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Urban Academy

Public, Charter Grades PK, KG-8

679^th

SchoolDigger Rank ?

of 872 Minnesota Elementary Schools

Better than 22% of Minnesota elementary schools

Summary

Urban Academy is a public charter elementary school serving grades PK-8 in Saint Paul, Minnesota, with 441 students. The school is part of the Urban Academy district, which is ranked 294 out of 446 districts in the state and has a 2-star rating from SchoolDigger. Over the past 10 years, Urban Academy has consistently ranked in the bottom quarter of Minnesota elementary schools, with a 1-star rating for most years.

Urban Academy's academic performance, as measured by MCA-III test scores, is significantly below the state average across all grades and subjects. For example, in the 2024-2025 school year, only 34.68% of Urban Academy students were proficient or better in Math, compared to the state average of 45.21%. In Reading, the proficiency rate was 38.73% compared to the state's 49.59%. The school's performance varies greatly across different student subgroups, ranking in the top 50 Minnesota elementary schools for English Language Learners but in the bottom half for Asian, African American, and low socioeconomic status students.

Urban Academy is located in close proximity to several high-performing elementary schools, such as Randolph Heights Elementary, Jie Ming Mandarin Immersion Academy, and Horace Mann School, which consistently outperform Urban Academy on academic measures and have higher rankings from SchoolDigger. The school's performance has been inconsistent over the years, with some grades and subject areas showing improvement while others decline, suggesting a lack of a cohesive, effective instructional strategy across the school.

416

Students ?

12.2

Student/teacher ratio ?

$14,951

Per pupil spending ?

98.8%

Free/discounted lunch ?

1668 Montreal Ave
Saint Paul, MN 55116-8888

(651) 215-9419

District: Urban Academy

Racial breakdown:

Asian:

86.1%

African American:

10.1%

Hispanic:

1.2%

See top rated Minnesota elementary schools

Compare Urban Academy to nearby elementary schools!

At a glance

▲ Ranking trend: Improving — 10th percentile in 2015 → 22nd in 2025

Strengths

✓Ranking is trending up — up 12 percentile points since 2015

Worth a look

!Test scores below the Minnesota average (37% vs 47% meeting standards)

!In the lower quartile statewide (22nd percentile)

!Some student groups rank well below the school's overall statewide standing

Students meeting standards (2024-2025) ?

This school37%

District avg37%

Minnesota avg47%

Elementary school

679^th of 872

Minnesota public elementary schools ?

Bottom 22%▲ up 12 pts since 2015

From bottom 10% (2015) to bottom 22% (2025)

See the entire ranking list of Minnesota Elementary Schools →

★★★★★

SchoolDigger rating ?

Middle school

263^rd of 519

Minnesota public middle schools ?

Bottom 49%▲ up 39 pts since 2021

From bottom 10% (2021) to bottom 49% (2025)

See the entire ranking list of Minnesota Middle Schools →

★★★★★

SchoolDigger rating ?

294^th of 446Urban Academy among Minnesota districts

Statewide rank percentile over time (100 = the top-ranked school in the state; click a legend item to add a student group)

Elementary school ranking

Show full rank history (all student groups)

All Students

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Minnesota percentile	Rating
2025	26.2	679 of 872	22.1%	★☆☆☆☆
2024	25.8	682 of 881	22.6%	★☆☆☆☆
2023	19.9	690 of 845	18.3%	★☆☆☆☆
2022	8.6	769 of 858	10.4%	★☆☆☆☆
2021	10.7	761 of 869	12.4%	★☆☆☆☆
2019	11.8	776 of 870	10.8%	★☆☆☆☆
2018	16.4	735 of 847	13.2%	★☆☆☆☆
2017	6.2	796 of 853	6.7%	☆☆☆☆☆
2016	7.6	783 of 848	7.7%	☆☆☆☆☆
2015	12.3	752 of 840	10.5%	★☆☆☆☆
2014	5.7	772 of 826	6.5%	☆☆☆☆☆
2013	3.6	790 of 824	4.1%	☆☆☆☆☆
2012	1.0	806 of 820	1.7%	☆☆☆☆☆
2011	1.4	799 of 814	1.8%	☆☆☆☆☆
2010	0.4	799 of 803	0.5%	☆☆☆☆☆
2008	0.1	779 of 781	0.3%	☆☆☆☆☆
2007	1.5	768 of 777	1.2%	☆☆☆☆☆
2006	0.4	752 of 756	0.5%	☆☆☆☆☆

African American

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Minnesota percentile	Rating
2019	34.4	199 of 283	29.7%	★★☆☆☆
2018	52.3	131 of 266	50.8%	★★★☆☆

Asian

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Minnesota percentile	Rating
2025	30.5	94 of 140	32.9%	★★☆☆☆
2024	34.8	95 of 154	38.3%	★★☆☆☆
2023	31.3	83 of 128	35.2%	★★☆☆☆
2022	21.3	100 of 131	23.7%	★☆☆☆☆
2021	20.2	62 of 88	29.5%	★★☆☆☆
2019	16.9	114 of 136	16.2%	★☆☆☆☆
2018	23.1	104 of 134	22.4%	★☆☆☆☆

English Language Learner

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Minnesota percentile	Rating
2025	68.5	47 of 303	84.5%	★★★★☆
2024	89.2	12 of 303	96.0%	★★★★★
2023	68.2	48 of 276	82.6%	★★★★☆
2022	51.3	105 of 256	59.0%	★★★☆☆
2021	56.3	53 of 175	69.7%	★★★★☆
2019	60.6	57 of 239	76.2%	★★★★☆
2018	72.1	40 of 242	83.5%	★★★★☆

Female

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Minnesota percentile	Rating
2025	33.1	570 of 799	28.7%	★☆☆☆☆
2024	34.0	576 of 809	28.8%	★☆☆☆☆
2023	31.6	584 of 787	25.8%	★☆☆☆☆
2022	12.0	709 of 799	11.3%	★☆☆☆☆
2021	12.5	689 of 783	12.0%	★☆☆☆☆
2019	11.9	713 of 787	9.4%	☆☆☆☆☆
2018	10.9	703 of 774	9.2%	☆☆☆☆☆

Low Socio Economic Status

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Minnesota percentile	Rating
2025	44.7	444 of 764	41.9%	★★☆☆☆
2024	45.8	456 of 793	42.5%	★★☆☆☆
2023	37.1	526 of 774	32.0%	★★☆☆☆
2022	24.3	539 of 663	18.7%	★☆☆☆☆
2021	28.7	527 of 683	22.8%	★☆☆☆☆
2019	26.2	605 of 740	18.2%	★☆☆☆☆
2018	34.3	547 of 728	24.9%	★☆☆☆☆

Male

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Minnesota percentile	Rating
2025	20.0	671 of 812	17.4%	★☆☆☆☆
2024	21.4	678 of 826	17.9%	★☆☆☆☆
2023	10.4	723 of 799	9.5%	☆☆☆☆☆
2022	6.2	757 of 808	6.3%	☆☆☆☆☆
2021	8.8	714 of 784	8.9%	☆☆☆☆☆
2019	13.2	704 of 798	11.8%	★☆☆☆☆
2018	27.0	626 of 779	19.6%	★☆☆☆☆

Middle school ranking

Show full rank history (all student groups)

All Students

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Minnesota percentile	Rating
2025	49.1	263 of 519	49.3%	★★☆☆☆
2024	40.0	338 of 545	38.0%	★★☆☆☆
2023	34.7	364 of 529	31.2%	★★☆☆☆
2022	17.3	443 of 520	14.8%	★☆☆☆☆
2021	12.3	467 of 521	10.4%	★☆☆☆☆

Asian

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Minnesota percentile	Rating
2025	44.5	54 of 106	49.1%	★★★☆☆
2024	36.6	67 of 111	39.6%	★★☆☆☆
2023	35.0	71 of 116	38.8%	★★☆☆☆
2022	17.9	93 of 110	15.5%	★☆☆☆☆
2021	15.1	75 of 87	13.8%	★☆☆☆☆

English Language Learner

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Minnesota percentile	Rating
2025	77.5	9 of 153	94.1%	★★★★★
2024	80.9	12 of 158	92.4%	★★★★★
2023	69.5	14 of 133	89.5%	★★★★★
2022	53.2	38 of 130	70.8%	★★★★☆
2021	55.2	29 of 102	71.6%	★★★★☆

Female

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Minnesota percentile	Rating
2025	53.2	201 of 450	55.3%	★★★☆☆
2024	38.6	311 of 474	34.4%	★★☆☆☆
2023	32.0	336 of 455	26.2%	★☆☆☆☆
2022	10.3	432 of 467	7.5%	☆☆☆☆☆
2021	10.2	411 of 443	7.2%	☆☆☆☆☆

Low Socio Economic Status

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Minnesota percentile	Rating
2025	66.1	105 of 432	75.7%	★★★★☆
2024	62.4	134 of 473	71.7%	★★★★☆
2023	55.7	174 of 459	62.1%	★★★☆☆
2022	36.4	266 of 404	34.2%	★★☆☆☆
2021	29.2	310 of 399	22.3%	★☆☆☆☆

Male

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Minnesota percentile	Rating
2025	37.3	298 of 452	34.1%	★★☆☆☆
2024	38.1	302 of 479	37.0%	★★☆☆☆
2023	33.0	315 of 464	32.1%	★★☆☆☆
2022	29.3	348 of 476	26.9%	★☆☆☆☆
2021	20.0	370 of 437	15.3%	★☆☆☆☆

How student groups rank statewide ? (each group's percentile vs the same group at other schools — higher is better; the +/- beside each compares the group with this school's overall percentile)

Elementary school

English Language Learner (2025)84th percentile+62 vs school

Low Socio Economic Status (2025)42nd percentile+20 vs school

Asian (2025)33rd percentile+11 vs school

African American (2019)30th percentile+19 vs school

Female (2025)29th percentile+7 vs school

Male (2025)17th percentile-5 vs school

Middle school

English Language Learner (2025)94th percentile+45 vs school

Low Socio Economic Status (2025)76th percentile+26 vs school

Female (2025)55th percentile+6 vs school

Asian (2025)49th percentile~ school

Male (2025)34th percentile-15 vs school

By subject vs Minnesota (2024-2025) ?

Reading39%-11 vs state

Math35%-11 vs state

3.5

2 ratings · 1 written review

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What people are saying

by a citizen
Wednesday, February 13, 2013

Urban Academy is one of the few , if not the only school that actually care about not only the student but the family. Urban Academy knows how important home life plays into the students educational and social growth. They address both issues on a very personal and individual basis. You can feel the love when you walk into the school Close Quote

Schools Near Urban Academy

Choose columns to see: Summary School Students/Teachers Ranking Test Scores Finance All

School													Students/Teachers											Ranking (2025)				Ranking (2024)				MCA-III Math (2025)							MCA-III Reading (2025)							Per Pupil Expenditures (2019)
Name	Type	Grades	Address	City	Zip	County	District	Is Charter	Is Magnet	Is Virtual	Is Title I	Phone	Enrollment	Full-time Teachers	Student/ Teacher Ratio	Free/Discounted Lunch Recipients	White	Black	Hispanic	Asian	American Indian	Pacific Islander	Two or More Races	Average Standard Score (2025)	Statewide Rank (2025)	State Percentile (2025)	SchoolDigger Rating (2025)	Average Standard Score (2024)	Statewide Rank (2024)	State Percentile (2024)	Rank Change from Previous Year	MCA-III Math 3rd Grade	MCA-III Math 4th Grade	MCA-III Math 5th Grade	MCA-III Math 6th Grade	MCA-III Math 7th Grade	MCA-III Math 8th Grade	MCA-III Math All Grades	MCA-III Reading 3rd Grade	MCA-III Reading 4th Grade	MCA-III Reading 5th Grade	MCA-III Reading 6th Grade	MCA-III Reading 7th Grade	MCA-III Reading 8th Grade	MCA-III Reading All Grades	Total
Urban Academy	Public, Charter	PK, KG-8	1668 Montreal Ave	Saint Paul	55116	Ramsey County	Urban Academy	Yes	No	No	Yes	(651) 215-9419	416	34	12.2	98.8%	4 (1.0%)	42 (10.1%)	5 (1.2%)	358 (86.1%)	2 (0.5%)	0 (0.0%)	5 (1.2%)	26.2	679^th of 872 public elementary schools	22.1%		25.8	682^nd of 881 public elementary schools	22.6%	3	37.5	26.1	29.0	18.8	38.5	68.2	34.7	31.3	4.4	60.5	31.3	38.5	59.1	38.7	$14,951
Highland Park Elementary	Public	PK, KG-5	1700 Saunders Ave	Saint Paul	55116	Ramsey County	Saint Paul Public Schools	No	No	No	Yes	(651) 293-8770	406	33	12.3	72.4%	84 (20.7%)	200 (49.3%)	44 (10.8%)	22 (5.4%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	56 (13.8%)	11.5	779^th of 872 public elementary schools	10.7%		14.4	764^th of 881 public elementary schools	13.3%	15	24.6	20.3	14.8				20.0	25.8	21.6	34.4				26.9	$22,201
Jie Ming Mandarin Immersion Academy	Public, Magnet	K-5	1845 Sheridan Ave W	Saint Paul	55116	Ramsey County	Saint Paul Public Schools	No	Yes	No	No	(651) 744-4770	431	26	16.4	33.2%	112 (26.0%)	27 (6.3%)	24 (5.6%)	151 (35.0%)	1 (0.2%)	0 (0.0%)	116 (26.9%)	94.4	16^th of 872 public elementary schools	98.2%		93.5	16^th of 881 public elementary schools	98.2%		90.3	81.7	78.8				83.8	70.8	74.6	80.3				75.1	$14,078
St. Paul School of Northern Lights	Public, Charter	K-6	768 Hamline Ave S	Saint Paul	55116	Ramsey County	St. Paul School of Northern Lights	Yes	No	No	Yes	(651) 285-4672	212	16	13.3	28.3%	142 (67.0%)	13 (6.1%)	23 (10.8%)	4 (1.9%)	2 (0.9%)	0 (0.0%)	28 (13.2%)	44.4	526^th of 872 public elementary schools	39.7%		30.5	648^th of 881 public elementary schools	26.4%	122	43.5	38.7	20.0	7.1			30.7	47.6	54.8	60.0	57.1			54.7
Horace Mann School	Public	PK, KG-5	2001 Eleanor Ave	Saint Paul	55116	Ramsey County	Saint Paul Public Schools	No	No	No	No	(651) 293-8965	445	25	17.8	19.6%	312 (70.1%)	32 (7.2%)	42 (9.4%)	10 (2.2%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	49 (11.0%)	90.4	43^rd of 872 public elementary schools	95.1%		90.3	36^th of 881 public elementary schools	95.9%	7	71.4	82.9	69.2				74.8	63.6	79.0	83.1				74.8	$14,581
Expo For Excellence Elementary School	Public	PK, KG-5	540 Warwick St	Saint Paul	55116	Ramsey County	Saint Paul Public Schools	No	No	No	No	(651) 290-8384	393	36	10.9	45.3%	179 (45.5%)	132 (33.6%)	36 (9.2%)	14 (3.6%)	1 (0.3%)	0 (0.0%)	31 (7.9%)	43.7	532^nd of 872 public elementary schools	39.0%		38.6	590^th of 881 public elementary schools	33.0%	58	39.6	39.2	30.3				35.4	36.7	49.0	63.2				51.7	$13,805
Randolph Heights Elementary	Public	PK, KG-5	348 Hamline Ave S	Saint Paul	55105	Ramsey County	Saint Paul Public Schools	No	No	No	No	(651) 293-8780	448	24	18.8	25.9%	306 (68.3%)	47 (10.5%)	30 (6.7%)	14 (3.1%)	1 (0.2%)	0 (0.0%)	50 (11.2%)	91.5	32^nd of 872 public elementary schools	96.3%		90.7	32^nd of 881 public elementary schools	96.4%		93.4	74.3	64.3				77.8	84.2	65.7	77.1				75.9	$13,333
Adams Magnet Elementary	Public, Magnet	PK, KG-5	615 Chatsworth St S	Saint Paul	55102	Ramsey County	Saint Paul Public Schools	No	Yes	No	No	(651) 298-1595	605	41	14.7	40.5%	217 (35.9%)	48 (7.9%)	281 (46.4%)	0 (0.0%)	2 (0.3%)	0 (0.0%)	57 (9.4%)	45.3	517^th of 872 public elementary schools	40.7%		49.9	493^rd of 881 public elementary schools	44.0%	24	39.2	45.0	37.1				40.3	38.0	50.8	62.9				49.5	$14,389
Nova Classical Academy Lower School	Public, Charter	K-5	1455 Victoria Way	Saint Paul	55102	Ramsey County	Nova Classical Academy	Yes	No	No	Yes	(651) 209-6320	485	35	13.8	23.5%	267 (55.1%)	83 (17.1%)	37 (7.6%)	62 (12.8%)	0 (0.0%)	2 (0.4%)	34 (7.0%)	86.6	79^th of 872 public elementary schools	90.9%		87.9	64^th of 881 public elementary schools	92.7%	15	75.0	71.6	77.8				74.8	56.3	61.7	86.4				68.2	$11,508
Groveland Park Elementary	Public	PK, KG-5	2045 St Clair Ave	Saint Paul	55105	Ramsey County	Saint Paul Public Schools	No	No	No	Yes	(651) 293-8760	409	27	14.9	38.4%	210 (51.3%)	84 (20.5%)	27 (6.6%)	40 (9.8%)	2 (0.5%)	1 (0.2%)	45 (11.0%)	75.1	207^th of 872 public elementary schools	76.3%		67.8	283^rd of 881 public elementary schools	67.9%	76	70.7	67.3	44.4				62.0	61.6	55.6	64.2				60.6	$15,304

Frequently Asked Questions about Urban Academy

What district is Urban Academy in?

Urban Academy

How many students attend Urban Academy?

In the 2024-25 school year, 416 students attended Urban Academy.

Is Urban Academy a good school?

Urban Academy ranks in the bottom 22.1% of Minnesota elementary schools.

What is the racial makeup of Urban Academy?

Students at Urban Academy are 86% Asian, 10% African American, 1% Hispanic, 1% Two or more races.

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SchoolDigger data sources: National Center for Education Statistics, U.S. Department of Education, the U.S. Census Bureau and the Minnesota Department of Education.

IMPORTANT DISCLAIMERS: Not all boundaries are included. We make every effort to ensure that boundaries are up-to-date. But it's important to note that these are approximations and are for general informational purposes only. To verify legal descriptions of boundaries or school locations, contact your local tax assessor's office and/or school district.