The top reported proficiency rate is 55% in English language arts. The lowest is 38% in Math.
Original Research by School Decision on Howard W. Bishop Middle School
Howard W. Bishop Middle School sits on the northeast side of Gainesville, serving sixth through eighth graders in the Alachua County public school system. Gainesville is a university city shaped by the University of Florida and its affiliated health system, with a downtown that blends civic institutions, restaurants, and a growing residential base alongside more auto-oriented commercial corridors farther out. The school's northeast address puts it in a part of the city that is more residential and removed from the campus core.
The student body reflects a substantial share of families with lower incomes: more than half of enrolled students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, which is worth understanding when interpreting test results. Racially, the school is majority Black, with a significant share of white students, smaller Hispanic and multiracial populations, and a smaller Asian enrollment. The school serves a genuinely mixed community. Data on English learner enrollment and students with IEPs were not available in the data we reviewed.
On Florida's FAST assessments, the reading picture is fairly consistent across all three grade levels: a bit over half of sixth graders tested proficient in ELA, and the seventh and eighth grade figures are close to that, with eighth grade landing right at the halfway mark. Math tells a different story by grade. Sixth grade math proficiency sits below the majority but is in a moderate range; seventh grade math is notably stronger, with more than half of students reaching proficiency. Eighth grade math stands out as the weakest result across all tested subjects, with fewer than one in five students scoring proficient. That drop is sharp enough that a parent with a student heading into eighth grade math would want to ask the school directly what supports and course options are in place. The eighth grade science result sits right at the halfway point.
Placed against the two districts in Alachua County, Bishop's overall proficiency index falls in the bottom quartile of that comparison set. That comparison is district-level, so it positions Bishop against district-wide averages rather than against individual peer middle schools, but it does suggest room for growth relative to the county norm.
No program or course access data was provided for Bishop, so it is not possible to say from the available information whether advanced coursework, arts, or enrichment offerings are available at the building level. What can be said at the district level is that Alachua County voters renewed a property tax in late 2024 that funds arts, music, band, chorus, drama, school nurses, librarians, counselors, career-technical programs, and academic magnets across all county schools. That funding runs through 2029 and, publicly reported, pays all or part of the salaries of a large share of district teachers. It does not add new costs to homeowners' tax bills but its continuation is what keeps those staff and programs running.
The housing market near the school carries home values that sit clearly below both the Florida statewide median and the national median, making the Gainesville area more accessible to buyers than much of Florida. Rents are rising modestly. Gainesville overall is on a growth trajectory, with active multi-family construction downtown and new residential communities going up across the city, including near the Oaks Mall corridor and in neighborhoods close to the university.
Graduation rate does not apply here because Bishop serves only middle school grades.
Multi-year trend data was not available, so it is not possible to say whether proficiency at Bishop has been improving, holding steady, or declining over recent years. That is a gap parents may want to raise with the school, particularly regarding the eighth grade math result, which stands out enough to warrant a direct conversation about instructional supports.
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