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
521	Morris Elementary School	Public	K-5	1401 Geil Avenue	Des Moines	50315	Polk County	Des Moines Independent Community School District	No	(n/a)	No	Yes	(515) 242-8421	519	39	13.3	87.7%	185 (35.6%)	70 (13.5%)	215 (41.4%)	10 (1.9%)	0 (0.0%)	2 (0.4%)	37 (7.1%)	$16,468			$1,455			$15,012	11.6	9.4	516	5		190897000583
522	Grant Wood Elementary School	Public	PK, KG-5	1930 Lakeside Dr	Iowa City	52240	Johnson County	Iowa City Community School District	No	(n/a)	No	Yes	(319) 688-1180	306	28	10.8	68.0%	61 (19.9%)	153 (50.0%)	70 (22.9%)	2 (0.7%)	0 (0.0%)	3 (1.0%)	17 (5.6%)	$15,646			$1,067			$14,579	11.6	7.9	520	2		191470000886
523	Alexander Elementary	Public	PK, KG-5	3571 Sycamore St.	Iowa City	52240	Johnson County	Iowa City Community School District	No	(n/a)	No	Yes	(319) 688-1095	436	38	11.3	75.9%	98 (22.5%)	170 (39.0%)	139 (31.9%)	6 (1.4%)	0 (0.0%)	1 (0.2%)	22 (5.0%)	$15,246			$1,427			$13,819	11.4	17.1	482	41		191470002224
524	Crestview School of Inquiry	Public	PK, KG-6	8355 Franklin Avenue	Clive	50325	Polk County	West Des Moines Community School District	No	(n/a)	No	Yes	(515) 633-5700	558	48	11.6	84.1%	96 (17.2%)	54 (9.7%)	324 (58.1%)	65 (11.6%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	19 (3.4%)	$14,822			$670			$14,152	11.3	17.7	481	43		193093001790
525	Adams Elementary School	Public	K-5	3029 N Division Street	Davenport	52804	Scott County	Davenport Community School District	No	(n/a)	No	No	(563) 723-6100	498	36	13.7	57.2%	203 (40.8%)	142 (28.5%)	78 (15.7%)	7 (1.4%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	68 (13.7%)	$13,120			$537			$12,583	11.2	8.9	518	7		190858000456
526	Essex Elementary School	Public	PK, KG-5	111 Forbes St	Essex	51638	Page County	Essex Community School District	No	(n/a)	No	Yes	(712) 379-3114	101	7	13.5	37.6%	91 (90.1%)	0 (0.0%)	6 (5.9%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	4 (4.0%)	$15,793			$829			$14,965	10.8	18.1	478	48		191104000682
527	South Union Elementary School	Public	K-5	4201 South Union	Des Moines	50315	Polk County	Des Moines Independent Community School District	No	(n/a)	No	Yes	(515) 242-8409	422	34	12.4	84.8%	96 (22.7%)	91 (21.6%)	149 (35.3%)	41 (9.7%)	3 (0.7%)	0 (0.0%)	42 (10.0%)	$14,822			$1,433			$13,389	10.6	7	528	1		190897001472
528	Jackson Elementary School	Public	K-5	1307 Wisconsin	Davenport	52804	Scott County	Davenport Community School District	No	(n/a)	No	Yes	(563) 723-6650	322	27	12	56.8%	163 (50.6%)	65 (20.2%)	57 (17.7%)	1 (0.3%)	0 (0.0%)	3 (0.9%)	33 (10.2%)	$15,133			$1,042			$14,091	10.5	9.9	515	13		190858000473
529	Liberty Elementary School	Public	PK, KG-5	1623 Rebecca Street	Sioux City	51103	Woodbury County	Sioux City Community School District	No	(n/a)	No	Yes	(712) 279-6845	659	51	12.9	84.8%	78 (11.8%)	70 (10.6%)	329 (49.9%)	16 (2.4%)	51 (7.7%)	56 (8.5%)	59 (9.0%)	$13,723			$1,309			$12,414	10.1	12.2	501	28		192640002165
530	Phillips Elementary	Public	K-5	1701 Lay St	Des Moines	50317	Polk County	Des Moines Independent Community School District	No	(n/a)	No	Yes	(515) 242-8431	263	24	10.9	79.1%	129 (49.0%)	24 (9.1%)	89 (33.8%)	5 (1.9%)	2 (0.8%)	0 (0.0%)	14 (5.3%)	$16,246			$669			$15,577	9.6	11.5	504	26		190897000571

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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

Charter Schools vs Regular Public Schools: Understanding the Key Differences