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
71	Remsen-Union Middle School	Public	5-8	511 Roosevelt	Remsen	51050	Plymouth County	Remsen-Union Community School District	No	(n/a)	No	No	(712) 786-1101	189	7	27	28.0%	175 (92.6%)	0 (0.0%)	6 (3.2%)	0 (0.0%)	1 (0.5%)	2 (1.1%)	5 (2.6%)	$14,070			$80			$13,990	72.4	62.3	137	66		192412001995
72	Southview Middle School	Public, Alternative	8-9	1020 SW Cherry St	Ankeny	50023	Polk County	Ankeny Community School District	No	(n/a)	No	No	(515) 965-9635	913	63	14.4	27.5%	657 (72.0%)	54 (5.9%)	92 (10.1%)	49 (5.4%)	1 (0.1%)	1 (0.1%)	59 (6.5%)	$12,827			$357			$12,470	72.3	84	24	48		190369002186
73	Nodaway Valley Middle School	Public	6-8	112 1st St	Fontanelle	50846	Adair County	Nodaway Valley Community School District	No	(n/a)	No	No	(641) 630-1042	144	9	16.2	50.0%	136 (94.4%)	0 (0.0%)	8 (5.6%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	$13,138			$162			$12,976	72	68.6	98	25		191311000170
74	Hudson High School	Public	7-12	245 S Washington	Hudson	50643	Black Hawk County	Hudson Community School District	No	(n/a)	No	No	(319) 988-4226	371	27	13.7	23.7%	328 (88.4%)	1 (0.3%)	22 (5.9%)	1 (0.3%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	19 (5.1%)	$13,977			$58			$13,919	72	55.5	170	96		191434000857
75	Harlan Community Middle School	Public	6-8	2108 Durant Street	Harlan	51537	Shelby County	Harlan Community School District	No	(n/a)	No	No	(712) 755-3196	335	22	15.4	38.2%	297 (88.7%)	6 (1.8%)	22 (6.6%)	0 (0.0%)	1 (0.3%)	0 (0.0%)	9 (2.7%)	$12,934			$172			$12,761	71.5	75.8	58	17		191350000822
76	Mount Ayr High School	Public	6-12	1001 E Columbus St	Mount Ayr	50854	Ringgold County	Mount Ayr Community School District	No	(n/a)	No	No	(641) 464-0510	304	21	14.3	44.7%	278 (91.4%)	2 (0.7%)	13 (4.3%)	4 (1.3%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	7 (2.3%)	$18,104			$424			$17,680	71.2	80.4	33	43		191986001167
77	Vinton-Shellsburg Middle School	Public	6-8	212 W. 15th St.	Vinton	52349	Benton County	Vinton-Shellsburg Community School District	No	(n/a)	No	No	(319) 436-4728	331	23	14.4	52.3%	301 (90.9%)	2 (0.6%)	16 (4.8%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	12 (3.6%)	$11,566			$339			$11,227	71.1	68.1	101	24		192931001680
78	Janesville Junior-Senior High School	Public	6-12	505 Barrick Rd	Janesville	50647	Bremer County	Janesville Consolidated School District	No	(n/a)	No	No	(319) 987-2581	243	13	18.9	11.9%	227 (93.4%)	0 (0.0%)	9 (3.7%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	7 (2.9%)	$12,726			$87			$12,639	71	73.2	69	9		191518000914
79	Emmetsburg Middle School	Public	5-8	205 King Street	Emmetsburg	50536	Palo Alto County	Emmetsburg Community School District	No	(n/a)	No	No	(712) 852-2892	199	28	7.2	40.7%	178 (89.4%)	0 (0.0%)	13 (6.5%)	1 (0.5%)	1 (0.5%)	0 (0.0%)	6 (3.0%)	$11,531			$229			$11,302	70.4	69	95	16		191095000676
80	South Middle School	Public	6-7	2350 SE LA Grant Parkway	Waukee	50263	Dallas County	Waukee Community School District	No	(n/a)	No	No	(515) 987-3222	1,092	74	14.8	25.5%	680 (62.3%)	113 (10.3%)	92 (8.4%)	119 (10.9%)	2 (0.2%)	0 (0.0%)	86 (7.9%)	$12,239			$285			$11,954	70.2	69.7	88	8		193051002116

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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:

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

Public School Districts and Their Services: A Comprehensive Guide