Oak Grove Elementary School

Oak Grove Elementary School is a public PK-5 school in Miami, FL, serving 543 students within the Miami-Dade County Public School District, where 66% of students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch. This school presents a fascinating mix of strengths and challenges, making it a school to watch closely. The most notable bright spot is its exceptional performance in 5th-grade Science, where 70% of students are proficient—significantly outpacing the district and state averages, and outperforming nearby schools like Natural Bridge Elementary School (37%) and Greynolds Park Elementary School (54%). However, this success is sharply contrasted by a critical weakness in 3rd-grade English Language Arts (ELA), where only 38% of students are proficient, a staggering 26 points below the district average and the lowest among all nearby schools for that grade level.

Despite these challenges, Oak Grove is showing signs of a dramatic turnaround. After ranking in the 13th percentile statewide in 2020-2021, the school jumped to the 34th percentile in the most recent data—a 15-point improvement in a single year that outpaces any nearby peer. Chronic absenteeism, while still a concern at 17.9%, has also improved significantly from a pandemic peak of 32.3% and is now well below the district average of 28.2%. The school also demonstrates puzzling inconsistencies across grade levels; for instance, 4th-grade Math proficiency (60%) is 12 points higher than 3rd-grade Math (48%), suggesting that the current 4th-grade class may have benefited from stronger instruction in earlier years.

When comparing Oak Grove to its neighbors, the contrast with Mater Biscayne Academy North Miami Elementary School is striking—that school ranks in the 87th percentile with 70-85% proficiency in all subjects, but serves a very different student population. Oak Grove’s spending per student ($13,866) is slightly below the average of its peers, yet it achieves better results than some schools that spend more, such as Thomas Jefferson Biscayne Gardens K-8 Academy ($18,294). For parents, Oak Grove is a school in transition: its strong Science program and recent upward trend are encouraging, but the significant gap in early literacy, especially in 3rd grade, is a critical area that demands attention to ensure all students build the foundational skills they need for future success.