The top reported proficiency rate is 37% in English language arts. The lowest is 23% in Math.
Original Research by School Decision on Set Academy Middle
SET Academy Middle is a charter school in Minneapolis serving grades six through eight. Located in a dense urban setting on Olson Memorial Highway, the school operates under the Metro Schools Charter. As a charter school, it is publicly funded but operates with some autonomy from the local school district, and families choose to enroll rather than being assigned by neighborhood. This is a small middle school. The student body is overwhelmingly Black, with a very small share of Hispanic and Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander students. A substantial share of students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, reflecting a high-needs population. The school does not report counts for students with disabilities or English learners, so a parent may want to ask the school directly about the supports available for those groups.
Academically, SET Academy Middle’s state test results present a mixed picture that varies by both grade and subject. In math, proficiency rates were low in sixth grade and improved through eighth grade, where roughly two out of five students met the state’s proficiency standard. In English language arts, sixth and eighth graders showed moderate proficiency, with about half of eighth graders meeting the bar, while seventh grade results were very low. Science testing in eighth grade showed about one in four students proficient. Participation on test day was high across all grades and subjects, which means the results represent nearly all enrolled students. When compared across districts in Hennepin County, the school’s overall proficiency index sits above the midpoint of the county’s districts. That is a meaningful signal: despite the low points by grade, the school holds its own relative to many other districts in the county, not just within the city. Because the school stops at eighth grade, there is no graduation rate to report. No data on chronic absenteeism or discipline was available; a parent may wish to follow up with the school on those topics.
The school’s charter authorizer, Metro Schools Charter, received approval during the 2020-2021 school year to launch a permanent online school called Metro 2 Online. That means families within the charter network now have a remote learning option, which could be relevant if a student’s circumstances change during middle school. No recent referenda or tax changes were found, and for a charter district that is not unusual, as they do not typically rely on local property tax measures in the same way traditional districts do.
Minneapolis, where the school is located, is the state’s most populous city and a major urban center. It has a dense downtown with skyscrapers, a historic riverfront, 22 lakes, and an extensive park system. The University of Minnesota’s main campus sits just east of downtown, and major employers include Target Corporation, the Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis, and General Mills. The city has a slight population decline since 2020, but the broader Twin Cities metro continues to grow. Housing in the immediate ZIP code area is moderately priced relative to the state and national benchmarks, though the city overall has a wide range of housing costs depending on the neighborhood. Rents have been rising. For families considering moving closer to the school, the urban setting means a range of rental and ownership options, with trade-offs in commute time and cost.
For a family evaluating SET Academy Middle, the core takeaway is a small, predominantly Black charter middle school in a high-poverty urban setting, with academic results that are uneven by grade but land above the midpoint when benchmarked against other districts in Hennepin County. Because the school is a charter, enrollment is by choice, and families should consider whether the school’s size, demographics, and academic profile match their student’s needs. The missing data on special education and English learner programs is a gap that would be worth exploring in a conversation with school staff.
See more original research from School Decision →