Best High Schools in Iowa

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Find the best Iowa high 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 340)	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
171	Algona High School	Public	9-12	601 S Hale	Algona	50511	Kossuth County	Algona Community School District	No	(n/a)	No	No	(515) 295-7207	458	31	14.6	36.2%	400 (87.3%)	1 (0.2%)	46 (10.0%)	1 (0.2%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	10 (2.2%)	$16,836			$248			$16,588	56	61.3	139	32		190336000030
172	Nevada High School	Public	9-12	1001 15th St	Nevada	50201	Story County	Nevada Community School District	No	(n/a)	No	No	(515) 382-3521	498	32	15.5	36.5%	402 (80.7%)	4 (0.8%)	60 (12.0%)	5 (1.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	25 (5.0%)	$17,734			$550			$17,184	56	48.1	206	34		192025001202
173	Okoboji High School	Public	9-12	901 H. Ave.	Milford	51351	Dickinson County	Okoboji Community School District	No	(n/a)	No	No	(712) 338-2446	366	24	15	28.7%	326 (89.1%)	2 (0.5%)	25 (6.8%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	1 (0.3%)	12 (3.3%)	$15,835			$188			$15,648	55.9	66.4	110	63		190002102002
174	Collins-Maxwell Middle/High School	Public	6-12	400 Metcalf St.	Maxwell	50161	Story County	Collins-Maxwell Community School District	No	(n/a)	No	No	(515) 387-1115	190	18	10.5	35.3%	173 (91.1%)	1 (0.5%)	10 (5.3%)	2 (1.1%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	4 (2.1%)	$17,207			$223			$16,984	55.8	46	216	42		190790001951
175	George-Little Rock Senior High School	Public	9-12	500 E Indiana Ave	George	51237	Lyon County	George-Little Rock Community School District	No	(n/a)	No	No	(712) 475-3311	102	12	8.8	38.2%	88 (86.3%)	0 (0.0%)	6 (5.9%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	5 (4.9%)	3 (2.9%)	$17,030			$154			$16,876	55.4	50.3	191	16		191248000758
176	South Central Calhoun High School	Public	9-12	709 W Main St	Lake City	51449	Calhoun County	South Central Calhoun Community School District	No	(n/a)	No	No	(712) 464-7211	284	27	10.4	40.5%	262 (92.3%)	2 (0.7%)	8 (2.8%)	2 (0.7%)	0 (0.0%)	3 (1.1%)	7 (2.5%)	$16,981			$194			$16,787	55.3	62.9	127	49		190002400961
177	Prairie High School	Public	9-12	401 76th Ave SW	Cedar Rapids	52404	Linn County	College Community School District	No	(n/a)	No	No	(319) 848-5340	1,766	95	18.5	29.8%	1,243 (70.4%)	225 (12.7%)	123 (7.0%)	27 (1.5%)	2 (0.1%)	14 (0.8%)	128 (7.2%)	$14,453			$304			$14,149	54.9	22.6	288	111		190786000388
178	Carroll High School	Public	9-12	2809 N Grant Rd	Carroll	51401	Carroll County	Carroll Community School District	No	(n/a)	No	No	(712) 792-8010	483	36	13.4	31.7%	413 (85.5%)	14 (2.9%)	38 (7.9%)	3 (0.6%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	15 (3.1%)	$13,548			$346			$13,203	54.8	60.3	145	33		190633000218
179	Griswold Middle/High School	Public	6-12	20 Madison St.	Griswold	51535	Cass County	Griswold Community School District	No	(n/a)	No	No	(712) 778-2154	193	16	11.9	36.3%	182 (94.3%)	1 (0.5%)	3 (1.6%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	7 (3.6%)	$15,962			$309			$15,653	54.8	70.7	89	90		191323000796
180	Maple Valley-Anthon Oto High School	Public	9-12	501 South 7th Street	Mapleton	51034	Monona County	Maple Valley-Anthon Oto Community School District	No	(n/a)	No	No	(712) 881-1317	256	22	11.4	37.5%	230 (89.8%)	4 (1.6%)	19 (7.4%)	0 (0.0%)	2 (0.8%)	0 (0.0%)	1 (0.4%)	$14,038			$352			$13,685	54.7	49.3	197	17		191848001057

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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:

State-Administered Standardized Tests: A Comprehensive Guide

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