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North Wauchula Elementary School

Public Grades PK, KG-5

1724^th

SchoolDigger Rank ?

of 2,240 Florida Elementary Schools

Better than 23% of Florida elementary schools

Summary

North Wauchula Elementary School in Wauchula, FL, serves 516 students from Pre-K through 5th grade within the Hardee County School District, a high-poverty area where nearly 77% of students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch.

This school is in a critical state of decline, having dropped from a 3-star rating to a 1-star rating over the past five years. The most concerning trend is a "5th grade cliff": while 3rd graders perform relatively well (56% proficient in ELA, 61% in Math), proficiency plummets by 5th grade (37% in ELA, 42% in Math). This is the opposite of nearby schools like Zolfo Springs Elementary School, where 5th graders often outperform 3rd graders. Chronic absenteeism is also a major issue, with 28.1% of students chronically absent—significantly higher than the state average and worse than its closest rival, Wauchula Elementary School, which serves a similar population but has improved to a 3-star rating.

Interestingly, North Wauchula spends more per student ($12,299) than higher-performing nearby schools like Wauchula Elementary ($12,166) and Zolfo Springs ($11,916), and its student-teacher ratio (14.3:1) is favorable. This suggests the problem isn't a lack of resources but how they are used. The stark contrast with Wauchula Elementary—a school in the same town with similar demographics that is improving—shows that success is possible. North Wauchula must urgently address its 5th-grade performance drop and absenteeism crisis to reverse its downward trend.

516

Students ?

14.3

Student/teacher ratio ?

$12,299

Per pupil spending ?

76.9%

Free/discounted lunch ?

1120 N Florida Ave
Wauchula, FL 33873

(863) 773-2183

District: Hardee

Students who attend North Wauchula Elementary School usually attend:

High:	Hardee Junior High School
	Hardee Senior High School

Racial breakdown:

Hispanic:

60.5%

White:

28.1%

African American:

9.3%

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Compare North Wauchula Elementary School to nearby elementary schools!

At a glance

▼ Ranking trend: Declining — 34th percentile in 2016 → 23rd in 2026

Worth a look

!Test scores below the Florida average (49% vs 62% meeting standards)

!In the lower quartile statewide (23rd percentile)

!Ranking has slipped — down 11 percentile points since 2016

Students meeting standards (2025-2026) ?

This school49%

District avg55%

Florida avg62%

1,724^th of 2,240

Florida public elementary schools ?

Bottom 23%▼ down 11 pts since 2016

From bottom 34% (2016) to bottom 23% (2026)

See the entire ranking list of Florida Elementary Schools →

★★★★★

SchoolDigger rating ?

3^rd of 4Elementary Schools in the Hardee

60^th of 70Hardee among Florida districts

Statewide rank percentile over time (100 = the top-ranked school in the state; click a legend item to add a student group)

Show full rank history (all student groups)

All Students

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Florida percentile	Rating
2026	27.7	1724 of 2240	23.0%	★☆☆☆☆
2025	25.3	1775 of 2258	21.4%	★☆☆☆☆
2024	31.4	1582 of 2256	29.9%	★☆☆☆☆
2023	42.8	1259 of 2240	43.8%	★★☆☆☆
2022	59.3	849 of 2219	61.7%	★★★☆☆
2021	51.4	1056 of 2247	53.0%	★★★☆☆
2019	47.9	1128 of 2182	48.3%	★★☆☆☆
2018	34.3	1426 of 2118	32.7%	★★☆☆☆
2017	38.1	1321 of 2112	37.5%	★★☆☆☆
2016	34.8	1383 of 2087	33.7%	★★☆☆☆
2014	47.3	1084 of 2064	47.5%	★★☆☆☆
2013	38.7	1260 of 2029	37.9%	★★☆☆☆
2012	37.7	1264 of 1984	36.3%	★★☆☆☆
2011	40.1	1273 of 1985	35.9%	★★☆☆☆
2010	47.5	1087 of 1919	43.4%	★★☆☆☆
2009	40.1	1200 of 1847	35.0%	★★☆☆☆
2008	44.5	1056 of 1789	41.0%	★★☆☆☆
2007	47.7	990 of 1786	44.6%	★★☆☆☆
2006	45.2	965 of 1688	42.8%	★★☆☆☆

By subject vs Florida (2025-2026) ?

Math53%-12 vs state

English Language Arts49%-12 vs state

Science41%-19 vs state

★

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Schools Near North Wauchula Elementary School

Choose columns to see: Summary School Students/Teachers Ranking Test Scores Finance All

School													Students/Teachers											Ranking (2026)				Ranking (2025)				FAST English Language Arts (2026)			FAST Math (2026)			Statewide Science Science (2026)	Per Pupil Expenditures (2025)
Name	Type	Grades	Address	City	Zip	County	District	Is Charter	Is Magnet	Is Virtual	Is Title I	Phone	Enrollment	Full-time Teachers	Student/ Teacher Ratio	Free/Discounted Lunch Recipients	White	Black	Hispanic	Asian	American Indian	Pacific Islander	Two or More Races	Average Standard Score (2026)	Statewide Rank (2026)	State Percentile (2026)	SchoolDigger Rating (2026)	Average Standard Score (2025)	Statewide Rank (2025)	State Percentile (2025)	Rank Change from Previous Year	FAST English Language Arts 3rd Grade	FAST English Language Arts 4th Grade	FAST English Language Arts 5th Grade	FAST Math 3rd Grade	FAST Math 4th Grade	FAST Math 5th Grade	Statewide Science Science 5th Grade	Per Pupil Expenditures Total	Sub-total from Federal Funds	Sub-total from State/Local Funds
North Wauchula Elementary School	Public	PK, KG-5	1120 N Florida Ave	Wauchula	33873	Hardee County	Hardee	No	No	No	Yes	(863) 773-2183	516	36	14.3	76.9%	145 (28.1%)	48 (9.3%)	312 (60.5%)	2 (0.4%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	9 (1.7%)	27.7	1724^th of 2240 public elementary schools	23.0%		25.3	1775^th of 2258 public elementary schools	21.4%	51	56.0	51.0	37.0	61.0	54.0	42.0	41.0	$12,299	$1,985	$10,313
Hardee Virtual Instruction Program (District Provided)	Public, Virtual	K-5	1009 N 6th Ave	Wauchula	33873	Hardee County	Hardee	No	No	Yes	No	(863) 773-9058	0	0			0 ()	0 ()	0 ()	0 ()	0 ()	0 ()	0 ()								(n/a)
Wauchula Elementary School	Public	PK, KG-5	400 S Florida Ave	Wauchula	33873	Hardee County	Hardee	No	No	No	Yes	(863) 773-3141	577	37	15.5	75.7%	172 (29.8%)	57 (9.9%)	331 (57.4%)	2 (0.3%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	15 (2.6%)	54.6	1029^th of 2240 public elementary schools	54.1%		61.3	849^th of 2258 public elementary schools	62.4%	180	66.0	63.0	53.0	77.0	58.0	65.0	57.0	$12,166	$1,800	$10,366
Hilltop Elementary School	Public	PK, KG-5	2401 Us Highway 17 N	Wauchula	33873	Hardee County	Hardee	No	No	No	Yes	(863) 773-2750	298	19	15.6	76.8%	58 (19.5%)	18 (6.0%)	213 (71.5%)	1 (0.3%)	0 (0.0%)	1 (0.3%)	7 (2.3%)	25.9	1767^th of 2240 public elementary schools	21.1%		33	1557^th of 2258 public elementary schools	31.0%	210	44.0	49.0	53.0	44.0	45.0	64.0	38.0	$11,993	$2,161	$9,831
Zolfo Springs Elementary School	Public	PK, KG-5	3215 School House Rd	Zolfo Springs	33890	Hardee County	Hardee	No	No	No	Yes	(863) 773-5473	512	35	14.6	78.5%	187 (36.5%)	3 (0.6%)	305 (59.6%)	7 (1.4%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	10 (2.0%)	47.3	1216^th of 2240 public elementary schools	45.7%		40	1365^th of 2258 public elementary schools	39.5%	149	50.0	57.0	59.0	57.0	70.0	66.0	54.0	$11,916	$1,791	$10,126
Bowling Green Elementary School	Public	PK, KG-5	4530 Church Ave	Bowling Green	33834	Hardee County	Hardee	No	No	No	Yes	(863) 773-5471	260	18	14.4	82.7%	82 (31.5%)	11 (4.2%)	161 (61.9%)	1 (0.4%)	3 (1.2%)	0 (0.0%)	2 (0.8%)								(n/a)								$13,792	$2,195	$11,597
Lewis Anna Woodbury Elementary School	Public	PK, KG-5	610 Charleston Ave S	Fort Meade	33841	Polk County	Polk	No	No	No	Yes	(863) 285-1133	593	34	17.4	78.8%	179 (30.2%)	62 (10.5%)	334 (56.3%)	0 (0.0%)	1 (0.2%)	0 (0.0%)	17 (2.9%)	17.5	1990^th of 2240 public elementary schools	11.2%		25.2	1779^th of 2258 public elementary schools	21.2%	211	51.0	49.0	35.0	47.0	54.0	37.0	33.0	$11,466	$1,711	$9,755
Scenic Terrace K-8	Public	K-8	2799 Sr 17	Haines City	33844	Polk County	Polk	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(863) 534-0500	0	0			0 ()	0 ()	0 ()	0 ()	0 ()	0 ()	0 ()								(n/a)
Sun 'n Lake Elementary School	Public	PK, KG-5	4515 Ponce De Leon Blvd	Sebring	33872	Highlands County	Highlands	No	No	No	Yes	(863) 471-5464	588	33	17.8	62.9%	208 (35.4%)	139 (23.6%)	188 (32.0%)	22 (3.7%)	2 (0.3%)	1 (0.2%)	28 (4.8%)	64.1	781^st of 2240 public elementary schools	65.1%		68.1	689^th of 2258 public elementary schools	69.5%	92	65.0	71.0	59.0	77.0	71.0	68.0	56.0	$10,774	$1,366	$9,408
Avon Elementary School	Public	PK, KG-5	705 Winthrop St	Avon Park	33825	Highlands County	Highlands	No	No	No	Yes	(863) 452-4355	503	35	14.3	68.8%	127 (25.2%)	98 (19.5%)	257 (51.1%)	1 (0.2%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	20 (4.0%)	55.5	1004^th of 2240 public elementary schools	55.2%		51.1	1089^th of 2258 public elementary schools	51.8%	85	48.0	49.0	64.0	72.0	68.0	74.0	65.0	$14,653	$3,832	$10,822

Frequently Asked Questions about North Wauchula Elementary School

What schools do graduates of North Wauchula Elementary School attend?

Students who attend North Wauchula Elementary School usually go on to attend:

High : Hardee Junior High School
High : Hardee Senior High School

How many students attend North Wauchula Elementary School?

In the 2024-25 school year, 516 students attended North Wauchula Elementary School.

What is the racial makeup of North Wauchula Elementary School?

Students at North Wauchula Elementary School are 60% Hispanic, 28% White, 9% African American, 2% Two or more races.

What district is North Wauchula Elementary School in?

Hardee

Is North Wauchula Elementary School a good school?

North Wauchula Elementary School ranks in the bottom 23.0% of Florida elementary schools.

Rate North Wauchula Elementary School!

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SchoolDigger data sources: National Center for Education Statistics, U.S. Department of Education, the U.S. Census Bureau and the Florida Department of Education.

IMPORTANT DISCLAIMERS: Not all boundaries are included. We make every effort to ensure that boundaries are up-to-date. But it's important to note that these are approximations and are for general informational purposes only. To verify legal descriptions of boundaries or school locations, contact your local tax assessor's office and/or school district.