Summary:
Zip code 34478 is home to a single school, Ocali Charter Middle School, a small middle school serving 194 students in grades 6 through 8 within the Marion County district.
Ocali Charter Middle School presents a complex picture of academic performance. On one hand, the school excels in advanced coursework, with 86% of students proficient in Geometry and 72% in Civics during the 2025-2026 school year. It also outperforms its district in 8 out of 10 tested subjects. However, the school struggles with grade-level math, where proficiency rates range from just 45% to 53%, and its chronic absenteeism rate of 38.5% is significantly higher than both the district (35.2%) and state (31.4%) averages. The school's state ranking has also been steadily declining over the past three years, dropping from the 47th percentile to the 41st percentile.
Perhaps the most notable finding is the extreme volatility in test scores from year to year. For example, 8th Grade Science proficiency jumped from 38% to 62% in a single year, while 7th Grade Math plummeted from 74% to 45%. This inconsistency, combined with the high chronic absenteeism and a spending per student of $9,807, suggests that while the school effectively accelerates its top students into advanced courses, it faces significant challenges in providing consistent, high-quality instruction for all students. The school is a standout within its low-ranked district, but it still lags behind state averages in most subjects.
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