The top reported proficiency rate is 67% in English language arts. The lowest is 55% in Math.
Original Research by School Decision on Brooksville Engineering Science and Technology (b.e.s.t.)
Brooksville Engineering Science and Technology, known as B.E.S.T., is a charter middle school serving sixth through eighth graders in Brooksville, the historic county seat of Hernando County, about 45 to 50 miles north of Tampa. Its name signals a deliberate academic identity: engineering, science, and technology as the organizing theme for the middle school years. The school is small even by middle school standards, with enrollment concentrated heavily in sixth grade and tapering noticeably through seventh and eighth grade. About half the student body qualifies for free or reduced-price lunch, putting the school roughly at parity with many Florida middle schools on that measure. The student population is majority white, with Hispanic students making up the second largest group and Black students a smaller share. Data on English learners and students with IEPs was not available in the records provided.
State assessment results from Florida's FAST exams show a picture that varies substantially by grade and subject. Sixth graders perform at a genuinely strong level in both math and ELA, with proficiency rates that would compare well across the state. Seventh grade shows a meaningful drop in math and a more modest one in reading, still landing at a solid majority proficient. Eighth grade results are where a parent should look more closely. Math proficiency for eighth graders falls to a level well below what the sixth-grade cohort showed two years earlier, and ELA proficiency in eighth grade, while more than two in five students, is notably lower than at the earlier grades. On the Florida Statewide Science Assessment in eighth grade, a clear majority reached proficiency, which is a relative strength for that grade level. The data does not currently include multi-year trend information, so it is not possible to say whether these patterns are improving, stable, or declining. The gap between how students enter the school in sixth grade and where eighth-grade cohorts stand on state tests is worth asking the school about directly.
Because B.E.S.T. serves only middle school grades, no graduation rate applies, and no AP or dual-enrollment data appears in what was provided. Program details were not available in the data, so beyond the school's stated engineering, science, and technology focus, specifics about curriculum structure, project-based learning, or elective offerings would need to come from the school itself.
The school sits in a community that is actively growing. Brooksville's downtown retains a compact, walkable historic core with brick streets, live oaks, and a Main Street character that sets it apart from most Florida suburbs. Beyond that core the city is car-oriented, and surrounding Hernando County is absorbing what local officials have publicly described as unprecedented in-migration, with new residential developments from multiple large builders adding housing stock steadily. Home values in the area are below the Florida state median and tracking slightly downward year over year, making the area comparatively accessible for buyers in the current market. Rents have also ticked down recently. The ratio of estimated mortgage payments to income here is relatively manageable compared to many Florida markets.
For the broader district, Hernando County voters approved both a one-mill property tax and a half-cent sales tax for schools, with both publicly reported to have appeared on the November 2024 ballot for renewal. The millage funds teacher pay, school safety, and mental health resources. The sales tax, with a new provision added at renewal, can now be used for school construction and expansion, which becomes directly relevant as enrollment pressure from population growth intensifies. School capacity and concurrency have already surfaced as planning concerns at the local government level.
The comparison framework for this school against other districts in Hernando County could not be meaningfully applied here because there is only one district in the county, making peer positioning within that set unavailable.
For a family drawn to a themed, career-adjacent middle school experience in an affordable and historically distinctive Florida community, B.E.S.T. offers a real academic identity and strong entry-level performance. The eighth-grade academic results are a factual soft spot worth a direct conversation with school leadership about what drives the pattern and how students are supported through it.
See more original research from School Decision →