Best Public Schools in Nashua, IA

The city of Nashua, Iowa is home to two schools: Nashua-Plainfield Junior-Senior High School (grades 6-12) and Nashua-Plainfield Elementary School (grades PK-5), both part of the Nashua-Plainfield Community School District. While the elementary school generally performs at or above the state average in English Language Arts and Mathematics, the junior-senior high school has seen a decline in its statewide ranking over the past few years, dropping from 158th out of 336 Iowa high schools in 2022-2023 to 202nd out of 338 in 2023-2024 and 187th out of 340 in 2024-2025.

Both schools face challenges with high chronic absenteeism rates of 21.6%, significantly above the state average. The junior-senior high school also has a slightly below-average four-year graduation rate of 88.3%. Socioeconomic factors may play a role, as both schools have a relatively high percentage of students receiving free or reduced-price lunch, at 29.22% for the junior-senior high school and 30.88% for the elementary school.

While the elementary school generally performs well academically, the junior-senior high school has more mixed results, with some grades performing above the state average in English Language Arts and Mathematics, and others below. The difference in spending per student between the two schools ($15,197 for the junior-senior high school and $12,584 for the elementary school) suggests that resource allocation may be an area for the district to examine in order to ensure equitable access to quality education across all grade levels.