stars out of 5.

Public Grades PK, KG-5

1169^th

SchoolDigger Rank ?

of 2,240 Florida Elementary Schools

Better than 48% of Florida elementary schools

Summary

Westwood Heights Elementary School in Fort Lauderdale, FL, is a mid-sized PK-5 school within the Broward district, serving 451 students in a predominantly low-income community where over two-thirds of students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch.

This school stands out for its remarkable academic turnaround. After years of being one of the lowest-performing schools in Florida, Westwood Heights has shown consistent, multi-year improvement, jumping from the 4th percentile to the 48th percentile over the last three years. This is especially impressive in math, where proficiency rates are competitive with district and state averages—a notable achievement given the school's high poverty rate. For example, 4th-grade math proficiency (67%) is just 5 points below the district average and 2 points above the state average. This upward trajectory contrasts sharply with nearby Riverland Elementary School (0.42 miles away), which has seen its ranking drop from the 40th to the 26th percentile over the same period, despite serving a similar demographic. Westwood Heights also outperforms New Life Charter Academy (0.9 miles away) in 4th-grade math and English Language Arts, even though New Life has a much lower poverty rate and virtually no chronic absenteeism.

While the school's progress is encouraging, challenges remain. Chronic absenteeism, though improving from a pandemic peak of 52% to 32%, is still above state and district averages. Additionally, early-grade literacy is a weak spot—3rd-grade English Language Arts proficiency (38%) lags significantly behind the district (64%). On the positive side, 5th-grade science has seen a dramatic 41-point gain in three years, now nearly matching the state average. The school spends more per student ($15,173) than many nearby schools like Stephen Foster Elementary ($13,911) and Meadowbrook Elementary ($14,473), though it maintains a relatively high student-teacher ratio of 18.7. This suggests the school is investing in targeted interventions and resources rather than smaller class sizes, a strategy that appears to be paying off for students who attend regularly.

451

Students ?

18.7

Student/teacher ratio ?

$15,173

Per pupil spending ?

67.6%

Free/discounted lunch ?

2861 SW 9th St
Fort Lauderdale, FL 33312

(754) 323-7900

District: Broward

Students who attend Westwood Heights Elementary School usually attend:

Middle:	Parkway Middle School
High:	South Plantation High School

Racial breakdown:

African American:

79.8%

Hispanic:

16.4%

White:

2.2%

See top rated Florida elementary schools

Compare Westwood Heights Elementary School to nearby elementary schools!

At a glance

▲ Ranking trend: Improving — 4th percentile in 2016 → 48th in 2026

Strengths

✓Ranking is trending up — up 44 percentile points since 2016

Students meeting standards (2025-2026) ?

This school59%

District avg68%

Florida avg62%

1,169^th of 2,240

Florida public elementary schools ?

Bottom 48%▲ up 44 pts since 2016

From bottom 4% (2016) to bottom 48% (2026)

See the entire ranking list of Florida Elementary Schools →

★★★★★

SchoolDigger rating ?

122^nd of 184Elementary Schools in the Broward

23^rd of 70Broward among Florida districts

Statewide rank percentile over time (100 = the top-ranked school in the state; click a legend item to add a student group)

Show full rank history (all student groups)

All Students

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Florida percentile	Rating
2026	48.8	1169 of 2240	47.8%	★★☆☆☆
2025	48.1	1156 of 2258	48.8%	★★☆☆☆
2024	48.0	1143 of 2256	49.3%	★★☆☆☆
2023	26.3	1705 of 2240	23.9%	★☆☆☆☆
2022	9.0	2120 of 2219	4.5%	☆☆☆☆☆
2021	4.8	2218 of 2247	1.3%	☆☆☆☆☆
2019	19.6	1853 of 2182	15.1%	★☆☆☆☆
2018	19.2	1802 of 2118	14.9%	★☆☆☆☆
2017	12.5	1954 of 2112	7.5%	☆☆☆☆☆
2016	7.5	2010 of 2087	3.7%	☆☆☆☆☆
2014	2.0	2047 of 2064	0.8%	☆☆☆☆☆
2013	3.8	2003 of 2029	1.3%	☆☆☆☆☆
2012	4.5	1953 of 1984	1.6%	☆☆☆☆☆
2011	12.3	1825 of 1985	8.1%	☆☆☆☆☆
2010	8.6	1828 of 1919	4.7%	☆☆☆☆☆
2009	10.6	1727 of 1847	6.5%	☆☆☆☆☆
2008	13.7	1632 of 1789	8.8%	☆☆☆☆☆
2007	15.9	1579 of 1786	11.6%	★☆☆☆☆
2006	15.3	1481 of 1688	12.3%	★☆☆☆☆

By subject vs Florida (2025-2026) ?

Math64%~ state avg

Science58%~ state avg

English Language Arts55%-5 vs state

5.0

1 rating

5★1

4★0

3★0

2★0

1★0

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Schools Near Westwood Heights Elementary School

Choose columns to see: Summary School Students/Teachers Ranking Test Scores Finance All

School													Students/Teachers											Ranking (2026)				Ranking (2025)				FAST English Language Arts (2026)			FAST Math (2026)			Statewide Science Science (2026)	Per Pupil Expenditures (2025)
Name	Type	Grades	Address	City	Zip	County	District	Is Charter	Is Magnet	Is Virtual	Is Title I	Phone	Enrollment	Full-time Teachers	Student/ Teacher Ratio	Free/Discounted Lunch Recipients	White	Black	Hispanic	Asian	American Indian	Pacific Islander	Two or More Races	Average Standard Score (2026)	Statewide Rank (2026)	State Percentile (2026)	SchoolDigger Rating (2026)	Average Standard Score (2025)	Statewide Rank (2025)	State Percentile (2025)	Rank Change from Previous Year	FAST English Language Arts 3rd Grade	FAST English Language Arts 4th Grade	FAST English Language Arts 5th Grade	FAST Math 3rd Grade	FAST Math 4th Grade	FAST Math 5th Grade	Statewide Science Science 5th Grade	Per Pupil Expenditures Total	Sub-total from Federal Funds	Sub-total from State/Local Funds
Westwood Heights Elementary School	Public	PK, KG-5	2861 SW 9th St	Fort Lauderdale	33312	Broward County	Broward	No	No	No	Yes	(754) 323-7900	451	24	18.7	67.6%	10 (2.2%)	360 (79.8%)	74 (16.4%)	1 (0.2%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	6 (1.3%)	48.8	1169^th of 2240 public elementary schools	47.8%		48.1	1156^th of 2258 public elementary schools	48.8%	13	38.0	65.0	64.0	63.0	67.0	61.0	58.0	$15,173	$1,965	$13,209
Riverland Elementary School	Public, Magnet	PK, KG-5	2600 SW 11th Ct	Fort Lauderdale	33312	Broward County	Broward	No	Yes	No	Yes	(754) 323-7200	459	27	17.0	62.1%	25 (5.4%)	188 (41.0%)	233 (50.8%)	2 (0.4%)	1 (0.2%)	1 (0.2%)	9 (2.0%)	30	1665^th of 2240 public elementary schools	25.7%		32.5	1575^th of 2258 public elementary schools	30.2%	90	72.0	39.0	33.0	60.0	39.0	50.0	57.0	$15,777	$2,586	$13,190
New Life Charter Academy	Public, Charter	K-5	3550 Davie Blvd	Fort Lauderdale	33312	Broward County	Broward	Yes	No	No	Yes	(954) 381-5199	110	0		2.7%	2 (1.8%)	50 (45.5%)	52 (47.3%)	4 (3.6%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	2 (1.8%)	47.5	1210^th of 2240 public elementary schools	46.0%		33.7	1534^th of 2258 public elementary schools	32.1%	324	62.0	58.0	67.0	54.0	50.0	73.0	47.0	$11,341	$781	$10,560
Dr. Martin Luther King Junior Montessori Academy	Public, Magnet	PK, KG-5	591 NW 31st Ave	Lauderhill	33311	Broward County	Broward	No	Yes	No	Yes	(754) 322-6550	385	24	16.0	77.7%	1 (0.3%)	357 (92.7%)	25 (6.5%)	0 (0.0%)	1 (0.3%)	0 (0.0%)	1 (0.3%)	53.5	1063^rd of 2240 public elementary schools	52.5%		38.9	1393^rd of 2258 public elementary schools	38.3%	330	56.0	47.0	60.0	81.0	65.0	70.0	58.0	$15,748	$2,131	$13,618
Broward Estates Elementary School	Public, Magnet	PK, KG-5	441 NW 35th Ave	Lauderhill	33311	Broward County	Broward	No	Yes	No	Yes	(754) 322-5550	220	15	14.6	66.4%	2 (0.9%)	195 (88.6%)	18 (8.2%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	5 (2.3%)								(n/a)								$20,814	$2,075	$18,739
Stephen Foster Elementary School	Public	PK, KG-5	3471 SW 22nd St	Fort Lauderdale	33312	Broward County	Broward	No	No	No	Yes	(754) 323-5750	572	36	15.8	53.1%	43 (7.5%)	84 (14.7%)	438 (76.6%)	2 (0.3%)	0 (0.0%)	1 (0.2%)	4 (0.7%)	70.4	621^st of 2240 public elementary schools	72.3%		66.3	728^th of 2258 public elementary schools	67.8%	107	63.0	63.0	62.0	77.0	79.0	82.0	67.0	$13,911	$2,039	$11,873
North Fork Elementary School	Public, Magnet	PK, KG-5	101 NW 15th Ave	Fort Lauderdale	33311	Broward County	Broward	No	Yes	No	Yes	(754) 322-7350	403	20	20.1	78.9%	9 (2.2%)	336 (83.4%)	48 (11.9%)	2 (0.5%)	1 (0.2%)	0 (0.0%)	7 (1.7%)	52.5	1084^th of 2240 public elementary schools	51.6%		40.8	1337^th of 2258 public elementary schools	40.8%	253	63.0	68.0	53.0	75.0	84.0	52.0	44.0	$15,391	$2,145	$13,246
Plantation Elementary School	Public, Magnet	PK, KG-5	651 NW 42nd Ave	Plantation	33317	Broward County	Broward	No	Yes	No	Yes	(754) 322-8000	550	37	14.8	59.3%	17 (3.1%)	477 (86.7%)	46 (8.4%)	4 (0.7%)	1 (0.2%)	0 (0.0%)	5 (0.9%)	45.1	1265^th of 2240 public elementary schools	43.5%		54.2	1011^th of 2258 public elementary schools	55.2%	254	51.0	40.0	60.0	70.0	45.0	63.0	79.0	$15,323	$2,466	$12,857
Walker Elementary School	Public, Magnet	PK, KG-5	1001 NW 4th St	Fort Lauderdale	33311	Broward County	Broward	No	Yes	No	Yes	(754) 322-8800	408	24	17.0	79.9%	8 (2.0%)	387 (94.9%)	12 (2.9%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	1 (0.2%)	35.8	1506^th of 2240 public elementary schools	32.8%		30.8	1619^th of 2258 public elementary schools	28.3%	113	41.0	44.0	53.0	58.0	59.0	72.0	48.0	$15,383	$1,505	$13,879
Larkdale Elementary School	Public	PK, KG-5	3250 NW 12th Pl	Lauderhill	33311	Broward County	Broward	No	No	No	Yes	(754) 322-6600	399	26	15.3	74.7%	0 (0.0%)	364 (91.2%)	29 (7.3%)	2 (0.5%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	4 (1.0%)	15.9	2022^nd of 2240 public elementary schools	9.7%		37.2	1440^th of 2258 public elementary schools	36.2%	582	36.0	53.0	31.0	57.0	42.0	34.0	35.0	$17,364	$3,562	$13,803

Frequently Asked Questions about Westwood Heights Elementary School

What district is Westwood Heights Elementary School in?

Broward

What is the racial makeup of Westwood Heights Elementary School?

Students at Westwood Heights Elementary School are 80% African American, 16% Hispanic, 2% White, 1% Two or more races.

How many students attend Westwood Heights Elementary School?

In the 2024-25 school year, 451 students attended Westwood Heights Elementary School.

Is Westwood Heights Elementary School a good school?

Westwood Heights Elementary School ranks 1169^th of 2240 Florida elementary schools. SchoolDigger rates this school 2 stars out of 5.

What schools do graduates of Westwood Heights Elementary School attend?

Students who attend Westwood Heights Elementary School usually go on to attend:

Middle : Parkway Middle School
High : South Plantation High School

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SchoolDigger data sources: National Center for Education Statistics, U.S. Department of Education, the U.S. Census Bureau and the Florida Department of Education.

IMPORTANT DISCLAIMERS: Not all boundaries are included. We make every effort to ensure that boundaries are up-to-date. But it's important to note that these are approximations and are for general informational purposes only. To verify legal descriptions of boundaries or school locations, contact your local tax assessor's office and/or school district.