The top reported proficiency rate is 44% in English language arts. The lowest is 37% in Math.
Original Research by School Decision on Westwood Middle School
Westwood Middle School is a public, non-charter school in northwest Gainesville serving grades six through eight. It sits in a city shaped heavily by the University of Florida, where the employment base, the college-town rhythm, and a dense mix of students from across the economic spectrum all feed into the surrounding neighborhood schools.
The school's enrollment is moderate for a middle school of its grade band, and its student body is genuinely diverse. Black, white, and Hispanic students each make up a substantial portion of the school, with smaller shares of Asian, multiracial, and other students. Roughly half of all students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, which places Westwood among the more economically mixed campuses in Alachua County. Data on English learner enrollment and students with individualized education programs was not available in the data provided.
On state assessments, the picture is uneven and parents should look closely. Florida reports results through the FAST assessment in math and ELA and through the statewide science assessment in eighth grade. In ELA, proficiency rates across all three middle school grades cluster in the low-to-mid forties, meaning roughly four in ten students are scoring at the proficient level. Math tells a more varied story by grade: seventh graders come in meaningfully higher than their sixth- and eighth-grade peers, and eighth-grade math proficiency is the lowest of any subject-grade combination the data shows. Eighth-grade science sits in the low forties, near the ELA rates. Taken together, fewer than half of Westwood students are reaching the proficient threshold in any tested subject or grade. Placed against districts in Alachua County, Westwood's overall proficiency index lands in the bottom quartile of that two-district comparison set. A parent considering what this means for a student's preparation should ask the school directly about how it identifies and supports students who are not yet at grade level, and what acceleration or enrichment looks like for those who are.
No trend data was available to show whether results are moving in any direction, so it is not possible to say whether current scores represent improvement, decline, or stability.
The broader district context matters here. Alachua County voters renewed a property tax levy in late 2024 that runs through 2029, publicly reported as sustaining arts, music, drama, band, chorus, school nurses, librarians, counselors, career-technical programs, and academic magnets. This levy reportedly pays all or part of the salaries of a substantial portion of district teachers. Its renewal means Westwood families can reasonably expect those staff and program categories to remain in place rather than being cut. Program-level details specific to Westwood were not available in the data.
The housing market around the school's northwest Gainesville zip code shows home values somewhat below the Florida statewide median and below the national median, with a modest year-over-year decline. Rents in the area are running a slight increase year over year, though rent-to-income ratios remain within a range that is generally considered manageable. The combination makes northwest Gainesville comparatively accessible to buyers and renters by Florida standards, though mortgage costs at current rates are still a real consideration for families entering the market. Gainesville as a whole is growing, with new multi-family development downtown and in suburban corridors. That growth, combined with the university's ongoing presence, keeps the city's character relatively stable even as new residents arrive.
A graduation rate does not apply here because Westwood serves only middle school grades.
For a family weighing this school, Westwood offers a racially and economically diverse peer environment in a city with genuine amenities and a relatively accessible housing market. The academic performance data, as it stands, is below the midpoint for Alachua County's districts, and a parent who wants to understand what the school is doing to close that gap will want to have that conversation directly with school leadership.
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