Best Public Schools in Altoona, IA

Summary:

The city of Altoona, Iowa is home to 4 elementary schools that are part of the Southeast Polk Community School District, which is ranked 121 out of 313 school districts in the state. The district is rated 3 stars out of 5 by SchoolDigger, indicating room for improvement.

Two schools stand out as the top performers in the Altoona area: Centennial Elementary and Altoona Elementary. Centennial Elementary is ranked 155 out of 576 Iowa elementary schools and has a 4-star rating, with consistently high test scores in English Language Arts and Mathematics. Altoona Elementary is ranked 231 out of 576 and has a 3-star rating, also demonstrating strong academic performance. Both schools have lower chronic absenteeism rates and smaller student-teacher ratios compared to the other Altoona schools.

The remaining two schools, Clay Elementary and Willowbrook Elementary, have varying levels of performance, with Willowbrook Elementary struggling in some areas. The schools in the district also have a wide range of free and reduced lunch rates, indicating diverse socioeconomic backgrounds among the student populations.

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 English Language Arts 6th Grade	ISASP English Language Arts 7th Grade	ISASP Mathematics 3rd Grade	ISASP Mathematics 4th Grade	ISASP Mathematics 5th Grade	ISASP Mathematics 6th Grade	ISASP Mathematics 7th Grade	ISASP Science 5th Grade	Per Pupil Expenditures Total	Sub-total from Federal Funds	Sub-total from State/Local Funds
Clay Elementary	Public	PK, KG-5	3200 First Avenue S.	Altoona	50009	Polk County	Southeast Polk Community School District	No	(n/a)	No	No	(515) 967-4198	700	43	16.4	36.1%	423 (60.4%)	98 (14.0%)	104 (14.9%)	22 (3.1%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	53 (7.6%)	48	343^rd of 576 public elementary schools	40.5%		61	242^nd of 557 public elementary schools	56.6%	101	68.3	77.7	68.3			74.0	73.8	61.0			66.3	$12,723	$186	$12,537
Altoona Elementary	Public	PK, KG-5	301 6th St SW	Altoona	50009	Polk County	Southeast Polk Community School District	No	(n/a)	No	Yes	(515) 967-3771	429	35	12.2	53.4%	277 (64.6%)	66 (15.4%)	45 (10.5%)	9 (2.1%)	0 (0.0%)	3 (0.7%)	29 (6.8%)	63.5	231^st of 576 public elementary schools	59.9%		73.5	122^nd of 557 public elementary schools	78.1%	109	66.7	78.4	85.3			78.5	80.4	83.8			61.8	$14,305	$587	$13,718
Centennial Elementary	Public	PK, KG-5	910 7th Ave SE	Altoona	50009	Polk County	Southeast Polk Community School District	No	(n/a)	No	No	(515) 967-2109	423	32	13.1	38.1%	303 (71.6%)	36 (8.5%)	42 (9.9%)	5 (1.2%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	37 (8.7%)	71.2	155^th of 576 public elementary schools	73.1%		77.2	86^th of 557 public elementary schools	84.6%	69	81.5	78.7	72.9			87.7	85.2	87.1			65.7	$15,221	$767	$14,454
Willowbrook Elementary	Public	PK, KG-5	300 17th Ave SW	Altoona	50009	Polk County	Southeast Polk Community School District	No	(n/a)	No	Yes	(515) 967-7512	523	39	13.3	53.0%	334 (63.9%)	62 (11.9%)	57 (10.9%)	14 (2.7%)	1 (0.2%)	3 (0.6%)	52 (9.9%)	38.9	407^th of 576 public elementary schools	29.3%		35.2	413^th of 557 public elementary schools	25.9%	6	68.8	75.3	61.6			80.5	67.9	53.4			52.1	$13,785	$487	$13,298
Southeast Polk Middle School	Public	6-7	501 Falcon Drive	Altoona	50009	Polk County	Southeast Polk Community School District	No	(n/a)	No	No	(515) 967-5533	1,112	70	15.8	41.0%	769 (69.2%)	92 (8.3%)	132 (11.9%)	33 (3.0%)	4 (0.4%)	2 (0.2%)	80 (7.2%)								(n/a)				77.4	80.6				82.7	76.1		$13,720	$335	$13,385

Cities Near Altoona

City	Distance	# of Schools	Statewide Rank
Des Moines	2.76 mi	67	393^rd
Bondurant	2.83 mi	5	192^nd
Pleasant Hill	3.73 mi	3	221^st
Mitchellville	5.66 mi	1	7^th
Ankeny	7.92 mi	18	95^th

See the top IA Iowa cities

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.

Best Public Schools in Altoona, IA

Centennial Elementary

Altoona Elementary

Clay Elementary

Willowbrook Elementary

Southeast Polk Middle School

Cities Near Altoona