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Kirkwood Elementary School

Public Grades PK, KG-5

538^th

SchoolDigger Rank ?

of 576 Iowa Elementary Schools

Better than 7% of Iowa elementary schools

Summary

Kirkwood Elementary School is a public elementary school located in Coralville, Iowa, serving grades PK-6 with a total enrollment of 291 students. The school is part of the Iowa City Community School District, which is ranked 241 out of 313 districts in Iowa and has a 1-star rating from SchoolDigger.

Kirkwood Elementary faces significant challenges, with consistently high chronic absenteeism rates, lower test scores compared to the district and state averages, and a very high percentage of students receiving free or reduced-price lunch. Despite relatively high per-student spending and a low student-teacher ratio, the school's academic performance lags behind other elementary schools in the district, such as Ernest Horn Elementary, Weber Elementary, James Van Allen Elementary, and Bohumil Shimek Elementary. These nearby schools have higher test scores, lower chronic absenteeism rates, and lower free and reduced lunch rates.

The challenges faced by Kirkwood Elementary suggest that addressing the school's performance will require a comprehensive, multi-faceted approach. Factors such as instructional practices, teacher quality, and school leadership may need to be examined, as simply increasing funding does not appear to be the sole solution. In comparison, the nearby Clear Creek Amana Community School District, which includes Tiffin Elementary, has a higher district ranking and 4-star rating from SchoolDigger, with generally higher test scores than Kirkwood Elementary despite serving a similar demographic of students.

270

Students ?

9.9

Student/teacher ratio ?

$15,376

Per pupil spending ?

69.6%

Free/discounted lunch ?

1401 9th St
Coralville, IA 52241

(319) 688-1120

District: Iowa City Community School District

Students who attend Kirkwood Elementary School usually attend:

Middle:	North Central Middle School
High:	Liberty High School

Racial breakdown:

African American:

50.0%

White:

23.0%

Hispanic:

17.4%

See top rated Iowa elementary schools

Compare Kirkwood Elementary School to nearby elementary schools!

At a glance

▲ Ranking trend: Improving — 1st percentile in 2015 → 7th in 2025

Strengths

✓Ranking is trending up — up 6 percentile points since 2015

✓Small classes — about 10 students per teacher

Worth a look

!Test scores below the Iowa average (44% vs 71% meeting standards)

!In the lower quartile statewide (7th percentile)

!Science scores 32 pts below the Iowa average

Students meeting standards (2024-2025) ?

This school44%

District avg68%

Iowa avg71%

538^th of 576

Iowa public elementary schools ?

Bottom 7%▲ up 6 pts since 2015

From bottom 1% (2015) to bottom 7% (2025)

See the entire ranking list of Iowa Elementary Schools →

★★★★★

SchoolDigger rating ?

18^th of 18Elementary Schools in the Iowa City Community School District

241^st of 313Iowa 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	7.7	538 of 576	6.6%	☆☆☆☆☆
2024	18.4	477 of 557	14.4%	★☆☆☆☆
2023	7.6	531 of 565	6.0%	☆☆☆☆☆
2022	6.5	547 of 574	4.7%	☆☆☆☆☆
2021	4.9	549 of 567	3.2%	☆☆☆☆☆
2019	4.5	586 of 603	2.8%	☆☆☆☆☆
2018	6.2	536 of 567	5.5%	☆☆☆☆☆
2017	6.3	539 of 574	6.1%	☆☆☆☆☆
2016	3.8	582 of 599	2.8%	☆☆☆☆☆
2015	1.4	610 of 616	1.0%	☆☆☆☆☆
2014	1.2	599 of 603	0.7%	☆☆☆☆☆
2013	3.3	615 of 624	1.4%	☆☆☆☆☆
2012	5.9	605 of 626	3.4%	☆☆☆☆☆

By subject vs Iowa (2024-2025) ?

English Language Arts47%-24 vs state

Mathematics45%-29 vs state

Science32%-32 vs state

★

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Schools Near Kirkwood 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 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
Kirkwood Elementary School	Public	PK, KG-5	1401 9th St	Coralville	52241	Johnson County	Iowa City Community School District	No	(n/a)	No	Yes	(319) 688-1120	270	27	9.9	69.6%	62 (23.0%)	135 (50.0%)	47 (17.4%)	7 (2.6%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	19 (7.0%)	7.7	538^th of 576 public elementary schools	6.6%		18.4	477^th of 557 public elementary schools	14.4%	61	33.3	66.7	40.5	36.7	60.6	37.8	32.4	$15,376	$1,350	$14,026
Central Elementary School	Public	PK, KG-5	501 6th St	Coralville	52241	Johnson County	Iowa City Community School District	No	(n/a)	No	Yes	(319) 688-1100	343	30	11.4	48.1%	141 (41.1%)	100 (29.2%)	51 (14.9%)	19 (5.5%)	1 (0.3%)	0 (0.0%)	31 (9.0%)	32.7	448^th of 576 public elementary schools	22.2%		32.8	432^nd of 557 public elementary schools	22.4%	16	58.2	70.2	67.3	60.0	61.4	75.0	53.8	$13,271	$714	$12,557
Norman Borlaug Elementary School	Public	PK, KG-5	1000 Kennedy Parkway	Coralville	52241	Johnson County	Iowa City Community School District	No	(n/a)	No	Yes	(319) 688-1155	405	32	12.7	43.7%	142 (35.1%)	167 (41.2%)	29 (7.2%)	49 (12.1%)	1 (0.2%)	1 (0.2%)	16 (4.0%)	37.6	418^th of 576 public elementary schools	27.4%		60.2	254^th of 557 public elementary schools	54.4%	164	67.7	68.6	60.6	73.8	72.5	66.7	51.5	$12,225	$331	$11,894
Wickham Elementary	Public	PK, KG-5	601 Oakdale Blvd	Coralville	52241	Johnson County	Iowa City Community School District	No	(n/a)	No	No	(319) 688-1175	315	21	15.2	19.7%	182 (57.8%)	34 (10.8%)	17 (5.4%)	63 (20.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	19 (6.0%)	92.8	6^th of 576 public elementary schools	99.0%		92.4	6^th of 557 public elementary schools	98.9%		91.4	100.0	89.7	94.3	93.6	94.9	87.2	$12,974	$451	$12,524
Lincoln Elementary School	Public	PK, KG-5	300 Teeters Court	Iowa City	52246	Johnson County	Iowa City Community School District	No	(n/a)	No	No	(319) 688-1130	217	15	14.4	35.9%	119 (54.8%)	44 (20.3%)	15 (6.9%)	23 (10.6%)	0 (0.0%)	2 (0.9%)	14 (6.5%)	76.7	110^th of 576 public elementary schools	80.9%		75.9	105^th of 557 public elementary schools	81.1%	5	69.4	85.3	84.6	86.1	85.3	88.5	80.8	$13,259	$202	$13,057
East Ridge Elementary	Public	4-5	2950 Crossing Ridge Dr	Coralville	52241	Johnson County	Clear Creek Amana Community School District	No	(n/a)	No	Yes	(319) 545-2075	442	29	15.4	32.4%	309 (69.9%)	46 (10.4%)	45 (10.2%)	14 (3.2%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	28 (6.3%)	68.4	187^th of 576 public elementary schools	67.5%		58.8	264^th of 557 public elementary schools	52.6%	77		84.5	77.8		80.3	75.7	70.8
Ernest Horn Elementary School	Public	PK, KG-5	600 Koser Ave	Iowa City	52246	Johnson County	Iowa City Community School District	No	(n/a)	No	Yes	(319) 688-1115	453	33	13.6	58.5%	152 (33.6%)	197 (43.5%)	26 (5.7%)	45 (9.9%)	3 (0.7%)	1 (0.2%)	29 (6.4%)	40.4	399^th of 576 public elementary schools	30.7%		37.6	398^th of 557 public elementary schools	28.5%	1	73.7	69.7	61.4	77.2	63.6	70.2	54.4	$14,000	$687	$13,313
Weber Elementary	Public	PK, KG-5	3850 Rohret Road	Iowa City	52246	Johnson County	Iowa City Community School District	No	(n/a)	No	Yes	(319) 688-1170	456	42	10.7	55.5%	165 (36.2%)	212 (46.5%)	25 (5.5%)	28 (6.1%)	0 (0.0%)	2 (0.4%)	24 (5.3%)	27.8	466^th of 576 public elementary schools	19.1%		33.5	424^th of 557 public elementary schools	23.9%	42	52.9	65.6	61.2	67.6	68.8	62.7	53.7	$13,378	$562	$12,817
James Van Allen Elementary School	Public	PK, KG-5	170 Abigail Ave	North Liberty	52317	Johnson County	Iowa City Community School District	No	(n/a)	No	No	(319) 688-1185	376	26	14.6	30.3%	224 (59.6%)	49 (13.0%)	58 (15.4%)	25 (6.6%)	1 (0.3%)	0 (0.0%)	19 (5.1%)	54.6	294^th of 576 public elementary schools	49.0%		47.2	349^th of 557 public elementary schools	37.3%	55	73.3	74.6	77.4	75.0	72.9	66.1	69.4	$12,084	$214	$11,870
Bohumil Shimek Elementary School	Public	PK, KG-5	1400 Grissel Place	Iowa City	52245	Johnson County	Iowa City Community School District	No	(n/a)	No	No	(319) 688-1160	181	16	11.3	18.8%	124 (68.5%)	23 (12.7%)	10 (5.5%)	10 (5.5%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	14 (7.7%)	65.7	214^th of 576 public elementary schools	62.8%		75.1	111^th of 557 public elementary schools	80.1%	103	87.1	78.3	38.9	96.8	91.3	73.7	55.6	$14,044	$230	$13,813

Frequently Asked Questions about Kirkwood Elementary School

What is the racial makeup of Kirkwood Elementary School?

Students at Kirkwood Elementary School are 50% African American, 23% White, 17% Hispanic, 7% Two or more races, 3% Asian.

What district is Kirkwood Elementary School in?

Iowa City Community School District

Is Kirkwood Elementary School a good school?

Kirkwood Elementary School ranks in the bottom 6.6% of Iowa elementary schools.

How many students attend Kirkwood Elementary School?

In the 2024-25 school year, 270 students attended Kirkwood Elementary School.

What schools do graduates of Kirkwood Elementary School attend?

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

Middle : North Central Middle School
High : Liberty High 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.