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Lawson Elementary School

Q: Is Lawson Elementary School a good school?

Lawson Elementary School ranks 129 th of 576 Iowa elementary schools. SchoolDigger rates this school 4 stars out of 5.

Public Grades K-5

129^th

SchoolDigger Rank ?

of 576 Iowa Elementary Schools

Better than 78% of Iowa elementary schools

Summary

Lawson Elementary School is a public elementary school in Johnston, Iowa, serving 595 students in grades K-5. The school is part of the Johnston Community School District, which is ranked 83 out of 313 school districts in the state and has a 4-star rating from SchoolDigger.

Lawson Elementary consistently outperforms the state and district averages in academic assessments, with 81.5% of its 3rd-grade students scoring proficient or better in English Language Arts, compared to 77.2% for the district and 67.9% for the state. The school has maintained a strong statewide ranking, placing in the top 25% of Iowa elementary schools and earning a 4-star rating from SchoolDigger. However, the school has seen a gradual increase in chronic absenteeism, rising from 11.2% in 2021-2022 to 21.6% in 2023-2024, which is an area of concern.

Compared to nearby schools, Lawson Elementary outperforms Horizon Elementary, Timber Ridge Elementary, and Beaver Creek Elementary in academic performance. The school's performance is also comparable to the highly-ranked Henry A. Wallace Elementary, which is located just 0.44 miles away. When compared to schools outside the Johnston Community School District, such as Crocker Elementary in the Ankeny Community School District, Lawson Elementary maintains a competitive edge in academic performance.

545

Students ?

13.2

Student/teacher ratio ?

$12,603

Per pupil spending ?

33.2%

Free/discounted lunch ?

5450 NW 62nd Ave
Johnston, IA 50131

(515) 278-0478

District: Johnston Community School District

Students who attend Lawson Elementary School usually attend:

Middle:	Summit Middle School
High:	Johnston Senior High School

Racial breakdown:

White:

61.7%

Asian:

14.1%

African American:

9.4%

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Compare Lawson Elementary School to nearby elementary schools!

At a glance

▲ Ranking trend: Rebounding — 65th percentile in 2022 → 78th in 2025

Strengths

✓Test scores above the Iowa average (80% vs 71% meeting standards)

✓Ranks in the top 22% of Iowa elementary schools

✓Ranking is rebounding — up to 78th (2025) from a 65th-percentile low (2022)

Students meeting standards (2024-2025) ?

This school80%

District avg79%

Iowa avg71%

129^th of 576

Iowa public elementary schools ?

Top 22%▼ down 8 pts since 2015

From top 14% (2015) to top 22% (2025)

See the entire ranking list of Iowa Elementary Schools →

★★★★★

SchoolDigger rating ?

2^nd of 5Elementary Schools in the Johnston Community School District

83^rd of 313Johnston 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	73.8	129 of 576	77.6%	★★★★☆
2024	69.2	170 of 557	69.5%	★★★☆☆
2023	65.8	194 of 565	65.7%	★★★☆☆
2022	67.2	199 of 574	65.3%	★★★☆☆
2021	69.9	157 of 567	72.3%	★★★★☆
2019	82.2	79 of 603	86.9%	★★★★☆
2018	79.3	69 of 567	87.8%	★★★★☆
2017	84.5	32 of 574	94.4%	★★★★★
2016	80.4	59 of 599	90.2%	★★★★★
2015	77.7	87 of 616	85.9%	★★★★☆
2014	82.7	46 of 603	92.4%	★★★★★
2013	75.0	93 of 624	85.1%	★★★★☆
2012	82.7	31 of 626	95.0%	★★★★★

By subject vs Iowa (2024-2025) ?

Mathematics85%+11 vs state

English Language Arts80%+9 vs state

Science70%+6 vs state

★

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Schools Near Lawson 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
Lawson Elementary School	Public	K-5	5450 NW 62nd Ave	Johnston	50131	Polk County	Johnston Community School District	No	(n/a)	No	Yes	(515) 278-0478	545	41	13.2	33.2%	336 (61.7%)	51 (9.4%)	43 (7.9%)	77 (14.1%)	0 (0.0%)	1 (0.2%)	37 (6.8%)	73.8	129^th of 576 public elementary schools	77.6%		69.2	170^th of 557 public elementary schools	69.5%	41	81.5	82.6	76.2	86.4	86.0	82.2	70.3	$12,603	$730	$11,873
Henry A Wallace Elementary School	Public	PK, KG-5	6207 NW 62nd Ave	Johnston	50131	Polk County	Johnston Community School District	No	(n/a)	No	No	(515) 278-6977	840	54	15.6	12.9%	547 (65.1%)	74 (8.8%)	71 (8.5%)	84 (10.0%)	3 (0.4%)	0 (0.0%)	61 (7.3%)	80.8	67^th of 576 public elementary schools	88.4%		88	19^th of 557 public elementary schools	96.6%	48	82.1	89.1	87.3	82.1	82.2	88.9	77.0	$13,889	$515	$13,374
Timber Ridge Elementary	Public	K-5	7370 NW 54th AVE	Johnston	50131	Polk County	Johnston Community School District	No	(n/a)	No	Yes	(515) 331-4379	667	47	14.0	27.3%	400 (60.0%)	69 (10.3%)	60 (9.0%)	95 (14.2%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	43 (6.4%)	61.9	247^th of 576 public elementary schools	57.1%		60.6	247^th of 557 public elementary schools	55.7%		75.2	79.5	71.6	83.8	77.7	68.6	70.6	$11,886	$401	$11,485
Beaver Creek Elementary School	Public	K-5	8701 Lyndhurst	Johnston	50131	Polk County	Johnston Community School District	No	(n/a)	No	Yes	(515) 278-6228	575	40	14.3	24.7%	339 (59.0%)	115 (20.0%)	45 (7.8%)	50 (8.7%)	0 (0.0%)	2 (0.3%)	24 (4.2%)	71	158^th of 576 public elementary schools	72.6%		78.3	81^st of 557 public elementary schools	85.5%	77	73.7	76.8	85.6	80.8	76.8	91.4	74.0	$12,513	$534	$11,980
Samuelson Elementary School	Public	K-5	3929 Bel-Aire Rd	Des Moines	50310	Polk County	Des Moines Independent Community School District	No	(n/a)	No	Yes	(515) 242-8441	386	31	12.6	79.0%	87 (22.5%)	95 (24.6%)	55 (14.2%)	118 (30.6%)	0 (0.0%)	1 (0.3%)	30 (7.8%)	7.1	540^th of 576 public elementary schools	6.3%		13.8	493^rd of 557 public elementary schools	11.5%	47	39.6	57.4	45.5	43.4	57.4	53.0	34.8	$15,980	$1,376	$14,603
Olmsted Elementary School	Public	PK, KG-5	7110 Prairie Avenue	Urbandale	50322	Polk County	Urbandale Community School District	No	(n/a)	No	Yes	(515) 457-5100	622	49	12.8	51.0%	319 (51.3%)	88 (14.1%)	104 (16.7%)	72 (11.6%)	0 (0.0%)	2 (0.3%)	37 (5.9%)	48.6	337^th of 576 public elementary schools	41.5%		44.7	366^th of 557 public elementary schools	34.3%	29	68.3	72.2	71.7	73.2	66.7	75.8	63.6
Moore Elementary School	Public	K-5	3725 52nd St	Des Moines	50310	Polk County	Des Moines Independent Community School District	No	(n/a)	No	Yes	(515) 242-8426	285	24	12.0	67.0%	101 (35.4%)	59 (20.7%)	61 (21.4%)	29 (10.2%)	1 (0.4%)	2 (0.7%)	32 (11.2%)	17.6	497^th of 576 public elementary schools	13.7%		10.4	510^th of 557 public elementary schools	8.4%	13	54.8	56.5	60.7	64.3	50.0	42.6	55.7	$16,099	$1,236	$14,863
Horizon Elementary	Public	K-5	5905 N W 100th Street	Johnston	50131	Polk County	Johnston Community School District	No	(n/a)	No	Yes	(515) 986-1121	613	44	13.8	35.9%	348 (56.8%)	95 (15.5%)	72 (11.7%)	61 (10.0%)	3 (0.5%)	0 (0.0%)	34 (5.5%)	55.5	289^th of 576 public elementary schools	49.8%		69	173^rd of 557 public elementary schools	68.9%	116	75.2	87.5	61.9	81.2	76.9	61.9	62.9	$12,602	$637	$11,965
Karen Acres Elementary School	Public	K-5	3500 74th St	Urbandale	50322	Polk County	Urbandale Community School District	No	(n/a)	No	Yes	(515) 457-5700	233	19	11.9	52.8%	122 (52.4%)	11 (4.7%)	48 (20.6%)	37 (15.9%)	3 (1.3%)	0 (0.0%)	12 (5.2%)	64.7	225^th of 576 public elementary schools	60.9%		57.8	271^st of 557 public elementary schools	51.3%	46	89.5	81.1	72.5	92.1	62.2	77.5	67.5	$13,768	$98	$13,670
Crocker Elementary School	Public	K-5	2910 SW Applewood St	Ankeny	50023	Polk County	Ankeny Community School District	No	(n/a)	No	No	(515) 965-9710	489	34	14.3	21.5%	382 (78.1%)	14 (2.9%)	35 (7.2%)	16 (3.3%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	42 (8.6%)	75.5	118^th of 576 public elementary schools	79.5%		75.5	108^th of 557 public elementary schools	80.6%	10	71.4	78.0	82.8	87.1	87.9	88.5	75.9	$12,111	$254	$11,857

Frequently Asked Questions about Lawson Elementary School

Is Lawson Elementary School a good school?

Lawson Elementary School ranks 129^th of 576 Iowa elementary schools. SchoolDigger rates this school 4 stars out of 5.

How many students attend Lawson Elementary School?

In the 2024-25 school year, 545 students attended Lawson Elementary School.

What district is Lawson Elementary School in?

Johnston Community School District

What is the racial makeup of Lawson Elementary School?

Students at Lawson Elementary School are 62% White, 14% Asian, 9% African American, 8% Hispanic, 7% Two or more races.

What schools do graduates of Lawson Elementary School attend?

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

Middle : Summit Middle School
High : Johnston Senior 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.