Urban Academy, Saint Paul MN - Test Scores & Data

Original Research by School Decision on Urban Academy

Urban Academy is a public charter school in Saint Paul serving prekindergarten through eighth grade. As a charter it operates independently of the Saint Paul Public Schools district, though it remains a public school open to all students in the area. The school enrolls a moderate number of students for a K–8 charter, with grades running from prekindergarten up through eighth grade. Every single student qualifies for free or reduced-price lunch, a marker of the school's economic context. The student body is overwhelmingly Asian, with a much smaller Black population and only a handful of students identifying as white, Hispanic, Native American, or multiracial. That demographic profile is distinctive even in a city known for its diversity.

Academically, Urban Academy's performance on Minnesota's state assessments shows a mixed but notable pattern. The school's overall proficiency across tested subjects and grades sits above the midpoint among the districts in Ramsey County, which is a strong relative position given that it competes with many traditional district schools and other charters. But that aggregate masks wide variation by grade and subject. In mathematics, proficiency rates range from roughly one in four students meeting the standard in fourth grade to more than two in three in eighth grade. Reading and language arts follow a similar shape: the fourth-grade reading proficiency rate is very low, while fifth grade and eighth grade show substantially stronger results, with about three out of five students meeting the bar. Science scores, available for fifth and eighth grades, are lower, with roughly one in four students proficient. The pattern suggests that the school's upper elementary and middle school grades, particularly in math and reading, are delivering stronger outcomes than the early elementary years. A parent with a student in the younger grades may want to look into this further with the school to understand how instruction and support are structured.

Because Urban Academy does not serve high school, there is no graduation rate to report. State data on chronic absenteeism, discipline, staffing, and course access was not available for this school, so those dimensions of the school environment are not part of this picture. The school's website and direct inquiry would be the best ways to learn about class sizes, teacher experience, and extracurricular offerings.

The school is located in Saint Paul, Minnesota's capital and second-largest city. Saint Paul is a dense, diverse urban center built on bluffs above the Mississippi River. Its economy is anchored by state government, county government, and a handful of major cultural and sports institutions. The park system consistently ranks among the best in the country. Housing costs in the area are above the state median, a reflection of the broader Twin Cities metro's strong demand. The city's population has been relatively stable in recent years. The school itself sits on a street in a residential neighborhood, within reach of the city's transit network.

For a family considering Urban Academy, the key takeaway is that this is a high-poverty charter with a largely Asian student population that has some bright spots in its academic results, particularly in the middle grades, but also some very weak spots in earlier grades. Its relative standing among Ramsey County districts is a positive signal, but the variation by grade means that a child's experience may depend heavily on which grade they enter. The lack of high school grades means families will need a plan for ninth grade and beyond. The school's charter status offers an alternative to the larger district, and its location in Saint Paul gives access to the city's amenities and institutions. A visit and a conversation with the principal about how the school supports early literacy and math would be a reasonable next step for any parent.

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Academic performance

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

Math

Grade 338%

School 38% · District 38%

▼ 18 pts below state median · ▲ 4 pts above county median

Grade 426%

School 26% · District 26%

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

Grade 529%

School 29% · District 29%

▼ 6 pts below state median · ▲ 9 pts above county median

Grade 619%

School 19% · District 19%

▼ 8 pts below state median · ▲ 4 pts above county median

Grade 739%

School 39% · District 39%

▲ 14 pts above state median · ▲ 25 pts above county median

Grade 868%

School 68% · District 68%

▲ 43 pts above state median · ▲ 51 pts above county median

English language arts

Grade 331%

School 31% · District 31%

▼ 10 pts below state median · ▲ 5 pts above county median

Grade 44%

School 4% · District 4%

▼ 37 pts below state median · ▼ 19 pts below county median

Grade 561%

School 61% · District 61%

▲ 7 pts above state median · ▲ 21 pts above county median

Grade 631%

School 31% · District 31%

▼ 15 pts below state median · ▼ 2 pts below county median

Grade 739%

School 39% · District 39%

▲ 3 pts above state median · ▲ 11 pts above county median

Grade 859%

School 59% · District 59%

▲ 24 pts above state median · ▲ 27 pts above county median

Science

Grade 524%

School 24% · District 24%

▼ 1 pts below state median · ▲ 10 pts above county median

Grade 823%

School 23% · District 23%

▲ 11 pts above state median · ▲ 12 pts above county median

This schoolUrban Academy, 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.