The top reported proficiency rate is 57% in English language arts. The lowest is 35% in Math.
Original Research by School Decision on Highland Oaks Middle School
Highland Oaks Middle School sits in the far northeastern corner of Miami, in a zip code that borders the city of Aventura. The address puts students in Miami-Dade County Public Schools, one of the largest urban districts in the country, though the immediate neighborhood feels suburban compared to the dense, transit-rich core of the city.
The school serves grades six through eight as a regular public school with no charter or magnet designation. Enrollment sits in the mid-range for a Miami-Dade middle school. The student body is majority Hispanic, with a substantial share of Black students and a meaningful White minority. Close to half of students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, which signals a mixed-income community rather than one that skews heavily toward either extreme. Data on English learner rates and students with IEPs was not available in what was provided.
On Florida's state assessments, the ELA picture is the relative strength. Sixth, seventh, and eighth graders all show reading and writing proficiency rates that clear or approach the majority mark, with sixth grade leading. Those are not exceptional results, but they reflect a school where most students are reaching the state's reading benchmark, which matters heading into high school. Math tells a different story. Sixth and seventh grade proficiency in math falls well below the majority, and while eighth grade math is noticeably stronger than the younger grades, it still leaves a large share of students below the proficiency line. The state science assessment at eighth grade lands in the low-to-middle range. Families with students who need strong math acceleration, or who are watching for gaps going into high school algebra and geometry, may want to ask the school directly about its intervention supports, course sequencing, and how students who arrive below grade level are brought up. A trend comparison was not possible because prior-year data was not available.
The comparison data for proficiency across Miami-Dade County's districts could not be computed because the school-level comparison set was too small to be meaningful, so no positioning statement against county peers is possible here.
No programs data was provided. Whether the school offers accelerated courses, enrichment programs, or electives beyond the core is a gap in what was available, and parents would want to ask the school directly.
The housing market around the school is worth understanding clearly. Home values in this zip code are well above both the Florida state median and the national median. Prices have pulled back meaningfully year over year, and rents have edged down slightly as well, but this remains an expensive market by almost any measure. The rent-to-income ratio for the area runs high relative to national norms. Families relocating to be in this school's zone are looking at a premium cost of entry.
At the district level, Miami-Dade passed a property-tax referendum that funds teacher pay and school safety, with that rate set to expire in 2027 unless voters renew it, so homeowners should factor that into their cost picture. More immediately, the district is working through a significant and sustained enrollment decline. Publicly reported accounts indicate the district proposed closing or consolidating up to nine schools for the coming year, with possible boundary changes and grade-structure reconfigurations districtwide. Families considering this school should verify that its boundaries and configuration remain stable, because what is true today may look different by the time a child enters or advances through the building.
Miami itself offers a culturally dense, highly international urban environment. The Metrorail and free Metromover provide transit access to downtown, Brickell, and connecting lines, though the northeastern edge of the city where Highland Oaks sits is less transit-connected than the core. The district's school cell phone policy is also in flux: Miami-Dade initially chose an educational approach over a ban, but state legislation is pushing toward a full school-day restriction by the end of 2026, so classroom phone rules may change.
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