The top reported proficiency rate is 47% in English language arts. The lowest is 40% in Science.
Original Research by School Decision on Carolyn Beatrice Parker Elementary
Carolyn Beatrice Parker Elementary sits on NW 5th Avenue in Gainesville, a university-anchored city in north central Florida where the University of Florida shapes the economy, the pace, and the daily texture of the place. The school serves kindergarten through fifth grade as a regular public elementary within Alachua County Public Schools. Its location puts it in a part of the city that is near downtown and the UF campus, not in one of the more auto-oriented commercial corridors further out.
The school's enrollment is a few hundred students in the mid-range for a Florida elementary, with classes fairly evenly distributed across the six grade levels. The student population is racially diverse: white students are the largest single group, with Hispanic and Black students each making up substantial shares, and smaller numbers of Asian and multiracial students. Roughly two-fifths of students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, which is a meaningful but not overwhelming share. Data on English learner status and students with IEPs was not available in the records reviewed.
State testing results from Florida's FAST and Statewide Science Assessment, administered in the 2024-25 school year, tell an uneven story across grades. In reading, third graders scored below half proficient, fifth graders landed near the midpoint, and fourth graders fared better, coming in above the midpoint. Math followed a similar arc: third grade was the weakest point, with roughly a third proficient, while fourth grade climbed above half. Fifth-grade math and reading were in the mid-forties. The single science result, from fifth grade, came in just below half proficient. Placed against other districts in Alachua County, the school's overall proficiency index sits in the bottom quartile of the two-district comparison set. Parents who want to understand trajectory should note that trend data was not available for this school, so whether performance has been improving, declining, or holding steady is not something the current data can answer. That would be a reasonable question to raise directly with the school.
The school does not offer high school programs, so graduation rates and AP or dual-enrollment pathways do not apply here. Program information was not available in the data reviewed.
At the district level, a few things are worth knowing. Alachua County voters renewed the One Mill property tax in late 2024, which continues through mid-2029 and, as publicly reported, funds art, music, drama, band and chorus, school nurses, librarians, and counselors district-wide, paying part or all of the salaries of a large share of district staff in those roles. That renewal means Parker, like all Alachua county schools, keeps access to staffing that might otherwise be cut. The district also joined a state year-round school pilot, though that affected Metcalfe and Rawlings Elementary specifically, not Parker. Parents tracking district policy should know the year-round experiment at Rawlings was discontinued after a school board vote in April 2025, and the program remains active elsewhere, so it is worth confirming which calendar applies to Parker for any given enrollment year.
Gainesville's housing market near the school reflects the city's broader position: home values in the area's zip code sit modestly above the Florida statewide median and slightly above the national median, with year-over-year appreciation essentially flat. Rents in the same zip code are in the range that consumes roughly a quarter of median household income, making the area somewhat more accessible than Florida's larger metros. The city is adding housing density, particularly in and around downtown and near UF, with multi-family and mixed-use construction publicly reported as ongoing.
For a family considering Parker, the picture is a diverse neighborhood elementary in a college-town city with real civic infrastructure, a district that recently secured continued funding for arts and support staff, and test results that are below the county median and in the lower tier of Alachua County's two-district comparison group. The fourth-grade reading result was a brighter spot. A parent wanting to understand what explains the variation across grade levels, and what the school is doing about the softer third-grade numbers, would be well served by asking those questions before enrolling.
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