Summary:
Zip code 34479 is home to one school, Ocala Springs Elementary School, a public elementary school serving grades Pre-Kindergarten through 5th with 682 students in the Marion County district.
Ocala Springs Elementary School stands out as a strong performer within its district, consistently scoring 5-10 percentage points higher than the district average in most subjects, despite the district ranking in the bottom 10% of Florida. The school's strongest academic area is 5th Grade Science, where its 60% proficiency rate exactly matches the state average and is 10 points higher than the district average. There is also a clear upward trend in student performance, with 5th graders significantly outperforming 3rd graders in both English Language Arts (61% vs. 47%) and Math (61% vs. 55%) in the 2025-2026 school year, suggesting effective skill development over time. The school has shown year-over-year improvement, with proficiency rates rising in several subjects from 2024-2025 to 2025-2026, including a 6-point gain in 5th Grade Science and 4th Grade ELA.
The school's biggest challenge is chronic absenteeism, with 33.7% of students missing significant school time—a rate higher than the state average of 31.4%. This is a critical risk factor, especially given that 64.37% of students come from low-income households (as indicated by free/reduced lunch eligibility). Despite this, the school maintains a consistent 2-star rating from Schooldigger and spends $12,490 per student with a student-teacher ratio of 16.6:1. The school's strong academic performance, particularly in Science and upper-grade development, occurs in spite of high absenteeism, suggesting that addressing this issue could unlock even greater success and potentially improve its state ranking.
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