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GreatSchools Rating

South Miami Senior High School

Public | 9-12 | 2248 students

Last modified
Community Rating

3 stars

Community Rating by Year
2013:
No new ratings
2012:
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2011:
No new ratings
2010:
Based on 1 rating

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25 reviews of this school


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Posted July 30, 2010

This is an excellent school and excellent teachers with a very good programs go cobras!!!!
—Submitted by a parent


Posted November 19, 2008

This is an excellent school with a good track record. Go Cobras!!!


Posted September 23, 2008

My son who now is 23 and graduated from SMSH is about to get his Bachelors Degree from Computer Science at FIU and I have a 15 year old girl that attends to SMSH and she is in 10th grade, the Principal Mr. Bonce has improved the quality of teaching and best of all School Uniformed implemented and is showing the difference in the students thank you Mr. Bonce for your perseverance in making this school a better place to study and allowed the student to make better grades. Also the students will be our future so is very important what they learn in High School.
—Submitted by a parent


Posted August 26, 2008

I think that SMHS is a good School, i have been a personal experiencie with my daughter which is in Magnet Dance Program.The teachers are great! The only complaint i have is in reference to the personal Office, they always answer the phone in a bad manner and never help parents to resolve a problem. All the time they seem unhappy and with bad mud., it doesn't matter the time of the day. The morning is worst!!!
—Submitted by a parent


Posted January 14, 2008

I was a student at South Miami and graduated in '06. I was in the gifted, magnet music programs, and took several AP classes. In those three categories, the teachers were excellent, knowledgeable people who took a sincere interest in their students' progress. However, I also took a handful of regular requirement classes with very uninspired teachers. The CAP counselor in particular was terribly uninformed about any issues I had with the college admissions process.
—Submitted by a student


Posted December 1, 2007

I have a son in S.M.Sr.H.S and he is in the 12th final year and I wished that the conselor were more involve in helping the students for preparation of the SAT test to start qualifying for their college of their choice. I have tried to meet and talk about what could be my involvement to help my son. My son says they every time he goes to see his conselor he gets turned back to his class saying that she/he is busy.
—Submitted by a parent


Posted August 14, 2007

I was a student at south miami and i graduated in 2006. It was a great school. The teachers cared if you learned and helped you as much as they could. They are many extra curriculum activies. The admistration was helpful and never unfair( at least not to me or anyone I knew). It prepared me well for college..( Better than alot of the students I have met from other high schools). But since my class has left the school (class of 2006) things have changed. There are many new teachers and administrators. So Im not sure how the school is now. What I know is that is was an awesome high school and Im glad I attended it.


Posted August 3, 2006

My daughter graduated from South Miami in 2004 and we both loved the school, the teacher's and the counselors. My son is now a sophomore at South Miami and he has nothing but good things to say about it. The parents who are putting down the school are probably the ones who throw their kids out of the car in the morning and tell them, 'go and learn'. I have been involved in my children's education all of their school days and it makes a difference. Sure, there are days they just want to stay in bed but they don't. I have taught them that school is their job and they've got to go and do their job if they want the 'big pay-off'!! My oldest recently graduated from MDC with Highest Honors and will begin FIU in the Fall. Get involved,it's your job! They need you!
—Submitted by a parent


Posted May 10, 2006

I'm very pleased with the education my child is receiving at this school. Teachers are always available and willing to help. The school offers a variety of classes and levels.The music magnet program is excellent.
—Submitted by a parent


Posted April 30, 2006

Academic programs are very good, there is a fine core group of teachers who care. There are many extracurricular activities and programs. The sports teams are well respected and compete at a very high level.
—Submitted by a parent


Posted January 4, 2006

Its a very nice school. I study there and is one of the best schools that I been too.
—Submitted by a student


Posted November 21, 2005

There are a handful of very good teachers who will affect your child ways of thinking and views on the world for the better. They're not the typical teachers who assign bookwork, but the atypical teachers who challenge the students and put to work their thinking and analyzation skills, not their memorization skills.
—Submitted by a parent


Posted November 8, 2005

Availability of sports and art is very good.They have many differnt activities to keep kids away from trouble.However the quality of their academic programs is very poor . the classes are overcrowded and they focus more on practicing the fCAT Then helping them learn the rudimentary skills needed to apss it. Their staff is also of very low quality, and do not give their kids incentives or patience.
—Submitted by DANIELA, a parent


Posted September 22, 2005

I recently graduated from South Miami High as a very active member of the studeny body. I can say that this school is one of the better schools in Miami, even though it is not highly recognized as such. Most of the Magnet Programs are excellent, especially the commercial arts, graphic design, and photography programs. The higher level courses are taught by extremely qualified and knowledgeable teachers, especially the Advanced Placement sections. The regular programs are not great and there are many 'slack' teachers teaching to that level. But for the serious student, South Miami is an excellent choice. In dealing with officials: they will help you out if approached the right way.
—Submitted by a student


Posted August 6, 2005

Hello I am an student at this school and I can say that is one of the best ones in mismi-dade county. I came from cuba a year ago and this year I'm going to be a senior. Cinse I came I become a student at this school and I don't have anything bad to say about it.
—Submitted by carlos campos, a student


Posted June 10, 2005

This is really a good school, I can say that the teachers are excellent- especially it's foreign language and AP programs.
—Submitted by a parent


Posted January 31, 2005

This is school is terrible. My child complained about it constantly.
—Submitted by a parent


Posted September 24, 2004

I am a student in this school and it is like hell in this school it is boring, no field trips, activities or anything. Lunch is horrible. 80% Of the math teachers can't speak good english making learning impossible. All I have to say is please help.
—Submitted by Danilo Obando, a student


Posted July 6, 2004

Ok school but needs to have more security for students
—Submitted by a parent


Posted March 14, 2004

If you can, do not send your child to South Miami. There are better schools in the district. While one of the parents claim that the counselor staff is excellent, it is not true; rather the counselors would rather just get their work over with instead of actually helping a child. Handing out a tutoring schedule every nine-weeks to a child that has failed a class does NOT help. As for the principal, trying to institute a prison-like atmosphere, where the students are not allowed to decorate their schools or maintain any sort of school spirit whatsoever, sending students to SCSI for just about any reason (mind you, making them miss a whole day of class for a tiny reason) does not help the matter either. The last time the school was ever enjoyable to attend and was at its peak was under the leadership of the principal before last.
—Submitted by a student


Community ratings and reviews do not represent the views of GreatSchools nor does GreatSchools check their accuracy or verify the reviewers' identities. Use your discretion when evaluating these reviews.

About these ratings

The Community Rating is the school’s average rating from its community members (e.g., parents, students, and school staff). The highest possible rating is five stars; the lowest is one star.

The test results by subgroup show how the designated group of students is performing in comparison to the general population.
Reading

The state average for Reading was 52% in 2012.

557 students were tested at this school in 2012.

2012

 
 
44%

2011

 
 
36%
Scale: % level 3, 4, or 5

About the tests


In 2011-2012 Florida used the Florida Comprehensive Assessment Test (FCAT 2.0) to test students in grades 3 through 10 in reading, 3 through 8 in math, and in grades 5 and 8 in science. The FCAT 2.0 is a standards-based test, which means it measures how well students are mastering specific skills defined for each grade by the state of Florida. The FCAT 2.0 has 5 achievement levels, with level 1 being the lowest and level 5 the highest. Florida considers scores of level 3 and higher to be on or above grade level. The goal is for all students to score at or above level 3.

See Florida's state standards

Source: Florida Department of Education

Reading

The state average for Reading was 50% in 2012.

513 students were tested at this school in 2012.

2012

 
 
42%

2011

 
 
44%
Scale: % level 3, 4, or 5

About the tests


In 2011-2012 Florida used the Florida Comprehensive Assessment Test (FCAT 2.0) to test students in grades 3 through 10 in reading, 3 through 8 in math, and in grades 5 and 8 in science. The FCAT 2.0 is a standards-based test, which means it measures how well students are mastering specific skills defined for each grade by the state of Florida. The FCAT 2.0 has 5 achievement levels, with level 1 being the lowest and level 5 the highest. Florida considers scores of level 3 and higher to be on or above grade level. The goal is for all students to score at or above level 3.

See Florida's state standards

Source: Florida Department of Education

Writing

The state average for Writing was 84% in 2012.

519 students were tested at this school in 2012.

2012

 
 
81%

2011

 
 
89%

2010

 
 
90%
Scale: % scoring at or above level 3

About the tests


In 2011-2012 Florida used the Florida Comprehensive Assessment Test (FCAT) to test students in grades 4, 8 and 10 in writing. The Florida Comprehensive Assessment Test (FCAT) is a standards-based test, which means it measures how well students are mastering specific skills needed to progress through school. The FCAT writing exam is scored on a scale of 1 to 6. The state considers a score of 3 or above as meeting state standards.

See Florida's state standards

Source: Florida Department of Education

  • In 2011-2012, this school received a grade of "A".
  • In 2010-2011, this school received a grade of "C".
  • In 2009-2010, this school received a grade of "B".
  • In 2008-2009, this school received a grade of "B".

About the tests


Florida uses School Grades to measure the overall performance of a school each year on the Florida Comprehensive Assessment Test (FCAT). Each school is assigned a letter grade (A-F) based on three criteria: the overall performance on the FCAT, the percentage of eligible students who took the test, and whether or not students made progress in reading and math. The School Grades are calculated by adding points earned from each of the performance criteria listed above.

See Florida's state standards

Source: Florida Department of Education

Algebra I

The state average for Algebra I was 59% in 2012.

455 students were tested at this school in 2012.

2012

 
 
39%

2011

 
 
33%
Scale: % level 3, 4, or 5

About the tests


In 2011-2012 Florida used the End-of-Course Assessments (EOC) to test students in Algebra 1. The EOC is a standards-based test, which means it measures how well students are mastering specific skills defined for each grade by the state of Florida. The Algebra 1 EOC has 5 achievement levels, with level 1 being the lowest and level 5 the highest. Florida considers scores of level 3 and higher to be on or above grade level. The goal is for all students to score at or above level 3.

See Florida's state standards

Source: Florida Department of Education

Breaking down the GreatSchools Rating

GreatSchools Ratings are based on the most recent standardized test results for schools. Use the breakdown ratings below to compare types of students at this school. Learn more »


Student ethnicity

Ethnicity This school State average
Hispanic 84% 25%
Black 8% 23%
White 7% 46%
Asian/Pacific Islander 1% 2%
Multiracial 1% 4%
American Indian/Alaskan Native 0% 0%
Source: FL Dept. of Education, 2007-2008

Student subgroups

  This school District averageState average
Students eligible for free or reduced-price lunch program 54%N/A46%
Source: FL Dept. of Education, 2007-2008

Attendance and completion

  This school District averageState average
Graduation rate 62%N/A73%
Dropout rate 4%N/A2%
Source: FL Dept. of Education, 2009-2010

Student-teacher ratio

  This school District averageState average
Students per teacher 21N/A15
Source: FL Dept. of Education, 2007-2008

Teacher education levels

  This school District averageState average
Bachelor's degree 51%N/A65%
Master's degree 34%N/A32%
Doctorate degree 7%N/A1%
Other degree 9%N/A2%
Source: FL Dept. of Education, 2009-2010

Teacher credentials

  This school District averageState average
Classes taught by non-highly qualified teachers 8%N/A5%
Source: FL Dept. of Education, 2009-2010
Notice an inaccuracy? Let us know!

6856 SW 53rd St
Miami, FL 33155
Website: Click here
Phone: (305) 666-5871

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