The top reported proficiency rate is 79% in English language arts. The lowest is 61% in Math.
Original Research by School Decision on Williams Middle Magnet School
Williams Middle Magnet School sits on the north side of Tampa, serving grades six through eight as part of Hillsborough County Public Schools. It draws students from across the city rather than a single neighborhood zone, which is typical of magnet programs, and the student body reflects that breadth. The school is meaningfully diverse: Black and Asian students each represent large shares of enrollment, Hispanic students make up a substantial portion, and white students are also present, along with smaller multiracial and other groups. Roughly a third of students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, which places it in a middle range rather than either a high-poverty or exclusively affluent setting. Data on students with IEPs and English learners was not available in the records we reviewed.
On state assessments, the picture is strong in most areas and worth a closer look in one. ELA proficiency runs well above majority across all three grade levels, with seventh grade scoring highest and sixth and eighth grade roughly matching each other, all at levels that would be considered solid relative to Florida norms. Science proficiency for eighth graders, tested on the Florida Statewide Science Assessment, is also high. Math results are more uneven: sixth graders perform well above average, eighth graders perform at an impressive rate, but seventh-grade math proficiency falls considerably short of the other grades. That gap is not explained by the data available, and a parent would reasonably want to ask the school directly about the seventh-grade math curriculum and how the school is responding to it. Multi-year trend data was not available, so it is not possible to say whether this is a persistent pattern or a recent shift.
No program-specific details were included in the data we reviewed, so the particular magnet theme or specialized curriculum at Williams cannot be described here. Families considering the school should ask the district what the magnet focus is, what application or lottery process applies, and whether transportation is provided for students coming from outside the immediate area.
On the district level, two changes are worth knowing. Hillsborough County voters approved a property tax increase in late 2024 to fund teacher and staff pay supplements, running through mid-2029. This raises costs for homeowners but also represents a structural investment in retaining educators, which parents may weigh differently depending on their priorities. Separately, the district completed a major boundary rezoning for the 2024-25 school year that moved a large number of students to different schools across the county. Williams is a magnet school, so its enrollment may be less affected by zone changes than neighborhood schools, but the broader shake-up is relevant context for any family navigating the district.
Housing in the zip codes surrounding the school runs below both the Florida statewide median and the national median, making the area more accessible than many parts of Tampa proper, though home values have declined modestly in the past year. Rents in the area are also below state norms. The rent-to-income ratio sits near the threshold that housing economists typically consider a strain, so affordability is real but not effortless for a renter household at median income.
Tampa as a whole is a large, internally varied city. The neighborhood around the school, in the North Tampa area off 47th Street, sits outside the more affluent or historically celebrated residential corridors, which tend to be farther south and west. That said, the city's civic infrastructure, including its library system, transit network, waterfront parks, and downtown cultural venues, is accessible to residents throughout the city. Tampa is in an active growth phase, with major mixed-use development continuing downtown and in adjacent districts, though employment data from early 2026 showed some softening after years of expansion.
The comparison framework for this school involves only one district in Hillsborough County, so a formal peer comparison could not be computed from the available set. State-level context is the most meaningful benchmark here, and by that measure, Williams performs well in ELA and science, strongly in sixth- and eighth-grade math, and shows a meaningful soft spot in seventh-grade math that warrants a conversation with the school.
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