Summary:
In zip code 32244, there is one high school, Westside High School, serving grades 9 through 12 in Jacksonville, Florida, within the Duval County school district.
Westside High School has an enrollment of 1,533 students and a student-teacher ratio of 20.1:1. The school has a high graduation rate of 93.8%, which is slightly above the state average, but this positive metric is overshadowed by significant challenges. The most critical issue is a chronic absenteeism rate of 64.5%, which is dramatically higher than both the district average of 44.8% and the state average of 31.4%. Academically, the school consistently underperforms across all core subjects, with proficiency rates averaging 22.5 percentage points lower than the state average. For example, only 37% of students are proficient in Algebra 1 and just 25% in 9th-grade English Language Arts. The school has earned a 1-star rating for three consecutive years and ranks in the bottom 20% of all Florida high schools (673rd out of 838).
The stark disconnect between the high graduation rate and low academic proficiency suggests that the path to graduation may not be strongly tied to mastering core subjects. The extremely high chronic absenteeism rate is likely the primary driver of the low test scores and poor state ranking, making it the most urgent issue to address. While there is a slight positive trend in English Language Arts proficiency, with small year-over-year improvements, the school remains far behind state averages. With per-student spending at $9,314, the current resources are not translating into effective student engagement or academic success. Any meaningful improvement will require a focused effort to get students back in the classroom regularly.
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