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South Ocala Elementary School

Public Grades PK, KG-5

1829^th

SchoolDigger Rank ?

of 2,258 Florida Elementary Schools

Better than 19% of Florida elementary schools

Summary

South Ocala Elementary School is a public elementary school serving 710 students in grades PK-5 in Ocala, Florida, which is part of the Marion School District. Despite increased per-student spending and improved student-teacher ratios, the school has consistently ranked in the bottom half of Florida elementary schools over the past decade and faces significant challenges, including high chronic absenteeism rates and low test scores compared to the state average.

South Ocala Elementary's test scores lag behind both the Marion district and the state of Florida across all grade levels and subjects, with only 33-53% of their students proficient in math and English Language Arts, compared to 46-63% for the state. Additionally, the school has a very high percentage of students (60-63%) receiving free or reduced-price lunch, indicating a high level of economic disadvantage among the student population. Interestingly, two nearby magnet schools, Dr. N.H. Jones Elementary and Madison Street Academy, significantly outperform South Ocala Elementary on test scores, with 70-90% of their students proficient in core subjects.

While South Ocala Elementary has seen some improvements in per-student spending and student-teacher ratios, these have not yet translated into meaningful academic gains. Addressing the root causes of chronic absenteeism and providing targeted interventions for struggling students could be key focus areas for the school to improve its overall performance and better serve its students.

712

Students ?

15.1

Student/teacher ratio ?

$13,469

Per pupil spending ?

68.5%

Free/discounted lunch ?

1430 SE 24th Rd
Ocala, FL 34471

(352) 671-4750

District: Marion

Students who attend South Ocala Elementary School usually attend:

Middle:	Osceola Middle School
High:	Forest High School

Racial breakdown:

White:

36.0%

African American:

32.4%

Hispanic:

23.7%

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At a glance

▼ Ranking trend: Declining — 51st percentile in 2014 → 19th in 2025

Worth a look

!Test scores below the Florida average (42% vs 58% meeting standards)

!In the lower quartile statewide (19th percentile)

!Ranking has slipped — down 32 percentile points since 2014

Students meeting standards (2024-2025) ?

This school42%

District avg48%

Florida avg58%

1,829^th of 2,258

Florida public elementary schools ?

Bottom 19%▼ down 8 pts since 2016

From bottom 27% (2016) to bottom 19% (2025)

See the entire ranking list of Florida Elementary Schools →

★★★★★

SchoolDigger rating ?

19^th of 32Elementary Schools in the Marion

62^nd of 67Marion 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
2025	22.8	1829 of 2258	19.0%	★☆☆☆☆
2024	28.7	1657 of 2256	26.6%	★☆☆☆☆
2023	35.9	1443 of 2240	35.6%	★★☆☆☆
2022	31.4	1536 of 2219	30.8%	★★☆☆☆
2021	42.1	1265 of 2247	43.7%	★★☆☆☆
2019	41.7	1278 of 2182	41.4%	★★☆☆☆
2018	30.5	1505 of 2118	28.9%	★☆☆☆☆
2017	32.2	1439 of 2112	31.9%	★★☆☆☆
2016	29.7	1520 of 2087	27.2%	★☆☆☆☆
2014	50.5	1018 of 2064	50.7%	★★★☆☆
2013	60.1	796 of 2029	60.8%	★★★☆☆
2012	54.4	903 of 1984	54.5%	★★★☆☆
2011	56.5	919 of 1985	53.7%	★★★☆☆
2010	55.5	918 of 1919	52.2%	★★★☆☆
2009	73.6	447 of 1847	75.8%	★★★★☆
2008	80.2	310 of 1789	82.7%	★★★★☆
2007	65.3	654 of 1786	63.4%	★★★☆☆
2006	75.2	404 of 1688	76.1%	★★★★☆

By subject vs Florida (2024-2025) ?

Math44%-16 vs state

English Language Arts43%-14 vs state

Science33%-22 vs state

★

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Schools Near South Ocala Elementary School

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

School													Students/Teachers											Ranking (2025)				Ranking (2024)				FAST English Language Arts (2025)			FAST Math (2025)			Statewide Science Science (2025)	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 (2025)	Statewide Rank (2025)	State Percentile (2025)	SchoolDigger Rating (2025)	Average Standard Score (2024)	Statewide Rank (2024)	State Percentile (2024)	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
South Ocala Elementary School	Public	PK, KG-5	1430 SE 24th Rd	Ocala	34471	Marion County	Marion	No	No	No	Yes	(352) 671-4750	712	47	15.1	68.5%	256 (36.0%)	231 (32.4%)	169 (23.7%)	9 (1.3%)	1 (0.1%)	0 (0.0%)	46 (6.5%)	22.8	1829^th of 2258 public elementary schools	19.0%		28.7	1657^th of 2256 public elementary schools	26.6%	172	36.0	46.0	48.0	40.0	53.0	42.0	33.0	$13,469	$1,344	$12,126
Eighth Street Elementary School	Public	PK, KG-5	513 SE 8th St	Ocala	34471	Marion County	Marion	No	No	No	Yes	(352) 671-7125	381	26	14.6	29.9%	265 (69.6%)	50 (13.1%)	48 (12.6%)	3 (0.8%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	15 (3.9%)	84.3	309^th of 2258 public elementary schools	86.3%		90.5	159^th of 2256 public elementary schools	93.0%	150	79.0	66.0	69.0	84.0	71.0	87.0	73.0	$13,125	$744	$12,381
Student Services/Ese	Public	K-8	1614 E Fort King St	Ocala	34471	Marion County	Marion	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(352) 671-6832	7	0			3 (42.9%)	3 (42.9%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	1 (14.3%)								(n/a)
Marion Elearning	Public, Virtual	K-5	1614 E Ft King St	Ocala	34471	Marion County	Marion	No	No	Yes	No	(352) 236-0570	0	0			0 ()	0 ()	0 ()	0 ()	0 ()	0 ()	0 ()								(n/a)
Wyomina Park Elementary School	Public	PK, KG-5	511 NE 12th Ave	Ocala	34470	Marion County	Marion	No	No	No	Yes	(352) 671-6370	502	31	16.1	83.7%	129 (25.7%)	201 (40.0%)	123 (24.5%)	4 (0.8%)	1 (0.2%)	0 (0.0%)	44 (8.8%)	8.3	2181^st of 2258 public elementary schools	3.4%		11.3	2120^th of 2256 public elementary schools	6.0%	61	25.0	38.0	35.0	23.0	34.0	30.0	30.0	$13,703	$1,899	$11,804
Shady Hill Elementary School	Public	PK, KG-5	5959 S Magnolia Ave	Ocala	34471	Marion County	Marion	No	No	No	Yes	(352) 291-4085	615	39	15.7	53.3%	308 (50.1%)	68 (11.1%)	186 (30.2%)	4 (0.7%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	49 (8.0%)	41.9	1299^th of 2258 public elementary schools	42.5%		39.8	1349^th of 2256 public elementary schools	40.2%	50	48.0	55.0	48.0	49.0	70.0	53.0	47.0	$12,297	$1,092	$11,205
Ward-Highlands Elementary School	Public	PK, KG-5	537 SE 36th Ave	Ocala	34471	Marion County	Marion	No	No	No	Yes	(352) 671-6810	908	60	15.1	53.6%	482 (53.1%)	130 (14.3%)	225 (24.8%)	11 (1.2%)	3 (0.3%)	1 (0.1%)	56 (6.2%)	70.8	614^th of 2258 public elementary schools	72.8%		67.3	692^nd of 2256 public elementary schools	69.3%	78	67.0	63.0	59.0	75.0	76.0	68.0	57.0	$12,215	$1,264	$10,952
Dr N H Jones Elementary School	Public, Magnet	PK, KG-5	1900 SW 5th St	Ocala	34471	Marion County	Marion	No	Yes	No	No	(352) 671-7260	789	52	15.1	42.1%	261 (33.1%)	224 (28.4%)	177 (22.4%)	75 (9.5%)	1 (0.1%)	0 (0.0%)	51 (6.5%)	90.5	157^th of 2258 public elementary schools	93.0%		86.9	259^th of 2256 public elementary schools	88.5%	102	79.0	78.0	81.0	82.0	78.0	82.0	84.0	$11,444	$602	$10,841
Madison Street Academy Of Visual And Performing Arts	Public, Magnet	PK, KG-5	401 NW Martin Luther King Jr	Ocala	34475	Marion County	Marion	No	Yes	No	No	(352) 671-7250	467	34	13.7	30.8%	275 (58.9%)	71 (15.2%)	82 (17.6%)	8 (1.7%)	1 (0.2%)	0 (0.0%)	30 (6.4%)	90.9	136^th of 2258 public elementary schools	94.0%		93.3	84^th of 2256 public elementary schools	96.3%	52	84.0	76.0	83.0	78.0	88.0	77.0	81.0	$13,295	$1,085	$12,209
Maplewood Elementary School	Public	PK, KG-5	4751 SE 24th St	Ocala	34471	Marion County	Marion	No	No	No	Yes	(352) 671-6820	819	62	13.2	57.4%	399 (48.7%)	168 (20.5%)	197 (24.1%)	10 (1.2%)	3 (0.4%)	1 (0.1%)	41 (5.0%)	54.3	1009^th of 2258 public elementary schools	55.3%		53	1018^th of 2256 public elementary schools	54.9%	9	50.0	61.0	59.0	61.0	73.0	61.0	47.0	$15,538	$2,418	$13,120

Frequently Asked Questions about South Ocala Elementary School

Is South Ocala Elementary School a good school?

South Ocala Elementary School ranks in the bottom 19.0% of Florida elementary schools.

What schools do graduates of South Ocala Elementary School attend?

Students who attend South Ocala Elementary School usually go on to attend:

Middle : Osceola Middle School
High : Forest High School

What district is South Ocala Elementary School in?

Marion

What is the racial makeup of South Ocala Elementary School?

Students at South Ocala Elementary School are 36% White, 32% African American, 24% Hispanic, 6% Two or more races, 1% Asian.

How many students attend South Ocala Elementary School?

In the 2024-25 school year, 712 students attended South Ocala 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.