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
171	AHSTW Intermediate School	Public	4-8	768 S Maple St	Avoca	51521	Pottawattamie County	AHSTW Community School District	No	(n/a)	No	Yes	(712) 343-6364	270	17	15.4	36.3%	238 (88.1%)	2 (0.7%)	21 (7.8%)	1 (0.4%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	8 (3.0%)	$10,805			$184			$10,621	70.1	69.4	168	3		190408002261
172	Hartley-Melvin-Sanborn Elementary School	Public	PK, KG-4	400 3rd St NW	Hartley	51346	O'Brien County	Hartley-Melvin-Sanborn Community School District	No	(n/a)	No	Yes	(712) 928-2020	261	22	11.9	50.2%	212 (81.2%)	5 (1.9%)	40 (15.3%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	4 (1.5%)	$32,082			$769			$31,314	70.1	78.1	82	90		191366001962
173	Martensdale Elementary School	Public	PK, KG-6	390 Burlington	Martensdale	50160	Warren County	Martensdale-St Marys Community School District	No	(n/a)	No	Yes	(641) 764-2621	307	21	14.3	24.8%	279 (90.9%)	1 (0.3%)	12 (3.9%)	0 (0.0%)	3 (1.0%)	0 (0.0%)	12 (3.9%)	$12,243			$549			$11,694	70	81	64	109		191875001096
174	Kingsley Elementary School	Public	K-5	201 Sunset Rd	Waterloo	50701	Black Hawk County	Waterloo Community School District	No	(n/a)	No	Yes	(319) 433-2210	337	29	11.6	49.9%	193 (57.3%)	47 (13.9%)	32 (9.5%)	14 (4.2%)	0 (0.0%)	9 (2.7%)	42 (12.5%)	$12,606			$882			$11,722	69.8	61.6	232	58		193048001727
175	Morning Sun Elementary School	Public	PK, KG-6	311 Division Street	Morning Sun	52640	Louisa County	Morning Sun Community School District	No	(n/a)	No	Yes	(319) 868-7701	119	11	11.1	38.7%	117 (98.3%)	0 (0.0%)	1 (0.8%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	1 (0.8%)	$15,442			$926			$14,515	69.7	66.6	186	11		191977001161
176	Orange Elementary School	Public	PK, KG-5	5805 Kimball Ave	Waterloo	50701	Black Hawk County	Waterloo Community School District	No	(n/a)	No	Yes	(319) 433-2880	518	38	13.6	49.6%	364 (70.3%)	56 (10.8%)	38 (7.3%)	5 (1.0%)	1 (0.2%)	6 (1.2%)	48 (9.3%)	$12,067			$769			$11,297	69.7	63.8	214	38		193048001734
177	Eason Elementary School	Public	K-5	605 SE Boone Dr	Waukee	50263	Dallas County	Waukee Community School District	No	(n/a)	No	Yes	(515) 987-5200	590	40	14.7	28.1%	381 (64.6%)	92 (15.6%)	48 (8.1%)	26 (4.4%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	43 (7.3%)	$10,989			$276			$10,712	69.6	77.1	87	90		193051000299
178	Tilford Elementary School	Public	PK, KG-4	308 E 13th St	Vinton	52349	Benton County	Vinton-Shellsburg Community School District	No	(n/a)	No	Yes	(319) 436-4728	544	40	13.5	53.5%	499 (91.7%)	9 (1.7%)	18 (3.3%)	3 (0.6%)	2 (0.4%)	1 (0.2%)	12 (2.2%)	$11,456			$576			$10,881	69.4	56.2	287	109		192931001550
179	Madrid Elementary School	Public	K-5	213 W 1st St	Madrid	50156	Boone County	Madrid Community School District	No	(n/a)	No	Yes	(515) 795-3240	259	20	12.9	22.8%	238 (91.9%)	2 (0.8%)	14 (5.4%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	5 (1.9%)	$12,281			$362			$11,919	69.3	67.4	183	4		191818001039
180	Southeast Warren Primary	Public	PK, KG-4	316 N 5th	Milo	50166	Warren County	Southeast Warren Community School District	No	(n/a)	No	Yes	(641) 942-6216	162	16	10.3	35.8%	157 (96.9%)	0 (0.0%)	5 (3.1%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	$12,545			$574			$11,972	69.3			(n/a)		192685001575

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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:

Public School Districts and Their Services: A Comprehensive Guide

Charter Schools vs Regular Public Schools: Understanding the Key Differences