Best High Schools in Iowa

A teacher and two students give a thumbs-up in a classroom.

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.

Be the first to know when we post new test scores and rankings!

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
221	Cardinal High School	Public	9-12	4045 Ashland Rd	Eldon	52554	Wapello County	Cardinal Community School District	No	(n/a)	No	No	(641) 652-7531	270	21	12.7	53.3%	247 (91.5%)	1 (0.4%)	15 (5.6%)	1 (0.4%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	6 (2.2%)	$15,215			$369			$14,847	44.1	37.9	245	24		190624000211
222	Mount Pleasant High School	Public	9-12	2104 S. Grand Avenue	Mount Pleasant	52641	Henry County	Mount Pleasant Community School District	No	(n/a)	No	No	(319) 385-7700	545	41	13.2	39.1%	407 (74.7%)	10 (1.8%)	80 (14.7%)	26 (4.8%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	22 (4.0%)	$14,523			$290			$14,233	43.8	37.9	246	24		191989001172
223	GMG Secondary School	Public	7-12	306 Park Street	Garwin	50632	Tama County	GMG Community School District	No	(n/a)	No	No	(641) 499-2005	205	19	10.9	51.2%	180 (87.8%)	7 (3.4%)	10 (4.9%)	1 (0.5%)	1 (0.5%)	0 (0.0%)	6 (2.9%)	$14,599			$177			$14,421	43.7	48.5	203	20		190006000179
224	Central Middle School/High School	Public	7-12	400 1st Street NW	Elkader	52043	Clayton County	Central Community School District	No	(n/a)	No	Yes	(563) 245-1750	182	16	11.5	38.5%	171 (94.0%)	1 (0.5%)	2 (1.1%)	0 (0.0%)	1 (0.5%)	0 (0.0%)	7 (3.8%)	$13,348			$326			$13,022	43.7	46.1	215	9		190684000292
225	Belle Plaine Junior/Senior High School	Public	7-12	610 13th Ave South	Belle Plaine	52208	Benton County	Belle Plaine Community School District	No	(n/a)	No	No	(319) 444-3720	205	20	10.4	39.0%	192 (93.7%)	3 (1.5%)	3 (1.5%)	1 (0.5%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	6 (2.9%)	$15,770			$267			$15,504	43.2	52.5	179	46		190462000124
226	Red Oak Junior/Senior High School	Public	7-12	2011 N 8th St	Red Oak	51566	Montgomery County	Red Oak Community School District	No	(n/a)	No	No	(712) 623-6610	420	30	13.7	48.8%	364 (86.7%)	0 (0.0%)	44 (10.5%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	12 (2.9%)	$14,722			$215			$14,507	43	48	208	18		192400001397
227	Winfield-Mt Union Junior-Senior High School	Public	6-12	208 S Olive	Winfield	52659	Henry County	Winfield-Mt Union Community School District	No	(n/a)	No	No	(319) 257-7701	198	15	13.1	51.0%	179 (90.4%)	1 (0.5%)	16 (8.1%)	1 (0.5%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	1 (0.5%)	$12,857			$210			$12,647	42.9	24.5	282	55		193183001852
228	CAM Junior/Senior High School	Public	7-12	1000 Victory Park Rd	Anita	50020	Cass County	CAM Community School District	No	(n/a)	No	No	(712) 762-3231	188	18	10.3	39.4%	176 (93.6%)	4 (2.1%)	3 (1.6%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	3 (1.6%)	2 (1.1%)	$14,388			$139			$14,250	42.7	52	181	47		190594000070
229	Chariton High School	Public	9-12	501 N Grand	Chariton	50049	Lucas County	Chariton Community School District	No	(n/a)	No	No	(641) 774-5066	372	28	13	55.1%	337 (90.6%)	2 (0.5%)	26 (7.0%)	1 (0.3%)	1 (0.3%)	0 (0.0%)	5 (1.3%)	$15,840			$216			$15,624	42.3	49.1	200	29		190705000313
230	West Central Charter High School	Public, Charter	9-12	305 Pember	Maynard	50655	Fayette County	West Central Community School District	Yes	(n/a)	No	No	(563) 637-2283	97	14	6.9	54.6%	86 (88.7%)	1 (1.0%)	8 (8.2%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	2 (2.1%)	$18,474			$307			$18,165	42.2	17.6	300	70		193087001353

Sign up for updates!

Be the first to know when we update our rankings!

Other SchoolDigger ranking lists for Iowa

Elementary Schools Middle Schools High Schools Districts Cities

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:

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

Student-Teacher Ratios and their Impact on Class Sizes & School Selection