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South Ocala Elementary School

Public Grades PK, KG-5

2006^th

SchoolDigger Rank ?

of 2,240 Florida Elementary Schools

Better than 10% of Florida elementary schools

Summary

South Ocala Elementary School in Ocala, FL, serves 712 students in grades PK through 5 and is part of the Marion school district, which ranks in the bottom 10th percentile statewide. The school has experienced a sharp decline in recent years, dropping from the 44th percentile to the 10th percentile over the last three years, and currently holds a 1-star rating. With 68.5% of students qualifying for free or reduced lunch, the school serves a predominantly low-income population, and its chronic absenteeism rate of 34% is a significant concern that directly impacts academic outcomes.

Academically, South Ocala lags far behind nearby high-performing schools. For example, in 3rd Grade Math, only 40% of South Ocala students are proficient, compared to 89% at Eighth Street Elementary School (just 1.57 miles away) and 90% at Madison Street Academy Of Visual And Performing Arts. Similarly, in 5th Grade Science, South Ocala’s 37% proficiency rate is less than half of the rates at Dr N H Jones Elementary School (79%) and Eighth Street (71%). The school’s spending of $13,469 per student is actually higher than at Dr. N. H. Jones ($11,444) and Ward-Highlands Elementary School ($12,215), suggesting that funding alone is not the issue.

There is one bright spot: 5th Grade English Language Arts proficiency has shown a strong upward trend, rising from 34% to 53% over two years, now matching the district average. A realistic benchmark for improvement is Shady Hill Elementary School, which has a similar poverty rate (53.3%) and moderate absenteeism (31.8%) but achieves a 41st percentile ranking—far better than South Ocala’s 10th percentile. Addressing chronic absenteeism, which is the single most critical issue, could help the school follow Shady Hill’s example and improve outcomes for its students.

712

Students ?

15.1

Student/teacher ratio ?

$13,469

Per pupil spending ?

68.5%

Free/discounted lunch ?

1430 SE 24th Rd
Ocala, FL 34471

(352) 671-4750

District: Marion

Students who attend South Ocala Elementary School usually attend:

Middle:	Osceola Middle School
High:	Forest High School

Racial breakdown:

White:

36.0%

African American:

32.4%

Hispanic:

23.7%

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Compare South Ocala Elementary School to nearby elementary schools!

At a glance

▼ Ranking trend: Declining — 27th percentile in 2016 → 10th in 2026

Worth a look

!Test scores below the Florida average (41% vs 62% meeting standards)

!In the lower quartile statewide (10th percentile)

!Ranking has slipped — down 17 percentile points since 2016

Students meeting standards (2025-2026) ?

This school41%

District avg52%

Florida avg62%

2,006^th of 2,240

Florida public elementary schools ?

Bottom 10%▼ down 17 pts since 2016

From bottom 27% (2016) to bottom 10% (2026)

See the entire ranking list of Florida Elementary Schools →

★★★★★

SchoolDigger rating ?

24^th of 32Elementary Schools in the Marion

63^rd of 70Marion 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	16.6	2006 of 2240	10.4%	★☆☆☆☆
2025	22.8	1829 of 2258	19.0%	★☆☆☆☆
2024	28.7	1657 of 2256	26.6%	★☆☆☆☆
2023	35.9	1443 of 2240	35.6%	★★☆☆☆
2022	31.4	1536 of 2219	30.8%	★★☆☆☆
2021	42.1	1265 of 2247	43.7%	★★☆☆☆
2019	41.7	1278 of 2182	41.4%	★★☆☆☆
2018	30.5	1505 of 2118	28.9%	★☆☆☆☆
2017	32.2	1439 of 2112	31.9%	★★☆☆☆
2016	29.7	1520 of 2087	27.2%	★☆☆☆☆
2014	50.5	1018 of 2064	50.7%	★★★☆☆
2013	60.1	796 of 2029	60.8%	★★★☆☆
2012	54.4	903 of 1984	54.5%	★★★☆☆
2011	56.5	919 of 1985	53.7%	★★★☆☆
2010	55.5	918 of 1919	52.2%	★★★☆☆
2009	73.6	447 of 1847	75.8%	★★★★☆
2008	80.2	310 of 1789	82.7%	★★★★☆
2007	65.3	654 of 1786	63.4%	★★★☆☆
2006	75.2	404 of 1688	76.1%	★★★★☆

By subject vs Florida (2025-2026) ?

English Language Arts42%-18 vs state

Math42%-22 vs state

Science37%-23 vs state

★

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Schools Near South Ocala Elementary School

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Ranking:

E Elementary M Middle H High A Alternative P Private

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
South Ocala Elementary School	Public	PK, KG-5	1430 SE 24th Rd	Ocala	34471	Marion County	Marion	No	No	No	Yes	(352) 671-4750	712	47	15.1	68.5%	256 (36.0%)	231 (32.4%)	169 (23.7%)	9 (1.3%)	1 (0.1%)	0 (0.0%)	46 (6.5%)	16.6	2006^th of 2240 public elementary schools	10.4%		22.8	1829^th of 2258 public elementary schools	19.0%	177	29.0	45.0	53.0	40.0	35.0	51.0	37.0	$13,469	$1,344	$12,126
Eighth Street Elementary School	Public	PK, KG-5	513 SE 8th St	Ocala	34471	Marion County	Marion	No	No	No	Yes	(352) 671-7125	381	26	14.6	29.9%	265 (69.6%)	50 (13.1%)	48 (12.6%)	3 (0.8%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	15 (3.9%)	84	282^nd of 2240 public elementary schools	87.4%		84.3	309^th of 2258 public elementary schools	86.3%	27	75.0	75.0	70.0	89.0	87.0	81.0	71.0	$13,125	$744	$12,381
Student Services/Ese	Public	K-8	1614 E Fort King St	Ocala	34471	Marion County	Marion	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(352) 671-6832	7	0			3 (42.9%)	3 (42.9%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	1 (14.3%)								(n/a)
Marion Elearning	Public, Virtual	K-5	1614 E Ft King St	Ocala	34471	Marion County	Marion	No	No	Yes	No	(352) 236-0570	0	0			0 ()	0 ()	0 ()	0 ()	0 ()	0 ()	0 ()								(n/a)
Wyomina Park Elementary School	Public	PK, KG-5	511 NE 12th Ave	Ocala	34470	Marion County	Marion	No	No	No	Yes	(352) 671-6370	502	31	16.1	83.7%	129 (25.7%)	201 (40.0%)	123 (24.5%)	4 (0.8%)	1 (0.2%)	0 (0.0%)	44 (8.8%)	13.4	2073^rd of 2240 public elementary schools	7.5%		8.3	2181^st of 2258 public elementary schools	3.4%	108	41.0	30.0	38.0	49.0	38.0	43.0	44.0	$13,703	$1,899	$11,804
Shady Hill Elementary School	Public	PK, KG-5	5959 S Magnolia Ave	Ocala	34471	Marion County	Marion	No	No	No	Yes	(352) 291-4085	615	39	15.7	53.3%	308 (50.1%)	68 (11.1%)	186 (30.2%)	4 (0.7%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	49 (8.0%)	42.8	1325^th of 2240 public elementary schools	40.8%		41.9	1299^th of 2258 public elementary schools	42.5%	26	54.0	51.0	57.0	62.0	65.0	62.0	50.0	$12,297	$1,092	$11,205
Ward-Highlands Elementary School	Public	PK, KG-5	537 SE 36th Ave	Ocala	34471	Marion County	Marion	No	No	No	Yes	(352) 671-6810	908	60	15.1	53.6%	482 (53.1%)	130 (14.3%)	225 (24.8%)	11 (1.2%)	3 (0.3%)	1 (0.1%)	56 (6.2%)	73.1	551^st of 2240 public elementary schools	75.4%		70.8	614^th of 2258 public elementary schools	72.8%	63	72.0	70.0	64.0	73.0	77.0	71.0	71.0	$12,215	$1,264	$10,952
Dr N H Jones Elementary School	Public, Magnet	PK, KG-5	1900 SW 5th St	Ocala	34471	Marion County	Marion	No	Yes	No	No	(352) 671-7260	789	52	15.1	42.1%	261 (33.1%)	224 (28.4%)	177 (22.4%)	75 (9.5%)	1 (0.1%)	0 (0.0%)	51 (6.5%)	85.3	255^th of 2240 public elementary schools	88.6%		90.5	157^th of 2258 public elementary schools	93.0%	98	72.0	80.0	78.0	80.0	81.0	81.0	79.0	$11,444	$602	$10,841
Madison Street Academy Of Visual And Performing Arts	Public, Magnet	PK, KG-5	401 NW Martin Luther King Jr	Ocala	34475	Marion County	Marion	No	Yes	No	No	(352) 671-7250	467	34	13.7	30.8%	275 (58.9%)	71 (15.2%)	82 (17.6%)	8 (1.7%)	1 (0.2%)	0 (0.0%)	30 (6.4%)	93.8	52^nd of 2240 public elementary schools	97.7%		90.9	136^th of 2258 public elementary schools	94.0%	84	86.0	91.0	83.0	90.0	88.0	88.0	84.0	$13,295	$1,085	$12,209
Maplewood Elementary School	Public	PK, KG-5	4751 SE 24th St	Ocala	34471	Marion County	Marion	No	No	No	Yes	(352) 671-6820	819	62	13.2	57.4%	399 (48.7%)	168 (20.5%)	197 (24.1%)	10 (1.2%)	3 (0.4%)	1 (0.1%)	41 (5.0%)	54.7	1027^th of 2240 public elementary schools	54.2%		54.3	1009^th of 2258 public elementary schools	55.3%	18	47.0	60.0	71.0	51.0	66.0	74.0	69.0	$15,538	$2,418	$13,120

Frequently Asked Questions about South Ocala Elementary School

What schools do graduates of South Ocala Elementary School attend?

Students who attend South Ocala Elementary School usually go on to attend:

Middle : Osceola Middle School
High : Forest High School

What is the racial makeup of South Ocala Elementary School?

Students at South Ocala Elementary School are 36% White, 32% African American, 24% Hispanic, 6% Two or more races, 1% Asian.

Is South Ocala Elementary School a good school?

South Ocala Elementary School ranks in the bottom 10.4% of Florida elementary schools.

What district is South Ocala Elementary School in?

Marion

How many students attend South Ocala Elementary School?

In the 2024-25 school year, 712 students attended South Ocala Elementary 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.