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Southdale Elementary School

Q: Is Southdale Elementary School a good school?

Southdale Elementary School ranks 105 th of 576 Iowa elementary schools. SchoolDigger rates this school 4 stars out of 5.

Public Grades PK, KG-6

105^th

SchoolDigger Rank ?

of 576 Iowa Elementary Schools

Better than 82% of Iowa elementary schools

Summary

Southdale Elementary School is a public elementary school located in Cedar Falls, Iowa, serving grades PK-6 with a total enrollment of 562 students. This high-performing school is part of the Cedar Falls Community School District, which is ranked 69 out of 313 districts in Iowa and is rated 4 stars out of 5 by SchoolDigger.

Southdale Elementary consistently ranks among the top elementary schools in Iowa, with a statewide ranking between 52 and 119 out of 557-576 schools over the past 5 years. The school's students consistently outperform the state and district averages in ISASP (Iowa Statewide Assessment of Student Progress) test scores across all grade levels and subjects. For example, in the 2024-2025 school year, Southdale's 3rd-6th grade students had 85.7%-86.8% proficiency in ELA, compared to the district's 82.4%-84.7% and the state's 67.9%-76% proficiency. Southdale Elementary has also maintained relatively low chronic absenteeism rates, ranging from 7.6% to 23.4% over the past few years, compared to the district and state averages.

Southdale Elementary consistently outperforms the nearby Cedar Falls Community School District schools, such as North Cedar Elementary, Lincoln Elementary, and Orchard Hill Elementary, in academic performance. The nearby Waterloo Community School District schools, such as Irving Elementary, Lincoln Elementary, and Fred Becker Elementary, have significantly lower academic performance and higher rates of free/reduced lunch compared to Southdale Elementary.

539

Students ?

13.8

Student/teacher ratio ?

$11,540

Per pupil spending ?

22.1%

Free/discounted lunch ?

627 Orchard Dr
Cedar Falls, IA 50613

(319) 553-2900

District: Cedar Falls Community School District

Students who attend Southdale Elementary School usually attend:

Middle:	Peet Junior High School
High:	Cedar Falls High School

Racial breakdown:

White:

79.8%

Asian:

6.1%

Two or more races:

5.9%

See top rated Iowa elementary schools

Compare Southdale Elementary School to nearby elementary schools!

At a glance

▼ Ranking trend: Declining — 90th percentile in 2015 → 82nd in 2025

Strengths

✓Test scores above the Iowa average (83% vs 72% meeting standards)

✓Ranks in the top 18% of Iowa elementary schools

Worth a look

!Ranking has slipped — down 8 percentile points since 2015

Students meeting standards (2024-2025) ?

This school83%

District avg82%

Iowa avg72%

105^th of 576

Iowa public elementary schools ?

Top 18%▼ down 8 pts since 2015

From top 10% (2015) to top 18% (2025)

See the entire ranking list of Iowa Elementary Schools →

★★★★★

SchoolDigger rating ?

3^rd of 7Elementary Schools in the Cedar Falls Community School District

69^th of 313Cedar Falls Community School District among Iowa districts

Statewide rank percentile over time (100 = the top-ranked school in the state; click a legend item to add a student group)

Show full rank history (all student groups)

All Students

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Iowa percentile	Rating
2025	77.1	105 of 576	81.8%	★★★★☆
2024	73.9	119 of 557	78.6%	★★★★☆
2023	80.8	72 of 565	87.3%	★★★★☆
2022	84.2	52 of 574	90.9%	★★★★★
2021	77.9	102 of 567	82.0%	★★★★☆
2019	80.5	92 of 603	84.7%	★★★★☆
2018	71.4	152 of 567	73.2%	★★★★☆
2017	79.2	77 of 574	86.6%	★★★★☆
2016	76.6	103 of 599	82.8%	★★★★☆
2015	80.4	60 of 616	90.3%	★★★★★
2014	71.3	145 of 603	76.0%	★★★★☆
2013	72.1	130 of 624	79.2%	★★★★☆
2012	76.2	86 of 626	86.3%	★★★★☆

By subject vs Iowa (2024-2025) ?

English Language Arts86%+15 vs state

Mathematics83%+9 vs state

Science72%+8 vs state

★

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Schools Near Southdale Elementary School

Choose columns to see: Summary School Students/Teachers Ranking Test Scores Finance All

School													Students/Teachers											Ranking (2025)				Ranking (2024)				ISASP English Language Arts (2025)				ISASP Mathematics (2025)				ISASP Science (2025)	Per Pupil Expenditures (2019)
Name	Type	Grades	Address	City	Zip	County	District	Is Charter	Is Magnet	Is Virtual	Is Title I	Phone	Enrollment	Full-time Teachers	Student/ Teacher Ratio	Free/Discounted Lunch Recipients	White	Black	Hispanic	Asian	American Indian	Pacific Islander	Two or More Races	Average Standard Score (2025)	Statewide Rank (2025)	State Percentile (2025)	SchoolDigger Rating (2025)	Average Standard Score (2024)	Statewide Rank (2024)	State Percentile (2024)	Rank Change from Previous Year	ISASP English Language Arts 3rd Grade	ISASP English Language Arts 4th Grade	ISASP English Language Arts 5th Grade	ISASP English Language Arts 6th Grade	ISASP Mathematics 3rd Grade	ISASP Mathematics 4th Grade	ISASP Mathematics 5th Grade	ISASP Mathematics 6th Grade	ISASP Science 5th Grade	Per Pupil Expenditures Total	Sub-total from Federal Funds	Sub-total from State/Local Funds
Southdale Elementary School	Public	PK, KG-6	627 Orchard Dr	Cedar Falls	50613	Black Hawk County	Cedar Falls Community School District	No	(n/a)	No	No	(319) 553-2900	539	39	13.8	22.1%	430 (79.8%)	23 (4.3%)	17 (3.2%)	33 (6.1%)	0 (0.0%)	4 (0.7%)	32 (5.9%)	77.1	105^th of 576 public elementary schools	81.8%		73.9	119^th of 557 public elementary schools	78.6%	14	85.7	86.4	85.9	86.8	92.9	84.7	69.0	85.3	71.8	$11,540	$473	$11,067
Orchard Hill Elementary School	Public	PK, KG-6	3909 Rownd St	Cedar Falls	50613	Black Hawk County	Cedar Falls Community School District	No	(n/a)	No	No	(319) 553-2465	458	34	13.5	28.6%	357 (77.9%)	6 (1.3%)	19 (4.1%)	23 (5.0%)	1 (0.2%)	13 (2.8%)	39 (8.5%)	70.9	163^rd of 576 public elementary schools	71.7%		64.3	206^th of 557 public elementary schools	63.0%	43	88.7	81.8	80.0	76.5	96.8	80.0	80.0	68.6	71.9	$12,775	$396	$12,378
Cedar Heights Elementary School	Public	PK, KG-6	2417 Rainbow Dr	Cedar Falls	50613	Black Hawk County	Cedar Falls Community School District	No	(n/a)	No	Yes	(319) 553-2855	451	34	13.3	33.7%	348 (77.2%)	25 (5.5%)	22 (4.9%)	8 (1.8%)	0 (0.0%)	7 (1.6%)	41 (9.1%)	54.6	295^th of 576 public elementary schools	48.8%		59.7	258^th of 557 public elementary schools	53.7%	37	77.3	70.8	71.1	76.2	84.8	64.6	77.8	68.3	75.6	$11,656	$449	$11,208
Lincoln Elementary School	Public	PK, KG-6	321 8th Street	Cedar Falls	50613	Black Hawk County	Cedar Falls Community School District	No	(n/a)	No	Yes	(319) 553-2950	416	33	12.6	45.2%	329 (79.1%)	25 (6.0%)	20 (4.8%)	2 (0.5%)	0 (0.0%)	7 (1.7%)	33 (7.9%)	71	160^th of 576 public elementary schools	72.2%		69.7	166^th of 557 public elementary schools	70.2%	6	69.6	86.4	80.4	85.0	67.4	83.1	76.8	85.0	83.9	$13,045	$435	$12,609
Bess Streeter Aldrich Elementary	Public	PK, KG-6	2526 Ashworth Drive	Cedar Falls	50613	Black Hawk County	Cedar Falls Community School District	No	(n/a)	No	No	(319) 553-2901	472	27	17.2	10.4%	408 (86.4%)	12 (2.5%)	13 (2.8%)	14 (3.0%)	1 (0.2%)	2 (0.4%)	22 (4.7%)	88.3	16^th of 576 public elementary schools	97.2%		91.5	7^th of 557 public elementary schools	98.7%	9	90.5	94.0	92.8	82.7	90.5	89.6	91.3	86.5	89.7	$10,912	$517	$10,395
Helen A Hansen Elementary School	Public	PK, KG-6	616 Holmes Dr	Cedar Falls	50613	Black Hawk County	Cedar Falls Community School District	No	(n/a)	No	No	(319) 553-2775	569	36	15.9	12.7%	477 (83.8%)	14 (2.5%)	13 (2.3%)	21 (3.7%)	1 (0.2%)	0 (0.0%)	43 (7.6%)	87.1	25^th of 576 public elementary schools	95.7%		85.7	30^th of 557 public elementary schools	94.6%	5	85.2	90.0	94.1	92.5	92.6	83.3	88.2	87.7	89.7	$10,408	$395	$10,013
Fred Becker Elementary School	Public	PK, KG-5	1239 Sheldon St	Waterloo	50701	Black Hawk County	Waterloo Community School District	No	(n/a)	No	Yes	(319) 433-2180	501	38	13.1	78.0%	187 (37.3%)	145 (28.9%)	59 (11.8%)	11 (2.2%)	1 (0.2%)	24 (4.8%)	74 (14.8%)	16.7	499^th of 576 public elementary schools	13.4%		15.1	489^th of 557 public elementary schools	12.2%	10	49.3	50.0	53.3		64.8	59.1	63.3		48.3	$13,341	$1,146	$12,194
North Cedar Elementary School	Public	PK, KG-6	2419 Fern Ave	Cedar Falls	50613	Black Hawk County	Cedar Falls Community School District	No	(n/a)	No	Yes	(319) 553-2810	292	22	13.3	49.7%	221 (75.7%)	25 (8.6%)	13 (4.5%)	4 (1.4%)	0 (0.0%)	1 (0.3%)	28 (9.6%)	47.6	348^th of 576 public elementary schools	39.6%		63.9	209^th of 557 public elementary schools	62.5%	139	69.7	64.1	82.2	76.9	72.7	64.1	68.9	71.8	64.4	$14,328	$519	$13,809
Lincoln Elementary School	Public	PK, KG-5	302 Cedar Bend St	Waterloo	50703	Black Hawk County	Waterloo Community School District	No	(n/a)	No	Yes	(319) 433-1990	463	38	12.0	81.0%	103 (22.2%)	210 (45.4%)	55 (11.9%)	3 (0.6%)	0 (0.0%)	25 (5.4%)	67 (14.5%)	19.5	491^st of 576 public elementary schools	14.8%		15.4	486^th of 557 public elementary schools	12.7%	5	64.5	62.5	46.6		61.3	62.5	60.3		36.2	$14,309	$1,947	$12,361
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%)	69.8	174^th of 576 public elementary schools	69.8%		61.6	232^nd of 557 public elementary schools	58.3%	58	80.6	78.2	72.6		88.7	80.0	87.1		66.1	$12,606	$882	$11,722

Frequently Asked Questions about Southdale Elementary School

How many students attend Southdale Elementary School?

In the 2024-25 school year, 539 students attended Southdale Elementary School.

What district is Southdale Elementary School in?

Cedar Falls Community School District

What schools do graduates of Southdale Elementary School attend?

Students who attend Southdale Elementary School usually go on to attend:

Middle : Peet Junior High School
High : Cedar Falls High School

What is the racial makeup of Southdale Elementary School?

Students at Southdale Elementary School are 80% White, 6% Asian, 6% Two or more races, 4% African American, 3% Hispanic.

Is Southdale Elementary School a good school?

Southdale Elementary School ranks 105^th of 576 Iowa elementary schools. SchoolDigger rates this school 4 stars out of 5.

Rate Southdale Elementary School!

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SchoolDigger data sources: National Center for Education Statistics, U.S. Department of Education, the U.S. Census Bureau and the Iowa Department of Education.

IMPORTANT DISCLAIMERS: Not all boundaries are included. We make every effort to ensure that boundaries are up-to-date. But it's important to note that these are approximations and are for general informational purposes only. To verify legal descriptions of boundaries or school locations, contact your local tax assessor's office and/or school district.