The top reported proficiency rate is 69% in English language arts. The lowest is 68% in Math.
Original Research by School Decision on Howard Drive Elementary School
Howard Drive Elementary sits in the southernmost residential stretch of Miami, on SW 136th Street in the 33156 zip code, an area of single-family homes and low-rise neighborhoods that feels removed from the density of Brickell or Downtown. The school is a regular public elementary serving prekindergarten through fifth grade within Miami-Dade County Public Schools.
The school is small for its grade band. Students are predominantly Hispanic, with white and Black students making up most of the remaining enrollment. Roughly a third of students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, which is on the lower end for Miami-Dade as a whole, reflecting the more economically mixed character of the surrounding neighborhood. Data on English learner rates and students with IEPs was not available in what was reported.
On Florida's FAST assessments, the academic picture is generally strong. In ELA, third graders score well above the midpoint, and fifth graders reach a similarly high level; fourth grade dips noticeably and is worth asking the school about directly. Math follows a different curve: third grade comes in around the middle of the proficiency range, but fourth and fifth grades climb steadily, with fifth graders reaching a clearly strong mark. Fifth-grade science scores are also solid, comfortably above what one might call an average expectation. Multi-year trend data was not available, so it is not possible to say whether these results are improving, holding, or have recently shifted. A parent who wants to understand trajectory should ask the school directly.
The comparison data across Miami-Dade County's districts was flagged as too small a cohort to produce a meaningful proficiency index comparison, so the school cannot be placed relative to its neighbors on a single index. The subject-by-subject results above are the clearest picture available.
Howard Drive is not a charter or magnet school. No program specialty information was reported, so it reads as a neighborhood elementary without a particular curricular identity beyond the standard Miami-Dade curriculum. Course access and discipline data were also not reported.
The housing market in this zip code is in a different category from most of the country. Home values are far above both the Florida state median and the national median, not modestly so but by a substantial multiple. Rents are also high, though they have edged down slightly year over year. The rent-to-income burden here sits well above what housing economists consider comfortable. Families relocating and treating proximity to this school as part of the calculus should budget accordingly.
Two district-level realities matter for any Miami-Dade family right now. First, the district is experiencing a sharp, sustained enrollment decline, and as of spring 2026 was publicly weighing closing or consolidating up to nine schools across its three regions. Boundaries and grade configurations are in active flux, with new K-8, 6-12, and K-12 structures being proposed. A family moving into this attendance zone should confirm directly with Miami-Dade that Howard Drive's boundaries and grade structure remain unchanged before committing. Second, in 2022 voters approved a property-tax increase tied to teacher pay and school safety, set to expire in 2027 unless renewed. That ongoing levy affects what homeowners pay and what the district can offer in staffing.
Miami itself brings the full texture of a large urban environment. The neighborhood around the school is quieter and more suburban in feel than much of the city, but access to Metrorail connections, parks, the county library system, and the broader Miami employment base is part of the picture. The city has posted publicly reported population gains at the municipal level in recent years, while the county as a whole saw a notable decline in 2024-25 tied in part to an immigration slowdown, which contributed directly to lower school enrollment countywide.
For a family looking for a neighborhood elementary with above-average test results in a high-value but high-cost residential corner of Miami-Dade, Howard Drive fits that profile. The enrollment volatility across the district and the missing data on special populations are the two areas where a parent should ask questions before assuming the current picture holds.
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