Summary:
Zip code 32603 in Gainesville, Florida, is home to a single elementary school, Carolyn Beatrice Parker Elementary, which serves grades K-5 with 501 students and is part of the Alachua school district, a district ranked 50th out of 70 in Florida.
Carolyn Beatrice Parker Elementary presents a mixed picture of performance. Its standout strength is 5th-grade Science, where 59% of students are proficient, matching the state average and slightly exceeding the district's 57%. However, the school struggles significantly in Math and English Language Arts (ELA), falling below both district and state averages in every grade level for these subjects. The most concerning area is a pronounced "4th-grade slump," with only 38% proficiency in ELA and 39% in Math, far below the 3rd and 5th-grade scores. While the school has shown impressive year-over-year improvement in some areas—such as 5th-grade Science jumping from 40% to 59%—this progress is inconsistent, as 4th-grade ELA actually dropped sharply from 57% to 38% in the same period. The school's state ranking has paradoxically declined from the 39th percentile to the 22nd percentile over three years, indicating that while raw scores are improving, other schools across Florida are improving at a faster rate.
Key metrics include a student-teacher ratio of 13.7, spending of $11,788 per student, and a free/reduced lunch rate of 37.72%. Chronic absenteeism stands at 30.1%, slightly better than the district and state averages. For parents, the data suggests that Carolyn Beatrice Parker Elementary offers a strong science program but faces notable challenges in core subjects like math and reading, particularly for 4th graders. The school's declining relative ranking, despite some academic gains, is a key factor to consider when evaluating its overall performance trajectory.
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