SET Academy Elementary

SET Academy Elementary is a K–5 charter school on Olson Memorial Highway in north Minneapolis, serving 463 students within the Metro Schools Charter district, where nearly all students — 96.54% in 2024–25 — come from low-income families.

Math is the school's clear strength. At 52.8% proficiency in 2025–26, it leads every nearby school by at least 21.7 points and sits 7.9 points above the state average, and math results have risen steadily for four years. Reading is the opposite story: 34.3% proficiency is the highest among nearby schools, yet it is 14.3 points below the state and has fallen from 57.1% four years ago. Reading also weakens as students move up, from 45.1% in third grade to 24.6% in fifth, meaning students start near state level and fall behind rather than catching up. Science is the most urgent item to verify: the school reported 0% proficiency in each of the last two years, against a 25.5% state rate, though this reflects a single tested grade and likely a small group of students. Classes are also relatively large, at 27.2 students per teacher.

Overall, the school ranks 546th of 869 ranked Minnesota elementaries — 37th percentile — down from around the 50th percentile in the prior three years. Set against its immediate neighbors, though, it stands out: every other ranked school within roughly 1.5 miles falls in the bottom 20% of the state, including Nellie Stone Johnson Elementary, 1.54 miles away, which serves a nearly identical population (96.71% low-income) but reports 3.6% math and 8.7% reading. Where SET looks most distinctive is with English language learners, where it ranks in the 97th percentile statewide and among the top three schools in Minnesota for three consecutive years, and in the 70th percentile for low-income students. Every subgroup, however, slipped in 2025–26, so the school's recent trajectory is the thing to watch.