The top reported proficiency rate is 31% in Math. The lowest is 11% in Science.
Original Research by School Decision on Alfred I. Dupont Middle School
Alfred I. DuPont Middle School sits on DuPont Avenue in Jacksonville's southside, serving sixth through eighth graders in a city that spans an enormous geographic footprint. Jacksonville itself is one of the fastest-growing metro areas in the country, publicly reported as a market where migration and inventory meet affordability, with a downtown undergoing a large-scale residential and civic transformation. The neighborhood around the school is a quieter residential stretch set apart from the more urbanized core, and like most of Jacksonville, it is car-oriented rather than walkable.
The school draws a genuinely diverse student body. Hispanic students make up the largest share of enrollment, followed by Black students, then white, then Asian, with smaller numbers of multiracial, American Indian, and Pacific Islander students. A majority of students qualify for free or reduced-price meals, placing DuPont in the higher economic-need range among middle schools. Data on English learner and special education populations were not available in what was provided.
On Florida's state assessments, the picture across all three grade levels is one that parents will want to weigh carefully. In both ELA and math, the majority of students at each grade level are not scoring at proficiency. Sixth-grade math and eighth-grade math results are the lowest across the tested grades. Seventh grade shows somewhat stronger math results, though still well below a majority proficient. ELA proficiency runs similarly low across sixth, seventh, and eighth grade, in a fairly narrow band. The eighth-grade science assessment, administered statewide, shows the smallest share of students at proficiency of any tested subject, sitting noticeably below the ELA and math results. Trend data was not available, so it is not possible to characterize whether performance has been improving, declining, or holding steady. A parent would reasonably want to ask the school directly about its current academic intervention strategies, instructional supports, and how it is working to move these numbers.
No information on specific programs, course offerings, or extracurricular activities was provided, so those dimensions cannot be described here. The school is a regular public school, not a charter, and no magnet designation was on record. Graduation rate data does not apply here because DuPont does not serve high school grades.
The housing market around the school reflects broader Jacksonville conditions. Home values in the zip code are somewhat below the Florida statewide median and roughly in line with national figures, with prices having slipped modestly year over year. Rents in the area have moved slightly upward over the same period. The rent-to-income ratio falls within a range that is generally considered manageable by conventional affordability standards, and monthly mortgage costs for a typical home in the area are somewhat lower than the state average, which tracks with Jacksonville's reputation as a relatively accessible market compared to other major Florida metros. For families considering this area specifically, those numbers suggest a real estate environment that is neither steeply priced nor distressed.
The broader Jacksonville economy is anchored by health care, including Baptist Health and Mayo Clinic Florida, alongside Amazon's logistics presence, military employment at Naval Air Station Jacksonville, Duval County Public Schools itself as a major employer, and a growing financial technology sector. The city is well-connected by interstate highways and a public transit network that includes bus service, a downtown automated people-mover, and river ferry service, though practical transit options in the residential areas around DuPont Avenue are limited by the city's sprawling layout.
On the district side, a search for parent-relevant changes or strategic priorities from Duval County Public Schools returned limited results before the research window closed, so that context was left out rather than approximated.
For a family zoning into DuPont Middle School, the academic performance data as reported warrants direct conversation with the school about academic supports and what has been changing at the building level. The diverse and economically mixed student population reflects the surrounding community, and the school's position within a large, resource-varied district like Duval means program quality and staff stability can vary year to year in ways that the available data does not fully capture.
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