High Schools in Volusia

This analysis examines 14 high schools in the Volusia County school district, which serves grades 9-12 (with one school serving grades 6-12) and ranges from large traditional campuses to small alternative programs, offering a diverse educational landscape for parents to consider.

Seabreeze High School stands out as the district's academic leader, with the highest state ranking (120th out of 838) and exceptional test scores—69% proficient in Algebra 1 and 77% in 10th-grade ELA, both well above state averages. Spruce Creek High School is a consistent high performer, boasting the district's top graduation rate of 99.5% and strong ELA scores. In contrast, Richard Milburn Academy and The Chiles Academy face significant challenges, with critically low test scores and chronic absenteeism rates above 93%. Most traditional schools like Deltona High School (99.2% graduation) and University High School (99.3% graduation) excel at getting students to graduate, but this masks a district-wide weakness in Algebra 1, where every traditional school falls below the state average of 63% proficiency.

A critical finding is the strong link between chronic absenteeism and performance: schools like Mainland High School (44.1% absenteeism) and Pine Ridge High School (42.7%) show significantly lower test scores, while T. Dewitt Taylor Middle-High School reveals a "middle school slump" with only 30% of 7th graders proficient in math, suggesting foundational issues. Per-student spending varies widely from $8,599 at University to $13,883 at The Chiles Academy, but higher spending does not guarantee better outcomes, as the highest-spending schools are among the lowest-performing. For parents, this data highlights that while Volusia's traditional high schools generally ensure high graduation rates, families should investigate specific school strengths in subjects like Biology and US History, and be aware of the systemic Algebra 1 challenge that affects all schools in the district.