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
121	Boyden-Hull Elementary School	Public	PK, KG-6	818 Lincoln St.	Boyden	51234	Sioux County	Boyden-Hull Community School District	No	(n/a)	No	Yes	(712) 725-2381	322	22	14.9	48.1%	203 (63.0%)	3 (0.9%)	108 (33.5%)	3 (0.9%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	5 (1.6%)	$12,756			$632			$12,124	74.7	72.4	135	14		190519000166
122	South Prairie Elementary	Public	K-4	500 S James St	Grimes	50111	Polk County	Dallas Center-Grimes Community School District	No	(n/a)	No	Yes	(515) 986-4057	436	32	13.4	30.3%	304 (69.7%)	72 (16.5%)	36 (8.3%)	2 (0.5%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	22 (5.0%)	$11,303			$380			$10,924	74.6			(n/a)		190852002029
123	Ar-We-Va Elementary Community School	Public	PK, KG-5	108 Clinton Street	Westside	51467	Crawford County	Ar-We-Va Community School District	No	(n/a)	No	Yes	(712) 663-4311	141	9	14.8	48.2%	130 (92.2%)	1 (0.7%)	7 (5.0%)	0 (0.0%)	2 (1.4%)	0 (0.0%)	1 (0.7%)	$16,023			$634			$15,389	74.5	83.8	46	77		190378002177
124	Central Lee Elementary School	Public	PK, KG-4	2642 Highway 218	Donnellson	52625	Lee County	Central Lee Community School District	No	(n/a)	No	Yes	(319) 835-9510	564	31	18.2	29.8%	534 (94.7%)	13 (2.3%)	12 (2.1%)	5 (0.9%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	$9,302			$340			$8,962	74.5	48.3	347	223		190693000305
125	Franklin Elementary School	Public	K-5	400 3rd Ave SE	Le Mars	51031	Plymouth County	Le Mars Community School District	No	(n/a)	No	Yes	(712) 546-4185	261	18	14.4	36.8%	178 (68.2%)	14 (5.4%)	32 (12.3%)	7 (2.7%)	2 (0.8%)	10 (3.8%)	18 (6.9%)	$11,634			$416			$11,219	74.4	69.1	172	47		191653000985
126	Washington Elementary School	Public	PK, KG-4	615 5th Ave SW	Mount Vernon	52314	Linn County	Mount Vernon Community School District	No	(n/a)	No	Yes	(319) 895-6251	543	40	13.5	19.5%	497 (91.5%)	1 (0.2%)	21 (3.9%)	1 (0.2%)	1 (0.2%)	0 (0.0%)	22 (4.1%)	$12,484			$338			$12,146	74.4	72.8	127	1		192004001179
127	Clayton Ridge Elementary School	Public	PK, KG-5	502 W. Watson Street	Garnavillo	52049	Clayton County	Clayton Ridge Community School District	No	(n/a)	No	Yes	(563) 964-2321	293	22	13.5	30.7%	276 (94.2%)	1 (0.3%)	12 (4.1%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	1 (0.3%)	3 (1.0%)	$25,462			$1,129			$24,332	74.1	60.3	252	125		191335000807
128	Sugar Creek Elementary School	Public	K-5	965 Ashworth RD	Waukee	59263	Dallas County	Waukee Community School District	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(515) 987-5160	630	37	16.9	18.6%	424 (67.3%)	52 (8.3%)	45 (7.1%)	72 (11.4%)	1 (0.2%)	0 (0.0%)	36 (5.7%)								74	73.8	120	8		193051002308
129	Lawson Elementary School	Public	K-5	5450 NW 62nd Ave	Johnston	50131	Polk County	Johnston Community School District	No	(n/a)	No	Yes	(515) 278-0478	545	41	13.2	33.2%	336 (61.7%)	51 (9.4%)	43 (7.9%)	77 (14.1%)	0 (0.0%)	1 (0.2%)	37 (6.8%)	$12,603			$730			$11,873	73.8	69.2	170	41		191545000532
130	Hartford Upper Elementary	Public	4-5	500 N. Vine	Hartford	50118	Warren County	Carlisle Community School District	No	(n/a)	No	Yes	(515) 989-0316	303	21	14.5	27.1%	248 (81.8%)	4 (1.3%)	24 (7.9%)	16 (5.3%)	0 (0.0%)	1 (0.3%)	10 (3.3%)	$9,940			$408			$9,531	73.8	66	191	61		190627000216

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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

Charter Schools vs Regular Public Schools: Understanding the Key Differences