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
231	Sidney High School	Public	7-12	2754 Knox Road	Sidney	51652	Fremont County	Sidney Community School District	No	(n/a)	No	No	(712) 374-2731	196	18	10.7	48.0%	177 (90.3%)	0 (0.0%)	13 (6.6%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	6 (3.1%)	$14,259			$200			$14,060	44.7	50.9	192	39		192625001489
232	Wapello Junior High School	Public	6-8	501 Buchanan St	Wapello	52653	Louisa County	Wapello Community School District	No	(n/a)	No	No	(319) 523-8131	102	6	17.3	45.1%	86 (84.3%)	1 (1.0%)	9 (8.8%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	6 (5.9%)	$10,707			$112			$10,595	44.5	43.3	223	9		192973001927
233	Southwest Valley Middle School	Public	6-8	406 East Third Street	Villisca	50864	Montgomery County	Villisca Community School District	No	(n/a)	No	No	(712) 826-2552	131	11	12.3	46.6%	127 (96.9%)	1 (0.8%)	1 (0.8%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	2 (1.5%)	$13,094			$285			$12,809	44.4	56.2	165	68		192928002207
234	East Middle School	Public	6-8	5401 Lorraine Ave	Sioux City	51106	Woodbury County	Sioux City Community School District	No	(n/a)	No	No	(712) 274-4030	1,076	72	14.8	62.5%	510 (47.4%)	83 (7.7%)	342 (31.8%)	16 (1.5%)	22 (2.0%)	43 (4.0%)	60 (5.6%)	$13,321			$647			$12,675	43.7	41.4	231	3		192640001505
235	West Branch Middle School	Public	5-8	900 W. Main St.	West Branch	52358	Cedar County	West Branch Community School District	No	(n/a)	No	No	(319) 643-5324	239	17	14.2	21.8%	202 (84.5%)	5 (2.1%)	23 (9.6%)	1 (0.4%)	1 (0.4%)	1 (0.4%)	6 (2.5%)	$14,753			$580			$14,171	43.6	50.3	194	41		193075001773
236	West Bend-Mallard Middle School	Public	5-8	300 3rd Ave. SW	West Bend	50597	Palo Alto County	West Bend-Mallard Community School District	No	(n/a)	No	No	(515) 887-7831	132	4	33	41.7%	125 (94.7%)	0 (0.0%)	5 (3.8%)	1 (0.8%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	1 (0.8%)	$9,406			$271			$9,134	43.5	49.4	199	37		193072001044
237	Stilwell Junior High School	Public	7-8	1601 Vine St	West Des Moines	50265	Polk County	West Des Moines Community School District	No	(n/a)	No	No	(515) 633-6000	645	48	13.4	47.0%	385 (59.7%)	80 (12.4%)	104 (16.1%)	28 (4.3%)	1 (0.2%)	0 (0.0%)	47 (7.3%)	$15,102			$192			$14,909	43.3	52.1	189	48		193093001796
238	Hoover Middle School	Public	6-8	630 Hillcrest Rd	Waterloo	50701	Black Hawk County	Waterloo Community School District	No	(n/a)	No	No	(319) 433-2830	848	57	14.9	56.3%	452 (53.3%)	168 (19.8%)	79 (9.3%)	48 (5.7%)	1 (0.1%)	19 (2.2%)	81 (9.6%)	$12,322			$288			$12,033	43.2	42.2	226	12		193048001723
239	Pleasantville Middle School	Public	7-8	415 Jones St	Pleasantville	50225	Marion County	Pleasantville Community School District	No	(n/a)	No	No	(515) 848-0528	128	7	18.7	33.6%	115 (89.8%)	1 (0.8%)	9 (7.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	3 (2.3%)	$6,497			$87			$6,410	43.1	55.8	168	71		192316001403
240	Urbandale Middle School	Public	6-8	7701 Aurora Avenue	Urbandale	50322	Polk County	Urbandale Community School District	No	(n/a)	No	No	(515) 457-6600	892	59	15.1	41.4%	565 (63.3%)	77 (8.6%)	136 (15.2%)	62 (7.0%)	0 (0.0%)	2 (0.2%)	50 (5.6%)	$8,993			$119			$8,874	43.1	49.3	201	39		192868001660

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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:

State-Administered Standardized Tests: A Comprehensive Guide

Charter Schools vs Regular Public Schools: Understanding the Key Differences