Summary:
The zip code 33418 in Palm Beach Gardens, Florida, is home to four schools within the Palm Beach district, including three elementary schools and one middle school, serving a total of 3,644 students with no high schools present.
The standout schools in this area are Marsh Pointe Elementary and Timber Trace Elementary School, both earning 5-star ratings and ranking in the top 7% of Florida elementary schools. Marsh Pointe leads with the lowest chronic absenteeism rate (10.5%) and the lowest percentage of students receiving free/reduced lunch (13.78%), while Timber Trace performs nearly as well despite having nearly double the economic disadvantage rate (25.76%). In contrast, Franklin Academy- Palm Beach Gardens and Watson B. Duncan Middle School both hold 3-star ratings, with Watson B. Duncan showing a declining state ranking from the 74th to the 59th percentile over three years. Franklin Academy has the highest chronic absenteeism (24.9%) and student-to-teacher ratio (18.8), but demonstrates a unique "J-curve" performance where it struggles in lower elementary grades yet surges in middle school, achieving over 75% proficiency in 7th and 8th grade Math and ELA.
Key metrics reveal that spending does not guarantee results: Watson B. Duncan has the highest per-student spending ($14,578) but the lowest state ranking, while Franklin Academy spends the least ($10,958) yet outperforms in advanced subjects like Geometry and Biology. Chronic absenteeism strongly correlates with performance, as the two 5-star schools have rates well below the district average of 23.4%, while the 3-star schools exceed it. Watson B. Duncan faces a notable challenge in 7th-grade Math, with proficiency rates as low as 26% in 2025-2026, far below state averages, despite strong results in advanced coursework like Algebra 1 and Civics.
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