Summary:
Zip code 33426 in Boynton Beach, FL, is home to two middle schools—Congress Community Middle School and South Technical Preparatory Academy—serving grades 6-8 within the Palm Beach district, which holds a 3-star rating statewide.
South Technical Preparatory Academy is the standout school in this area, dramatically outperforming Congress Community Middle School across nearly every academic metric. South Tech Prep ranks in the 70th percentile (4 stars) for the 2025-2026 school year, while Congress Community sits in the bottom 10% (0 stars). Despite having nearly identical percentages of students eligible for free/reduced lunch (around 63%), South Tech Prep achieves average ELA proficiency of 78% and math proficiency of 60%, compared to just 37% and 29% at Congress Community. South Tech Prep also excels in advanced subjects, with 89% proficiency in Algebra 1 and 95% in Biology 1. Notably, South Tech Prep achieves these results with lower per-student spending ($10,498 vs. $16,471) and a higher student-teacher ratio (18.9:1 vs. 14.3:1), suggesting more efficient resource use. However, both schools share a challenge with chronic absenteeism, at 18.1% and 20.1% respectively, though these rates are below the state average of 31.4%.
For parents, the choice is clear: South Technical Preparatory Academy offers a high-performing, upward-trending academic environment that far exceeds district and state averages, while Congress Community Middle School struggles significantly, despite higher spending per student. South Tech Prep’s only relative weakness is 7th-grade math proficiency (45%), which falls below the state average. Congress Community has shown a slight upward trend in its state ranking, moving from the 9th to the 10th percentile, but remains a low-performing option. Overall, this zip code presents a stark contrast in school quality, with South Tech Prep demonstrating that strong outcomes are achievable even with similar demographic profiles.
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