Summary:
Levy County is home to one middle school, Nature Coast Middle School, which serves grades 6 through 8 with a small enrollment of 84 students in the Levy district, an area with a high poverty rate as indicated by 76% of students qualifying for free or reduced lunch.
Nature Coast Middle School shows notable strengths in specific subjects and grades. The school excels in Civics, with 77% of students proficient, matching the state average. It also outperforms state averages in 7th Grade Math (67% proficient vs. 53% statewide) and 6th Grade English Language Arts (64% proficient vs. 62% statewide). However, the school faces a significant challenge in 8th grade, where proficiency drops dramatically to just 25% in ELA and 36% in Math, far below district and state averages. The school has a favorable student-teacher ratio of 14:1 and spends $9,489 per student, but its overall state rank is in the 42nd percentile (705 out of 1,216), earning a 2-star rating. Chronic absenteeism is a concern at 34.5%, higher than both the district and state averages.
The most striking finding is the severe performance drop between 7th and 8th grade, which warrants immediate investigation into possible causes like staffing changes or curriculum misalignment. Despite high poverty and absenteeism, the school achieves above-average results in lower grades, suggesting effective instruction in those areas. However, year-over-year performance is inconsistent, particularly in 8th grade where ELA proficiency fell from 47% to 25% in one year. Addressing chronic absenteeism could be the most impactful step for improving overall outcomes, especially in the upper grades where the curriculum becomes more demanding.
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