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What's something MOSSY HEAD SCHOOL does better than most schools?
Community prompt from u/allk12. Replies below.
Enrollment
521
Elementary
DISTRICT 623 · STATE 604
SCHOOL COMMUNITY·WALTON·NCES 120198007324
MOSSY HEAD SCHOOL
13270 US HIGHWAY 90 W, DEFUNIAK SPRINGS, FL 32433 · (850) 892-1290 · Walton County
GRADES PK–05ELEMENTARY42-RURALTITLE IREGULAR SCHOOL521 STUDENTS
A-
allk12 Grade
Scored higher than 82% of Florida public elementary schools
- B+Test scores Share of students meeting the state standard in reading, math, and other tested subjects, 2023-24 and 2024-25.
- A+Beats expectations How far test scores land above or below what the share of low-income students predicts for a school in this state.
- ·Three-year trend Not available for this school, so the grade uses the other parts.
Grades compare a school only with schools in the same state, because every state gives its own test. How grades work · Top-graded Florida public elementary schools
Student : Teacher
15.0:1
35 FTE teachers
DISTRICT 13.6:1 · STATE 17.5:1
Free / Reduced Lunch
84%
436 students
DISTRICT 47% · STATE 50%
Community
6
0 members
Enrollment and student:teacher ratio compared against other elementary schools. Free/Reduced Lunch and demographics compared against all schools.
Enrollment by grade, 2024-25
| Grade | Students | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Pre-K | 18 | 3% |
| Kindergarten | 80 | 15% |
| Grade 1 | 100 | 19% |
| Grade 2 | 105 | 20% |
| Grade 3 | 86 | 17% |
| Grade 4 | 65 | 12% |
| Grade 5 | 67 | 13% |
This year's kindergarten class (80) is 19% larger than its 5th grade class (67).
Student demographics
52%Diversity index
The chance that two students picked at random belong to different racial or ethnic groups.
DISTRICT 49% · STATE 70% · US 70%
Student head counts by race/ethnicity from federal NCES enrollment data. District, state, and US figures are each group's share of all public school students in that area (US excludes territories). Very small groups may be suppressed in the source, so categories do not always sum exactly to total enrollment.
Gender split
Test scores
FAST / B.E.S.T. 2024-25 . % at Level 3 or AboveEnglish Language Arts
61.8%
FL avg 56.7% . +3.1pp since 2023
Math
71.8%
FL avg 58.9% . +6.3pp since 2023
What this means: On the FAST / B.E.S.T., Florida's statewide test, about 62 of every 100 students at this school read and write at grade level and about 72 of 100 do math at grade level. Across all Florida schools, those numbers are about 57 and 59. Reading and writing scores are up about 3 points since 2023, while math scores are up about 6 points.
FAST / B.E.S.T. results by year
| School year | English Language Arts | Math |
|---|---|---|
| 2024-25 | 61.8% | 71.8% |
| 2023-24 | 58.7% | 65.5% |
% at Level 3 or Above, all students and all tested grades.
Source: FAST / B.E.S.T.. All students, all grades. See all years and grades →
BeatsExpectations
Demographically-adjusted score · methodologyTier
OUTPERFORMING
Top 10% of FL schools after controlling for student poverty
Actual proficiency
63.1%
composite math + reading, all grades
Predicted
39.2%
based on FL schools with similar FRL share
Beats by
+23.9pp
above demographic expectation
What this means: About 63% of students here test proficient in math and reading, well above the roughly 39% typical for Florida schools with a similar share of low-income students. BeatsExpectations ranks schools against others at the same poverty level, not by raw scores, so a school can post high scores and still fall short of its prediction, or post lower scores and still beat it. This school clears its prediction by about 24 points, placing it in Florida's top 10%.
BeatsExpectations runs a per-state regression of proficiency on free/reduced-lunch share, then scores each school by residual. How this is calculated →
Schools most like MOSSY HEAD SCHOOL
MOSSY HEAD SCHOOL's state test result (63.1% proficient) is higher than 5 of the 5 schools below with a result.
| School | Students | Low-income | Proficient |
|---|---|---|---|
| MOSSY HEAD SCHOOL this school | 521 | 83.7% | 63.1% |
| MAUDE SAUNDERS ELEMENTARY SCHOOL DEFUNIAK SPRINGS | 554 | 82.7% | 50.2% |
| EAST MARION ELEMENTARY SCHOOL SILVER SPRINGS | 631 | 80.7% | 46.9% |
| CHARLES E. BENNETT ELEMENTARY SCHOOL GREEN COVE SPRINGS | 564 | 77.3% | 44.0% |
| SOCRUM ELEMENTARY SCHOOL LAKELAND | 523 | 81.3% | 45.3% |
| POLK CITY ELEMENTARY SCHOOL POLK CITY | 545 | 73.6% | 42.8% |
Matched among Florida elementary schools on enrollment, the share of students from low-income families (eligible for free or reduced-price lunch), and racial and ethnic makeup. Proficient is the average share of students meeting the state standard across all of the school's state tests in 2023-24 and 2024-25, the same combined score our test-score rankings use. Online schools and schools serving specialized populations are not matched.
Where MOSSY HEAD SCHOOL ranks
Among elementary schools| Measure | This school | In Florida | In Walton County |
|---|---|---|---|
| State test proficiency ranked highest first | 63.1% | #723 of 2,136 | #5 of 6 |
| Math proficiency ranked highest first | 71.8% | #571 of 2,149 ▲ 154 | #3 of 6 ▲ 2 |
| Reading proficiency ranked highest first | 61.8% | #755 of 2,149 ▲ 18 | #4 of 6 ▲ 1 |
| Enrollment ranked largest first | 521 | #1,339 of 2,267 | #6 of 8 |
| Students per teacher ranked fewest first | 15.0:1 | #697 of 2,077 | #5 of 6 |
| Diversity index ranked most diverse first | 51.6% | #1,295 of 2,108 | #3 of 6 |
| Free and reduced lunch ranked highest share first | 83.7% | #82 of 2,188 | #1 of 8 |
| Enrollment change since 2017-18 ranked fastest growth first | +29.0% | #118 of 621 | N/A |
Ranked against other public elementary schools. Online schools are left out of every list, and test-score lists leave out schools that serve specialized populations. Each rank links to the full list. Arrows under a test-score rank show places moved since the prior test year, among schools tested both years.
4-year change
SY 2020-21 vs SY 2024-25Enrollment
521
+131 (+34%) vs 2020
+64% since 2010-11, when it was 317
Student : Teacher
15.0:1
was 13.9:1
Source: NCES Common Core of Data
Enrollment and staffing by year
| School year | Students | Teachers (FTE) | Students per teacher | Free and reduced lunch |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024-25 | 521 | 34.7 | 15.0:1 | 84% (436) |
| 2023-24 | 504 | 30.1 | 16.7:1 | 86% (432) |
| 2022-23 | 439 | 28 | 15.7:1 | 86% (376) |
| 2020-21 | 390 | 28 | 13.9:1 | 76% (296) |
| 2017-18 | 404 | 24 | 16.8:1 | 87% (352) |
| 2015-16 | 346 | 23 | 15.0:1 | 82% (283) |
| 2010-11 | 317 | 23 | 13.8:1 | 75% (238) |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data. Rows are the federal collections on file for MOSSY HEAD SCHOOL.
About MOSSY HEAD SCHOOL
Students in DEFUNIAK SPRINGS, Florida, attend MOSSY HEAD SCHOOL, a medium-sized elementary school. The latest federal count shows 521 students in pre-K through 5.
Enrollment across the 22 schools in WALTON totals 12,069 students.
Roughly 65% of students at MOSSY HEAD SCHOOL are White. Other reported shares: 24% Hispanic, 7% multiracial, and 3% Black. Walton County's residents are about 84% White, 19 points above the school's share. Pick two students at random and there is a 52% chance they belong to different racial or ethnic groups; that figure is the school's diversity index.
Its 34.7 full-time-equivalent teachers give the school a ratio of 15.0:1. This ratio sits 2.5 below the 17.5:1 average for elementary schools in Florida. Free or reduced-price lunch eligibility is 84%. The gap from the 47% average for public schools in Walton County is 37 points.
The allk12 Grade for MOSSY HEAD SCHOOL is A-. Compared with Florida public elementary schools, the school scored higher than 82% on a mix of test scores, poverty-adjusted results, and recent trend.
BeatsExpectations compares each school's average proficiency rate on state tests with a prediction based on free or reduced-price lunch eligibility. MOSSY HEAD SCHOOL beats its 39.2% prediction with 63.1%, a top-10% result in Florida.
In Walton County (population about 82,948), the median household income is $81,986, roughly 35% of adults have a four-year degree or more, and the share of residents below the poverty line is 9%. There are 26 public schools in Walton County, enrolling about 12,069 students in all.
Of nearby public schools, WALTON LEARNING CENTER is the closest, at about 9.9 miles.
The National Center for Education Statistics classifies the school's location as Rural: Distant, meaning it is in rural territory some distance from an urban area.
Enrollment is up 34% from 2020-21, when MOSSY HEAD SCHOOL had 390 students, to 2024-25, when it had 521. Its ratio of students to teachers was 13.9:1 in 2020-21, and 15.0:1 in 2024-25.
To ask about school events, clubs, and volunteer needs, start a discussion on this page. Anyone with firsthand experience at this school can post or comment.
Walton County at a glance
View full county profilePopulation
82,948
Census ACS
Median income
$81,986
Household, ACS
Bachelor's+
35%
Adults 25+
Poverty rate
9%
Below federal line
Schools in county
26
12,069 students
Quick facts
Related schools
Other schools in WALTON
- SOUTH WALTON HIGH SCHOOLHigh · 1,127 students
- FREEPORT ELEMENTARY SCHOOLElementary · 1,120 students
- WALTON HIGH SCHOOLHigh · 969 students
- DUNE LAKES ELEMENTARY SCHOOLElementary · 924 students
- VAN R. BUTLER ELEMENTARY SCHOOLElementary · 914 students
- EMERALD COAST MIDDLE SCHOOLMiddle · 872 students
Other schools in DEFUNIAK SPRINGS
- WALTON HIGH SCHOOLHigh · 969 students
- WALTON MIDDLE SCHOOLMiddle · 796 students
- WEST DEFUNIAK ELEMENTARY SCHOOLElementary · 704 students
- MAUDE SAUNDERS ELEMENTARY SCHOOLElementary · 554 students
- WALTON INITIATIVE FOR SUCCESS IN EDUCATION (WISE)Combined · 264 students
- WALTON ACADEMY INC.High · 130 students
Nearby schools
- WALTON LEARNING CENTER9.9 mi · 34
- WEST DEFUNIAK ELEMENTARY SCHOOL11.5 mi · 704
- OKALOOSA REGIONAL DETENTION11.8 mi · 28
- ADJUDICATED YOUTH FACILITY11.8 mi · 7
- CRESTVIEW YOUTH ACADEMY11.8 mi · 11
- CRESTVIEW YOUTH ACADEMY (NON SECURE)11.8 mi · 23
Frequently asked questions
About MOSSY HEAD SCHOOLWhat is the total enrollment at MOSSY HEAD SCHOOL?
MOSSY HEAD SCHOOL enrolls approximately 521 students in grades PK-05.
What age range does MOSSY HEAD SCHOOL serve?
MOSSY HEAD SCHOOL serves students from grade PK through grade 05.
How many teachers does MOSSY HEAD SCHOOL have?
MOSSY HEAD SCHOOL employs 35 FTE teachers, for a student-to-teacher ratio of 15.0:1.
What is the racial breakdown of students at MOSSY HEAD SCHOOL?
At MOSSY HEAD SCHOOL, the student body is approximately 65% White, 24% Hispanic, 3% Black, 0% Asian, 7% Two or more.
Is MOSSY HEAD SCHOOL public or private?
MOSSY HEAD SCHOOL is a public K-12 school, overseen by WALTON.
Data sourceSchool profile facts are sourced from the NCES. Community content is posted by allk12 members.