Summary:
Zip code 33616 in Tampa, Florida, is served by two elementary schools, Lanier Elementary School and Westshore Elementary School, both part of the Hillsborough County School District, and they present a stark contrast in academic performance and trajectory.
Lanier Elementary School is the clear standout, consistently outperforming its counterpart and showing a strong upward trend. Its state ranking improved dramatically from the 49th percentile (2 stars) in 2023-2024 to the 72nd percentile (4 stars) in 2024-2025, settling at the 58th percentile (3 stars) for 2025-2026. In contrast, Westshore Elementary School has experienced a steady decline, falling from the 33rd percentile (2 stars) to the bottom 10% (0 stars) over the same period. The most extreme academic gap is in 3rd grade math proficiency for the 2025-2026 school year, where Lanier achieved 74% proficiency compared to just 24% at Westshore—a 50-percentage-point difference. Lanier also boasts a lower percentage of students eligible for free/reduced lunch (56.38% vs. 67.57%) and slightly better chronic absenteeism rates (29.4% vs. 33.5%), though both schools face this challenge above the state average of 31.4%.
Notably, per-student spending is nearly identical between the two schools ($16,877 at Lanier vs. $16,427 at Westshore), indicating that financial resources alone do not explain the performance disparity. Lanier’s 5th graders were particularly strong in the 2024-2025 school year, posting 79% proficiency in math and 71% in ELA, far exceeding district and state averages. For parents, Lanier Elementary School offers a clearly superior academic environment with a positive trajectory, while Westshore Elementary School requires significant improvement to address its declining performance and high absenteeism.
Thank you for your feedback!