The top reported proficiency rate is 58% in Math. The lowest is 43% in Science.
Original Research by School Decision on Anderson Elementary School
Anderson Elementary sits on West Fair Oaks Avenue in a part of South Tampa that sits within one of the city's more established residential corridors, close to the Bayshore Boulevard waterfront and within reasonable distance of Hyde Park and Palma Ceia. The neighborhood has the kind of tree-lined, bungalow-and-ranch-house character common to older South Tampa, and the school draws from that setting.
The school serves prekindergarten through fifth grade and is a small school for its grade band, with total enrollment sitting well below what most urban elementaries carry. The student body is racially and economically mixed. White students make up the largest single group, followed by Hispanic students, then Black students, with smaller shares of Asian and multiracial students. Close to half the enrollment qualifies for free or reduced-price lunch, so the school straddles economic lines in a way that reflects South Tampa's mix of affluent blocks and more modest ones sitting side by side. Data on English learner rates and students with IEPs were not available in the data provided.
Florida uses the FAST assessment to measure proficiency in grades three through five, and the results at Anderson are uneven across grades and subjects. In math, fourth graders performed noticeably above the state's typical midpoint, which stands out. Third-grade math and ELA results are more moderate, and fifth-grade results in math, ELA, and the statewide science assessment are the softer spots, with less than half of fifth graders reaching proficiency in each of those areas. The pattern across grades is inconsistent enough that a parent would reasonably want to ask the school directly what explains the gap between grades, particularly the drop in fifth grade. Trend data were not available because year-over-year comparisons could not be computed from the current source.
Comparison data relative to other districts in Hillsborough County was not meaningful here because Anderson is one school in a single countywide district, and the proficiency index comparison requires multiple comparable districts to position against.
The housing market in the zip code Anderson draws from is priced substantially above the Florida statewide median and above the national median. Home values here have dipped slightly year over year while the state median has pulled back more sharply, suggesting this part of Tampa has held its value somewhat better than the broader Florida market. Rents are high relative to income, with the rent-to-income ratio running close to the threshold many financial planners treat as a ceiling for affordability. For a family weighing whether to buy into this attendance zone, the price point is meaningful: the estimated monthly cost of ownership, assuming a conventional down payment at current mortgage rates, is substantial, and the carry is not cheap.
Two district-level changes 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 supplemental millage to raise teacher and support staff pay. For homeowners in the district, this is a real and ongoing cost increase. For families with children in the schools, publicly reported coverage indicates the levy is intended to address teacher shortages and fund direct salary supplements. Separately, the district executed a broad rezoning for the 2024-2025 school year that adjusted boundaries for a large number of schools and moved a substantial number of students. Any family looking at Anderson should confirm with the district that their address still falls within Anderson's current attendance zone, since these changes were recent and wide-reaching.
Tampa as a city is in an active growth phase, with major development concentrated downtown and in adjacent districts, though that activity is some distance from Anderson's West Fair Oaks address. The South Tampa neighborhoods closer to the school are established rather than rapidly redeveloping, which tends to mean stable enrollment patterns rather than sudden demographic shifts driven by new construction.
Program-specific information for Anderson was not available in the data provided. A family would want to ask the school directly about any enrichment, arts, or intervention offerings, since nothing in the available record addressed those.
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