Brownsville Middle School

Brownsville Middle School is a public school in Miami, FL, serving 477 students in grades 6-8 as part of the Miami-Dade district, and it faces significant challenges despite higher-than-average per-student spending of $12,811.

The most critical issue at Brownsville is its extreme chronic absenteeism rate of 40.3%, which is far above the district average of 28.2% and state average of 31.4%. This rate is dramatically higher than nearby high-performing schools like Mater Lakes Collegiate Academy Middle School (19.0%) and Mater International Preparatory (15.2%), and even exceeds other struggling schools such as Miami Springs Middle School (33.3%). This persistent absenteeism, which has remained above 40% for five years, is likely the primary barrier to academic progress for the majority of students.

Interestingly, Brownsville shows a stark contrast in test performance. While it excels in advanced End-of-Course (EOC) exams—with 84% proficiency in Algebra 1, 79% in Biology 1, and 81% in Civics—it struggles profoundly on standard grade-level FAST assessments, where proficiency rates range from just 23% to 41%. This gap is much wider than at Mater International Preparatory, where FAST scores are in the 65-86% range. The school’s closest neighbor, Georgia Jones Ayers Middle School, shares a similar profile of high absenteeism and strong EOC scores, suggesting these challenges reflect broader community factors. While math scores show a slight upward trend, English Language Arts remains a critical weakness, with 6th-grade scores declining to 23%.