Summary:
In zip code 32578, there is one middle school, C. W. Ruckel Middle School, serving grades 6 through 8 in the Niceville area, which is part of the highly-rated Okaloosa County school district.
C. W. Ruckel Middle School is a standout performer, consistently ranking among the top 15% of all Florida middle schools. With an enrollment of 1,061 students and a student-teacher ratio of 20:1, the school achieves exceptional academic results across all subjects. Its proficiency rates far exceed both district and state averages, with particularly outstanding performance in advanced math: 93% of students are proficient in Algebra 1 and 98% in Geometry, compared to state averages of 63% and 56%, respectively. The school also excels in Civics (96% proficient), 8th-grade Science (80%), and all grade-level ELA and Math assessments, where proficiency rates range from 75% to 88%—consistently 13 to 34 percentage points above state averages.
A key factor in the school's success is its remarkably low chronic absenteeism rate of just 9.6%, which is less than one-third of the state average (31.4%) and less than half the district average (20.5%). While the school's test scores remain very high, its state ranking has slightly slipped from the 92nd percentile (5 stars) in 2023-2024 to the 88th percentile (4 stars) in 2025-2026, indicating that other schools across Florida are improving at a faster pace. The school serves a predominantly higher-income population, with 24.69% of students eligible for free or reduced lunch, and spends $8,101 per student, creating a supportive environment that contributes to its outstanding results.
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