The top reported proficiency rate is 69% in Math. The lowest is 68% in English language arts.
Original Research by School Decision on William S. Talbot Elem School
William S. Talbot Elementary sits on the northwest side of Gainesville, serving children from pre-kindergarten through fifth grade as a regular public school in the Alachua County district. The school draws a moderately sized elementary enrollment, and its student body is racially and ethnically varied, with white students making up roughly half the population, Black students the next largest share, and meaningful representation from Hispanic, multiracial, and Asian students as well. Close to two-fifths of students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, a share that places Talbot somewhere in the middle range for an urban public elementary rather than at either extreme. Data on students with IEPs and English learners was not available in what we reviewed.
On Florida's FAST assessments, Talbot's third and fourth graders score solidly in both math and reading, with strong majorities reaching proficiency. Fifth-grade scores are somewhat lower in both subjects, and a parent may want to ask the school about what drives that dip and how it supports students as they approach the transition to middle school. Fifth-grade science results land roughly in line with ELA for that grade. Placed against the two districts in Alachua County, Talbot's overall proficiency index sits above the midpoint among those districts, a meaningful position given that the county includes schools with quite different performance levels.
Trend data across multiple years was not available, so it is not possible to say whether these results represent improvement, stability, or decline. No graduation rate applies here, as the school ends at fifth grade.
The district itself has been an active place recently. Voters renewed the existing One Mill property tax in late 2024, carrying it through 2029. This levy, publicly reported as sustaining a substantial portion of district teaching positions, funds art, music, drama, band, chorus, school nurses, librarians, counselors, career-technical programs, and academic magnet offerings across all county schools. Because it was a renewal rather than a new tax, homeowners saw no change on their bills, but its passage is directly what keeps those staff and programs funded. Talbot families benefit from this alongside every other school in the county.
The district also joined a state year-round school pilot, placing it at two other elementary schools starting in 2024. That experiment has already shown strain at one of those schools, where the board voted to discontinue the year-round model after enrollment fell and parent satisfaction was low. Talbot is not listed among the year-round pilot schools, so this does not directly affect Talbot families now, but it reflects the kind of active experimentation the district is willing to pursue and reverse, which is worth knowing.
Gainesville itself is a university-anchored city shaped in large part by the University of Florida and UF Health, the area's dominant employers. The city has a college-town character that is larger and more economically diverse than a typical small college town. The northwest Gainesville neighborhood around Talbot sits away from the densifying downtown and campus core; that part of the city is more residential in texture, with auto-oriented commercial corridors nearby.
Housing near the school, based on the zip code, runs below Florida's statewide median home value and has seen a modest year-over-year decline rather than appreciation. Rents in the area represent a manageable share of the national median household income, and the gap between estimated monthly ownership costs and renting is relatively narrow compared with many Florida markets. For families weighing a move into the attendance zone, the local housing market appears more accessible than much of the state, though mortgage rates remain elevated nationally.
Program-level detail for Talbot specifically was not available in the data reviewed. A parent wanting to understand enrichment offerings, specialist schedules, or after-school programs would need to contact the school directly.
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