Best Middle Schools in Iowa

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Find the best Iowa middle 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 344)	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
311	Melcher-Dallas High School	Public	7-12	214 S Main	Melcher	50163	Marion County	Melcher-Dallas Community School District	No	(n/a)	No	No	(641) 947-3731	151	14	10.4	30.5%	146 (96.7%)	4 (2.6%)	1 (0.7%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	$17,935			$366			$17,567	13.5	26.1	282	29		191896001122
312	McKinley STEAM Academy	Public	6-8	620 10th ST SE	Cedar Rapids	52403	Linn County	Cedar Rapids Community School District	No	(n/a)	No	No	(319) 558-2348	426	32	13.4	60.6%	216 (50.7%)	117 (27.5%)	34 (8.0%)	3 (0.7%)	3 (0.7%)	1 (0.2%)	50 (11.7%)	$16,456			$251			$16,204	12.6	14.6	308	4		190654000254
313	Expo Alternative Learning Center	Public	6-12	1410 Independence Ave	Waterloo	50703	Black Hawk County	Waterloo Community School District	No	(n/a)	No	Yes	(319) 433-1930	561	35	15.9	80.2%	234 (41.7%)	195 (34.8%)	42 (7.5%)	3 (0.5%)	2 (0.4%)	13 (2.3%)	72 (12.8%)	$14,570			$546			$14,023	12.1	0.1	337	24		193048002126
314	Moulton-Udell High School	Public	7-12	305 E 8th	Moulton	52572	Appanoose County	Moulton-Udell Community School District	No	(n/a)	No	No	(641) 642-8131	85	7	12.6	56.5%	80 (94.1%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	2 (2.4%)	0 (0.0%)	3 (3.5%)	$15,981			$35			$15,946	11.8	16.7	303	11		191980001164
315	Central Middle School/High School	Public	7-12	400 1st Street NW	Elkader	52043	Clayton County	Central Community School District	No	(n/a)	No	Yes	(563) 245-1750	182	16	11.5	38.5%	171 (94.0%)	1 (0.5%)	2 (1.1%)	0 (0.0%)	1 (0.5%)	0 (0.0%)	7 (3.8%)	$13,348			$326			$13,022	11.8	55.9	167	148		190684000292
316	Woodrow Wilson Middle School	Public	6-8	712 N 21st St	Council Bluffs	51501	Pottawattamie County	Council Bluffs Community School District	No	(n/a)	No	Yes	(712) 328-6476	855	62	13.8	58.9%	582 (68.1%)	57 (6.7%)	155 (18.1%)	9 (1.1%)	4 (0.5%)	2 (0.2%)	46 (5.4%)	$18,064			$861			$17,203	10.9	16	305	11		190822000440
317	Maquoketa Middle School	Public	6-8	200 East Locust Street	Maquoketa	52060	Jackson County	Maquoketa Community School District	No	(n/a)	No	No	(563) 652-4956	315	25	12.5	55.9%	269 (85.4%)	12 (3.8%)	11 (3.5%)	1 (0.3%)	1 (0.3%)	9 (2.9%)	12 (3.8%)	$13,315			$163			$13,152	10.2	17.9	299	18		191851001063
318	B R Miller Middle School	Public	7-8	125 S 11th St	Marshalltown	50158	Marshall County	Marshalltown Community School District	No	(n/a)	No	No	(641) 754-1110	736	53	13.9	73.0%	220 (29.9%)	24 (3.3%)	407 (55.3%)	42 (5.7%)	7 (1.0%)	5 (0.7%)	31 (4.2%)	$13,953			$450			$13,503	9.3	6.3	321	3		191872001084
319	Oelwein Middle School	Public	5-8	300 12th Ave SE	Oelwein	50662	Fayette County	Oelwein Community School District	No	(n/a)	No	No	(319) 283-3015	350	22	16.1	52.6%	292 (83.4%)	2 (0.6%)	24 (6.9%)	3 (0.9%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	29 (8.3%)	$12,961			$762			$12,199	8.5	12.8	312	7		192163001289
320	Wood Middle School	Public	6-8	5701 N Division	Davenport	52806	Scott County	Davenport Community School District	No	(n/a)	No	Yes	(563) 445-5300	629	43	14.5	52.8%	297 (47.2%)	157 (25.0%)	79 (12.6%)	20 (3.2%)	3 (0.5%)	1 (0.2%)	72 (11.4%)	$13,499			$897			$12,601	8.2	8.4	316	4		190858000490

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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:

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

High school students working on a science experiment

Magnet Schools: Unleashing the Power of Education