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
541	West Liberty Elementary School	Public	K-4	806 N Miller St.	West Liberty	52776	Muscatine County	West Liberty Community School District	No	(n/a)	No	Yes	(319) 627-4243	438	36	12.1	55.9%	144 (32.9%)	3 (0.7%)	284 (64.8%)	3 (0.7%)	1 (0.2%)	0 (0.0%)	3 (0.7%)	$11,685			$1,034			$10,651	6.9	5.2	533	8		193099002109
542	Cattell Elementary School	Public	K-5	3101 E 12th St	Des Moines	50316	Polk County	Des Moines Independent Community School District	No	(n/a)	No	Yes	(515) 242-8403	314	27	11.6	86.3%	88 (28.0%)	65 (20.7%)	101 (32.2%)	28 (8.9%)	0 (0.0%)	3 (1.0%)	28 (8.9%)	$16,110			$1,920			$14,190	6.8	29.4	443	99		190897000521
543	Studebaker Elementary School	Public	K-5	300 E County Line Rd	Des Moines	50315	Polk County	Des Moines Independent Community School District	No	(n/a)	No	Yes	(515) 242-8436	561	43	13.1	86.3%	160 (28.5%)	104 (18.5%)	245 (43.7%)	20 (3.6%)	1 (0.2%)	0 (0.0%)	31 (5.5%)	$15,051			$1,299			$13,752	5.9	4	543			190897000578
544	Briggs Elementary School	Public	3-5	400 W Quarry St	Maquoketa	52060	Jackson County	Maquoketa Community School District	No	(n/a)	No	Yes	(563) 652-4996	207	19	10.6	69.6%	164 (79.2%)	11 (5.3%)	5 (2.4%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	19 (9.2%)	8 (3.9%)	$14,383			$1,402			$12,981	5.8	5.6	531	13		191851001060
545	Cedar River Academy at Taylor	Public	PK, KG-5	720 7th AVE SW	Cedar Rapids	52404	Linn County	Cedar Rapids Community School District	No	(n/a)	No	Yes	(319) 558-2477	355	28	12.8	76.1%	116 (32.7%)	134 (37.7%)	41 (11.5%)	2 (0.6%)	0 (0.0%)	6 (1.7%)	56 (15.8%)	$19,246			$2,030			$17,216	5.7	5	535	10		190654000262
546	Duncombe Elementary School	Public	1-5	1620 6th Avenue North	Fort Dodge	50501	Webster County	Fort Dodge Community School District	No	(n/a)	No	Yes	(515) 574-5623	438	30	14.3	70.1%	224 (51.1%)	32 (7.3%)	113 (25.8%)	2 (0.5%)	2 (0.5%)	1 (0.2%)	64 (14.6%)	$15,271			$1,808			$13,463	5.4	6.7	529	17		191182000722
547	Oak Park	Public	K-5	3928 6th Avenue	Des Moines	50313	Polk County	Des Moines Independent Community School District	No	(n/a)	No	Yes	(515) 242-8428	288	27	10.6	78.5%	79 (27.4%)	71 (24.7%)	92 (31.9%)	19 (6.6%)	3 (1.0%)	3 (1.0%)	21 (7.3%)	$16,793			$1,701			$15,092	5.2	2.7	546	1		190897000567
548	Van Buren Elementary School	Public	K-5	2525 29th ST SW	Cedar Rapids	52404	Linn County	Cedar Rapids Community School District	No	(n/a)	No	Yes	(319) 558-2377	429	35	12.2	83.7%	95 (22.1%)	198 (46.2%)	108 (25.2%)	4 (0.9%)	0 (0.0%)	6 (1.4%)	18 (4.2%)	$15,319			$2,181			$13,139	5.2	7.4	523	25		190654000266
549	Rogers Elementary School	Public	PK, KG-4	406 Summit St	Marshalltown	50158	Marshall County	Marshalltown Community School District	No	(n/a)	No	Yes	(641) 754-1070	253	20	12.7	86.2%	41 (16.2%)	21 (8.3%)	151 (59.7%)	16 (6.3%)	4 (1.6%)	10 (4.0%)	10 (4.0%)	$15,422			$892			$14,530	5.1	17.8	480	69		191872001093
550	Cleveland Elementary School	Public	K-5	2200 1st AVE NW	Cedar Rapids	52405	Linn County	Cedar Rapids Community School District	No	(n/a)	No	Yes	(319) 558-2463	254	21	12.1	76.4%	113 (44.5%)	84 (33.1%)	21 (8.3%)	2 (0.8%)	1 (0.4%)	3 (1.2%)	30 (11.8%)	$14,650			$723			$13,927	5.1	1.6	553	3		190654000234

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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

Charter Schools vs Regular Public Schools: Understanding the Key Differences