Florida A&m University Developmental Research School, Tallahassee FL

Original Research by School Decision on Florida A&m University Developmental Research School

Florida A&M University Developmental Research School sits on the FAMU campus in Tallahassee, a city whose economy runs on state government, three universities, and a large healthcare sector. The school is a K-12 public school operated as a laboratory school under FAMU's College of Education, which means its mission connects teacher preparation and educational research to the classroom experience students receive. That context shapes a lot about what this school is and who it serves.

The student body is almost entirely Black, with a small share of Hispanic students and very few students of any other racial background. Every student enrolled qualifies for free or reduced-price lunch, making this one of the highest-poverty schools by that measure in Florida. A substantial federal investment announced in early 2024 reflects that reality directly: FAMU received a multi-year U.S. Department of Education grant under the Unlimited Potential Initiative to build out wraparound community school services at DRS, expanding family engagement programs, needs-based supports, and pipeline resources for students. For parents, that means the school is in the process of layering in support infrastructure that goes beyond classroom instruction. The school has also opened a JPMorgan Chase-sponsored STEAM Lab, and publicly reported information confirms the school carries a legislative mandate to emphasize mathematics, science, technology, and foreign languages, so STEM is a stated institutional priority rather than an elective emphasis.

Dual enrollment is listed as the school's one advanced academic offering in the data provided, which makes sense given the FAMU campus adjacency. No AP course data was available in the payload, so parents of high school students interested in knowing the breadth of college-level coursework beyond dual enrollment may want to ask the school directly.

State assessment results on the Florida FAST and Statewide Science Assessment are available for grades three through eight. The picture they present is mixed and in places quite low. Math proficiency varies sharply by grade: one elementary grade posted a very high rate, while fourth grade, sixth grade, seventh grade, and especially eighth grade came in well below half of students reaching proficiency, with eighth grade particularly low. ELA proficiency across the tested grades clusters in the lower third of the performance range, with no grade reaching above roughly the mid-fifties. Fifth-grade science is in the mid-forties; eighth-grade science is lower still, under a quarter of students proficient. Placed against other districts in Leon County, the school's overall proficiency index sits in the bottom quartile of that comparison group. No trend data was available to show whether results are improving, flat, or declining, so it is not possible from this data to say which direction the school is headed. Parents who want to understand trajectory should ask the school about its growth metrics and what the community school grant work has meant for academic supports so far.

Graduation rate data was not available in the payload.

Chronic absenteeism data was also not available.

Tallahassee itself is a city where most families need a car, though neighborhoods close to the universities and downtown have genuine walkability. The school sits near the FAMU campus, close to the center of a city that is growing moderately, adding housing, and investing in transit. The housing market has been tightening, with a median home price that has risen in recent years.

The school's identity is genuinely distinctive. It is a university-affiliated laboratory school with a mandate that connects teacher training to student instruction, a near-exclusively Black student population, universal economic disadvantage, a STEAM lab, dual enrollment access to a historically Black university, and a newly funded effort to become a full-service community school. That combination does not map cleanly onto "strong test scores" or "enrichment-focused private alternative." It is a school with a particular mission, a high-need population, real resources being added, and academic results that are currently weak in several areas and that a parent would reasonably want to track closely and ask the school to explain.

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Academic performance

State test results and graduation outcomes.

Graduation rate (ACGR)

>=90%Cohort of 50 students · Class of 2021

The federal source publishes a banded range instead of an exact rate when the graduating cohort is small enough that an exact number could risk identifying individual students.

How this school compares to all schools in this state

Each dot is one school’s SY 2020-21 graduation rate, binned by integer rate. Taller columns mean more schools at that rate. This school is highlighted.

867 schools plotted. 183 additional schools' rates are federally suppressed and not shown. Data: EDFacts SY 2020-21.

Math

Grade 354%

School 54% · District 54%

▼ 9 pts below state median · ▼ 4 pts below county median

Grade 433%

School 33% · District 33%

▼ 28 pts below state median · ▼ 28 pts below county median

Grade 591%

School 91% · District 91%

▲ 36 pts above state median · ▲ 42 pts above county median

Grade 638%

School 38% · District 38%

▼ 24 pts below state median · ▼ 12 pts below county median

Grade 748%

School 48% · District 48%

▼ 1 pts below state median · ▼ 12 pts below county median

Grade 814%

School 14% · District 14%

▼ 37 pts below state median · ▼ 28 pts below county median

English language arts

Grade 337%

School 37% · District 37%

▼ 19 pts below state median · ▼ 13 pts below county median

Grade 439%

School 39% · District 39%

▼ 15 pts below state median · ▼ 8 pts below county median

Grade 534%

School 34% · District 34%

▼ 20 pts below state median · ▼ 16 pts below county median

Grade 651%

School 51% · District 51%

▼ 9 pts below state median · ▼ 5 pts below county median

Grade 744%

School 44% · District 44%

▼ 11 pts below state median · ▼ 4 pts below county median

Grade 856%

School 56% · District 56%

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

Science

Grade 544%

School 44% · District 44%

▼ 9 pts below state median · even with county median

Grade 821%

School 21% · District 21%

▼ 25 pts below state median · ▼ 18 pts below county median

This schoolFAMU LAB SCH, 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.