Summary:
There are five elementary schools in the 32907 zip code of Palm Bay, Florida, serving grades PK through 6 (with one serving K-8), all part of the Brevard County School District, which is ranked in the top third of Florida districts.
The standout school in this area is Pineapple Cove Classical Academy At Lockmar, a charter school that dramatically outperforms its peers. It ranks in the 68th percentile statewide, with 100% proficiency in Algebra 1 and 83% in Civics, and its 3rd-grade ELA and Math scores (78% and 71%) far exceed the other schools. In contrast, the four traditional public schools—Christa McAuliffe Elementary School, Discovery Elementary School, Port Malabar Elementary School, and Lockmar Elementary School—all rank in the bottom half of the state. A notable exception is Port Malabar, which excels in 5th-grade Science with 72% proficiency, well above the district and state averages. However, Discovery Elementary faces the most challenges, with the lowest state rank (26th percentile) and the highest chronic absenteeism rate (24.6%).
A key takeaway is the inverse relationship between spending and performance: the highest-performing school, Pineapple Cove, spends the least per student ($9,129), while the lowest-performing schools spend significantly more (up to $13,527 per student). This suggests that higher funding is needed to address the challenges of higher-poverty schools, but it does not automatically lead to better test scores. Additionally, chronic absenteeism is a clear indicator of struggle, with the two lowest-performing schools having the highest absenteeism rates. Across all five schools, 6th-grade Math and ELA scores are a consistent bright spot, with every school meeting or exceeding state averages, indicating a potential area of strength in the middle school transition within this zip code.
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