The top reported proficiency rate is 35% in English language arts. The lowest is 30% in Science.
Original Research by School Decision on Stanton-weirsdale Elementary School
Stanton-Weirsdale Elementary sits on the rural southeastern edge of Marion County, serving pre-kindergarten through fifth grade in a community defined more by lake shoreline, pasture, and oak canopy than by any commercial center. Weirsdale is unincorporated, publicly reported as historically tied to the citrus industry and now positioned partly as a bedroom community for workers who commute toward Ocala or The Villages. The Grand Oaks Resort and the Orange Blossom Opry give the area its most recognizable public anchors, but daily life here runs through personal vehicles and dispersed rural properties rather than a walkable core. Students who move on from Stanton-Weirsdale head to Lake Weir Middle and Lake Weir High, both outside the immediate community.
The school draws a population that is predominantly white, with Hispanic students making up roughly a fifth of enrollment and Black students a smaller share. A large majority of students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, which places this among schools serving a high-poverty population. Data on English learners and students with IEPs were not available in what was provided. The enrollment runs to a few hundred students spread across seven grade levels including pre-K, making it a moderately sized elementary school for its rural setting.
On the 2024-25 Florida state assessments, proficiency rates across reading, math, and science land in a range that sits below what most families would consider on-track for grade level. In ELA, the fourth-grade result is the strongest of the tested grades, still well below half of students scoring proficient. Math results follow a similar pattern, with the fourth-grade figure again the highest, though still short of the midpoint. The fifth-grade science assessment shows roughly three in ten students reaching proficiency. Trend data was not available, so it is not possible to say from this data whether results are improving, holding, or declining. A parent wanting to understand whether the school is making progress year over year would want to ask the school directly or consult the district's reporting.
Because the comparison universe for Marion County contains only a single district, a meaningful peer comparison was not possible from this data.
For families considering housing, the Weirsdale zip code shows home values that are running somewhat above the current Florida statewide median and noticeably above the national median, despite modest year-over-year appreciation locally. Rental cost data was not available for this zip code. The broader market context is one of growth pressure: publicly reported figures indicate that Marion County absorbs a steady influx of new residents each week, driven partly by spillover from the large retirement market to the south. Voters approved a half-cent sales tax in November 2024, dedicated to school construction and renovation over a multi-year period, reflecting a district that is genuinely strained by enrollment growth and is planning several new schools and additional wings across the county. A separate one-mill property tax, renewed by voters in 2022 and running through mid-2027, funds staffing positions in art, music, physical education, library, and vocational programs, along with school safety and class-size compliance. Both measures directly affect local tax bills and the resource environment inside schools.
For a family choosing between this school and alternatives, the honest picture is that tested academic outcomes are low across the board and a parent would reasonably want to dig into what specific supports the school provides for students who are not yet meeting grade-level benchmarks. The community itself is genuinely rural and quiet, with access to Lake Weir for outdoor recreation and a pace of life quite different from anything closer to Ocala's commercial core. Program details beyond what the standard curriculum requires were not available in what was provided, so questions about enrichment, intervention tiers, or specials are worth raising directly with the school.
See more original research from School Decision →