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Central Elementary School

Public Grades PK, KG-4

22^nd

SchoolDigger Rank ?

of 576 Iowa Elementary Schools

Better than 96% of Iowa elementary schools

Summary

Central Elementary School is a public elementary school located in Nevada, Iowa, serving grades PK-4 with a total enrollment of 646 students. The school is part of the Nevada Community School District, which is ranked 63 out of 313 districts in Iowa and has a 4-star rating from SchoolDigger.

Central Elementary School consistently performs exceptionally well on the Iowa Statewide Assessment of Student Progress (ISASP) tests, with 89.8% of 3rd graders and 86.7% of 4th graders proficient or better in English Language Arts, significantly higher than the state averages of 67.9% and 76%, respectively. Similarly, in mathematics, 94.3% of 3rd graders and 92% of 4th graders were proficient or better, compared to the state averages of 75.8% and 74.3%. The school has a strong track record of high statewide rankings, consistently placing in the top 10-20% of Iowa elementary schools, and in the 2024-2025 school year, it ranked 22 out of 576 Iowa elementary schools, earning a 5-star rating from SchoolDigger.

When comparing Central Elementary School to the nearby schools, such as Gilbert Intermediate School, which is part of the Gilbert Community School District (ranked 2 out of 313 in Iowa), Central Elementary School's performance is notably higher in several areas. The school has maintained a consistently high level of academic performance over the years, suggesting a strong educational program and dedicated staff. Additionally, the relatively high percentage of students receiving free or reduced-price lunch, ranging from 27.63% to 36.53% in recent years, indicates that Central Elementary School serves a diverse student population with varying socioeconomic backgrounds.

632

Students ?

13.7

Student/teacher ratio ?

$11,518

Per pupil spending ?

40.5%

Free/discounted lunch ?

925 H Ave
Nevada, IA 50201

(515) 382-2383

District: Nevada Community School District

Students who attend Central Elementary School usually attend:

Middle:	Nevada Middle School
High:	Nevada High School

Racial breakdown:

White:

81.5%

Hispanic:

13.3%

Two or more races:

4.4%

See top rated Iowa elementary schools

Compare Central Elementary School to nearby elementary schools!

At a glance

▲ Ranking trend: Improving — 74th percentile in 2015 → 96th in 2025

Strengths

✓Test scores above the Iowa average (91% vs 73% meeting standards)

✓Ranks in the top 4% of Iowa elementary schools

✓Ranking is trending up — up 22 percentile points since 2015

Students meeting standards (2024-2025) ?

This school91%

District avg91%

Iowa avg73%

22^nd of 576

Iowa public elementary schools ?

Top 4%▲ up 22 pts since 2015

From top 26% (2015) to top 4% (2025)

See the entire ranking list of Iowa Elementary Schools →

★★★★★

SchoolDigger rating ?

63^rd of 313Nevada 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	87.4	22 of 576	96.2%	★★★★★
2024	73.1	124 of 557	77.7%	★★★★☆
2023	87.0	28 of 565	95.0%	★★★★★
2022	83.2	61 of 574	89.4%	★★★★☆
2021	70.6	151 of 567	73.4%	★★★★☆
2019	58.5	273 of 603	54.7%	★★★☆☆
2018	70.3	158 of 567	72.1%	★★★★☆
2017	70.0	178 of 574	69.0%	★★★☆☆
2016	62.7	257 of 599	57.1%	★★★☆☆
2015	71.3	162 of 616	73.7%	★★★★☆
2014	72.0	138 of 603	77.1%	★★★★☆
2013	68.7	169 of 624	72.9%	★★★★☆
2012	68.8	163 of 626	74.0%	★★★★☆

By subject vs Iowa (2024-2025) ?

Mathematics93%+18 vs state

English Language Arts88%+16 vs state

★

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Schools Near Central 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
Central Elementary School	Public	PK, KG-4	925 H Ave	Nevada	50201	Story County	Nevada Community School District	No	(n/a)	No	Yes	(515) 382-2383	632	46	13.7	40.5%	515 (81.5%)	4 (0.6%)	84 (13.3%)	1 (0.2%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	28 (4.4%)	87.4	22^nd of 576 public elementary schools	96.2%		73.1	124^th of 557 public elementary schools	77.7%	102	89.8	86.7		94.3	92.0			$11,518	$1,130	$10,388
Mitchell Elementary School	Public	K-5	3521 Jewel Dr	Ames	50010	Story County	Ames Community School District	No	(n/a)	No	Yes	(515) 239-3775	314	25	12.5	55.7%	149 (47.5%)	55 (17.5%)	72 (22.9%)	15 (4.8%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	23 (7.3%)	50.5	327^th of 576 public elementary schools	43.2%		66.2	189^th of 557 public elementary schools	66.1%	138	53.8	84.8	74.0	59.0	76.1	72.0	68.0	$12,211	$780	$11,433
Meeker Elementary School	Public	K-5	300 20th Street	Ames	50010	Story County	Ames Community School District	No	(n/a)	No	Yes	(515) 239-3770	361	32	11.2	42.1%	253 (70.1%)	19 (5.3%)	34 (9.4%)	9 (2.5%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	44 (12.2%)	62.7	238^th of 576 public elementary schools	58.7%		63.8	216^th of 557 public elementary schools	61.2%	22	71.7	86.7	71.7	78.3	75.6	71.7	76.7	$13,221	$1,032	$12,190
Fellows Elementary School	Public	K-5	1235 20th St.	Ames	50010	Story County	Ames Community School District	No	(n/a)	No	No	(515) 239-3765	489	38	12.9	28.8%	276 (56.4%)	25 (5.1%)	67 (13.7%)	83 (17.0%)	2 (0.4%)	0 (0.0%)	34 (7.0%)	78.7	86^th of 576 public elementary schools	85.1%		76.5	97^th of 557 public elementary schools	82.6%	11	85.2	73.1	85.9	86.4	80.6	89.7	87.2	$12,124	$816	$11,308
Ballard East Elementary	Public	3-5	505 W 4th St	Cambridge	50046	Story County	Ballard Community School District	No	(n/a)	No	Yes	(515) 220-4306	417	33	12.5	23.5%	380 (91.1%)	4 (1.0%)	22 (5.3%)	2 (0.5%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	9 (2.2%)	66.2	205^th of 576 public elementary schools	64.4%		71.6	146^th of 557 public elementary schools	73.8%	59	68.6	77.0	74.6	85.4	83.0	85.2	67.6	$12,521	$249	$12,272
Collins-Maxwell Elementary School	Public	PK, KG-5	416 Fourth Avenue	Collins	50055	Story County	Collins-Maxwell Community School District	No	(n/a)	No	Yes	(641) 385-2446	182	17	10.9	41.2%	169 (92.9%)	0 (0.0%)	8 (4.4%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	5 (2.7%)	80.1	74^th of 576 public elementary schools	87.2%		72.5	130^th of 557 public elementary schools	76.7%	56	46.2	89.7	97.0	69.2	86.2	90.9	90.9	$14,450	$518	$13,932
Gilbert Intermediate School	Public	3-5	103 Mathews Dr	Gilbert	50105	Story County	Gilbert Community School District	No	(n/a)	No	No	(515) 232-3748	356	21	16.8	8.1%	288 (80.9%)	7 (2.0%)	24 (6.7%)	20 (5.6%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	17 (4.8%)	91.2	12^th of 576 public elementary schools	97.9%		92.8	4^th of 557 public elementary schools	99.3%	8	91.4	90.8	89.0	92.2	95.8	90.7	92.4	$11,603	$317	$11,285
Gilbert Elementary School	Public	PK, KG-2	109 Rothmoor	Gilbert	50105	Story County	Gilbert Community School District	No	(n/a)	No	Yes	(515) 232-3744	409	25	16.3	5.4%	343 (83.9%)	5 (1.2%)	19 (4.6%)	21 (5.1%)	1 (0.2%)	0 (0.0%)	20 (4.9%)								(n/a)								$12,378	$377	$12,000
Sawyer Elementary School	Public	K-5	4316 Ontario St	Ames	50010	Story County	Ames Community School District	No	(n/a)	No	Yes	(515) 239-3790	371	34	11.0	36.1%	242 (65.2%)	32 (8.6%)	44 (11.9%)	26 (7.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	27 (7.3%)	55.9	286^th of 576 public elementary schools	50.3%		52.9	313^th of 557 public elementary schools	43.8%	27	72.9	70.8	73.4	70.0	77.1	73.8	73.4	$11,702	$347	$11,356
Edwards Elementary School	Public	K-5	820 Miller Ave	Ames	50014	Story County	Ames Community School District	No	(n/a)	No	Yes	(515) 239-3760	436	34	13.0	44.5%	242 (55.5%)	77 (17.7%)	49 (11.2%)	38 (8.7%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	30 (6.9%)	52.9	309^th of 576 public elementary schools	46.4%		56.2	288^th of 557 public elementary schools	48.3%	21	73.5	76.3	67.9	86.8	69.5	67.5	63.3	$12,690	$743	$11,949

Frequently Asked Questions about Central Elementary School

How many students attend Central Elementary School?

In the 2024-25 school year, 632 students attended Central Elementary School.

What schools do graduates of Central Elementary School attend?

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

Middle : Nevada Middle School
High : Nevada High School

What is the racial makeup of Central Elementary School?

Students at Central Elementary School are 81% White, 13% Hispanic, 4% Two or more races.

Is Central Elementary School a good school?

Yes! Central Elementary School is one of the best elementary schools in the state. It ranks 22^nd of 576 Iowa elementary schools.

What district is Central Elementary School in?

Nevada Community School District

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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.