The top reported proficiency rate is 44% in Math. The lowest is 36% in Science.
Original Research by School Decision on Lake Stevens Middle School
Lake Stevens Middle School serves sixth through eighth graders in Miami Gardens, a large suburban city in northwestern Miami-Dade County. The school is a regular public middle school within Miami-Dade County Public Schools, drawing students from a community that is predominantly Hispanic and Black, with a majority of students qualifying for free or reduced-price lunch. Data on English learner enrollment and students with individualized education programs was not available in the information provided.
On the Florida state assessments, proficiency rates across all three grades and tested subjects sit below the midpoint one might hope for. In math, the school hovers around the mid-forties across all three grade levels, which is a more encouraging picture than ELA, where sixth and seventh graders score in the low-to-mid thirties and eighth graders reach the mid-forties. The eighth-grade science assessment falls in the mid-thirties as well. These are the most recent FAST results available, and multi-year trend data was not provided, so it is not possible to characterize whether performance has been improving, holding steady, or declining. A parent who wants to understand the school's trajectory would be wise to ask directly. No comparison of this school's proficiency against other Miami-Dade district schools was available, given the county comparison set had too few districts to generate a meaningful position ranking.
Program details, course access information, and staffing and attendance data were not included in what was provided, so it is not possible to say what electives, extracurriculars, or support services the school offers beyond what a standard middle school grade band implies. That absence is worth raising with the school directly, particularly for families thinking about advanced coursework pathways heading into high school.
Miami Gardens itself is a city of roughly twenty square miles that is entirely car-dependent, publicly reported as minimally walkable. The built environment runs to strip malls and surface parking along auto-oriented corridors, and the city has acknowledged it lacks a unified neighborhood identity in many areas. That said, the city is in an active development phase: a large new City Center broke ground in 2024 near Hard Rock Stadium, an industrial logistics pipeline is expanding, and new zoning tools are being deployed to redraw commercial corridors. Hard Rock Stadium, St. Thomas University, Florida Memorial University, and a growing logistics and distribution sector are the area's main economic anchors. Parks, a regional library branch, and a free city circulator are the primary civic amenities; Tri-Rail runs along the city's southeastern edge for regional commuters.
The housing market around the school sits well above the Florida statewide median home value and substantially above the national median. Rents are high relative to income, with a rent-to-income ratio that signals cost pressure. Both home values and rents have edged slightly downward year over year as of the most recent data. The estimated monthly mortgage payment at current rates represents a meaningful financial commitment, and the price-to-income ratio places the area in expensive territory by national standards.
Two district-level developments deserve attention from any family considering a move into Miami-Dade schools. First, the district passed a property tax referendum in 2022 to fund teacher pay and school safety; it runs through 2027, at which point it must be renewed by voters. That levy is an active cost for homeowners. Second, the district is managing sustained enrollment decline, and in spring 2026 proposed closing or consolidating up to nine schools across all three geographic regions, with the possibility of entirely restructured grade configurations at some campuses. Families should verify Lake Stevens's current status and projected boundaries before making housing decisions, as reassignment remains a real possibility. A statewide cell phone policy is also taking shape in Florida, which will eventually standardize classroom phone rules across all Miami-Dade schools.
See more original research from School Decision →