The top reported proficiency rate is 59% in Math. The lowest is 47% in Science.
Original Research by School Decision on Pine Grove Elementary School
Pine Grove Elementary sits on Ken Austin Parkway in Brooksville, the county seat of Hernando County, serving children from pre-kindergarten through fifth grade. It is a regular public elementary school in the Hernando County district, and by the standards of its grade band it enrolls a large number of students. The student body is racially and ethnically mixed, with white students making up a majority and Hispanic students the next largest group, alongside Black, multiracial, Asian, and other students. A substantial share of families qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, which places this school in solidly working- and middle-class economic territory. Data on English learners and students with IEPs were not available in what was provided.
On state assessments, Pine Grove's results are a mixed picture that a parent should read carefully. Third grade math is a clear bright spot, with most students reaching proficiency on the FAST Math assessment. That strength does not carry through the upper grades: by fourth and fifth grade, math proficiency falls to roughly half of students or below, and the pattern in ELA is similar across grades three through five, with most results clustering in the lower half of the proficient range. Fifth grade science, measured by the Florida Statewide Science Assessment, shows fewer than half of students reaching proficiency. These are not catastrophic numbers, but they are below what many families would consider comfortable, and a parent would be reasonable to ask the school directly about how it supports students who are not yet meeting grade-level expectations, and whether the drop from third to upper grades reflects a specific instructional challenge or student-population shift. Multi-year trend data was not available, so it is not possible to say whether these results are improving, holding, or declining.
The Hernando County district has recently taken two voter-backed funding steps that bear on what Pine Grove can offer. Publicly reported, Hernando County voters approved a one-mill property tax levy for competitive teacher salaries, school safety, and mental health services, with a renewal on the most recent November ballot. Alongside it, voters also renewed a half-cent sales tax for school construction and maintenance, with new language allowing funds to be used for building or expanding schools to address the county's rapid population growth. Both measures reflect a community willing to invest in its schools through the tax base, and they affect both what families pay and what resources the district can bring to bear.
That growth context matters for Pine Grove specifically. Brooksville and Hernando County are publicly described as experiencing what local officials have called unprecedented residential expansion, with large apartment developments, active subdivision builders, and school enrollment capacity identified as a planning challenge at a joint county-city-school board meeting in late 2025. Families considering this school should be aware they are enrolling in a community that is changing quickly, and the district's capacity to absorb new students is an open question.
The housing market around the school reflects a county that is noticeably more affordable than Florida as a whole. Home values in the relevant zip code are below the statewide median and have edged down slightly over the past year, while the rental market is somewhat more accessible than in the Tampa metro that anchors the region about 45 miles to the south. That affordability, combined with Brooksville's historic neighborhoods, rolling terrain, and a downtown with active events and a walkable core, draws families seeking more space and a slower pace than the urban edge of Tampa.
Brooksville's civic life gives families the library system, county transit, parks, and the Withlacoochee trail network as practical daily-life anchors. Major employers in the county lean toward healthcare, public-sector work, retail, and a manufacturing cluster around the regional airport. The school is part of a community that is clearly growing, and the fiscal tools the district has built are pointed squarely at keeping up with that growth.
For a family weighing Pine Grove, the academic picture at the upper elementary grades warrants a conversation with the school, particularly in math and science. The third-grade math result shows the school can produce strong outcomes. Whether it sustains them as students move through the grades is worth exploring further.
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