Madison County High School

Madison County High School in Madison, FL, is a public high school serving 464 students in grades 9-12 within the Madison district, which ranks in the bottom 10% of Florida districts.

The most pressing issue at Madison County High School is chronic absenteeism, with over half of students (52.5%) missing 10% or more of school days in 2023-2024—nearly double the state average of 31.4%. This directly impacts academic performance, as proficiency rates in core subjects like Algebra 1 and 9th-grade ELA remain in the 20-35% range, well below state averages. However, there are signs of progress: Algebra 1 proficiency jumped from 15% in 2022-2023 to 39% in 2024-2025, and the graduation rate has climbed from 74.6% to 82.7% over the same period. The school spends $11,335 per student, more than its nearby counterpart James Madison Preparatory High School ($9,827), yet outcomes differ significantly due to the challenges of serving a high-poverty population where over half of students qualify for free or reduced lunch.

Compared to James Madison Preparatory High School, located just 0.31 miles away, the contrast is stark. James Madison serves a much more affluent student body (only 1.67% eligible for free/reduced lunch) and boasts a chronic absenteeism rate of 26.7%, along with consistently higher academic proficiency—for example, 53% in 9th-grade ELA versus Madison County High School's 35%. This dynamic creates a "brain drain" effect, where higher-resourced students leave for the charter school, compounding challenges at Madison County High School. For parents, the key takeaway is that while the school faces significant hurdles tied to poverty and attendance, recent improvements in graduation rates and some test scores suggest targeted interventions are beginning to take hold. Solving the absenteeism crisis remains the most critical lever for future academic gains.