McMullen-Booth Elementary School

McMullen-Booth Elementary School in Clearwater, FL, is a mid-sized school serving 445 students in grades PK-5, part of the Pinellas County School District, and has shown a clear upward trend in its state ranking over the last three years, moving from the 44th percentile to the 56th percentile.

One of the most notable aspects of McMullen-Booth is its high spending per student—$16,427 in 2024-2025—which is significantly more than nearby top-performing schools like Safety Harbor Elementary ($13,994) and Leila Davis Elementary ($12,623). Despite this investment, academic outcomes are lower, suggesting a potential efficiency challenge. The school also struggles with chronic absenteeism at 20.9%, which is higher than neighbors like Safety Harbor (13.5%) and Curlew Creek Elementary (15.8%). However, there is a bright spot: 5th graders achieved 72% proficiency in English Language Arts (beating the district average) and 66% in Science (beating the state average), indicating a particularly effective teaching team or intervention program in that grade.

The most significant academic challenge is mathematics, where proficiency is below the district average in every grade level—for example, 4th grade math at 58% versus the district's 72%. This contrasts sharply with Safety Harbor Elementary, which exceeds district averages in all math grades. Interestingly, McMullen-Booth and Safety Harbor are only 1.13 miles apart and serve similar-sized student bodies, yet Safety Harbor is a 5-star school in the 90th percentile with low absenteeism and high test scores, while McMullen-Booth is a 3-star school in the 56th percentile. This stark difference suggests that factors like school leadership, teaching culture, and parental involvement are driving outcomes, not just the neighborhood. The school's upward trajectory in state ranking is a positive sign, but addressing the math gap and absenteeism will be key to closing the gap with its higher-performing neighbors.