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Tilford Elementary School

Q: Is Tilford Elementary School a good school?

Tilford Elementary School ranks 178 th of 576 Iowa elementary schools. SchoolDigger rates this school 3 stars out of 5.

Public Grades PK, KG-4

178^th

SchoolDigger Rank ?

of 576 Iowa Elementary Schools

Better than 69% of Iowa elementary schools

Summary

Tilford Elementary School is a public elementary school located in Vinton, Iowa, serving grades PK-4 with a total enrollment of 558 students. The school is part of the Vinton-Shellsburg Community School District, which is ranked 99 out of 313 districts in Iowa and has a 3-star rating from SchoolDigger.

Tilford Elementary School has consistently performed well on the Iowa Statewide Assessment of Student Progress (ISASP) tests, with a high percentage of students proficient or better in both English Language Arts and Mathematics. The school's chronic absenteeism rates have fluctuated in recent years, ranging from 15.5% to 26.1%, which is generally in line with or lower than the surrounding schools. Additionally, Tilford Elementary has a relatively high percentage of students receiving free or reduced-price lunch, ranging from 40.98% to 45.33%, indicating a diverse student population with a significant proportion of economically disadvantaged students. The school's student-teacher ratio, ranging from 13.8 to 15.5, is generally lower than the nearby schools, suggesting a more favorable learning environment for students.

When compared to nearby schools, Tilford Elementary School generally outperforms the other schools, including Shellsburg Elementary School (same district) and the Cedar Rapids Community School District schools, on the ISASP assessments in both English Language Arts and Mathematics. The school's chronic absenteeism rates are similar to or lower than the nearby schools, indicating that attendance-related challenges may be a shared concern in the region. Additionally, Tilford Elementary has a more favorable student-teacher ratio compared to the nearby schools, which may contribute to its stronger academic performance.

544

Students ?

13.5

Student/teacher ratio ?

$11,456

Per pupil spending ?

53.5%

Free/discounted lunch ?

308 E 13th St
Vinton, IA 52349

(319) 436-4728

District: Vinton-Shellsburg Community School District

Students who attend Tilford Elementary School usually attend:

Middle:	Vinton-Shellsburg Middle School
High:	Vinton-Shellsburg High School

Racial breakdown:

White:

91.7%

Hispanic:

3.3%

Two or more races:

2.2%

See top rated Iowa elementary schools

Compare Tilford Elementary School to nearby elementary schools!

At a glance

▼ Ranking trend: Declining — 92nd percentile in 2015 → 69th in 2025

Strengths

✓Test scores above the Iowa average (81% vs 73% meeting standards)

✓Above the Iowa median (69th percentile)

Worth a look

!Ranking has slipped — down 23 percentile points since 2015

Students meeting standards (2024-2025) ?

This school81%

District avg81%

Iowa avg73%

178^th of 576

Iowa public elementary schools ?

Top 31%▼ down 23 pts since 2015

From top 8% (2015) to top 31% (2025)

See the entire ranking list of Iowa Elementary Schools →

★★★★★

SchoolDigger rating ?

1^st of 2Elementary Schools in the Vinton-Shellsburg Community School District

99^th of 313Vinton-Shellsburg 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	69.4	178 of 576	69.1%	★★★☆☆
2024	56.2	287 of 557	48.5%	★★☆☆☆
2023	61.0	234 of 565	58.6%	★★★☆☆
2022	68.1	187 of 574	67.4%	★★★☆☆
2021	72.3	141 of 567	75.1%	★★★★☆
2019	85.8	46 of 603	92.4%	★★★★★
2018	83.9	42 of 567	92.6%	★★★★★
2017	84.7	29 of 574	94.9%	★★★★★
2016	85.3	29 of 599	95.2%	★★★★★
2015	81.5	49 of 616	92.0%	★★★★★
2014	78.3	74 of 603	87.7%	★★★★☆
2013	71.6	135 of 624	78.4%	★★★★☆
2012	69.6	152 of 626	75.7%	★★★★☆

By subject vs Iowa (2024-2025) ?

Mathematics81%+6 vs state

English Language Arts80%+8 vs state

5.0

1 rating

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4★0

3★0

2★0

1★0

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Schools Near Tilford 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
Tilford Elementary School	Public	PK, KG-4	308 E 13th St	Vinton	52349	Benton County	Vinton-Shellsburg Community School District	No	(n/a)	No	Yes	(319) 436-4728	544	40	13.5	53.5%	499 (91.7%)	9 (1.7%)	18 (3.3%)	3 (0.6%)	2 (0.4%)	1 (0.2%)	12 (2.2%)	69.4	178^th of 576 public elementary schools	69.1%		56.2	287^th of 557 public elementary schools	48.5%	109	79.0	81.7		80.0	81.7			$11,456	$576	$10,881
Shellsburg Elementary School	Public	PK, KG-5	203 Tomahawk Trail	Shellsburg	52332	Benton County	Vinton-Shellsburg Community School District	No	(n/a)	No	Yes	(319) 436-4728	269	20	13.4	53.9%	249 (92.6%)	5 (1.9%)	7 (2.6%)	1 (0.4%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	7 (2.6%)	55.6	288^th of 576 public elementary schools	50.0%		74.1	117^th of 557 public elementary schools	79.0%	171	77.8	85.7	64.4	88.9	85.7	74.6	65.3	$15,392	$1,178	$14,214
Center Point-Urbana Intermediate School	Public	3-5	202 W Main Street	Urbana	52345	Benton County	Center Point-Urbana Community School District	No	(n/a)	No	Yes	(319) 849-1102	275	18	14.8	21.1%	240 (87.3%)	3 (1.1%)	15 (5.5%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	17 (6.2%)	70.2	170^th of 576 public elementary schools	70.5%					(n/a)	79.8	76.9	82.3	81.8	76.9	86.5	68.8	$11,000	$212	$10,787
Center Point-Urbana Primary School	Public	PK, KG-2	101 Palo Road	Center Point	52213	Linn County	Center Point-Urbana Community School District	No	(n/a)	No	Yes	(319) 849-1102	365	27	13.7	19.2%	336 (92.1%)	2 (0.5%)	8 (2.2%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	19 (5.2%)								(n/a)								$13,169	$391	$12,778
La Porte City Elementary School	Public	PK, KG-5	515 Fillmore	La Porte City	50651	Black Hawk County	Union Community School District	No	(n/a)	No	Yes	(319) 342-3033	260	20	13.3	23.8%	240 (92.3%)	1 (0.4%)	14 (5.4%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	5 (1.9%)	74.8	120^th of 576 public elementary schools	79.2%		84.7	38^th of 557 public elementary schools	93.2%	82	88.6	87.8	74.5	91.4	87.8	80.9	63.8	$11,730	$285	$11,445
Atkins Elementary School	Public	PK, KG-3	217 4th Ave	Atkins	52206	Benton County	Benton Community School District	No	(n/a)	No	No	(319) 446-7525	394	26	15.3	19.3%	358 (90.9%)	3 (0.8%)	12 (3.0%)	0 (0.0%)	2 (0.5%)	1 (0.3%)	18 (4.6%)								(n/a)	83.6			87.7				$11,898	$493	$11,405
Keystone Elementary School	Public	PK, KG-3	280 4th St	Keystone	52249	Benton County	Benton Community School District	No	(n/a)	No	Yes	(319) 442-3221	176	12	14.8	42.0%	151 (85.8%)	7 (4.0%)	11 (6.3%)	0 (0.0%)	1 (0.6%)	0 (0.0%)	6 (3.4%)								(n/a)	75.0			81.3				$13,632	$554	$13,078
Dysart-Geneseo Elementary School	Public	PK, KG-5	411 Lincoln	Dysart	52224	Tama County	Union Community School District	No	(n/a)	No	Yes	(319) 476-7110	219	17	12.8	30.1%	196 (89.5%)	1 (0.5%)	9 (4.1%)	2 (0.9%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	11 (5.0%)	85.1	35^th of 576 public elementary schools	93.9%					(n/a)	95.7	81.6	88.2	91.3	92.1	91.2	78.1	$13,331	$373	$12,958
Viola Gibson Elementary School	Public	PK, KG-5	6101 Gibson DR NE	Cedar Rapids	52411	Linn County	Cedar Rapids Community School District	No	(n/a)	No	No	(319) 558-2920	565	33	17.2	16.5%	480 (85.0%)	9 (1.6%)	28 (5.0%)	8 (1.4%)	1 (0.2%)	0 (0.0%)	39 (6.9%)	84.9	38^th of 576 public elementary schools	93.4%		73.2	123^rd of 557 public elementary schools	77.9%	85	82.4	90.9	85.1	89.4	90.9	87.8	78.4	$13,762	$268	$13,495
West Willow Elementary School	Public	PK, KG-5	6225 1st AVE SW	Cedar Rapids	52405	Linn County	Cedar Rapids Community School District	No	(n/a)	No	No	(319) 558-3130	555	34	16.3	49.9%	304 (54.8%)	146 (26.3%)	45 (8.1%)	3 (0.5%)	2 (0.4%)	5 (0.9%)	50 (9.0%)	36.3	423^rd of 576 public elementary schools	26.6%		39	391^st of 557 public elementary schools	29.8%	32	71.1	67.5	60.3	80.3	63.6	60.3	52.7	$14,545	$265	$14,280

Frequently Asked Questions about Tilford Elementary School

What schools do graduates of Tilford Elementary School attend?

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

Middle : Vinton-Shellsburg Middle School
High : Vinton-Shellsburg High School

What district is Tilford Elementary School in?

Vinton-Shellsburg Community School District

Is Tilford Elementary School a good school?

Tilford Elementary School ranks 178^th of 576 Iowa elementary schools. SchoolDigger rates this school 3 stars out of 5.

What is the racial makeup of Tilford Elementary School?

Students at Tilford Elementary School are 92% White, 3% Hispanic, 2% Two or more races, 2% African American.

How many students attend Tilford Elementary School?

In the 2024-25 school year, 544 students attended Tilford Elementary School.

Rate Tilford Elementary School!

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Schools in Vinton, 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.