Horizon Elementary School, Port Orange FL

Original Research by School Decision on Horizon Elementary School

Horizon Elementary sits on Hidden Lake Drive in Port Orange, a community in Volusia County on Florida's central Atlantic coast. The school serves children from pre-kindergarten through fifth grade as a regular public elementary within the Volusia County district. Enrollment is on the larger side for a Florida elementary school, spread fairly evenly across grade levels from kindergarten through fifth grade, with a small pre-K cohort as well.

On Florida's statewide assessments, Horizon's results are mixed depending on subject and grade. Math proficiency in the third and fourth grades runs solidly above the midpoint by Florida standards, which is a genuine strength. Fifth-grade math comes in somewhat lower, and reading and ELA results across all three tested grades land in a range that hovers just above or at the state midpoint. Science proficiency for fifth graders, measured by the Florida Statewide Science Assessment, is the school's strongest result, sitting meaningfully above the middle of the Florida distribution. Taken together, the picture is a school performing close to the state average in literacy across grades three through five, with a clear edge in math at the lower elementary grades and a particularly strong science showing at fifth grade. Parents with concerns about reading development, particularly entering or exiting the upper elementary years, may want to ask the school directly about its literacy supports and intervention programs.

A majority of students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, meaning a substantial share of families are navigating tighter household budgets. The school's student body is racially diverse: white students make up the largest share, followed by Black and Hispanic students, with smaller Asian and multiracial populations represented as well. Data on English learners and students with individualized education programs were not available in the data provided, so families with children in either category should reach out to the school for specifics on support staffing and services.

No magnet designation or special program offerings appear in the data, and we looked for details on curriculum focus areas, clubs, or enrichment tracks but found nothing to report. The school's Title I status was not reported. No discipline or attendance data were available, and we found no confirmed information about recent district-level changes or initiatives affecting Horizon specifically.

On the housing side, Port Orange's median home value sits noticeably below both the Florida state median and the national median, and it has declined modestly over the past year. Rents have also edged down slightly year over year. For a family buying near this school, estimated monthly carrying costs on a typical home are meaningful but below what buyers face in much of the Florida coastal corridor. Rent-to-income ratios in the zip code are within a range that economists generally consider manageable, though individual circumstances vary. The overall cost profile makes Port Orange a relatively accessible entry point into a Florida coastal market, particularly compared to communities further south along the coast.

The comparison framework for Volusia County yielded only one district in the set, so no meaningful peer positioning is possible for proficiency, attendance, or graduation rate. Graduation rate does not apply to Horizon because it serves only elementary grades.

The locale research returned no confirmed detail on Port Orange's character, walkability, employers, or civic anchors this cycle, so we left those topics out rather than guess. Families relocating to the area would benefit from a direct visit to assess the neighborhood context around the school and the broader Port Orange community.

See more original research from School Decision →

Academic performance

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

Math

Grade 370%

School 70% · District 61% · ▲ 9 pts above district

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

Grade 472%

School 72% · District 62% · ▲ 10 pts above district

▲ 11 pts above state median · ▲ 8 pts above county median

Grade 563%

School 63% · District 57% · ▲ 6 pts above district

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

English language arts

Grade 362%

School 62% · District 57% · ▲ 5 pts above district

▲ 6 pts above state median · ▲ 5 pts above county median

Grade 467%

School 67% · District 55% · ▲ 12 pts above district

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

Grade 562%

School 62% · District 56% · ▲ 7 pts above district

▲ 8 pts above state median · ▲ 7 pts above county median

Science

Grade 573%

School 73% · District 62% · ▲ 11 pts above district

▲ 20 pts above state median · ▲ 13 pts above county median

This schoolVOLUSIA, 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-income52%Higher-income78%27 pp gap

Grade 4Lower-income61%Higher-income76%14 pp gap

Grade 5Lower-income46%Higher-income81%36 pp gap

Mathematics

Grade 3Lower-income60%Higher-income87%27 pp gap

Grade 4Lower-income65%Higher-income83%18 pp gap

Grade 5Lower-income47%Higher-income81%34 pp gap