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North Polk Central Elementary School

Q: Is North Polk Central Elementary School a good school?

North Polk Central Elementary School ranks 97 th of 576 Iowa elementary schools. SchoolDigger rates this school 4 stars out of 5.

Public Grades PK, KG-5

97^th

SchoolDigger Rank ?

of 576 Iowa Elementary Schools

Better than 83% of Iowa elementary schools

Summary

North Polk Central Elementary School is a public elementary school in Alleman, Iowa, serving 379 students in grades PK-5 as part of the highly-ranked North Polk Community School District.

This school consistently outperforms the state average on academic assessments, with 91.2% of its 3rd-grade students scoring proficient or better in mathematics compared to the state average of 75.8%. While North Polk Central has seen a recent increase in chronic absenteeism rates, reaching 21.6% in 2023-2024, it still performs better than the nearby Ankeny Community School District schools, which also had 21.6% chronic absenteeism. Additionally, North Polk Central has a relatively low percentage of students receiving free or reduced-price lunch, ranging from 7.84% to 10.82% over the past few years, lower than the Ankeny schools.

North Polk Central Elementary School has consistently earned a 4- or 5-star rating from SchoolDigger, ranking among the top elementary schools in Iowa. While the school outperforms the state average, it also generally outperforms the nearby Ankeny schools, suggesting an exceptional educational experience for its students. However, the school and district should continue to monitor and address the recent increase in chronic absenteeism and consider ways to promote greater socioeconomic diversity within the student population.

408

Students ?

15.2

Student/teacher ratio ?

$12,580

Per pupil spending ?

9.6%

Free/discounted lunch ?

311 NE 141st Ave
Alleman, IA 50007

(515) 984-3400

District: North Polk Community School District

Students who attend North Polk Central Elementary School usually attend:

Middle:	North Polk Middle School
High:	North Polk High School

Racial breakdown:

White:

89.2%

African American:

3.7%

Two or more races:

3.4%

See top rated Iowa elementary schools

Compare North Polk Central Elementary School to nearby elementary schools!

At a glance

▼ Ranking trend: Declining — 96th percentile in 2015 → 83rd in 2025

Strengths

✓Test scores above the Iowa average (83% vs 71% meeting standards)

✓Ranks in the top 17% of Iowa elementary schools

Worth a look

!Ranking has slipped — down 13 percentile points since 2015

Students meeting standards (2024-2025) ?

This school83%

District avg84%

Iowa avg71%

97^th of 576

Iowa public elementary schools ?

Top 17%▼ down 13 pts since 2015

From top 4% (2015) to top 17% (2025)

See the entire ranking list of Iowa Elementary Schools →

★★★★★

SchoolDigger rating ?

16^th of 313North Polk Community School District among Iowa districts

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

Show full rank history (all student groups)

All Students

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Iowa percentile	Rating
2025	77.6	97 of 576	83.2%	★★★★☆
2024	70.4	157 of 557	71.8%	★★★★☆
2023	70.0	167 of 565	70.4%	★★★★☆
2022	83.3	60 of 574	89.5%	★★★★☆
2021	80.2	84 of 567	85.2%	★★★★☆
2019	87.6	31 of 603	94.9%	★★★★★
2018	83.8	43 of 567	92.4%	★★★★★
2017	87.0	18 of 574	96.9%	★★★★★
2016	74.4	122 of 599	79.6%	★★★★☆
2015	84.3	26 of 616	95.8%	★★★★★
2014	73.7	122 of 603	79.8%	★★★★☆
2013	58.3	297 of 624	52.4%	★★★☆☆
2012	61.7	254 of 626	59.4%	★★★☆☆

By subject vs Iowa (2024-2025) ?

Mathematics86%+12 vs state

English Language Arts83%+12 vs state

Science69%+5 vs state

★

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Schools Near North Polk Central Elementary School

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Ranking:

E Elementary M Middle H High A Alternative P Private

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

School													Students/Teachers											Ranking (2025)				Ranking (2024)				ISASP English Language Arts (2025)			ISASP Mathematics (2025)			ISASP Science (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	ISASP English Language Arts 3rd Grade	ISASP English Language Arts 4th Grade	ISASP English Language Arts 5th Grade	ISASP Mathematics 3rd Grade	ISASP Mathematics 4th Grade	ISASP Mathematics 5th Grade	ISASP Science 5th Grade	Per Pupil Expenditures Total	Sub-total from Federal Funds	Sub-total from State/Local Funds
North Polk Central Elementary School	Public	PK, KG-5	311 NE 141st Ave	Alleman	50007	Polk County	North Polk Community School District	No	(n/a)	No	Yes	(515) 984-3400	408	27	15.2	9.6%	364 (89.2%)	15 (3.7%)	12 (2.9%)	3 (0.7%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	14 (3.4%)	77.6	97^th of 576 public elementary schools	83.2%		70.4	157^th of 557 public elementary schools	71.8%	60	79.4	89.1	80.8	91.2	85.9	78.8	69.2	$12,580	$378	$12,202
Rock Creek Elementary	Public	K-5	3800 NW Abilene Rd	Ankeny	50023	Polk County	Ankeny Community School District	No	(n/a)	No	No	(515) 965-9629	639	42	15.2	26.4%	455 (71.2%)	74 (11.6%)	48 (7.5%)	23 (3.6%)	2 (0.3%)	1 (0.2%)	36 (5.6%)	68.5	186^th of 576 public elementary schools	67.7%		75.9	104^th of 557 public elementary schools	81.3%	82	79.4	81.4	72.6	88.7	84.5	73.2	69.9	$11,986	$349	$11,637
Ashland Ridge Elementary	Public	K-5	2600 NW Ash Drive	Ankeny	50023	Polk County	Ankeny Community School District	No	(n/a)	No	No	(515) 965-9594	548	35	15.6	14.1%	427 (77.9%)	29 (5.3%)	39 (7.1%)	25 (4.6%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	28 (5.1%)	78.5	88^th of 576 public elementary schools	84.7%		81.2	61^st of 557 public elementary schools	89.0%	27	76.8	95.9	81.3	81.1	88.7	83.5	74.7	$11,160	$239	$10,921
Northeast Elementary	Public	K-5	1705 NE Trilein Dr	Ankeny	50021	Polk County	Ankeny Community School District	No	(n/a)	No	No	(515) 965-9620	595	38	15.6	12.6%	484 (81.3%)	17 (2.9%)	28 (4.7%)	30 (5.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	36 (6.1%)	82.4	52^nd of 576 public elementary schools	91.0%		83.7	48^th of 557 public elementary schools	91.4%	4	80.4	90.3	85.2	87.6	84.1	86.1	80.6	$11,723	$246	$11,477
Big Creek Elementary	Public	3-5	340 E Vista Lake Drive	Polk City	50226	Polk County	North Polk Community School District	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(515) 984-3400	357	25	14.3	9.8%	325 (91.0%)	3 (0.8%)	11 (3.1%)	1 (0.3%)	1 (0.3%)	0 (0.0%)	16 (4.5%)	81	65^th of 576 public elementary schools	88.7%		81.9	59^th of 557 public elementary schools	89.4%	6	85.6	85.2	79.3	94.6	89.0	83.7	74.8
Abbie Grove Elementary	Public	K-5	5001 NW 18th St	Ankeny	50023	Polk County	Ankeny Community School District	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(515) 965-4815	445	26	17.1	11.5%	375 (84.3%)	13 (2.9%)	17 (3.8%)	10 (2.2%)	1 (0.2%)	0 (0.0%)	29 (6.5%)								(n/a)
Westwood Elementary School	Public	K-5	2920 NW 9th St	Ankeny	50023	Polk County	Ankeny Community School District	No	(n/a)	No	No	(515) 965-9690	551	35	15.7	17.6%	433 (78.6%)	22 (4.0%)	52 (9.4%)	8 (1.5%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	36 (6.5%)	79.3	81^st of 576 public elementary schools	85.9%		82.5	57^th of 557 public elementary schools	89.8%	24	83.7	90.4	83.3	84.6	90.4	82.2	70.0	$11,911	$384	$11,527
Ballard West Elementary	Public	PK, KG-2	105 E Main St	Slater	50244	Story County	Ballard Community School District	No	(n/a)	No	Yes	(515) 228-3890	451	30	15.0	18.8%	410 (90.9%)	6 (1.3%)	23 (5.1%)	1 (0.2%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	11 (2.4%)								(n/a)								$13,797	$324	$13,473
Northwest Elementary School	Public	K-5	1202 W First St	Ankeny	50023	Polk County	Ankeny Community School District	No	(n/a)	No	Yes	(515) 965-9680	346	27	12.8	37.3%	224 (64.7%)	20 (5.8%)	56 (16.2%)	5 (1.4%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	41 (11.8%)	48.6	338^th of 576 public elementary schools	41.3%		55.1	298^th of 557 public elementary schools	46.5%	40	58.0	73.1	72.3	68.0	75.0	73.8	67.7	$12,743	$644	$12,099
East Elementary School	Public	K-5	710 SE 3rd St	Ankeny	50021	Polk County	Ankeny Community School District	No	(n/a)	No	Yes	(515) 965-9660	409	29	14.1	46.2%	280 (68.5%)	33 (8.1%)	42 (10.3%)	15 (3.7%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	39 (9.5%)	56.2	283^rd of 576 public elementary schools	50.9%		53.1	311^th of 557 public elementary schools	44.2%	28	77.6	72.4	75.4	79.1	72.4	76.9	58.5	$11,901	$351	$11,551

Frequently Asked Questions about North Polk Central Elementary School

What schools do graduates of North Polk Central Elementary School attend?

Students who attend North Polk Central Elementary School usually go on to attend:

Middle : North Polk Middle School
High : North Polk High School

What district is North Polk Central Elementary School in?

North Polk Community School District

How many students attend North Polk Central Elementary School?

In the 2024-25 school year, 408 students attended North Polk Central Elementary School.

What is the racial makeup of North Polk Central Elementary School?

Students at North Polk Central Elementary School are 89% White, 4% African American, 3% Two or more races, 3% Hispanic.

Is North Polk Central Elementary School a good school?

North Polk Central Elementary School ranks 97^th of 576 Iowa elementary schools. SchoolDigger rates this school 4 stars out of 5.

Rate North Polk Central Elementary School!

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