Hardee

The Hardee school district in Florida consists of 9 schools, including 5 elementary schools, 2 high schools, and 2 alternative schools. The district as a whole is ranked 55 out of 68 in Florida and is rated 1 star out of 5 by SchoolDigger, indicating significant challenges across the system.

Within the district, a few schools stand out. Hardee Junior High School ranks 340 out of 807 Florida high schools and is rated 3 stars, with relatively strong test scores and lower chronic absenteeism. Wauchula Elementary School also ranks highly at 906 out of 2,256 Florida elementary schools and has some of the highest test scores in the district. Meanwhile, Bowling Green Elementary School stands out for its high 5th grade Math proficiency rate.

However, the data also reveals significant disparities within the Hardee district. The alternative schools, Pioneer Career Academy and Hardee Virtual Franchise, struggle with very low graduation rates, high chronic absenteeism, and poor academic performance. Additionally, there appears to be a correlation between socioeconomic status and academic outcomes, with the highest-poverty schools tending to have the lowest test scores and graduation rates.