Seaboard Airline Railroad Station · Photo: Jhw57 · CC BY-SA 3.0Palm Beach Gardens’s public schools outscore 68% of Florida districts
The grade covers the public school district serving Palm Beach Gardens, from kindergarten through graduation, on state tests and graduation. Each state writes its own tests, so this is the one TownRatings grade compared within Florida, not nationally.
From Florida state tests taken in spring 2022, when 97% of students in the tested grades sat them, and the class of 2023’s four-year graduation rate, as reported to the U.S. Department of Education.
Palm Beach Gardens’s schools, in brief
Against towns with similar incomes
Among the 291 Florida towns with household incomes within a quarter of Palm Beach Gardens’s, its schools beat 52%, lower than their 68% against all the state’s districts. The grade ↓
Above the state on both counts
Reading proficiency is 54% and math 53% in spring 2022, against 52% and 52% statewide; 90% of the class of 2023 graduated in four years, against 88%. Test scores ↓
Spending and class size
The district spends $15,224 per student, against $13,006 across Florida (FY2024). Spending doesn’t count toward the grade. Districts ↓
Five elementary schools, then two middle and two high schools
Which school depends on the address at every step. See the path ↓
Choice beyond the district
Franklin Academy- Palm Beach Gardens, St. Mark's Episcopal School (private), Trinity Christian School of Palm Beach Gardens (private), The Weiss School (private), Arthur I Meyer Jewish Academy (private), Guidepost Montessori at Palm Beach Gardens (private) and Score at the Top Palm Beach LLC (private) are in town. Palm Beach Virtual Franchise and Palm Beach Virtual Instruction Program, online schools, are based here too; they aren’t counted as local schools. Every school ↓
Written from the figures on this page. Tests are from 2021–22, graduation from the class of 2023; each school’s own letter uses 2020–21 results.
What’s behind Palm Beach Gardens’s grade
B+: better than 68% of Florida school districts, #216 of 638 Florida towns. Test scores and graduation are both above the Florida average; test scores are the stronger of the two.
Where will my kid go?
Pick a grade. These are the public schools that serve Palm Beach Gardens, with each school’s own grade.
6th grade in Palm Beach Gardens · depends on your address
Watson B. Duncan Middle School
Grades 6–8 · 1,042 students · 16:1 students per teacher
Howell L. Watkins Middle School
Grades 6–8 · 705 students · 16:1 students per teacher
7th grade in Palm Beach Gardens · depends on your address
Watson B. Duncan Middle School
Grades 6–8 · 1,042 students · 16:1 students per teacher
Howell L. Watkins Middle School
Grades 6–8 · 705 students · 16:1 students per teacher
8th grade in Palm Beach Gardens · depends on your address
Watson B. Duncan Middle School
Grades 6–8 · 1,042 students · 16:1 students per teacher
Howell L. Watkins Middle School
Grades 6–8 · 705 students · 16:1 students per teacher
9th grade in Palm Beach Gardens · depends on your address
Palm Beach Gardens High School
Grades 9–12 · 2,407 students · 17:1 students per teacher
William T. Dwyer High School
Grades 9–12 · 2,163 students · 18:1 students per teacher · in West Palm Beach
10th grade in Palm Beach Gardens · depends on your address
Palm Beach Gardens High School
Grades 9–12 · 2,407 students · 17:1 students per teacher
William T. Dwyer High School
Grades 9–12 · 2,163 students · 18:1 students per teacher · in West Palm Beach
11th grade in Palm Beach Gardens · depends on your address
Palm Beach Gardens High School
Grades 9–12 · 2,407 students · 17:1 students per teacher
William T. Dwyer High School
Grades 9–12 · 2,163 students · 18:1 students per teacher · in West Palm Beach
12th grade in Palm Beach Gardens · depends on your address
Palm Beach Gardens High School
Grades 9–12 · 2,407 students · 17:1 students per teacher
William T. Dwyer High School
Grades 9–12 · 2,163 students · 18:1 students per teacher · in West Palm Beach
Palm Beach Gardens’s public schools are run by Palm Beach County School District. To confirm the school for a specific address, ask the district.
The district
Spending and class size are shown but don’t count toward the grade. Each district’s own page has every school.
Above the state in reading
Palm Beach Gardens vs. its neighbors
Schools grades for the Florida towns that share Palm Beach Gardens’s borders.
| Town | Schools | Main districts |
|---|---|---|
| Palm Beach Gardens | B+ | Palm Beach County |
| North Palm Beach | B+ | Palm Beach County |
| Lake Park | B+ | Palm Beach County |
| West Palm Beach | B+ | Palm Beach County |
| Riviera Beach | B+ | Palm Beach County |
| Jupiter | B+ | Palm Beach County |
All 5 neighbors share Palm Beach County with Palm Beach Gardens, so their letters differ mainly through other districts.
Every school in Palm Beach Gardens
18 schools. Each public school’s letter compares its own 2020–21 reading and math results with Florida’s other public schools (the newest school-level results we have).
Left off: 2 public programs with fewer than 25 students (Palm Beach Virtual Instruction (Course Offerings) and Freedom Preparatory Academy).
Questions about Palm Beach Gardens’s schools
Are Palm Beach Gardens’s schools good?
By Florida’s own tests, yes: the public schools Palm Beach Gardens children attend outscore 68% of Florida’s school districts on tests and graduation, a B+ Schools grade, #216 of 638 Florida towns. Among towns with similar incomes they beat 52%. Tests are from 2021–22, graduation from the class of 2023.
What school district is Palm Beach Gardens in?
Palm Beach County School District, which runs grades PK–12 and enrolls 191,304 students in 230 schools (2024–25).
Where do Palm Beach Gardens kids go to high school?
One of 2 high schools, depending on your address: Palm Beach Gardens High School and William T. Dwyer High School.
What is Palm Beach Gardens’s graduation rate?
90% of the class of 2023 in Palm Beach County School District graduated in four years, against 88% across Florida.
How much does Palm Beach Gardens spend per student?
$15,224 in Palm Beach County School District (FY2024), against $13,006 across Florida. Spending doesn’t count toward the grade.
Are there private schools in Palm Beach Gardens?
Yes: St. Mark's Episcopal School (religious, grades PK–8, 452 students), Trinity Christian School of Palm Beach Gardens (religious, grades PK–8, 404 students), The Weiss School (nonsectarian, grades PK–8, 306 students), Arthur I Meyer Jewish Academy (religious, grades PK–8, 193 students), Guidepost Montessori at Palm Beach Gardens (nonsectarian, grades PK–K, 141 students) and Score at the Top Palm Beach LLC (nonsectarian, grades 2–12, 73 students). Palm Beach Gardens also has 1 charter school, free and open by application.
Parents talk
What Palm Beach Gardens families are saying about school.
Looking for colleges? Colleges near Palm Beach Gardens → They have their own page.
School data: state test results (2021–22, with participation) and four-year graduation rates (class of 2023) reported to the U.S. Department of Education (EDFacts via ED Data Express); each school’s own letter uses its 2020–21 results (EDFacts via the Urban Institute); schools and enrollment from NCES (2024–25; private schools 2023–24); spending from the Census Bureau’s school finance survey (FY2024). The School Grade is our own summary, graded within Florida. Stars are from neighbors.