The top reported proficiency rate is 71% in English language arts. The lowest is 55% in Science.
Original Research by School Decision on Palmetto Middle School
Palmetto Middle School is a regular public middle school serving grades six through eight in the Miami-Dade County Public Schools district, located in the Pinecrest-adjacent southwestern portion of Miami along SW 128th Street. It draws from one of the more affluent residential pockets of the county, and that context shapes a good deal of what families encounter here.
On Florida's FAST assessments, the school shows strong reading and math results at sixth grade, with proficiency rates well above what many middle schools in the state report. Eighth grade results are similarly solid in both ELA and math. The seventh grade, though, tells a noticeably different story: math proficiency drops substantially compared to both the sixth and eighth grade cohorts, a gap pronounced enough that a parent may want to ask the school directly about seventh-grade math sequencing, course placement, and support structures. Eighth-grade science proficiency lands around the midpoint, neither a clear strength nor a soft spot. No multi-year trend data was available, so whether these results represent a trajectory or a single-year snapshot cannot be determined from what was provided.
The student body is mid-sized for a sixth-through-eighth-grade school. Hispanic students make up the largest share of enrollment, with white students forming a substantial second group; Black and Asian students account for smaller portions, and multiracial students a modest share. A relatively low proportion of students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch compared to much of Miami-Dade, pointing to the economic character of the surrounding neighborhood. Data on English learner rates and students with IEPs were not available in what was provided.
The neighborhood context matters here in ways that go beyond school walls. The zip code carries home values that are extraordinarily high by any statewide or national measure, well above the Florida median and dramatically above the national one. Rents, while elevated, have edged slightly downward year over year. Families weighing this school zone alongside housing costs are looking at one of the pricier residential markets in South Florida. Monthly ownership costs relative to income are steep, and renting still consumes a substantial share of household income.
Miami itself is a large, dense urban environment with genuine walkability variation by neighborhood, a Metrorail and Metromover network that connects major corridors, and a civic life that runs from the Underline greenway to the Miami-Dade library system's branch network. Major employers span government, health care, and education sectors, with Baptist Health, the University of Miami, Jackson Health System, and Miami-Dade County Public Schools among the largest. This is not a suburb in any traditional sense; the surrounding city is active and commercially layered in ways families relocating from smaller markets may find both useful and disorienting.
At the district level, a few changes are worth flagging. Miami-Dade voters approved a property tax increase tied to teacher pay and school safety, which remains in effect through 2027 unless renewed, and which directly raises the annual tax bill for homeowners in the school zone. The district is also navigating sharp enrollment decline, and publicly reported proposals in spring 2026 included closing or consolidating up to nine schools across the district, with boundary and grade structure changes possible. Families moving in should verify Palmetto's attendance boundary and assignment status, since reconfiguration proposals were still working through the board process. Separately, a statewide cell phone policy is expected to take effect by the end of 2026, which will affect daily classroom rules regardless of what individual schools currently practice.
Program offerings were not available in the data provided, so the narrative on electives, sports, arts, and enrichment is a gap here. A direct conversation with the school would fill that picture quickly. Graduation rate does not apply to this school, which serves only middle grades.
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