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
41	Audubon Middle-High School	Public	5-12	800 3rd Ave	Audubon	50025	Audubon County	Audubon Community School District	No	(n/a)	No	Yes	(712) 563-2607	291	25	11.7	28.2%	264 (90.7%)	0 (0.0%)	17 (5.8%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	10 (3.4%)	$15,381			$486			$14,895	78.4	82.9	21	20		190396000096
42	West Hancock High School	Public	9-12	420 9th Ave SW	Britt	50423	Hancock County	West Hancock Community School District	No	(n/a)	No	No	(641) 843-3863	161	17	9.6	26.7%	123 (76.4%)	0 (0.0%)	31 (19.3%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	7 (4.3%)	$16,943			$1,042			$15,901	78.4	71.3	85	43		190543000172
43	Earlham Senior High School	Public	9-12	535 N Chestnut Ave	Earlham	50072	Madison County	Earlham Community School District	No	(n/a)	No	No	(515) 758-2235	189	16	12	15.9%	178 (94.2%)	2 (1.1%)	6 (3.2%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	3 (1.6%)	$13,628			$119			$13,509	78.4	65.9	115	72		191005000641
44	Indianola High School	Public	9-12	1304 E 1st	Indianola	50125	Warren County	Indianola Community School District	No	(n/a)	No	No	(515) 961-9510	1,165	64	18.2	24.0%	1,038 (89.1%)	8 (0.7%)	58 (5.0%)	9 (0.8%)	1 (0.1%)	1 (0.1%)	50 (4.3%)	$12,807			$292			$12,516	78.1	54.4	173	129		191464000872
45	Grinnell Community Senior High School	Public	9-12	1333 Sunset St	Grinnell	50112	Poweshiek County	Grinnell-Newburg Community School District	No	(n/a)	No	No	(641) 236-2700	512	30	16.8	31.6%	449 (87.7%)	14 (2.7%)	29 (5.7%)	5 (1.0%)	2 (0.4%)	0 (0.0%)	13 (2.5%)	$14,271			$399			$13,871	77.7	78.4	39	6		191320000792
46	Northwest High School	Public	10-12	655 NW 10th ST	Waukee	50263	Dallas County	Waukee Community School District	No	(n/a)	No	No	(515) 987-5161	1,574	73	21.4	11.6%	1,199 (76.2%)	92 (5.8%)	112 (7.1%)	91 (5.8%)	1 (0.1%)	0 (0.0%)	78 (5.0%)								77.5	76.4	51	5		193051002303
47	Spencer High School	Public	9-12	800 E 3rd St	Spencer	51301	Clay County	Spencer Community School District	No	(n/a)	No	No	(712) 262-1700	688	41	16.9	45.3%	598 (86.9%)	5 (0.7%)	60 (8.7%)	6 (0.9%)	1 (0.1%)	0 (0.0%)	18 (2.6%)	$13,801			$242			$13,560	77.1	71	87	40		192691001582
48	Mediapolis High School	Public	9-12	725 N. Northfield	Mediapolis	52637	Des Moines County	Mediapolis Community School District	No	(n/a)	No	No	(319) 394-3101	312	25	12.2	26.9%	293 (93.9%)	1 (0.3%)	7 (2.2%)	1 (0.3%)	2 (0.6%)	0 (0.0%)	8 (2.6%)	$15,192			$266			$14,926	77.1	75.5	56	8		191893001118
49	Johnston Senior High School	Public	10-12	6500 NW 100th Street	Johnston	50131	Polk County	Johnston Community School District	No	(n/a)	No	No	(515) 278-0449	1,820	87	20.8	22.4%	1,233 (67.7%)	195 (10.7%)	142 (7.8%)	145 (8.0%)	2 (0.1%)	1 (0.1%)	93 (5.1%)	$11,440			$378			$11,061	77.1	75.9	53	4		191545000927
50	Dike-New Hartford High School	Public	9-12	330 Main St	Dike	50624	Grundy County	Dike-New Hartford Community School District	No	(n/a)	No	No	(319) 989-2485	294	22	13.2	26.2%	281 (95.6%)	4 (1.4%)	2 (0.7%)	1 (0.3%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	6 (2.0%)	$14,985			$284			$14,701	77.1	83.3	20	30		190912000596

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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:

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Virtual Schools: The Future of Online Education

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