Best Public Schools in Council Bluffs, IA

Summary:

The Council Bluffs, Iowa area is home to 18 schools across two school districts - the Council Bluffs Community School District and the Lewis Central Community School District. The schools serve students from elementary through high school, with 12 elementary schools, 3 middle schools, and 3 high schools.

The data shows a clear divide in school performance between the higher-ranked Lewis Central district and the lower-ranked Council Bluffs district. Lewis Central Senior High School stands out with the highest test scores, graduation rate, and lowest percentage of free/reduced lunch recipients. In contrast, the two Council Bluffs high schools have the lowest test scores and rankings among the high schools. Several Council Bluffs elementary schools also struggle, with low test scores and high rates of free/reduced lunch.

However, there are some bright spots in the Council Bluffs district, such as Hoover Elementary and College View Elementary, which have strong performance and rank in the top 30-50% of Iowa elementary schools. Overall, the data highlights both areas of strength and significant room for improvement in the Council Bluffs school system, particularly in addressing the performance gap between the two districts.

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 English Language Arts 8th Grade	ISASP English Language Arts 9th Grade	ISASP English Language Arts 10th Grade	ISASP English Language Arts 11th Grade	ISASP Mathematics 3rd Grade	ISASP Mathematics 4th Grade	ISASP Mathematics 5th Grade	ISASP Mathematics 6th Grade	ISASP Mathematics 7th Grade	ISASP Mathematics 8th Grade	ISASP Mathematics 9th Grade	ISASP Mathematics 10th Grade	ISASP Mathematics 11th Grade	ISASP Science 5th Grade	ISASP Science 8th Grade	ISASP Science 10th Grade	Per Pupil Expenditures Total	Sub-total from Federal Funds	Sub-total from State/Local Funds
Abraham Lincoln High School	Public	9-12	1205 Bonham Ave	Council Bluffs	51503	Pottawattamie County	Council Bluffs Community School District	No	(n/a)	No	No	(712) 328-6481	1,333	87	15.3	46.1%	1,023 (76.7%)	47 (3.5%)	191 (14.3%)	11 (0.8%)	9 (0.7%)	6 (0.5%)	46 (3.5%)	14.2	305^th of 340 public high schools	10.3%		15.3	304^th of 338 public high schools	10.1%	1							63.5	57.4	53.0							54.3	54.6	44.3			48.0	$19,459	$745	$18,715
Bloomer Elementary School	Public	PK, KG-5	210 S 7th Street	Council Bluffs	51501	Pottawattamie County	Council Bluffs Community School District	No	(n/a)	No	Yes	(712) 328-6519	396	30	13.1	48.0%	275 (69.4%)	29 (7.3%)	66 (16.7%)	2 (0.5%)	2 (0.5%)	3 (0.8%)	19 (4.8%)	33.7	445^th of 576 public elementary schools	22.7%		22.6	464^th of 557 public elementary schools	16.7%	19	62.7	75.9	52.0							77.6	70.4	58.8							35.3			$19,330	$1,175	$18,155
Edison Elementary School	Public	PK, KG-5	2218 3rd Avenue	Council Bluffs	51501	Pottawattamie County	Council Bluffs Community School District	No	(n/a)	No	Yes	(712) 328-6516	384	27	14.1	46.4%	271 (70.6%)	12 (3.1%)	83 (21.6%)	3 (0.8%)	1 (0.3%)	0 (0.0%)	14 (3.6%)	34.3	439^th of 576 public elementary schools	23.8%		25.7	455^th of 557 public elementary schools	18.3%	16	59.1	69.6	56.8							81.8	60.9	68.2							45.5			$18,750	$1,398	$17,351
Franklin Elementary School	Public	PK, KG-5	3130 Ave C	Council Bluffs	51501	Pottawattamie County	Council Bluffs Community School District	No	(n/a)	No	Yes	(712) 328-6469	421	31	13.5	45.4%	283 (67.2%)	26 (6.2%)	90 (21.4%)	1 (0.2%)	1 (0.2%)	1 (0.2%)	19 (4.5%)	41.5	392^nd of 576 public elementary schools	31.9%		20.9	468^th of 557 public elementary schools	16.0%	76	63.6	61.9	66.7							81.8	61.9	71.8							62.8			$17,313	$1,173	$16,140
Gerald W Kirn Middle School	Public	6-8	100 North Ave	Council Bluffs	51503	Pottawattamie County	Council Bluffs Community School District	No	(n/a)	No	No	(712) 328-6454	913	59	15.5	48.5%	684 (74.9%)	40 (4.4%)	135 (14.8%)	9 (1.0%)	7 (0.8%)	4 (0.4%)	34 (3.7%)	27.8	279^th of 344 public middle schools	18.9%		30.3	266^th of 337 public middle schools	21.1%	13				62.2	64.6	73.3							67.7	66.5	74.5					60.7		$17,547	$654	$16,893
Hoover Elementary School	Public	PK, KG-5	1205 North Broadway	Council Bluffs	51503	Pottawattamie County	Council Bluffs Community School District	No	(n/a)	No	No	(712) 328-6537	401	28	14.1	39.2%	315 (78.6%)	14 (3.5%)	50 (12.5%)	2 (0.5%)	0 (0.0%)	1 (0.2%)	19 (4.7%)	62.2	241^st of 576 public elementary schools	58.2%		69.1	171^st of 557 public elementary schools	69.3%	70	62.3	75.6	84.6							73.8	70.7	84.6							71.8			$17,477	$593	$16,884
Lewis & Clark Elementary School	Public	PK, KG-5	1603 Grand Ave	Council Bluffs	51503	Pottawattamie County	Council Bluffs Community School District	No	(n/a)	No	No	(712) 328-6471	271	17	15.8	33.9%	227 (83.8%)	6 (2.2%)	27 (10.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	1 (0.4%)	10 (3.7%)	60.3	260^th of 576 public elementary schools	54.9%		39.6	388^th of 557 public elementary schools	30.3%	128	65.1	83.3	70.7							90.7	86.7	75.6							56.1			$19,301	$591	$18,710
Longfellow Elementary School	Public	PK, KG-5	2011 S 10th St	Council Bluffs	51501	Pottawattamie County	Council Bluffs Community School District	No	(n/a)	No	Yes	(712) 328-6522	431	31	13.8	45.7%	286 (66.4%)	10 (2.3%)	104 (24.1%)	6 (1.4%)	5 (1.2%)	2 (0.5%)	18 (4.2%)	22.5	484^th of 576 public elementary schools	16.0%		18.5	476^th of 557 public elementary schools	14.5%	8	37.7	66.1	43.1							63.8	77.4	66.2							43.1			$18,279	$1,230	$17,049
Roosevelt Elementary School	Public	PK, KG-5	517 N 17th St	Council Bluffs	51501	Pottawattamie County	Council Bluffs Community School District	No	(n/a)	No	Yes	(712) 328-6528	455	34	13.3	44.6%	318 (69.9%)	23 (5.1%)	81 (17.8%)	5 (1.1%)	3 (0.7%)	0 (0.0%)	25 (5.5%)	24	481^st of 576 public elementary schools	16.5%		13.6	496^th of 557 public elementary schools	11.0%	15	40.3	60.0	59.6							66.1	69.2	65.4							53.8			$19,039	$1,554	$17,485
Rue Elementary School	Public	PK, KG-5	3326 6th Avenue	Council Bluffs	51501	Pottawattamie County	Council Bluffs Community School District	No	(n/a)	No	Yes	(712) 328-6540	385	25	15.3	43.1%	254 (66.0%)	16 (4.2%)	80 (20.8%)	2 (0.5%)	0 (0.0%)	7 (1.8%)	26 (6.8%)	9.3	532^nd of 576 public elementary schools	7.6%		34.7	416^th of 557 public elementary schools	25.3%	116	36.2	55.6	46.2							55.3	66.7	48.1							34.6			$19,242	$1,012	$18,230
Thomas Jefferson High School	Public	9-12	2501 W Broadway	Council Bluffs	51501	Pottawattamie County	Council Bluffs Community School District	No	(n/a)	No	Yes	(712) 328-6493	1,146	66	17.3	54.8%	792 (69.1%)	62 (5.4%)	222 (19.4%)	12 (1.0%)	5 (0.4%)	2 (0.2%)	51 (4.5%)	9.8	313^th of 340 public high schools	7.9%		11.3	312^th of 338 public high schools	7.7%	1							56.7	45.3	46.6							52.6	51.0	50.8			37.1	$19,012	$712	$18,300
Woodrow Wilson Middle School	Public	6-8	712 N 21st St	Council Bluffs	51501	Pottawattamie County	Council Bluffs Community School District	No	(n/a)	No	Yes	(712) 328-6476	855	62	13.8	58.9%	582 (68.1%)	57 (6.7%)	155 (18.1%)	9 (1.1%)	4 (0.5%)	2 (0.2%)	46 (5.4%)	10.9	316^th of 344 public middle schools	8.1%		16	305^th of 337 public middle schools	9.5%	11				47.6	49.8	72.7							47.9	56.1	57.0					64.0		$18,064	$861	$17,203
College View Elementary	Public	PK, KG-5	1225 College Road	Council Bluffs	51503	Pottawattamie County	Council Bluffs Community School District	No	(n/a)	No	No	(712) 328-6452	488	31	15.6	30.7%	400 (82.0%)	13 (2.7%)	57 (11.7%)	4 (0.8%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	14 (2.9%)	70.7	166^th of 576 public elementary schools	71.2%		59.4	261^st of 557 public elementary schools	53.1%	95	63.9	83.1	88.1							80.7	81.5	86.4							83.1			$17,397	$688	$16,709
Titan Hill Intermediate School	Public	2-5	4125 Harry Langdon Blvd.	Council Bluffs	51503	Pottawattamie County	Lewis Central Community School District	No	(n/a)	No	Yes	(712) 366-8289	901	52	17.3	39.4%	722 (80.1%)	12 (1.3%)	101 (11.2%)	11 (1.2%)	2 (0.2%)	0 (0.0%)	53 (5.9%)	40.9	396^th of 576 public elementary schools	31.3%		52.9	314^th of 557 public elementary schools	43.6%	82	61.1	68.8	65.0							70.4	64.7	73.2							68.2			$11,381	$352	$11,029
E A Kreft Primary School	Public	PK, KG-1	3206 Renner Dr.	Council Bluffs	51501	Pottawattamie County	Lewis Central Community School District	No	(n/a)	No	Yes	(712) 366-8292	502	34	14.5	41.2%	394 (78.5%)	11 (2.2%)	72 (14.3%)	2 (0.4%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	23 (4.6%)								(n/a)																						$13,892	$352	$13,540
Lewis Central Senior High School	Public	9-12	3504 Harry Langdon Blvd.	Council Bluffs	51503	Pottawattamie County	Lewis Central Community School District	No	(n/a)	No	No	(712) 366-8322	1,020	59	17.4	32.8%	810 (79.4%)	22 (2.2%)	138 (13.5%)	5 (0.5%)	2 (0.2%)	0 (0.0%)	43 (4.2%)	63.7	133^rd of 340 public high schools	60.9%		62.7	131^st of 338 public high schools	61.2%	2							80.7	82.0	71.7							73.7	75.7	71.3			72.8	$12,326	$379	$11,947
Lewis Central Middle School	Public	6-8	3820 Harry Langdon Blvd.	Council Bluffs	51503	Pottawattamie County	Lewis Central Community School District	No	(n/a)	No	No	(712) 366-8252	720	46	15.7	37.9%	560 (77.8%)	12 (1.7%)	95 (13.2%)	4 (0.6%)	1 (0.1%)	0 (0.0%)	48 (6.7%)	68.6	89^th of 344 public middle schools	74.1%		65.5	112^th of 337 public middle schools	66.8%	23				74.0	81.9	89.8							79.2	76.7	88.9					82.3		$12,659	$352	$12,307

Cities Near Council Bluffs

City	Distance	# of Schools	Statewide Rank
Carter Lake	4.16 mi	1	386^th
Underwood	12.63 mi	3	28^th
Treynor	12.83 mi	3	6^th
Glenwood	15.03 mi	4	72^nd
Missouri Valley	21.29 mi	3	258^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.