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Norwalk Middle School

Q: Is Norwalk Middle School a good school?

Norwalk Middle School ranks 122 nd of 344 Iowa middle schools. SchoolDigger rates this school 3 stars out of 5.

Public Grades 6-8

122^nd

SchoolDigger Rank ?

of 344 Iowa Middle Schools

Better than 65% of Iowa middle schools

Summary

Norwalk Middle School is a public middle school serving 804 students in grades 6-8 in the Norwalk Community School District in Norwalk, Iowa. The school has a strong performance history, consistently ranking in the top 25% of Iowa middle schools and earning a 4-star rating from SchoolDigger in recent years.

Norwalk Middle School significantly outperforms the state average in academic achievement, with higher proficiency rates in English Language Arts, Mathematics, and Science across all grade levels. For example, in the 2024-2025 school year, 81.1% of 6th graders, 80.7% of 7th graders, and 63.2% of 8th graders were proficient or better in English Language Arts, compared to the state averages of 72.8%, 74.9%, and 80.2%, respectively. The school also has lower chronic absenteeism rates at 16.3% compared to the state average of 21.6% in the 2023-2024 school year. Additionally, Norwalk Middle School has a lower percentage of students receiving free or reduced-price lunch at 18.03% compared to many of the nearby schools, such as Hiatt Middle School and Merrill Middle School.

Overall, Norwalk Middle School appears to be a high-performing school that is effectively serving its student population and outperforming many of the nearby schools in key metrics. The school's consistent academic achievement, lower chronic absenteeism rates, and favorable student-teacher ratio suggest it is a model of excellence in middle school education.

824

Students ?

15.3

Student/teacher ratio ?

$14,307

Per pupil spending ?

18.1%

Free/discounted lunch ?

200 Cherry Street
Norwalk, IA 50211

(515) 981-0435

District: Norwalk Community School District

Students who attend Norwalk Middle School usually attend:

High:

Norwalk Senior High School

Feeder schools for Norwalk Middle School:

Elementary:	Lakewood Elementary School
	Oviatt Elementary School

Racial breakdown:

White:

86.4%

Hispanic:

7.6%

Two or more races:

3.6%

See top rated Iowa middle schools

Compare Norwalk Middle School to nearby middle schools!

At a glance

▼ Ranking trend: Declining — 93rd percentile in 2015 → 65th in 2025

Strengths

✓Test scores above the Iowa average (79% vs 74% meeting standards)

✓Above the Iowa median (65th percentile)

Worth a look

!Ranking has slipped — down 28 percentile points since 2015

Students meeting standards (2024-2025) ?

This school79%

District avg79%

Iowa avg74%

122^nd of 344

Iowa public middle schools ?

Top 35%▼ down 28 pts since 2015

From top 7% (2015) to top 35% (2025)

See the entire ranking list of Iowa Middle Schools →

★★★★★

SchoolDigger rating ?

84^th of 313Norwalk 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	63.1	122 of 344	64.5%	★★★☆☆
2024	62.4	136 of 337	59.6%	★★★☆☆
2023	64.4	113 of 334	66.2%	★★★☆☆
2022	65.3	107 of 337	68.2%	★★★☆☆
2021	71.5	71 of 324	78.1%	★★★★☆
2019	70.0	78 of 342	77.2%	★★★★☆
2018	72.6	68 of 318	78.6%	★★★★☆
2017	81.2	23 of 327	93.0%	★★★★★
2016	85.3	19 of 343	94.5%	★★★★★
2015	82.2	25 of 349	92.8%	★★★★★
2014	81.2	26 of 337	92.3%	★★★★★
2013	81.1	20 of 350	94.3%	★★★★★
2012	84.5	12 of 349	96.6%	★★★★★

By subject vs Iowa (2024-2025) ?

Mathematics85%+12 vs state

Science76%+6 vs state

English Language Arts75%~ state avg

★

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Schools Near Norwalk Middle 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 6th Grade	ISASP English Language Arts 7th Grade	ISASP English Language Arts 8th Grade	ISASP Mathematics 6th Grade	ISASP Mathematics 7th Grade	ISASP Mathematics 8th Grade	ISASP Science 8th Grade	Per Pupil Expenditures Total	Sub-total from Federal Funds	Sub-total from State/Local Funds
Norwalk Middle School	Public	6-8	200 Cherry Street	Norwalk	50211	Warren County	Norwalk Community School District	No	(n/a)	No	No	(515) 981-0435	824	54	15.3	18.1%	712 (86.4%)	14 (1.7%)	63 (7.6%)	4 (0.5%)	1 (0.1%)	0 (0.0%)	30 (3.6%)	63.1	122^nd of 344 public middle schools	64.5%		62.4	136^th of 337 public middle schools	59.6%	14	81.1	80.7	63.2	82.5	84.0	88.0	76.0	$14,307	$188	$14,119
McCombs Middle School	Public	6-8	201 SW County Line Rd	Des Moines	50320	Polk County	Des Moines Independent Community School District	No	(n/a)	No	Yes	(515) 242-8447	670	40	16.8	83.3%	170 (25.4%)	153 (22.8%)	260 (38.8%)	50 (7.5%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	37 (5.5%)	7.9	321^st of 344 public middle schools	6.7%		7.7	318^th of 337 public middle schools	5.6%	3	43.8	61.0	62.1	48.8	60.5	57.4	50.0	$14,664	$1,066	$13,598
Brody Middle School	Public	6-8	2501 Park Ave	Des Moines	50321	Polk County	Des Moines Independent Community School District	No	(n/a)	No	No	(515) 242-8443	641	39	16.4	71.3%	287 (44.8%)	82 (12.8%)	193 (30.1%)	23 (3.6%)	3 (0.5%)	4 (0.6%)	49 (7.6%)	3.9	327^th of 344 public middle schools	4.9%		6.6	320^th of 337 public middle schools	5.0%	7	49.8	53.3	61.4	46.3	45.1	52.0	51.0	$14,143	$628	$13,515
Weeks Middle School	Public	6-8	901 East Park Avenue	Des Moines	50315	Polk County	Des Moines Independent Community School District	No	(n/a)	No	Yes	(515) 242-8449	688	48	14.1	87.4%	133 (19.3%)	121 (17.6%)	292 (42.4%)	97 (14.1%)	3 (0.4%)	0 (0.0%)	41 (6.0%)	1.7	334^th of 344 public middle schools	2.9%		1.3	333^rd of 337 public middle schools	1.2%	1	47.7	55.8	49.2	36.4	43.6	40.8	42.4	$14,586	$1,091	$13,495
Merrill Middle School	Public	6-8	5301 Grand Ave	Des Moines	50312	Polk County	Des Moines Independent Community School District	No	(n/a)	No	No	(515) 242-8448	657	39	16.7	43.7%	386 (58.8%)	104 (15.8%)	87 (13.2%)	22 (3.3%)	1 (0.2%)	2 (0.3%)	55 (8.4%)	48	209^th of 344 public middle schools	39.2%		42.5	224^th of 337 public middle schools	33.5%	15	69.2	80.3	77.9	74.3	75.1	72.9	69.1	$12,938	$599	$12,340
Stilwell Junior High School	Public	7-8	1601 Vine St	West Des Moines	50265	Polk County	West Des Moines Community School District	No	(n/a)	No	No	(515) 633-6000	645	48	13.4	47.0%	385 (59.7%)	80 (12.4%)	104 (16.1%)	28 (4.3%)	1 (0.2%)	0 (0.0%)	47 (7.3%)	43.3	237^th of 344 public middle schools	31.1%		52.1	189^th of 337 public middle schools	43.9%	48		79.5	75.1		73.2	73.5	64.2	$15,102	$192	$14,909
Callanan Middle School	Public	6-8	3010 Center Street	Des Moines	50312	Polk County	Des Moines Independent Community School District	No	(n/a)	No	Yes	(515) 242-8101	553	35	15.7	79.9%	147 (26.6%)	213 (38.5%)	116 (21.0%)	19 (3.4%)	3 (0.5%)	8 (1.4%)	47 (8.5%)	2.3	333^rd of 344 public middle schools	3.2%		6.9	319^th of 337 public middle schools	5.3%	14	49.0	50.3	54.7	41.2	40.9	50.7	48.0	$15,075	$880	$14,196
Carlisle Middle School	Public	6-8	325 Scotchridge Rd	Carlisle	50047	Warren County	Carlisle Community School District	No	(n/a)	No	No	(515) 989-0833	518	40	13.1	30.1%	405 (78.2%)	12 (2.3%)	62 (12.0%)	23 (4.4%)	2 (0.4%)	0 (0.0%)	14 (2.7%)	44.8	229^th of 344 public middle schools	33.4%		35.5	252^nd of 337 public middle schools	25.2%	23	75.0	69.3	83.6	71.6	69.9	78.4	64.3	$10,769	$174	$10,595
Hiatt Middle School	Public	6-8	1430 E. University Ave	Des Moines	50316	Polk County	Des Moines Independent Community School District	No	(n/a)	No	Yes	(515) 242-7774	488	35	14.1	93.4%	65 (13.3%)	100 (20.5%)	260 (53.3%)	35 (7.2%)	3 (0.6%)	2 (0.4%)	23 (4.7%)	0.5	341^st of 344 public middle schools	0.9%		0.2	335^th of 337 public middle schools	0.6%	6	43.1	46.2	46.3	30.6	36.4	38.1	37.3	$16,661	$1,079	$15,582
Indian Hills Junior High School	Public	7-8	9401 Indian Hills Dr	Clive	50325	Polk County	West Des Moines Community School District	No	(n/a)	No	No	(515) 633-4700	661	52	12.7	51.9%	334 (50.5%)	70 (10.6%)	159 (24.1%)	52 (7.9%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	46 (7.0%)	65.2	118^th of 344 public middle schools	65.7%		59.8	149^th of 337 public middle schools	55.8%	31		84.4	83.1		81.0	80.1	74.0	$15,125	$193	$14,931

Frequently Asked Questions about Norwalk Middle School

Is Norwalk Middle School a good school?

Norwalk Middle School ranks 122^nd of 344 Iowa middle schools. SchoolDigger rates this school 3 stars out of 5.

How many students attend Norwalk Middle School?

In the 2024-25 school year, 824 students attended Norwalk Middle School.

What district is Norwalk Middle School in?

Norwalk Community School District

What is the racial makeup of Norwalk Middle School?

Students at Norwalk Middle School are 86% White, 8% Hispanic, 4% Two or more races, 2% African American.

What high school do graduates of Norwalk Middle School attend?

Students who attend Norwalk Middle School usually go on to attend Norwalk Senior High School

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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.