The top reported proficiency rate is 84% in Science. The lowest is 78% in English language arts.
Original Research by School Decision on Taylor Ranch Elementary School
Taylor Ranch Elementary sits on the southwest edge of Venice, Florida, in a part of Sarasota County that is actively growing. The school serves prekindergarten through fifth grade and draws from the newer subdivisions and master-planned communities spreading south and west of the historic downtown. The enrollment is on the larger side for a Florida elementary school, with students spread fairly evenly across grade levels.
The school's academic results on Florida's FAST assessments are strong. In reading, third graders post proficiency rates well into the seventies, while fourth and fifth graders test in the low eighties. Math proficiency holds in the low-to-mid eighties across all three tested grades. Fifth-grade science results on the Florida Statewide Science Assessment are the highest of any subject, landing in the mid-eighties. Taken together, these are genuinely solid numbers by Florida elementary standards, with consistent performance rather than a single strong grade carrying the others. Trend data across prior years was not available in the data provided, so it is not possible to say whether scores have been climbing, holding, or dipping.
The student body is predominantly white, with Hispanic students making up the next largest group and students of two or more races adding meaningful diversity beyond that. A bit over a third of students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, which puts the economic mix roughly in the middle range for Sarasota County. Data on English learner counts and students with individualized education programs was not available in what was provided; a parent with specific questions on those supports would want to ask the school directly.
Housing around Taylor Ranch reflects the broader Venice market. Home values in the zip code are running near or slightly below the Florida statewide median as of mid-2026, and values have pulled back meaningfully from recent peaks. Rents have also softened slightly year over year. The monthly cost of ownership at current prices and mortgage rates is substantial, and rent-to-income ratios reflect a market where housing consumes a real share of a household budget. This is not an inexpensive coastal market, though it has eased somewhat from its recent highs.
The surrounding community gives the school a particular character. Venice proper has a walkable historic downtown built in a 1920s Mediterranean Revival style, with local shops, restaurants, and parks that feel genuinely self-contained rather than strip-mall suburban. The Legacy Trail, a long multi-use rail-trail, runs from a historic depot through town toward Sarasota, and the Venetian Waterway Park adds miles of Intracoastal-adjacent path. The school's actual neighborhood, though, is closer to the Wellen Park growth corridor than to the island core. Wellen Park, a large master-planned community straddling Venice and North Port, has been among the top-selling developments nationally in recent years, and families choosing Taylor Ranch are as likely to be settling into a new construction home in that area as into the older Venice neighborhoods near the beach.
At the district level, Sarasota County Schools voters renewed a supplemental property tax in late 2024, extending dedicated funding for teacher recruitment and retention, arts programming, and extended instructional time through 2030. That is a meaningful stability signal for school staffing and programming. Separately, the district approved a structural reorganization in late 2025 that converts several elementary campuses to K-8 schools and adds STEAM and Cambridge program tracks starting in 2026. Taylor Ranch is not among the named campuses being converted, but the overall reorganization could affect feeder patterns and program availability across the county over the next few years. The district also transitioned fully to Florida's B.E.S.T. Standards curriculum and the FAST assessment over the past several years, so prior-year score comparisons should be read with that in mind.
Program and course access details specific to Taylor Ranch were not available in the data, so a family interested in enrichment options, gifted services, or specialized supports would want to review the school's own communications directly.
See more original research from School Decision →