Somerset Academy Boca East, Boca Raton FL

Original Research by School Decision on Somerset Academy Boca East

Somerset Academy Boca East is a public charter elementary school in Boca Raton serving kindergarten through fifth grade, operated within the Palm Beach County school system. It sits on SW 4th Avenue in a city publicly reported as one of the wealthiest in Florida, a place where corporate headquarters, Florida Atlantic University, beaches, and the Mizner Park cultural district combine to create an affluent, professionally oriented community. The housing market around the school reflects that character: home values in the surrounding zip code run well above Florida's statewide median and substantially above national norms, with rents placing a heavy burden on income. Families considering this school should factor in that the local cost of living is high by any standard.

The school's enrollment is compact for an elementary, with roughly even class sizes spread across the six grade levels. The student body is predominantly white, with Hispanic students making up roughly a third of enrollment. Only a small share of students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, which is notably low even relative to a high-income city, and reflects the demographic character of the families who have chosen this charter. Data on students with IEPs and English learners was not available in what was provided.

Academically, the school posts strong results in the earlier grades. On Florida's FAST assessments, third-grade proficiency in both math and ELA is high, and fourth grade holds close to that level in both subjects. Fifth-grade results stay solid but step down noticeably in both math and ELA, and the fifth-grade science score on the Florida Statewide Science Assessment is well below what the earlier grades suggest, sitting near the midpoint. That fifth-grade science figure is worth a conversation with the school, since it breaks from the otherwise upward pattern. The sixth-grade math data was suppressed, likely due to a small group size. Placed against the districts in Palm Beach County, the school's overall proficiency index lands above the midpoint of that comparison set, which positions it competitively among county peers, though the top of that range runs considerably higher.

Multi-year trend data was not available, so it is not possible to say whether these results represent improvement, stability, or a decline from prior years.

Program offerings are thin in what was reported: a chess club and a newspaper round out the extracurriculars by name. Whether the school offers additional enrichment, arts, physical education programming, or academic intervention support is not described in the data provided, and a parent would want to ask the school directly about those areas. Discipline, attendance, and chronic absenteeism data were not available.

The Palm Beach district brief returned no confirmed parent-relevant policy or program changes before research was exhausted, so there is nothing to report on that front.

What comes through clearly is a small charter school drawing from an affluent slice of Boca Raton, posting strong reading and math results in the primary grades, with a visible dip in fifth-grade science that warrants follow-up. Families who want a compact, community-feeling elementary in one of South Florida's most resource-rich cities, and who are already navigating a very expensive housing market to get there, will find an academically credible option here. Those whose children may need special education services or English learner supports should press for specifics the available data could not answer.

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Academic performance

How students perform on state tests, by grade, set against the district.

Math

Grade 386%

School 86% · District 64% · ▲ 22 pts above district

▲ 23 pts above state median · ▲ 26 pts above county median

Grade 480%

School 80% · District 55% · ▲ 25 pts above district

▲ 19 pts above state median · ▲ 28 pts above county median

Grade 571%

School 71% · District 59% · ▲ 12 pts above district

▲ 16 pts above state median · ▲ 15 pts above county median

English language arts

Grade 384%

School 84% · District 57% · ▲ 28 pts above district

▲ 28 pts above state median · ▲ 34 pts above county median

Grade 480%

School 80% · District 56% · ▲ 24 pts above district

▲ 26 pts above state median · ▲ 28 pts above county median

Grade 570%

School 70% · District 56% · ▲ 14 pts above district

▲ 16 pts above state median · ▲ 16 pts above county median

Science

Grade 548%

School 48% · District 54% · ▼ 6 pts below district

▼ 5 pts below state median · ▼ 1 pts below county median

This schoolPALM BEACH, same grade

Graduation rate (ACGR) reflects the federally published Adjusted Cohort Graduation Rate for the most recent year available. We refresh this data annually at the close of each academic year in June. The federal source publishes a banded rate (for example, "90-94%") instead of an exact number for cohorts small enough to risk identifying individual students. The state distribution chart, where shown, plots every school in the state with a published rate or band; schools whose rate is federally suppressed are excluded. Where the federal source publishes a band rather than an exact rate, the school is placed within its band using a stable, ID-derived offset, so its position is consistent across visits.

Proficiency by household income

English language arts

Grade 4Lower-income67%Higher-income84%17 pp gap

Grade 5Lower-income72%Higher-income69%3 pp gap

Mathematics

Grade 4Lower-income60%Higher-income86%26 pp gap

Grade 5Lower-income83%Higher-income66%17 pp gap