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Lowell Elementary School

Public Grades PK, KG-5

498^th

SchoolDigger Rank ?

of 576 Iowa Elementary Schools

Better than 14% of Iowa elementary schools

Summary

Lowell Elementary School is a public elementary school in Waterloo, Iowa, serving 480 students in grades PK-5. The school is part of the Waterloo Community School District, which is ranked 287 out of 313 districts in the state and has a 0-star rating from SchoolDigger.

Lowell Elementary consistently underperforms compared to the district and state averages in academic proficiency. In the 2024-2025 school year, the school's English Language Arts proficiency rates ranged from 40.8% to 64.3%, while the district's were 58.1% to 59.7% and the state's were 67.9% to 76%. Similarly, in Mathematics, Lowell's proficiency rates were 43.6% to 66.1%, compared to the district's 62.2% to 70.6% and the state's 71.5% to 75.8%. Lowell also has a significantly higher chronic absenteeism rate of 39.3%, compared to the state average of around 21.6%.

When comparing Lowell Elementary to other nearby schools in the district, such as Orange Elementary School, it is clear that Lowell is underperforming. Orange consistently outperforms Lowell in academic proficiency, ranking, and chronic absenteeism. The high rates of free and reduced-price lunch recipients at Lowell, ranging from 73.68% to 85.56%, suggest the school serves a population with significant socioeconomic challenges, which may be contributing to its lower performance. Addressing these issues will likely require targeted interventions and strategies to improve student outcomes at Lowell Elementary.

538

Students ?

12.7

Student/teacher ratio ?

$14,090

Per pupil spending ?

77.9%

Free/discounted lunch ?

1628 Washington St
Waterloo, IA 50702

(319) 433-1900

District: Waterloo Community School District

Students who attend Lowell Elementary School usually attend:

Middle:	Bunger Middle School
High:	West High School

Racial breakdown:

White:

27.0%

African American:

27.0%

Hispanic:

23.8%

See top rated Iowa elementary schools

Compare Lowell Elementary School to nearby elementary schools!

At a glance

▲ Ranking trend: Improving — 3rd percentile in 2015 → 14th in 2025

Strengths

✓Ranking is trending up — up 11 percentile points since 2015

Worth a look

!Test scores below the Iowa average (53% vs 71% meeting standards)

!In the lower quartile statewide (14th percentile)

!High chronic absenteeism (33% vs 22% Iowa)

Students meeting standards (2024-2025) ?

This school53%

District avg62%

Iowa avg71%

498^th of 576

Iowa public elementary schools ?

Bottom 14%▲ up 10 pts since 2015

From bottom 3% (2015) to bottom 14% (2025)

See the entire ranking list of Iowa Elementary Schools →

★★★★★

SchoolDigger rating ?

8^th of 11Elementary Schools in the Waterloo Community School District

287^th of 313Waterloo 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	17.2	498 of 576	13.5%	★☆☆☆☆
2024	14.0	492 of 557	11.7%	★☆☆☆☆
2023	15.5	503 of 565	11.0%	★☆☆☆☆
2022	18.5	497 of 574	13.4%	★☆☆☆☆
2021	12.6	518 of 567	8.6%	☆☆☆☆☆
2019	11.8	559 of 603	7.3%	☆☆☆☆☆
2018	5.2	542 of 567	4.4%	☆☆☆☆☆
2017	4.6	545 of 574	5.1%	☆☆☆☆☆
2016	6.9	572 of 599	4.5%	☆☆☆☆☆
2015	3.6	596 of 616	3.2%	☆☆☆☆☆
2014	1.5	597 of 603	1.0%	☆☆☆☆☆
2013	6.7	599 of 624	4.0%	☆☆☆☆☆
2012	1.7	621 of 626	0.8%	☆☆☆☆☆

By subject vs Iowa (2024-2025) ?

Mathematics58%-16 vs state

English Language Arts52%-19 vs state

Science45%-20 vs state

★

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Schools Near Lowell Elementary School

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
Lowell Elementary School	Public	PK, KG-5	1628 Washington St	Waterloo	50702	Black Hawk County	Waterloo Community School District	No	(n/a)	No	Yes	(319) 433-1900	538	42	12.7	77.9%	145 (27.0%)	145 (27.0%)	128 (23.8%)	24 (4.5%)	1 (0.2%)	31 (5.8%)	64 (11.9%)	17.2	498^th of 576 public elementary schools	13.5%		14	492^nd of 557 public elementary schools	11.7%	6	40.8	48.7	64.3	59.2	43.6	66.1	44.6	$14,090	$1,974	$12,115
Irving Elementary School	Public	K-5	1115 W. 5th Street	Waterloo	50702	Black Hawk County	Waterloo Community School District	No	(n/a)	No	Yes	(319) 433-2800	353	33	10.5	89.2%	70 (19.8%)	127 (36.0%)	64 (18.1%)	9 (2.5%)	0 (0.0%)	28 (7.9%)	55 (15.6%)	33.3	446^th of 576 public elementary schools	22.6%		32.3	436^th of 557 public elementary schools	21.7%	10	75.5	70.8	58.3	65.3	62.5	66.7	47.9	$13,386	$1,643	$11,742
Kittrell Elementary School	Public	PK, KG-5	1304 Oregon St	Waterloo	50702	Black Hawk County	Waterloo Community School District	No	(n/a)	No	Yes	(319) 433-2910	576	46	12.4	71.5%	200 (34.7%)	156 (27.1%)	96 (16.7%)	43 (7.5%)	1 (0.2%)	35 (6.1%)	45 (7.8%)	39	405^th of 576 public elementary schools	29.7%		26.9	451^st of 557 public elementary schools	19.0%	46	47.7	65.3	69.6	77.9	72.0	70.9	58.2	$12,433	$1,211	$11,221
Highland Elementary School	Public	PK, KG-5	812 Idaho St	Waterloo	50703	Black Hawk County	Waterloo Community School District	No	(n/a)	No	Yes	(319) 433-2630	448	38	11.9	89.5%	126 (28.1%)	115 (25.7%)	131 (29.2%)	3 (0.7%)	0 (0.0%)	14 (3.1%)	59 (13.2%)	12.8	515^th of 576 public elementary schools	10.6%		12	502^nd of 557 public elementary schools	9.9%	13	43.1	48.2	50.9	63.9	46.4	66.0	41.5	$12,711	$1,327	$11,383
Kingsley Elementary School	Public	K-5	201 Sunset Rd	Waterloo	50701	Black Hawk County	Waterloo Community School District	No	(n/a)	No	Yes	(319) 433-2210	337	29	11.6	49.9%	193 (57.3%)	47 (13.9%)	32 (9.5%)	14 (4.2%)	0 (0.0%)	9 (2.7%)	42 (12.5%)	69.8	174^th of 576 public elementary schools	69.8%		61.6	232^nd of 557 public elementary schools	58.3%	58	80.6	78.2	72.6	88.7	80.0	87.1	66.1	$12,606	$882	$11,722
Cunningham School	Public	PK, KG-5	1224 Mobile St	Waterloo	50703	Black Hawk County	Waterloo Community School District	No	(n/a)	No	Yes	(319) 433-2600	443	35	12.6	91.4%	32 (7.2%)	258 (58.2%)	50 (11.3%)	3 (0.7%)	1 (0.2%)	39 (8.8%)	60 (13.5%)	3.8	561^st of 576 public elementary schools	2.6%		3.2	545^th of 557 public elementary schools	2.2%	16	33.9	42.4	32.8	58.1	31.8	52.5	21.7	$14,512	$2,793	$11,718
Lou Henry Elementary School	Public	K-5	312 Rachael St	Waterloo	50701	Black Hawk County	Waterloo Community School District	No	(n/a)	No	Yes	(319) 433-2860	460	38	12.1	65.9%	178 (38.7%)	176 (38.3%)	37 (8.0%)	30 (6.5%)	1 (0.2%)	8 (1.7%)	30 (6.5%)	24.9	473^rd of 576 public elementary schools	17.9%		45.9	356^th of 557 public elementary schools	36.1%	117	63.6	57.6	56.9	74.2	57.6	58.5	49.2	$13,402	$1,114	$12,288
Lincoln Elementary School	Public	PK, KG-5	302 Cedar Bend St	Waterloo	50703	Black Hawk County	Waterloo Community School District	No	(n/a)	No	Yes	(319) 433-1990	463	38	12.0	81.0%	103 (22.2%)	210 (45.4%)	55 (11.9%)	3 (0.6%)	0 (0.0%)	25 (5.4%)	67 (14.5%)	19.5	491^st of 576 public elementary schools	14.8%		15.4	486^th of 557 public elementary schools	12.7%	5	64.5	62.5	46.6	61.3	62.5	60.3	36.2	$14,309	$1,947	$12,361
Fred Becker Elementary School	Public	PK, KG-5	1239 Sheldon St	Waterloo	50701	Black Hawk County	Waterloo Community School District	No	(n/a)	No	Yes	(319) 433-2180	501	38	13.1	78.0%	187 (37.3%)	145 (28.9%)	59 (11.8%)	11 (2.2%)	1 (0.2%)	24 (4.8%)	74 (14.8%)	16.7	499^th of 576 public elementary schools	13.4%		15.1	489^th of 557 public elementary schools	12.2%	10	49.3	50.0	53.3	64.8	59.1	63.3	48.3	$13,341	$1,146	$12,194
Poyner Elementary	Public	PK, KG-5	1138 Central Ave	Evansdale	50707	Black Hawk County	Waterloo Community School District	No	(n/a)	No	Yes	(319) 433-1534	362	31	11.5	59.9%	226 (62.4%)	39 (10.8%)	37 (10.2%)	4 (1.1%)	1 (0.3%)	6 (1.7%)	49 (13.5%)	49.1	333^rd of 576 public elementary schools	42.2%		31	440^th of 557 public elementary schools	21.0%	107	71.9	79.1	58.9	70.2	74.4	75.0	64.3	$13,693	$1,573	$12,118

Frequently Asked Questions about Lowell Elementary School

What is the racial makeup of Lowell Elementary School?

Students at Lowell Elementary School are 27% White, 27% African American, 24% Hispanic, 12% Two or more races, 6% Pacific Islander, 4% Asian.

What district is Lowell Elementary School in?

Waterloo Community School District

What schools do graduates of Lowell Elementary School attend?

Students who attend Lowell Elementary School usually go on to attend:

Middle : Bunger Middle School
High : West High School

Is Lowell Elementary School a good school?

Lowell Elementary School ranks in the bottom 13.5% of Iowa elementary schools.

How many students attend Lowell Elementary School?

In the 2024-25 school year, 538 students attended Lowell Elementary School.

Rate Lowell 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.