Best Middle Schools in Iowa

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Find the best Iowa middle 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 344)	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
161	West Burlington Arnold Junior/Senior High School	Public	7-12	408 W Van Weiss Blvd	West Burlington	52655	Des Moines County	West Burlington Ind School District	No	(n/a)	No	No	(319) 752-8747	396	30	13.3	36.9%	279 (70.5%)	26 (6.6%)	24 (6.1%)	10 (2.5%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	57 (14.4%)	$21,092			$147			$20,945	57	66.5	110	51		193078001776
162	North Central Middle School	Public	6-8	180 E. Forevergreen Rd	North Liberty	52317	Johnson County	Iowa City Community School District	No	(n/a)	No	No	(319) 688-1210	925	63	14.5	27.7%	646 (69.8%)	111 (12.0%)	79 (8.5%)	23 (2.5%)	1 (0.1%)	1 (0.1%)	64 (6.9%)	$13,555			$302			$13,252	56.7	60.3	145	17		191470001392
163	Harding Middle School	Public	6-8	4801 Golf ST NE	Cedar Rapids	52405	Linn County	Cedar Rapids Community School District	No	(n/a)	No	No	(319) 558-2254	710	44	15.9	43.8%	472 (66.5%)	48 (6.8%)	84 (11.8%)	28 (3.9%)	1 (0.1%)	8 (1.1%)	69 (9.7%)	$14,559			$562			$13,997	56.3	53.8	178	15		190654000244
164	AGWSR Middle School	Public	6-8	609 S Monroe	Wellsburg	50680	Grundy County	AGWSR Community School District	No	(n/a)	No	No	(641) 869-5121	131	10	13.5	48.1%	116 (88.5%)	0 (0.0%)	13 (9.9%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	2 (1.5%)	$15,955			$170			$15,786	56.3			(n/a)		190306000634
165	Starmont Middle School	Public	6-8	3202 40th St	Arlington	50606	Fayette County	Starmont Community School District	No	(n/a)	No	No	(563) 933-4598	113	7	16.4	45.1%	105 (92.9%)	1 (0.9%)	5 (4.4%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	2 (1.8%)	$6,917			$644			$6,272	55.8	45.7	213	48		192727001593
166	Tipton Middle School	Public	5-8	725 West 7th St.	Tipton	52772	Cedar County	Tipton Community School District	No	(n/a)	No	No	(563) 886-6025	256	21	11.9	23.8%	237 (92.6%)	1 (0.4%)	13 (5.1%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	5 (2.0%)	$10,591			$216			$10,375	55.6	56.5	162	4		192787000290
167	Central Lee Middle School	Public	5-8	2642 Highway 218	Donnellson	52625	Lee County	Central Lee Community School District	No	(n/a)	No	No	(319) 835-9510	394	19	21.1	39.3%	372 (94.4%)	4 (1.0%)	12 (3.0%)	1 (0.3%)	0 (0.0%)	1 (0.3%)	4 (1.0%)	$8,969			$36			$8,933	55.5	58.2	156	11		190693000303
168	Colfax-Mingo Junior/Senior High School	Public	7-12	204 N League Rd	Colfax	50054	Jasper County	Colfax-Mingo Community School District	No	(n/a)	No	No	(515) 674-4111	287	27	10.8	33.8%	248 (86.4%)	3 (1.0%)	15 (5.2%)	1 (0.3%)	0 (0.0%)	3 (1.0%)	17 (5.9%)	$13,707			$447			$13,261	55.3	56.4	164	4		190000900386
169	Sioux Central Middle School	Public	6-8	4440 U.S. Hwy 71	Sioux Rapids	50585	Buena Vista County	Sioux Central Community School District	No	(n/a)	No	No	(712) 283-2571	155	7	23.1	48.4%	115 (74.2%)	4 (2.6%)	23 (14.8%)	2 (1.3%)	0 (0.0%)	4 (2.6%)	7 (4.5%)	$12,869			$350			$12,519	55.3	60.1	147	22		190002300835
170	Vernon Middle School	Public	5-8	1350 4th Avenue	Marion	52302	Linn County	Marion Independent School District	No	(n/a)	No	No	(319) 377-9401	587	46	12.8	37.8%	470 (80.1%)	31 (5.3%)	38 (6.5%)	1 (0.2%)	2 (0.3%)	5 (0.9%)	40 (6.8%)	$11,914			$388			$11,527	55.2	54.2	177	7		191869001078

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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:

Public School Districts and Their Services: A Comprehensive Guide

No Child Left Behind (NCLB): A Comprehensive Analysis of Its Impact on Education