NCES CCD 2024-25 16 schools FL

Best-Resourced Schools in Bartow, FL

16 public K-12 schools in Bartow from NCES Common Core of Data: enrollment, grade span, demographics, and Civil Rights Data Collection statistics for every active campus.

16 public schools ranked by quality score. NCES CCD 2024-25 data.

The highest-ranked of Bartow's 16 public schools is Davenport High School, scoring 21/100, against a city average of 29.9/100. Computed live across every Bartow campus reporting to NCES.

Every public school in Bartow, FL, ranked by Resource Investment Index.

16
Schools
9,231
Students
29.9/100
Avg Quality
19.7:1
Avg Student-Teacher Ratio

How the Bartow Public-School Landscape Breaks Down

Bartow, FL enrolls 9,231 students across 16 public schools reporting to the National Center for Education Statistics. Of those, 1 are charter schools, giving families genuine alternatives to the traditional neighbourhood assignment model. The average student-teacher ratio across the city is 19.7:1, and the composite quality score, derived from student-teacher ratio, counselor access, gifted-program availability, and CRDC attendance data, averages 29.9/100. Schools must report at least five campuses in a city to appear in this listing, which is why very small towns may redirect to the broader county or state view.

The most-resourced campus in Bartow on this index is Davenport High School, at 21/100 on the Resource Investment Index with 2,731 enrolled students. What the index does and doesn't measure; click any school below for its full component breakdown.

Bartow spans 1 district, each filing its own NCES F-33 return, per-pupil spending can vary between neighbouring campuses. Sort the table below by enrollment, level, or district; click any school for its full profile.

Davenport High School accounts for 29.6% of all Bartow public-school enrollment

That dominant concentration means Bartow-wide averages can mask substantial variation outside the dominant entity. Grade level: High. A dominant campus often anchors a city's program landscape and absorbs a disproportionate share of district capital and staffing decisions. When one entity dominates a region's footprint, its programmatic and budget decisions effectively set policy for a majority of the affected population.

Source: NCES Common Core of Data NCES Common Core of Data

Bartow school enrollment varies 119× across entities

Bartow school enrollment ranges from 23 students (lowest) to 2,731 students (highest), a spread of 2,708 students. That ratio is an extreme outlier spread — among the widest gaps observed anywhere in this dataset. Per-school staffing, programme depth, and capital-renovation cycles often diverge inside the same city based on enrollment shape, a 200-student magnet runs a different operational model than a 2,000-student comprehensive high school.

Source: NCES Common Core of Data NCES Common Core of Data

Bartow operates only 1 school district — one of the single most consolidated governance structures in the country

Most Bartow school districts are a single unified district covering the whole city, a structural feature that simplifies inter-school comparison but concentrates policy authority, and the count here is near the floor observed nationally. Consolidation produces narrower variance because resources pool across a large population, but it can also mask intra-school district inequities — sub-school district differences within a single school district are not visible at this aggregation level. Consolidated systems typically rely more heavily on top-down funding formulas than on local revenue variability.

Source: NCES Common Core of Data NCES Common Core of Data

Bartow student-teacher ratio is 19.7:1 — high (typically associated with larger urban scale or staffing constraints that have widened the headcount gap)

student-teacher ratio is the simplest comparative metric but it does not capture the full picture: the ratio counts FTE classroom teachers against total enrollment, push-in specialists, English-language aides, special-education co-teachers, and counselors are not included in most reporting Higher values may reflect larger urban scale or recent resource constraints that have widened the gap.

Source: NCES Common Core of Data, Public School Universe NCES Common Core of Data, Public School Universe

# School Score
1. Davenport High School 21
2. Bartow Senior High School 28
3. Bartow Middle School 36
4. Spessard L Holland Elementary 30
5. Floral Avenue Elementary School 26
6. Bartow Elementary Academy 38
7. Union Academy 49
8. James E. Stephens Elementary School 37
9. Compass Middle Charter School 29
10. Hospital Homebound -
11. Gause Academy of Leadership 54
12. Jean O'dell Learning Center 36
13. Polk County Sheriffs Regional Detention Center 23
14. Transition School 15
15. Polk County Sheriff's Central Center 37
16. Polk Halfway House 19

Most racially and ethnically mixed schools in Bartow

Ranked by the Simpson student-body diversity index (0-100) from NCES race and ethnicity data, where higher means a more evenly mixed student body. It measures mix, not quality.

  1. 1 Spessard L Holland Elementary 70.2/100
  2. 2 Bartow Senior High School 68.5/100
  3. 3 James E. Stephens Elementary School 68.2/100
  4. 4 Gause Academy of Leadership 68.2/100
  5. 5 Bartow Middle School 66.7/100

Frequently Asked Questions

What are the best schools in Bartow, FL?

The highest-ranked school in Bartow is Davenport High School with a quality score of 21/100. There are 16 public schools in Bartow with 9,231 total students.

How many schools are in Bartow, FL?

Bartow has 16 public schools with a total enrollment of 9,231 students. 1 are charter schools. Average student-teacher ratio: 19.7:1.

Other Cities in Florida

Side-by-side: Compare any two schools or districts in Florida →

Explore PlainSchools

Related Guides

Data from NCES Common Core of Data (CCD) 2024-25 and Civil Rights Data Collection (CRDC) 2021-22. Quality scores based on student-teacher ratio, counselor access, gifted programs, and attendance. Schools must have 5+ in the city to be listed.

Disclaimer: This information is provided for informational purposes only and does not constitute professional advice. Data is sourced from the NCES Common Core of Data (CCD). Consult a qualified professional before making decisions based on this data.