Summary
Crystal Lake Middle School is a public magnet middle school in Lakeland, Florida, serving 865 students in grades 6-8. Despite being part of the Polk County School District, which is ranked 61 out of 67 districts in the state, Crystal Lake Middle School has consistently ranked in the bottom quarter of Florida middle schools over the past several years.
The school faces significant challenges, including a chronic absenteeism rate of 31.4%, which is much higher than the Polk County and Florida averages. Academically, Crystal Lake Middle School underperforms the district and state on standardized tests, with only 27% of 6th graders, 32% of 7th graders, and 26% of 8th graders proficient or better in English Language Arts, compared to the Polk County averages of 53%, 46%, and 44%, and the Florida averages of 60%, 57%, and 55%. Additionally, the school has a high percentage of students (78.96%) receiving free or reduced-price lunch, indicating a concentration of students from low-income families.
When compared to nearby schools, such as Berkley Accelerated, a public charter middle school located about 9.5 miles away, Crystal Lake Middle School is an outlier in terms of academic performance, with the charter school consistently outperforming the district school on standardized tests. Despite the higher per-student spending at Crystal Lake Middle School, the school has not shown any meaningful improvement in its statewide ranking or academic performance over the past several years, suggesting the need for a more comprehensive approach to address the underlying challenges facing the school.
Thank you for your feedback!