The top reported proficiency rate is 42% in English language arts. The lowest is 31% in Science.
Original Research by School Decision on Fort Caroline Middle School
Fort Caroline Middle School sits on the northeastern edge of Jacksonville, serving sixth through eighth graders in a district that spans one of the country's most sprawling cities. The school is a regular public middle school within Duval County Public Schools, one of Florida's largest districts.
On Florida's state assessments, the school's proficiency results across all tested grades and subjects run below the midpoint for most measures. In reading and writing, roughly four in ten students at each grade level scored proficient on the FAST ELA assessment, with the three grade levels clustering closely together. Math results tell a similar story, though seventh grade came in noticeably higher than sixth or eighth. The eighth-grade science assessment, administered as the Florida Statewide Science Assessment, showed the lowest proficiency rate of any subject tested at the school. These are facts worth sitting with. A parent of a student who enters on grade level or above should ask the school directly about what acceleration or enrichment pathways are available. No multi-year trend data was available, so it is not possible from the data to say whether results have been improving, holding steady, or declining.
A substantial majority of the student body qualifies for free or reduced-price lunch, which places the school in a higher economic-need tier. The student population is predominantly Black, with smaller shares of white and Hispanic students and modest representation across other groups. Enrollment is relatively small for a middle school serving three grades. IEP and English learner population data were not reported in the available data, so the picture of special education and language services is incomplete; parents with students who have IEPs or are English learners should ask the school specifically about those supports.
No program offerings data was available for Fort Caroline, so it is not possible to characterize electives, arts, athletics, or any specialized academic pathways from the data. The district brief search was exhausted without finding confirmed recent changes at Duval County Public Schools, so any district-level strategic priorities or recent policy shifts are left out here rather than guessed at.
The housing market around the school's zip code in Jacksonville's northeast reflects conditions that are modestly below both the Florida state median and the national median for home values, making the surrounding area among the more affordable corners of the Jacksonville metro. Rents in the area have moved upward over the past year, though still sit well below the statewide midpoint. Jacksonville as a whole is publicly reported as one of the faster-growing metro areas in the country, with downtown development accelerating and the broader metro projected to expand at well above the national average through the late 2020s. The northeast side where Fort Caroline sits is not the center of that downtown boom, but the city-wide growth context means enrollment demand and neighborhood demographics could shift over the coming years.
Jacksonville itself is a car-dependent city by design, and the northeastern residential neighborhoods near University Club Boulevard reflect that pattern. Families here are generally driving to school, to groceries, and to activities rather than walking or using transit.
The comparison universe for Duval County has only two districts, which means the data does not support a meaningful relative ranking for proficiency, and those metrics are not applicable here. Chronic absenteeism and graduation rate data were not available for this school, the latter because Fort Caroline serves only middle grades and does not have a graduation cohort.
Fort Caroline is a neighborhood public middle school in a high-need community with academic proficiency results that are below the middle of the state distribution. For families with students who need enrichment or are working significantly above grade level, it would be worth a direct conversation with the school about what course access and supports exist beyond what the data shows.
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