The top reported proficiency rate is 57% in Math. The lowest is 45% in Science.
Original Research by School Decision on Hibiscus Elementary School
Hibiscus Elementary is a regular public school in Miami-Dade County, serving prekindergarten through fifth grade on the northwest edge of Miami proper. It is a neighborhood school of modest size for its grade band, drawing from a community where the large majority of families qualify for free or reduced-price lunch. The student body is predominantly Black, with a meaningful Hispanic presence and very little racial diversity beyond those two groups. Data on English learners and students with individualized education programs was not available in what was reported to us.
On Florida's state assessments, the picture is mixed and worth a closer look. In third-grade math, proficiency is solid, placing a clear majority of students at grade level. By fourth and fifth grade, math proficiency drops to roughly half or just below, meaning fewer than half of fifth graders are scoring at the proficient level. Reading follows a similar arc: fourth grade is the relative high point, while third and fifth grade ELA proficiency lands well below the majority mark. Fifth-grade science results are in the same range as the lower ELA grades. These patterns suggest the school has pockets of strength, particularly in early math, but families whose children are heading into the upper elementary grades may want to ask the school directly about how it supports students who fall behind the proficiency threshold and what interventions are in place. No multi-year trend data was available, so it is not possible to say whether results have been rising or falling.
No information on programs, course offerings, staffing, attendance, or chronic absenteeism was included in what we received, so those dimensions cannot be characterized here.
The school sits within Miami-Dade County Public Schools, one of the largest urban districts in the country. Two developments matter for any family considering enrollment now. First, the district is navigating a sustained enrollment decline, and as of spring 2026 was publicly reported to be considering closing or consolidating up to nine schools. That process includes potential boundary changes and reconfigured grade structures. Families moving into the area should confirm directly with the district which schools are affected and whether Hibiscus falls within any proposed realignment before making housing decisions based on a particular school assignment. Second, voters approved a property-tax referendum in 2022 to fund teacher pay and campus safety, set to expire in 2027 without renewal. That levy adds a modest ongoing cost for homeowners while it remains in effect.
The housing market around the school's zip code is priced well above the Florida state median and slightly above the national median, with home values that have edged down slightly in the past year. Rents have also declined modestly but remain high relative to income, with the rent-to-income ratio pointing to real affordability pressure for renters. Anyone buying in this part of Miami should factor in that the cost of homeownership here is meaningfully above national norms, even as values have softened.
Miami itself is a dense, large urban city, walkable in many neighborhoods and anchored by a free downtown people mover and an elevated rail line that connects across the county. The northwest Miami location of Hibiscus is not in the city's most transit-rich corridors, though the broader system remains accessible. The city's major employment is in government, health care, education, and tourism, with large anchor institutions like Miami-Dade County Public Schools, Jackson Health System, Baptist Health South Florida, and the University of Miami among the dominant employers. The city has grown in recent years but Miami-Dade County as a whole has seen a population pullback more recently, attributed in part to an immigration slowdown, a trend that has contributed to the district's enrollment pressure.
For a family weighing Hibiscus, the clearest picture is of an economically challenged community school with early math results that are relatively encouraging but with upper-elementary proficiency rates that sit below the majority mark across subjects. The district context of possible school boundary changes is an active variable that families should track through the Miami-Dade school board before assuming current school assignments are stable.
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