Best Public Schools in Zip Code 34471

This analysis examines nine schools in Ocala, Florida (zip code 34471), all part of the Marion school district, which is ranked in the bottom 10th percentile of Florida districts, and includes seven elementary schools, one middle school, and one specialized high school.

The standout schools in this area are Dr N H Jones Elementary School and Eighth Street Elementary School, both ranking in the top 15% of Florida elementary schools with 4-star ratings and significantly higher test scores than district and state averages. In contrast, South Ocala Elementary School is the most challenged, ranking in the bottom 10th percentile with a 1-star rating and test scores 20-30 points below state averages. Osceola Middle School excels in advanced coursework, achieving 100% proficiency in Algebra 1 and 97% in Geometry, far exceeding district and state norms. Hillcrest is a specialized school for grades 6-12 with a very small enrollment of 162 students and a high per-student spending of $47,565, but it also has a high chronic absenteeism rate of 38.7%.

A key finding is that spending does not equal success: the top-performing Dr N H Jones Elementary has one of the lowest per-student spending levels ($11,444), while the highest-spending school, Hillcrest, struggles with attendance. Chronic absenteeism is strongly linked to achievement, with the two best-performing schools having the lowest rates (9.4% and 11.0%), and the lowest-performing school having the highest rate among standard elementary schools (34.0%). The contrast between Dr N H Jones and South Ocala highlights how socioeconomic factors and attendance are deeply intertwined with academic outcomes in this community.