The top reported proficiency rate is 71% in Science. The lowest is 57% in Math.
Original Research by School Decision on Liberty Middle School
Liberty Middle School sits in New Tampa, a planned residential area in the northeastern corner of the city, far removed from the downtown core and historic neighborhoods that most people associate with Tampa. The surrounding zip code has a housing market that runs well above the Florida state median, with home values that have softened slightly over the past year but remain at a level that places this area among the more expensive residential pockets in the county. Rents have also eased modestly but remain well above the national typical. The rent-to-income ratio in this market runs close to the threshold financial planners consider stretched, which is worth knowing for families deciding between renting and buying.
The school serves grades six through eight in the Hillsborough County public school district. Enrollment sits at a scale that is fairly typical for a suburban middle school of this grade band. The student body is racially and ethnically mixed: Hispanic students make up the largest share, followed by Black students, white students, and a meaningful Asian student population, with the remainder identifying with other groups or two or more races. Close to half of students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, a level that places the school somewhere in the middle of the economic spectrum rather than at either extreme. Data on English learner rates and students with IEPs were not available in the materials we reviewed.
On Florida's FAST assessments, the picture varies by grade and subject in ways worth sitting with. Eighth graders show real academic strength: the math proficiency rate for that cohort is well above what one might expect from a school with this economic profile, and the eighth-grade science result on the statewide science assessment is also solid. Eighth-grade ELA proficiency runs in the mid-to-upper sixties, which is generally competitive. Sixth-grade results in both math and ELA land in the low-to-mid sixties, a reasonable starting point. The notable gap is seventh-grade math, where the proficiency rate drops to about a third of students, a sharp contrast with the sixth and eighth grade results in the same subject. That dip stands out enough that a parent would do well to ask the school directly what is happening with the seventh-grade math curriculum and how students are supported through that transition. Multi-year trend data was not available, so it is not possible to say whether this pattern is recent or longstanding.
Program offerings were not available in the materials we reviewed, and the school environment data, including attendance and chronic absenteeism rates, was also absent. On the comparison front, Hillsborough County has only one district in the county data set, which means the typical side-by-side comparison against neighboring districts cannot be constructed here.
Two district-level changes are relevant for any Hillsborough family. Voters approved a property tax referendum in late 2024, adding a supplemental levy from mid-2025 through mid-2029 that is intended to fund raises for teachers and support staff. For homeowners in this zip code, that is a real annual cost increase. The district also carried out a significant boundary rezoning at the start of the current school year, affecting a large number of schools and students across the county. Families who recently moved to the area or are planning to should verify their current assignment, since the rezoning could affect which school a child is actually zoned for.
Tampa's broader context is that of a city in active transformation, with downtown and adjacent districts seeing major new development, while established neighborhoods like New Tampa retain their suburban character at a distance. The major employers in the region, spanning defense, healthcare, financial services, and higher education, give the metro real economic depth. The school's address on Commerce Park Boulevard puts it in a commercial and residential corridor that is characteristic of this part of the city: accessible by car, with walkability that does not match the urban neighborhoods closer to the bay.
See more original research from School Decision →