The top reported proficiency rate is 55% in Math. The lowest is 43% in Science.
Original Research by School Decision on Hill Middle School
Hill Middle School sits on Ehrlich Road in northwest Tampa, a part of the city that sits well outside the downtown corridor and its dense walkable districts. The surrounding area is suburban in character, with the walkability and street life that define Hyde Park or Ybor City largely absent here. Families in this zone are generally car-dependent, though they have access to the broader HART transit network serving Hillsborough County.
The school serves sixth through eighth graders in Hillsborough County's public district. Enrollment is moderate for a middle school, with all three grades represented. The student body is majority Hispanic, with a substantial white enrollment and smaller Black and Asian populations. Close to half of students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, reflecting a school that serves a meaningful share of economically disadvantaged families. Data on English learner rates and students with IEPs were not available in the data provided.
On Florida's FAST assessments, the picture is mixed and varies noticeably by grade and subject. In math, eighth graders perform well, with a strong majority reaching proficiency, while sixth graders land around the midpoint and seventh graders fall below it. That seventh-grade dip is worth asking the school about directly. In ELA, performance is more consistently below the majority-proficiency line across all three grades, with eighth grade the weakest of the three. The eighth-grade science assessment, administered through Florida's Statewide Science Assessment, shows fewer than half of students reaching proficiency. Taken together, ELA and science results indicate real academic ground to cover, and parents should ask the school what targeted supports are in place for students who are not yet meeting state benchmarks. The comparison set available for Hillsborough County contains only one district, so no peer-district comparison was possible from the data.
Multi-year trend data was not available, so there is no way to say from this data whether results are improving, holding, or declining.
Program information was not provided for Hill Middle School, so the breadth of electives, enrichment, or specialized academic tracks cannot be characterized here.
On the civil rights side, discipline data and chronic absenteeism rates were not included in the available data.
The housing market surrounding this school reflects Tampa's broader dynamics. Home values in the immediate zip code are above the state median and noticeably above the national median, though they have edged slightly downward year over year. Rents have also softened modestly. At current mortgage rates, the monthly cost of ownership on a typical home in this area is substantial, and rent-to-income ratios are elevated. Families weighing a move into this attendance zone should factor in that the Hillsborough school board, following a broad rezoning that took effect for the 2024-2025 school year, shifted boundaries for a large number of schools across the district. That rezoning is settled for now, but families new to the area should confirm current attendance-zone assignments with the district rather than assuming proximity determines placement.
One development that directly affects homeowners in Hillsborough County: voters approved a property tax referendum in late 2024, adding a one-mill levy that runs through mid-2029. Publicly reported information indicates the revenue is dedicated to teacher and staff pay increases, addressing longstanding staffing challenges in the district. The cost for a homeowner is an additional annual amount tied to assessed value, and this is a real budget consideration for families purchasing in the area.
Tampa itself is a city with genuine economic anchors, including MacDill Air Force Base, major healthcare institutions, the University of South Florida, and a significant financial-services presence. Downtown is undergoing substantial mixed-use development, though that activity is geographically distant from the Ehrlich Road corridor. Growth in the metro overall has been strong in recent years, with some softening in employment data emerging in early 2026.
For a family zoned to Hill Middle, the clearest questions to bring to the school concern ELA and science supports, the trajectory of seventh-grade math outcomes, and what programs exist beyond the core academic schedule.
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