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Coming soon: We're expecting this year's test scores from the Iowa Department of Education any day now — new rankings will be posted the moment they're released!

Coming soon: This year's test scores are expected from the Iowa Department of Education any day now — new rankings will follow the moment they're released!

Forest City Elementary School

Q: Is Forest City Elementary School a good school?

Forest City Elementary School ranks 82 nd of 576 Iowa elementary schools. SchoolDigger rates this school 4 stars out of 5.

Public Grades PK, KG-4

82^nd

SchoolDigger Rank ?

of 576 Iowa Elementary Schools

Better than 86% of Iowa elementary schools

Summary

Forest City Elementary School is a public elementary school serving 462 students in grades PK-4 in the Forest City Community School District in Forest City, Iowa. The school's performance has fluctuated over the past several years, with a ranking between 63 and 343 out of over 500 Iowa elementary schools, and a star rating between 2 and 4 out of 5.

One of the school's key strengths is its consistently strong test scores, particularly in Mathematics. In 2024-2025, Forest City Elementary had 87.5% proficiency in 3rd grade English Language Arts and 95.3% proficiency in 3rd grade Math, significantly outperforming the state averages of 67.9% and 75.8%, respectively. However, the school faces a concerning challenge with rising chronic absenteeism, which has increased from 17.0% in 2022-2023 to 21.6% in 2023-2024, well above the state average.

Compared to nearby schools, such as Lake Mills Elementary and West Hancock Elementary, Forest City Elementary generally outperforms in test scores, particularly in Mathematics. However, it lags behind some of the higher-performing schools in overall state rankings and star ratings. Additionally, the school has a relatively high percentage of students qualifying for free or reduced-price lunch, ranging from 35.73% to 39.61% over the past few years, indicating a higher proportion of economically disadvantaged students compared to the state.

448

Students ?

11.8

Student/teacher ratio ?

$10,950

Per pupil spending ?

35.9%

Free/discounted lunch ?

1405 W I St
Forest City, IA 50436

(641) 585-2670

District: Forest City Community School District

Students who attend Forest City Elementary School usually attend:

Middle:	Forest City Middle School
High:	Forest City High School

Racial breakdown:

White:

79.2%

Hispanic:

12.1%

Two or more races:

6.9%

See top rated Iowa elementary schools

Compare Forest City Elementary School to nearby elementary schools!

At a glance

▲ Ranking trend: Improving — 76th percentile in 2015 → 86th in 2025

Strengths

✓Test scores above the Iowa average (86% vs 73% meeting standards)

✓Ranks in the top 14% of Iowa elementary schools

✓Ranking is trending up — up 10 percentile points since 2015

Students meeting standards (2024-2025) ?

This school86%

District avg86%

Iowa avg73%

82^nd of 576

Iowa public elementary schools ?

Top 14%▲ up 10 pts since 2015

From top 24% (2015) to top 14% (2025)

See the entire ranking list of Iowa Elementary Schools →

★★★★★

SchoolDigger rating ?

38^th of 313Forest City 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	79.1	82 of 576	85.8%	★★★★☆
2024	61.5	234 of 557	58.0%	★★★☆☆
2023	74.0	124 of 565	78.1%	★★★★☆
2022	58.3	260 of 574	54.7%	★★★☆☆
2021	58.6	253 of 567	55.4%	★★★☆☆
2019	61.4	252 of 603	58.2%	★★★☆☆
2018	48.7	343 of 567	39.5%	★★☆☆☆
2017	68.3	197 of 574	65.7%	★★★☆☆
2016	80.1	63 of 599	89.5%	★★★★☆
2015	72.7	148 of 616	76.0%	★★★★☆
2014	72.7	130 of 603	78.4%	★★★★☆
2013	68.6	170 of 624	72.8%	★★★★☆
2012	76.1	89 of 626	85.8%	★★★★☆

By subject vs Iowa (2024-2025) ?

Mathematics88%+12 vs state

English Language Arts85%+13 vs state

★

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Schools Near Forest City Elementary School

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Ranking:

E Elementary M Middle H High A Alternative P Private

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 Mathematics 3rd Grade	ISASP Mathematics 4th Grade	ISASP Mathematics 5th Grade	ISASP Science 5th Grade	Per Pupil Expenditures Total	Sub-total from Federal Funds	Sub-total from State/Local Funds
Forest City Elementary School	Public	PK, KG-4	1405 W I St	Forest City	50436	Winnebago County	Forest City Community School District	No	(n/a)	No	Yes	(641) 585-2670	448	38	11.8	35.9%	355 (79.2%)	2 (0.4%)	54 (12.1%)	6 (1.3%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	31 (6.9%)	79.1	82^nd of 576 public elementary schools	85.8%		61.5	234^th of 557 public elementary schools	58.0%	152	87.5	82.5		95.3	81.3			$10,950	$494	$10,456
Garner-Hayfield-Ventura Elementary School	Public	PK, KG-4	620 W 11th St	Garner	50438	Hancock County	Garner-Hayfield-Ventura Community School District	No	(n/a)	No	Yes	(641) 923-2831	381	25	15.5	32.3%	349 (91.6%)	2 (0.5%)	23 (6.0%)	0 (0.0%)	1 (0.3%)	1 (0.3%)	5 (1.3%)	82.2	55^th of 576 public elementary schools	90.5%		87.4	23^rd of 557 public elementary schools	95.9%	32	77.0	87.9		88.5	93.9			$13,537	$566	$12,972
Lake Mills Elementary School	Public	PK, KG-5	102 S 4th Ave E	Lake Mills	50450	Winnebago County	Lake Mills Community School District	No	(n/a)	No	Yes	(641) 592-1882	303	21	14.5	31.0%	251 (82.8%)	3 (1.0%)	40 (13.2%)	0 (0.0%)	1 (0.3%)	0 (0.0%)	8 (2.6%)	86.9	27^th of 576 public elementary schools	95.3%		84	44^th of 557 public elementary schools	92.1%	17	95.7	85.4	88.6	89.4	82.9	93.2	88.6	$12,400	$789	$11,612
West Hancock Elementary School	Public	PK, KG-4	510 9th Ave SW	Britt	50423	Hancock County	West Hancock Community School District	No	(n/a)	No	Yes	(641) 843-3833	294	18	16.6	36.7%	220 (74.8%)	6 (2.0%)	60 (20.4%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	8 (2.7%)	81.3	60^th of 576 public elementary schools	89.6%		87	26^th of 557 public elementary schools	95.3%	34	81.0	90.2		90.5	82.9			$13,535	$702	$12,833
Clear Creek Elementary School	Public	PK, KG-5	901 S 14th St	Clear Lake	50428	Cerro Gordo County	Clear Lake Community School District	No	(n/a)	No	No	(641) 357-5288	685	47	14.4	32.1%	572 (83.5%)	7 (1.0%)	58 (8.5%)	1 (0.1%)	2 (0.3%)	0 (0.0%)	45 (6.6%)	77.1	106^th of 576 public elementary schools	81.6%		76	102^nd of 557 public elementary schools	81.7%	4	72.5	89.1	90.8	79.1	80.2	86.2	79.8	$13,164	$528	$12,636
North Iowa Elementary Buffalo Center	Public	PK, KG-5	111 3rd Ave NW	Buffalo Center	50424	Winnebago County	North Iowa Community School District	No	(n/a)	No	Yes	(641) 562-2525	227	14	16.6	39.2%	195 (85.9%)	0 (0.0%)	29 (12.8%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	3 (1.3%)	61.3	251^st of 576 public elementary schools	56.4%		65.3	197^th of 557 public elementary schools	64.6%	54	77.4	62.9	73.7	80.6	71.4	81.6	84.2	$12,778	$1,027	$11,751

Frequently Asked Questions about Forest City Elementary School

Is Forest City Elementary School a good school?

Forest City Elementary School ranks 82^nd of 576 Iowa elementary schools. SchoolDigger rates this school 4 stars out of 5.

What district is Forest City Elementary School in?

Forest City Community School District

What is the racial makeup of Forest City Elementary School?

Students at Forest City Elementary School are 79% White, 12% Hispanic, 7% Two or more races, 1% Asian.

How many students attend Forest City Elementary School?

In the 2024-25 school year, 448 students attended Forest City Elementary School.

What schools do graduates of Forest City Elementary School attend?

Students who attend Forest City Elementary School usually go on to attend:

Middle : Forest City Middle School
High : Forest City High School

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Schools in Forest City, IA

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Latest Iowa data All new data »

2024–25 graduation ratesJun 13, 2026

2024–25 ISASP test scoresAug 20, 2025

2023–24 graduation ratesApr 1, 2025

2017–18 through 2023–24 attendance dataNov 15, 2024

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.