Best Elementary Schools in Iowa

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Find the best Iowa elementary schools with SchoolDigger.com! Focused on test scores for accurate rankings, our user-friendly site simplifies your search. Empower your decisions by exploring top-rated schools, only on SchoolDigger.com - the ultimate guide to K-12 schools!

Year after year, SchoolDigger is always the first to publish Iowa test scores and rankings. Other sites use stale test score data that are several years old! Be in the know with the very latest performance metrics.

The list is updated annually upon the release of the ISASP test scores by the Iowa Department of Education. The most recent update was on Wednesday, August 20, 2025.

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School														Students/Teachers											Per Pupil Expenditures (2019)							Ranking (2025 vs 2024)					ID
Rank (of 576)	School	Type	Grades	Address	City	Zip	County	District	Is Charter	Is Magnet	Is Virtual	Is Title I	Phone	# Students	Full-time Teachers	Student/ Teacher Ratio	Free/Disc Lunch Recipients	White	Black	Hispanic	Asian	American Indian	Pacific Islander	Two or More Races	Per Pupil Expenditures: Total	Personnel from Federal Funds	Non-Personnel from Federal Funds	Total from Federal Funds	Personnel from State and Local Funds	Non-Personnel from State and Local Funds	Total from State and Local Funds	Average Standard Score (2025)	Average Standard Score (2024)	Rank (2024)	Rank Change from 2024	SchoolDigger Rating (2025)	ID
151	Valley Elementary School	Public	PK, KG-4	23493 Canoe Rd	Elgin	52141	Fayette County	North Fayette Valley Community School District	No	(n/a)	No	Yes	(563) 422-3851	169	10	17.1	36.7%	157 (92.9%)	3 (1.8%)	7 (4.1%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	2 (1.2%)	$15,786			$707			$15,080	71.8	74.1	116	35		190000602253
152	Carrie Lee Elementary	Public	3-4	210 Vernon Street	Decorah	52101	Winneshiek County	Decorah Community School District	No	(n/a)	No	No	(563) 382-3771	215	17	12.9	30.7%	187 (87.0%)	1 (0.5%)	22 (10.2%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	5 (2.3%)	$13,351			$329			$13,022	71.7	76.6	95	57		190873001501
153	Solon Intermediate	Public	4-5	200 West 5th St.	Solon	52333	Johnson County	Solon Community School District	No	(n/a)	No	No	(319) 624-3401	196	12	16.5	9.7%	185 (94.4%)	1 (0.5%)	6 (3.1%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	4 (2.0%)	$10,929			$107			$10,821	71.7	55.7	293	140		192658002254
154	Baxter Elementary School	Public	PK, KG-5	202 E State	Baxter	50028	Jasper County	Baxter Community School District	No	(n/a)	No	Yes	(641) 227-3102	209	11	19.3	30.1%	193 (92.3%)	2 (1.0%)	9 (4.3%)	1 (0.5%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	4 (1.9%)	$16,144			$695			$15,449	71.6	58.3	268	114		190438000113
155	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%)	$15,221			$767			$14,454	71.2	77.2	86	69		192682001567
156	Lisbon Elementary School	Public	PK, KG-6	235 W School St	Lisbon	52253	Linn County	Lisbon Community School District	No	(n/a)	No	Yes	(319) 455-2659	461	32	14.3	12.6%	424 (92.0%)	2 (0.4%)	16 (3.5%)	1 (0.2%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	18 (3.9%)	$13,503			$249			$13,254	71.2	67.7	180	24		191725001008
157	Four Mile Elementary	Public	PK, KG-5	670 SE 68th St	Pleasant Hill	50327	Polk County	Southeast Polk Community School District	No	(n/a)	No	No	(515) 265-1972	495	36	13.8	37.8%	345 (69.7%)	23 (4.6%)	66 (13.3%)	27 (5.5%)	1 (0.2%)	9 (1.8%)	24 (4.8%)	$13,837			$290			$13,547	71.2	69.2	169	12		192682001569
158	Beaver Creek Elementary School	Public	K-5	8701 Lyndhurst	Johnston	50131	Polk County	Johnston Community School District	No	(n/a)	No	Yes	(515) 278-6228	575	40	14.3	24.7%	339 (59.0%)	115 (20.0%)	45 (7.8%)	50 (8.7%)	0 (0.0%)	2 (0.3%)	24 (4.2%)	$12,513			$534			$11,980	71	78.3	81	77		191545000478
159	Bowman Woods Elementary School	Public	PK, KG-4	151 Boyson Rd NE	Cedar Rapids	52402	Linn County	Linn-Mar Community School District	No	(n/a)	No	Yes	(319) 447-3240	413	29	14.4	27.8%	306 (74.1%)	24 (5.8%)	30 (7.3%)	24 (5.8%)	0 (0.0%)	3 (0.7%)	26 (6.3%)	$12,115			$552			$11,563	71	66.4	187	28		191722001002
160	Lincoln Elementary School	Public	PK, KG-6	321 8th Street	Cedar Falls	50613	Black Hawk County	Cedar Falls Community School District	No	(n/a)	No	Yes	(319) 553-2950	416	33	12.6	45.2%	329 (79.1%)	25 (6.0%)	20 (4.8%)	2 (0.5%)	0 (0.0%)	7 (1.7%)	33 (7.9%)	$13,045			$435			$12,609	71	69.7	166	6		190651000226

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About our rankings:

Schooldigger calculates school rankings based on ISASP English Language Arts, ISASP Mathematics, ISASP Science test scores released by the Iowa Department of Education.
These rankings were last updated on August 20, 2025, and are based on the most recent test scores available. We update rankings as we receive new test scores from the Iowa Department of Education, usually on a yearly basis.
Our sources of data include the National Center for Education Statistics, U.S. Department of Education and the Iowa Department of Education.
For more information about our ranking process, please see our Ranking FAQ. Details about our methodology are here.

Educational resources:

Alternative Schools vs Public Schools: A Comparison

Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA): Transforming Education in America