Summary:
In zip code 34741, there is one middle school, Kissimmee Middle School, serving grades 6 through 8 with 892 students in the Osceola School District, a district ranked in the bottom 20% of Florida.
Kissimmee Middle School presents a striking "two schools" dynamic. On one hand, it excels in advanced coursework: in the 2025-2026 school year, 100% of students taking the Geometry End-of-Course (EOC) exam and 91% taking Algebra 1 EOC scored proficient, dramatically outperforming state averages of 56% and 63%, respectively. On the other hand, the school struggles significantly with grade-level core subjects. Proficiency rates in English Language Arts (ELA) average just 39.3% across grades 6-8, and math proficiency averages only 34%, both far below state averages of 61.3% and 58%. A particularly alarming figure is 7th grade math proficiency at just 15%, which is 38 points below the state average. The school has consistently ranked in the bottom 10-17% of Florida middle schools over the past three years, earning a 1-star rating each year.
A critical factor likely driving these low core scores is a chronic absenteeism rate of 41.6% for the 2023-2024 school year, significantly higher than the district (34.9%) and state (31.4%) averages. With over half of students (51.79%) qualifying for free or reduced lunch, economic challenges are prevalent. Per-student spending is $11,550, suggesting funding is not the primary issue, but rather how resources are allocated. The data strongly indicates that any improvement plan must first tackle the root causes of absenteeism and provide targeted interventions for foundational literacy and numeracy, especially for the struggling 7th grade cohort, to bridge the gap between the school's advanced achievers and the majority of its students.
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