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
421	Emerson Hough Elementary School	Public	K-4	700 N 4th Ave East	Newton	50208	Jasper County	Newton Community School District	No	(n/a)	No	Yes	(641) 792-3982	336	27	12.2	57.1%	251 (74.7%)	14 (4.2%)	37 (11.0%)	4 (1.2%)	3 (0.9%)	3 (0.9%)	24 (7.1%)	$16,675			$1,246			$15,429	37.1	45.7	357	64		192061002238
422	Fremont-Mills Elementary School	Public	PK, KG-6	1114 US Hwy 275	Tabor	51653	Fremont County	Fremont-Mills Community School District	No	(n/a)	No	Yes	(712) 629-6555	262	20	13.1	35.5%	238 (90.8%)	1 (0.4%)	16 (6.1%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	7 (2.7%)	$12,355			$289			$12,067	36.7	46.2	354	68		191212000747
423	West Willow Elementary School	Public	PK, KG-5	6225 1st AVE SW	Cedar Rapids	52405	Linn County	Cedar Rapids Community School District	No	(n/a)	No	No	(319) 558-3130	555	34	16.3	49.9%	304 (54.8%)	146 (26.3%)	45 (8.1%)	3 (0.5%)	2 (0.4%)	5 (0.9%)	50 (9.0%)	$14,545			$265			$14,280	36.3	39	391	32		190654000235
424	Colo-Nesco Elementary School	Public	PK, KG-4	407 N Center	Zearing	50278	Story County	Colo-NESCO Community School District	No	(n/a)	No	Yes	(641) 487-7411	169	15	11.5	50.9%	144 (85.2%)	0 (0.0%)	12 (7.1%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	13 (7.7%)	$14,066			$671			$13,396	36.2	55.8	292	132		190792002204
425	Western Hills Elementary School	Public	PK, KG-6	600 39th St	West Des Moines	50265	Polk County	West Des Moines Community School District	No	(n/a)	No	No	(515) 633-5900	570	38	14.8	45.8%	279 (48.9%)	61 (10.7%)	160 (28.1%)	28 (4.9%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	42 (7.4%)	$14,254			$192			$14,062	36.1	50	328	97		193093001798
426	Blakesburg Elementary	Public	PK, KG-6	407 S Wilson	Blakesburg	52536	Wapello County	Eddyville-Blakesburg- Fremont Central School District	No	(n/a)	No	Yes	(641) 938-2203	103	13	7.9	41.7%	96 (93.2%)	1 (1.0%)	3 (2.9%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	3 (2.9%)	$13,338			$575			$12,764	36	39	392	34		190495000151
427	Madison Elementary School	Public	K-6	1820 1st Ave	Muscatine	52761	Muscatine County	Muscatine Community School District	No	(n/a)	No	Yes	(563) 263-6062	372	31	12	50.8%	228 (61.3%)	8 (2.2%)	102 (27.4%)	4 (1.1%)	1 (0.3%)	0 (0.0%)	28 (7.5%)	$15,655			$579			$15,076	36	25.5	457	30		192013001189
428	Helen Lemme Elementary School	Public	PK, KG-5	3100 Washington St	Iowa City	52245	Johnson County	Iowa City Community School District	No	(n/a)	No	No	(319) 688-1125	340	25	13.8	38.2%	209 (61.5%)	52 (15.3%)	60 (17.6%)	1 (0.3%)	2 (0.6%)	0 (0.0%)	16 (4.7%)	$12,605			$204			$12,400	35.9	60.7	245	183		191470000887
429	Wapello Elementary School	Public	PK, KG-5	505 N Cedar	Wapello	52653	Louisa County	Wapello Community School District	No	(n/a)	No	Yes	(319) 523-5571	229	20	11.7	19.2%	190 (83.0%)	1 (0.4%)	33 (14.4%)	2 (0.9%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	3 (1.3%)	$16,318			$1,228			$15,091	35.8	35.3	412	17		192973001691
430	Horace Mann Elementary School	Public	K-5	1523 N Court St	Ottumwa	52501	Wapello County	Ottumwa Community School District	No	(n/a)	No	Yes	(641) 684-4661	250	19	13.1	33.6%	138 (55.2%)	38 (15.2%)	47 (18.8%)	6 (2.4%)	0 (0.0%)	18 (7.2%)	3 (1.2%)	$13,776			$1,167			$12,609	35.7	42.9	376	54		192211001319

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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

State-Administered Standardized Tests: A Comprehensive Guide