Best Public Schools in Zip Code 34470

The five schools in zip code 34470 (Ocala, FL) are part of the Marion County school district, which ranks in the bottom 10th percentile in Florida, and serve a highly economically disadvantaged population with free/reduced lunch rates ranging from 62.8% to 87.5%.

Fort King Middle School stands out as the academic outlier in this area. While its overall state ranking is low (21st percentile), it achieves exceptional results in advanced math: 100% of its Algebra 1 students and 95% of its Geometry students were proficient, far exceeding district and state averages. In contrast, Oakcrest Elementary School is the most improved, jumping from the 3rd to the 21st percentile in state ranking with significant gains in 4th Grade ELA (33% to 53%) and 5th Grade Math (18% to 39%). Wyomina Park Elementary School has the highest per-student spending ($13,703) but ranks in the 7th percentile, while Marion County Acceleration Academy and Pace Center For Girls Inc. are alternative high schools serving at-risk students, with Pace showing an 83.5% chronic absenteeism rate and no reported test scores.

Chronic absenteeism is a critical issue across all schools, with every school exceeding the state average of 31.4%, ranging from 36.6% at Marion County Acceleration Academy to 83.5% at Pace Center. This high absenteeism, combined with poverty rates above 62%, creates a cycle that challenges academic progress. Notably, higher spending does not correlate with better outcomes—Fort King Middle spends less per student ($10,845) than both elementary schools but achieves the highest state ranking among traditional schools. The two alternative high schools serve vital but difficult roles, with Marion County Acceleration Academy reporting a 12.5% graduation rate and an anomalously low spending figure of $139 per student, suggesting a non-traditional instructional model.