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
281	Gladbrook-Reinbeck Elementary School	Public	PK, KG-6	300 Cedar Street	Reinbeck	50669	Grundy County	Gladbrook-Reinbeck Community School District	No	(n/a)	No	Yes	(319) 345-2822	262	18	14.8	35.1%	244 (93.1%)	1 (0.4%)	4 (1.5%)	1 (0.4%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	12 (4.6%)	$13,873			$720			$13,154	56.4	55.6	296	15		191266000764
282	Sigourney Elementary	Public	PK, KG-6	509 S Jefferson St	Sigourney	52591	Keokuk County	Sigourney Community School District	No	(n/a)	No	Yes	(641) 622-2350	318	21	15.4	41.5%	291 (91.5%)	5 (1.6%)	11 (3.5%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	11 (3.5%)	$12,791			$666			$12,124	56.4	44.5	367	85		192628001494
283	East Elementary School	Public	K-5	710 SE 3rd St	Ankeny	50021	Polk County	Ankeny Community School District	No	(n/a)	No	Yes	(515) 965-9660	409	29	14.1	46.2%	280 (68.5%)	33 (8.1%)	42 (10.3%)	15 (3.7%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	39 (9.5%)	$11,901			$351			$11,551	56.2	53.1	311	28		190369000072
284	Aplington Elementary School	Public	3-5	215 10th St	Aplington	50604	Butler County	Aplington-Parkersburg Community School District	No	(n/a)	No	Yes	(319) 347-6621	165	12	14.2	30.9%	148 (89.7%)	4 (2.4%)	6 (3.6%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	7 (4.2%)	$10,716			$336			$10,380	56	70.8	153	131		190375000081
285	Buffalo Elementary School	Public	PK, KG-5	1000 Jefferson Street	Buffalo	52728	Scott County	Davenport Community School District	No	(n/a)	No	No	(563) 723-6300	242	20	12	43.8%	203 (83.9%)	6 (2.5%)	18 (7.4%)	1 (0.4%)	1 (0.4%)	0 (0.0%)	13 (5.4%)	$14,581			$537			$14,044	56	53.4	306	21		190858000459
286	Sawyer Elementary School	Public	K-5	4316 Ontario St	Ames	50010	Story County	Ames Community School District	No	(n/a)	No	Yes	(515) 239-3790	371	34	11	36.1%	242 (65.2%)	32 (8.6%)	44 (11.9%)	26 (7.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	27 (7.3%)	$11,702			$347			$11,356	55.9	52.9	313	27		190354000049
287	Mulberry Elementary School	Public	K-6	3211 Mulberry Ave	Muscatine	52761	Muscatine County	Muscatine Community School District	No	(n/a)	No	No	(563) 263-8143	293	20	14.8	31.7%	190 (64.8%)	23 (7.8%)	41 (14.0%)	10 (3.4%)	2 (0.7%)	0 (0.0%)	27 (9.2%)	$16,051			$888			$15,163	55.6	61.7	229	58		192013001192
288	Shellsburg Elementary School	Public	PK, KG-5	203 Tomahawk Trail	Shellsburg	52332	Benton County	Vinton-Shellsburg Community School District	No	(n/a)	No	Yes	(319) 436-4728	269	20	13.4	53.9%	249 (92.6%)	5 (1.9%)	7 (2.6%)	1 (0.4%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	7 (2.6%)	$15,392			$1,178			$14,214	55.6	74.1	117	171		192931001476
289	Horizon Elementary	Public	K-5	5905 N W 100th Street	Johnston	50131	Polk County	Johnston Community School District	No	(n/a)	No	Yes	(515) 986-1121	613	44	13.8	35.9%	348 (56.8%)	95 (15.5%)	72 (11.7%)	61 (10.0%)	3 (0.5%)	0 (0.0%)	34 (5.5%)	$12,602			$637			$11,965	55.5	69	173	116		191545000653
290	Whittier Elementary School	Public	PK, KG-5	1306 W Salem	Indianola	50125	Warren County	Indianola Community School District	No	(n/a)	No	Yes	(515) 961-9570	369	23	16	31.2%	316 (85.6%)	2 (0.5%)	28 (7.6%)	1 (0.3%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	22 (6.0%)	$12,658			$258			$12,401	55.4	53.4	307	17		191464000876

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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:

Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA): Transforming Education in America

Per-Pupil Spending: Understanding the Breakdown of Federal, State, and Local Funds