Madison Creative Arts Academy Inc

Madison Creative Arts Academy Inc is a public PK-8 school in Madison, FL, serving 397 students and part of the Madison district, which ranks in the bottom 9% of Florida districts. Despite the district's overall low ranking, this school stands out as a high-performing outlier, consistently outperforming nearby schools like Greenville Elementary School, Lee Elementary School, Madison County Central School, and Pinetta Elementary School in nearly every subject and grade level. For example, in the 2024-2025 school year, 3rd-grade Math proficiency was 89% at Madison Creative Arts, compared to the next highest (Pinetta at 69%) and the district average of 54%. The school also achieves perfect or near-perfect scores on advanced End-of-Course exams, with 100% proficiency in Algebra 1 in three of the last four years, far exceeding the district average of 76%.

However, the school faces significant challenges. Its state ranking has dropped from the 80th percentile in 2020-2021 to the 35th percentile in 2025-2026, indicating it is not improving as quickly as other schools statewide. A major factor is chronic absenteeism: 43.3% of students were chronically absent in 2023-2024, higher than the state average of 31.4%. Additionally, there is a notable "4th-grade slump," where Math proficiency drops from 89% in 3rd grade to 49% in 4th grade, suggesting a potential issue with the transition to intermediate grades. Interestingly, nearby Pinetta Elementary School outperforms Madison Creative Arts in upper elementary Math, achieving 69% proficiency in 4th, 5th, and 6th grades compared to Madison's 49%, 33%, and 58% respectively.

Despite these challenges, the school operates efficiently, spending less per student ($9,562) than any other elementary school in the district, and maintains the lowest student-to-teacher ratio at 14.7:1. With 77% of students eligible for free or reduced lunch, the school has historically defied odds by outperforming state averages, though recent trends suggest its strategies may be losing effectiveness. For parents, this school offers strong academic foundations, especially in early grades and advanced subjects, but addressing absenteeism and the 4th-grade slump will be critical for sustaining its success.