Pizzo K-8 School, Tampa FL - Test Scores & Data

Original Research by School Decision on Pizzo K-8 School

Pizzo K-8 School sits on USF Bull Run Street in Tampa, part of the Hillsborough County public school system and serving students from pre-kindergarten through eighth grade. It is a neighborhood public school, not a charter or magnet, and it draws a student body that is majority Hispanic and Black, with a substantial share of students qualifying for free or reduced-price lunch. English learner and special education population data were not available in what we reviewed.

The school's academic picture is uneven across grades and subjects. On Florida's FAST assessments, the stronger results appear in the upper middle school grades: eighth-grade math and ELA proficiency rates are both in the mid-to-upper fifties, and sixth-grade math and seventh-grade ELA land in the mid-forties to near-fifty range as well. The lower elementary grades tell a different story. Third-grade ELA proficiency is in the low twenties, and fifth-grade math and ELA both sit around the high twenties to low thirties. Science follows a similar split: eighth graders tested in the mid-fifties on the Florida Statewide Science Assessment, while fifth-grade science proficiency was in the low twenties. Proficiency rates in the younger grades are low enough that a parent would reasonably want to ask the school directly about early literacy and math intervention programs and how student progress is tracked from year to year. Trend data across multiple years was not available, so it is not possible to say from this data whether these results reflect improvement, decline, or stability.

The comparison fact-set for Hillsborough County contained only one district, so no meaningful peer comparison against neighboring districts could be produced.

On the district level, two publicly reported changes are worth knowing. Hillsborough voters approved a one-mill property tax levy in late 2024, effective from mid-2025 through mid-2029, adding to the annual cost of homeownership in the area while directing funds toward teacher and support staff pay raises. Separately, the district carried out a large-scale boundary rezoning for the 2024-25 school year that shifted attendance zones at dozens of schools. Families should confirm their current zoning assignment directly with the district, since the affected area was broad.

The housing market around the school's zip code shows home values that are moderately below both the Florida statewide and national medians, and year-over-year values have edged slightly downward. Rents in the area are essentially flat year over year. At current mortgage rates, the monthly carrying cost on a typical home in this zip code represents a meaningful share of the national median household income, so affordability is a real consideration for families relocating to be near the school.

Tampa itself is a large, varied city. The neighborhood around Pizzo, near the University of South Florida campus in northeast Tampa, sits away from the downtown riverfront and the historic preservation districts of Hyde Park or Seminole Heights. The broader city economy is anchored by defense, healthcare, and financial services, with USF itself a major employer nearby. Downtown Tampa is in an extended development cycle, with Water Street and the Gasworx district adding mixed-use density, though that activity is several miles from the school's immediate surroundings.

Program offerings for Pizzo were not included in the data we reviewed, so specific enrichment, extracurricular, or specialty programs cannot be described here. A parent would want to ask the school about any offerings beyond the core curriculum.

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Academic performance

How students perform on state tests, by grade, set against the district.

Math

Grade 336%

School 36% · District 58% · ▼ 22 pts below district

▼ 27 pts below state median · ▼ 18 pts below county median

Grade 451%

School 51% · District 59% · ▼ 8 pts below district

▼ 10 pts below state median · ▼ 3 pts below county median

Grade 529%

School 29% · District 54% · ▼ 25 pts below district

▼ 26 pts below state median · ▼ 20 pts below county median

Grade 654%

School 54% · District 54%

▼ 8 pts below state median · ▲ 2 pts above county median

Grade 738%

School 38% · District 36% · ▲ 2 pts above district

▼ 11 pts below state median · ▲ 1 pts above county median

Grade 857%

School 57% · District 58% · ▼ 1 pts below district

▲ 6 pts above state median · ▲ 4 pts above county median

English language arts

Grade 323%

School 23% · District 53% · ▼ 30 pts below district

▼ 33 pts below state median · ▼ 26 pts below county median

Grade 438%

School 38% · District 53% · ▼ 15 pts below district

▼ 16 pts below state median · ▼ 10 pts below county median

Grade 529%

School 29% · District 53% · ▼ 23 pts below district

▼ 25 pts below state median · ▼ 18 pts below county median

Grade 646%

School 46% · District 55% · ▼ 9 pts below district

▼ 14 pts below state median · ▼ 7 pts below county median

Grade 749%

School 49% · District 55% · ▼ 6 pts below district

▼ 6 pts below state median · ▼ 5 pts below county median

Grade 854%

School 54% · District 52% · ▲ 2 pts above district

even with state median · ▲ 1 pts above county median

Science

Grade 520%

School 20% · District 50% · ▼ 30 pts below district

▼ 33 pts below state median · ▼ 22 pts below county median

Grade 856%

School 56% · District 48% · ▲ 8 pts above district

▲ 10 pts above state median · ▲ 11 pts above county median

This schoolHILLSBOROUGH, same grade

Graduation rate (ACGR) reflects the federally published Adjusted Cohort Graduation Rate for the most recent year available. We refresh this data annually at the close of each academic year in June. The federal source publishes a banded rate (for example, "90-94%") instead of an exact number for cohorts small enough to risk identifying individual students. The state distribution chart, where shown, plots every school in the state with a published rate or band; schools whose rate is federally suppressed are excluded. Where the federal source publishes a band rather than an exact rate, the school is placed within its band using a stable, ID-derived offset, so its position is consistent across visits.

Proficiency by household income

English language arts

Grade 3Lower-income24%Higher-income23%0 pp gap

Grade 4Lower-income36%Higher-income50%14 pp gap

Grade 5Lower-income30%Higher-income28%2 pp gap

Grade 6Lower-income43%Higher-income60%18 pp gap

Grade 7Lower-income49%Higher-income50%1 pp gap

Grade 8Lower-income51%Higher-income64%12 pp gap

Mathematics

Grade 3Lower-income37%Higher-income32%5 pp gap

Grade 4Lower-income50%Higher-income58%8 pp gap

Grade 5Lower-income27%Higher-income38%11 pp gap

Grade 6Lower-income55%Higher-income50%5 pp gap

Grade 8Lower-income49%Higher-income90%41 pp gap