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
251	Centerville High School	Public	9-12	600 CHS Drive	Centerville	52544	Appanoose County	Centerville Community School District	No	(n/a)	No	No	(641) 856-0813	368	26	14.3	51.1%	333 (90.5%)	9 (2.4%)	16 (4.3%)	1 (0.3%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	6 (1.6%)	$16,729			$239			$16,490	38.1	22.9	286	35		190675000275
252	WACO High School	Public	7-12	706 N Pearl	Wayland	52654	Henry County	Waco Community School District	No	(n/a)	No	No	(319) 256-6200	241	22	10.9	40.7%	215 (89.2%)	0 (0.0%)	17 (7.1%)	3 (1.2%)	2 (0.8%)	0 (0.0%)	4 (1.7%)	$15,055			$394			$14,661	38	51.9	183	69		192949001684
253	Wilton Junior-Senior High School	Public	7-12	1000 Cypress St	Wilton	52778	Muscatine County	Wilton Community School District	No	(n/a)	No	Yes	(563) 732-2629	447	30	15.1	23.9%	404 (90.4%)	0 (0.0%)	32 (7.2%)	2 (0.4%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	8 (1.8%)	$15,237			$237			$15,001	37.9	49.2	199	54		193180001850
254	Valley High School	Public	10-12	3650 Woodland Ave	West Des Moines	50266	Polk County	West Des Moines Community School District	No	(n/a)	No	No	(515) 633-4000	2,178	119	18.3	68.0%	1,195 (54.9%)	258 (11.8%)	442 (20.3%)	132 (6.1%)	2 (0.1%)	0 (0.0%)	147 (6.7%)	$15,551			$791			$14,760	37.9	46.7	212	42		193093001797
255	Riceville High School	Public	6-12	912 Woodland Ave	Riceville	50466	Howard County	Riceville Community School District	No	(n/a)	No	No	(641) 985-2288	205	16	12.5	39.5%	183 (89.3%)	0 (0.0%)	17 (8.3%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	5 (2.4%)	$14,165			$482			$13,683	37.5	44.3	226	29		192415001410
256	Durant Junior/Senior High School	Public	7-12	408 7th St	Durant	52747	Cedar County	Durant Community School District	No	(n/a)	No	No	(563) 785-4431	340	25	13.5	26.2%	311 (91.5%)	0 (0.0%)	13 (3.8%)	1 (0.3%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	14 (4.1%)	$12,873			$107			$12,768	37.4	33.3	265	9		190960000630
257	East Buchanan High School	Public	9-12	414 5th St North	Winthrop	50682	Buchanan County	East Buchanan Community School District	No	(n/a)	No	No	(319) 935-3367	189	18	10.6	39.2%	180 (95.2%)	3 (1.6%)	3 (1.6%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	3 (1.6%)	$15,562			$271			$15,292	37.3	40.5	237	20		191011000643
258	Keokuk High School	Public	9-12	2285 Middle Rd	Keokuk	52632	Lee County	Keokuk Community School District	No	(n/a)	No	No	(319) 524-2542	583	39	15	49.7%	481 (82.5%)	24 (4.1%)	24 (4.1%)	2 (0.3%)	1 (0.2%)	0 (0.0%)	51 (8.7%)	$15,919			$562			$15,357	36.7	32.1	266	8		191563000932
259	Twin Cedars Junior-Senior High School	Public	7-12	2204 Highway G71	Bussey	50044	Marion County	Twin Cedars Community School District	No	(n/a)	No	No	(641) 944-5243	142	15	9.3	42.3%	128 (90.1%)	0 (0.0%)	9 (6.3%)	0 (0.0%)	1 (0.7%)	0 (0.0%)	4 (2.8%)	$15,106			$118			$14,987	36	29.5	270	11		192817001642
260	West Central Valley High School	Public	9-12	3299 White Pole Rd	Stuart	50250	Guthrie County	West Central Valley Community School District	No	(n/a)	No	No	(515) 523-1313	264	22	11.8	40.9%	220 (83.3%)	3 (1.1%)	26 (9.8%)	0 (0.0%)	2 (0.8%)	0 (0.0%)	13 (4.9%)	$16,199			$995			$15,205	35.2	52.5	178	82		192750001607

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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

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Virtual Schools: The Future of Online Education