Best Public Schools in West Bend, IA

The West Bend-Mallard Community School District in Iowa serves students from preschool through 12th grade across three schools: West Bend-Mallard Elementary School, West Bend-Mallard Middle School, and West Bend-Mallard High School. The district serves the city of West Bend, Iowa, which has a population of around 800 people.

Among the three schools, the West Bend-Mallard Elementary School stands out as a top performer, ranking 49 out of 565 Iowa elementary schools and earning a 5-star rating from SchoolDigger. The elementary school outperforms the state average in 3rd and 4th grade English Language Arts and Math proficiency, and maintains a relatively low student-teacher ratio of 15.3. In contrast, the West Bend-Mallard Middle School has seen a decline in its state ranking, dropping from 139 out of 334 in 2022-2023 to 199 out of 337 in 2023-2024, and has the highest student-teacher ratio of the three schools at 20.3.

Across the district, all three schools face challenges with high chronic absenteeism rates around 21.6%, which is significantly higher than the state average. Additionally, the schools serve a population with relatively high free/reduced lunch rates, ranging from 42.39% at the elementary school to 52.34% at the middle school, suggesting socioeconomic challenges that may be impacting academic performance and attendance. The funding disparities, with the high school receiving significantly more spending per student than the middle school, may also contribute to the performance gaps observed between the schools.