Alachua

The Alachua County school district in Florida serves 57 schools, including elementary, middle, and high schools, and is ranked in the 29th percentile statewide, revealing a dramatic performance gap between a few standout schools and many struggling ones.

The district's top performers are a mix of magnet and charter schools. Alachua Learning Academy Middle is the highest-ranked school in the county, sitting in the 96th percentile with exceptional test scores, while Alachua Learning Academy Elementary ranks in the 89th percentile and shows strong year-over-year improvement. Santa Fe College Academy Of Science And Technology is the top-ranked high school (86th percentile), and F. W. Buchholz High School is a large, consistent performer with a 95.6% graduation rate. In contrast, schools like A.Quinn Jones Center (0th percentile) and North Central Florida Public Charter School (9th percentile) face severe challenges, including extremely low graduation rates and high chronic absenteeism. A critical finding is the strong link between poverty and performance, with top schools having much lower free/reduced lunch rates than struggling ones. However, Caring & Sharing Learning School is a notable exception, ranking in the 70th percentile despite a 65.85% poverty rate, proving that high achievement is possible in high-poverty settings.

Key metrics reveal systemic issues. Chronic absenteeism is a major problem, with rates ranging from 11.5% at top schools to a crippling 88% at the lowest-performing ones. There is also an inverse relationship between spending and performance, as the highest-spending schools are often the lowest-performing, suggesting funds are directed toward struggling populations. A particularly alarming trend is the "middle school math cliff," where math proficiency drops sharply from 7th to 8th grade across nearly all middle schools, such as at Kanapaha Middle School (69% to 39%) and Westwood Middle School (54% to 19%). While the district's graduation rate (87.7%) is below the state average, several high schools like Professional Academy Magnet At Loften High School (96.7%) and Newberry High School (96.1%) far exceed it, highlighting the extreme disparity within the county.