Summary:
The city of New Sharon, Iowa is home to a single high school, North Mahaska Junior-Senior High School, which serves grades 7-12 and has a student enrollment of 286. The school generally performs on par or slightly above the state and North Mahaska Community School District averages, with some areas of strength and potential for improvement.
North Mahaska Junior-Senior High School has consistently ranked in the top half of Iowa high schools over the past 3 school years, with a ranking of 111 out of 340 schools in 2024-2025. The school's performance on the ISASP tests is generally above the state average, with proficiency rates exceeding the state in most subject areas and grade levels. Additionally, the school's 4-year graduation rate for the 2023-2024 school year was 88.3%, which is slightly above the state average. However, the school's chronic absenteeism rate for 2023-2024 was 21.6%, which is higher than the state average.
In terms of demographics and funding, North Mahaska Junior-Senior High School has a free and reduced-price lunch rate of 31.47%, indicating a significant population of economically disadvantaged students. The school's per-student spending for the 2018-2019 school year was $15,724, which is higher than the state average, and the student-teacher ratio is 13.7, slightly lower than the state average. While the additional funding may be beneficial, it's unclear if it is being effectively utilized to address the needs of the student population and the high chronic absenteeism rate.
Thank you for your feedback!