The top reported proficiency rate is 50% in English language arts. The lowest is 38% in Science.
Original Research by School Decision on Westshore Elementary School
Westshore Elementary sits on South Westshore Boulevard in Tampa, serving prekindergarten through fifth grade as a regular public school in the Hillsborough County district. The school is small for its grade band, drawing a student body that is genuinely diverse by race and ethnicity, with Black, Hispanic, white, and multiracial students each making up a meaningful share of enrollment. A substantial majority of students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, which places Westshore among schools serving a high proportion of economically disadvantaged families.
State testing results from Florida's FAST assessments give a mixed picture. In reading and language arts, the fourth-grade results stand out as clearly the strongest, with roughly two-thirds of students scoring proficient, a result that sits well above the other grades. Third and fifth-grade ELA proficiency falls considerably lower, in the low-to-mid forties range. Math results are weaker across the board, with third grade notably low and fourth and fifth grades hovering near or just below half of students reaching proficiency. Fifth-grade science results on the Florida Statewide Science Assessment are also below the halfway mark. These are not strong outcomes, and a parent considering Westshore would do well to ask the school directly about its instructional approach, any targeted supports in place, and what is driving the variation across grades, particularly the gap between fourth-grade reading and the other tested results.
Trend data was not available, so there is no basis here for saying whether these results are improving, stable, or declining. Data on chronic absenteeism, English learner rates, and special education populations were not reported. A graduation rate does not apply because the school does not serve high school grades.
The comparison framework for this school is limited. Because Hillsborough County has only one district in the comparison set, no meaningful relative positioning among county districts is possible, and the proficiency index comparison was not applied.
The neighborhood surrounding the school is part of South Tampa, a part of the city that includes the Jan K. Platt Regional Library and sits within reach of the waterfront parks and local commercial corridors that define that side of the city. Publicly reported walkability data places the broader Tampa citywide score in the "somewhat walkable" range, though conditions vary sharply by block and neighborhood. Housing costs in the zip code are notably elevated, running above the Florida statewide benchmark and somewhat above national averages, and have been declining modestly year over year. Renting is also expensive relative to income in this market. Families considering the area should factor in that home values here are among the higher end for the region even with recent softening.
Two district-level developments are worth knowing. Hillsborough County voters approved a property tax referendum in late 2024 that takes effect in mid-2025 and runs through mid-2029, adding a meaningful annual cost for homeowners in exchange for a supplement to teacher and support staff pay. For families who own or plan to own in the district, this is a real ongoing cost. The district also carried out a significant boundary rezoning for the 2024-2025 school year, shifting assignments across many schools. Families new to the area should confirm their current address maps to Westshore rather than assuming it does.
Program offerings for Westshore were not available in the data provided, so this account cannot speak to enrichment, arts, bilingual services, or after-school options. That is a gap worth filling directly with the school.
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