Starkey Ranch K-8, Odessa FL - Test Scores & Data

Original Research by School Decision on Starkey Ranch K-8

Starkey Ranch K-8 sits at the center of one of the most deliberately planned residential communities in the Tampa Bay region. The school shares its address corridor with the Starkey Ranch Theatre Library Cultural Center and is physically embedded in a master-planned development where trails, sidewalks, and green space connect homes to the campus and nearby retail. That design is deliberate: publicly reported sources describe the community as built around pedestrian access and civic amenities in ways that most of western Pasco County simply is not. For families drawn to a neighborhood-school dynamic where kids can walk or bike, the setting is meaningful.

The school serves prekindergarten through eighth grade within Pasco County Schools, the only district in the county. It is a large school for its grade band, with enrollment spread fairly evenly across grades from kindergarten through eighth. The student body is predominantly white, with a meaningful share of Hispanic students, a smaller Asian population, and a mix of other backgrounds. A relatively small share of students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, which reflects the economic character of the surrounding master-planned community. Data on students receiving special education services and English learner designations were not reported, so a parent interested in those programs should ask the school directly.

On the Florida FAST assessments for the most recent school year, the academic results are strong and consistent across the grade band. Math proficiency is high at every grade level from third through eighth, and at the eighth-grade level it reaches a particularly striking mark, suggesting that students arriving from the lower grades are building toward genuine upper-middle-school readiness. ELA proficiency runs in the mid-to-upper seventies across all tested grades, with fifth grade coming in slightly lower than the others, though still well above what is typical statewide. Science results, assessed at fifth and eighth grade, are solid, with eighth-grade science higher than fifth. There are no prior-year results available for trend comparison, so this is a single-year picture; a parent wanting to understand growth over time would need to ask the school about its internal data.

No graduation rate applies here because the school ends at eighth grade. Course-access data and AP or dual-enrollment pathways were not reported, which is appropriate given the grade span. Students will transition to a Pasco County high school after eighth grade; families planning that move should investigate which high school serves this zone and whether any magnet options apply.

The housing market around the school reflects the development premium of Starkey Ranch. Home values in the zip code are substantially above the Florida state median and the national median, and they have edged slightly lower year over year. Rents have also softened modestly. The mortgage-to-rent cost gap here is relatively narrow, meaning buying and renting are closer to each other in monthly cost than in many other markets, though buying still runs higher. Families entering the housing market should factor in that Pasco County voters approved a one-mill property-tax referendum in 2022 to fund teacher and staff pay; that levy runs through mid-2027 and a renewal is headed to the November 2026 ballot, which would extend the cost for homeowners.

At the district level, the rapid enrollment growth concentrated in east Pasco near Wesley Chapel has prompted boundary adjustments and accelerated school construction plans. Starkey Ranch is in the western part of the county, and the school's own zone does not appear to be directly affected by the Wesley Chapel rezoning described in district communications, but families moving into any fast-growing Pasco community should verify current attendance boundaries before committing to a purchase.

The broader Odessa community is still in active transition. The area northwest of Tampa has shifted from a rural, equestrian character toward master-planned suburban development over the past two decades, and that growth has not stopped. The Pasco side, where Starkey Ranch sits, has more retail development along SR-54 than the Hillsborough portions of the Odessa CDP, but the community remains car-dependent outside the walkable core of Starkey Ranch itself.

For a family prioritizing strong academic results, a walkable community design, and a pre-K through eighth-grade school that feeds into the Pasco district system, Starkey Ranch K-8 presents a clear and well-supported option. The premium in home prices is real, and the picture of support services for students with IEPs or language needs is incomplete from available data.

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Academic performance

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

Math

Grade 374%

School 74% · District 58% · ▲ 16 pts above district

▲ 11 pts above state median · ▲ 17 pts above county median

Grade 481%

School 81% · District 49% · ▲ 32 pts above district

▲ 20 pts above state median · ▲ 33 pts above county median

Grade 581%

School 81% · District 52% · ▲ 29 pts above district

▲ 26 pts above state median · ▲ 31 pts above county median

Grade 687%

School 87% · District 57% · ▲ 30 pts above district

▲ 25 pts above state median · ▲ 9 pts above county median

Grade 781%

School 81% · District 48% · ▲ 33 pts above district

▲ 32 pts above state median · ▲ 28 pts above county median

Grade 896%

School 96% · District 61% · ▲ 35 pts above district

▲ 45 pts above state median · ▲ 39 pts above county median

English language arts

Grade 376%

School 76% · District 57% · ▲ 19 pts above district

▲ 20 pts above state median · ▲ 24 pts above county median

Grade 475%

School 75% · District 54% · ▲ 21 pts above district

▲ 21 pts above state median · ▲ 23 pts above county median

Grade 570%

School 70% · District 53% · ▲ 17 pts above district

▲ 16 pts above state median · ▲ 17 pts above county median

Grade 677%

School 77% · District 59% · ▲ 19 pts above district

▲ 17 pts above state median · ▲ 14 pts above county median

Grade 777%

School 77% · District 57% · ▲ 20 pts above district

▲ 22 pts above state median · ▲ 18 pts above county median

Grade 878%

School 78% · District 52% · ▲ 26 pts above district

▲ 24 pts above state median · ▲ 23 pts above county median

Science

Grade 570%

School 70% · District 49% · ▲ 21 pts above district

▲ 17 pts above state median · ▲ 21 pts above county median

Grade 876%

School 76% · District 47% · ▲ 29 pts above district

▲ 30 pts above state median · ▲ 25 pts above county median

This schoolPASCO, 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-income38%Higher-income82%45 pp gap

Grade 4Lower-income67%Higher-income76%10 pp gap

Grade 5Lower-income42%Higher-income73%31 pp gap

Grade 6Lower-income67%Higher-income78%11 pp gap

Grade 7Lower-income62%Higher-income79%18 pp gap

Grade 8Lower-income64%Higher-income80%16 pp gap

Mathematics

Grade 3Lower-income38%Higher-income80%42 pp gap

Grade 4Lower-income71%Higher-income83%12 pp gap

Grade 5Lower-income69%Higher-income83%14 pp gap

Grade 6Lower-income68%Higher-income90%22 pp gap

Grade 7Lower-income80%Higher-income81%1 pp gap

Grade 8Lower-income80%Higher-income99%19 pp gap