Summary:
Zip code 33705 in St. Petersburg, Florida, is home to a single high school, Lakewood High School, which serves grades 9 through 12 and is part of the Pinellas County school district.
Lakewood High School is a school in rapid academic ascent, having climbed from the 32nd percentile in Florida’s state rankings in 2023-2024 to the 66th percentile in 2025-2026—a remarkable 34-point improvement in just two years. This upward trend is reflected in impressive year-over-year test score gains, including a 20-point jump in 10th-grade English Language Arts (from 44% to 64%) and a 13-point increase in Geometry (from 49% to 62%). In the most recent school year, the school’s proficiency rates in Geometry (62%), Biology (77%), and 10th-grade ELA (64%) all surpassed the state average, a notable achievement given that 55.11% of its 880 students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch. However, the school still trails district and state averages in Algebra 1 (56%) and US History (72%), indicating areas that need continued focus.
A key paradox at Lakewood High School is its high graduation rate of 95.3%—above both the district (93.4%) and state (92.2%) averages—contrasted with a chronic absenteeism rate of 45.7%, which is dramatically higher than the district (30.6%) and state (31.4%) averages. This contradiction suggests that while the school excels at getting students to the finish line, nearly half are missing significant amounts of class time, raising questions about attendance policies and credit recovery programs. With a student-teacher ratio of 17.9:1 and per-student spending of $12,363, the school is making strong academic strides, but addressing chronic absenteeism remains a critical challenge for sustaining its upward trajectory.
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