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Fred Becker Elementary School

Public Grades PK, KG-5

499^th

SchoolDigger Rank ?

of 576 Iowa Elementary Schools

Better than 13% of Iowa elementary schools

Summary

Fred Becker Elementary School is a public elementary school in Waterloo, Iowa, serving 457 students in grades PK-5. The school is part of the Waterloo Community School District, which is ranked 287 out of 313 districts in the state and has a 0-star rating from SchoolDigger.

Fred Becker Elementary has consistently ranked in the bottom half of Iowa elementary schools, with a 1-star rating from SchoolDigger for most years and a 0-star rating in 2021-2022. The school faces significant challenges, including very high chronic absenteeism rates ranging from 21.6% to 42.4%, significantly lower test scores than the district and state averages across all grade levels and subject areas, and a high percentage of students receiving free or reduced-price lunch, ranging from 71.16% to 78.56%.

When compared to other schools in the Waterloo Community School District, Fred Becker Elementary consistently performs worse on test scores and has higher chronic absenteeism rates. For example, Kingsley Elementary has significantly higher test scores and a lower chronic absenteeism rate. The performance gap is even more pronounced when comparing Fred Becker Elementary to schools in the neighboring Cedar Falls Community School District, where schools like Southdale Elementary and Orchard Hill Elementary have much higher test scores, lower chronic absenteeism, and lower free/reduced lunch rates.

501

Students ?

13.1

Student/teacher ratio ?

$13,341

Per pupil spending ?

78%

Free/discounted lunch ?

1239 Sheldon St
Waterloo, IA 50701

(319) 433-2180

District: Waterloo Community School District

Students who attend Fred Becker Elementary School usually attend:

Middle:	Central Middle School
High:	West High School

Racial breakdown:

White:

37.3%

African American:

28.9%

Two or more races:

14.8%

See top rated Iowa elementary schools

Compare Fred Becker Elementary School to nearby elementary schools!

At a glance

▲ Ranking trend: Improving — 6th percentile in 2015 → 13th in 2025

Strengths

✓Ranking is trending up — up 7 percentile points since 2015

Worth a look

!Test scores below the Iowa average (55% vs 71% meeting standards)

!In the lower quartile statewide (13th percentile)

!High chronic absenteeism (36% vs 22% Iowa)

Students meeting standards (2024-2025) ?

This school55%

District avg62%

Iowa avg71%

499^th of 576

Iowa public elementary schools ?

Bottom 13%▲ up 8 pts since 2015

From bottom 6% (2015) to bottom 13% (2025)

See the entire ranking list of Iowa Elementary Schools →

★★★★★

SchoolDigger rating ?

9^th of 11Elementary Schools in the Waterloo Community School District

287^th of 313Waterloo 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	16.7	499 of 576	13.4%	★☆☆☆☆
2024	15.1	489 of 557	12.2%	★☆☆☆☆
2023	14.6	506 of 565	10.4%	★☆☆☆☆
2022	14.0	518 of 574	9.8%	☆☆☆☆☆
2021	26.0	460 of 567	18.9%	★☆☆☆☆
2019	15.0	542 of 603	10.1%	★☆☆☆☆
2018	9.8	520 of 567	8.3%	☆☆☆☆☆
2017	16.8	501 of 574	12.7%	★☆☆☆☆
2016	7.8	568 of 599	5.2%	☆☆☆☆☆
2015	6.6	582 of 616	5.5%	☆☆☆☆☆
2014	5.9	577 of 603	4.3%	☆☆☆☆☆
2013	10.2	589 of 624	5.6%	☆☆☆☆☆
2012	9.6	595 of 626	5.0%	☆☆☆☆☆

By subject vs Iowa (2024-2025) ?

Mathematics62%-11 vs state

English Language Arts51%-20 vs state

Science48%-16 vs state

★

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Schools Near Fred Becker 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 English Language Arts 6th Grade	ISASP Mathematics 3rd Grade	ISASP Mathematics 4th Grade	ISASP Mathematics 5th Grade	ISASP Mathematics 6th Grade	ISASP Science 5th Grade	Per Pupil Expenditures Total	Sub-total from Federal Funds	Sub-total from State/Local Funds
Fred Becker Elementary School	Public	PK, KG-5	1239 Sheldon St	Waterloo	50701	Black Hawk County	Waterloo Community School District	No	(n/a)	No	Yes	(319) 433-2180	501	38	13.1	78.0%	187 (37.3%)	145 (28.9%)	59 (11.8%)	11 (2.2%)	1 (0.2%)	24 (4.8%)	74 (14.8%)	16.7	499^th of 576 public elementary schools	13.4%		15.1	489^th of 557 public elementary schools	12.2%	10	49.3	50.0	53.3		64.8	59.1	63.3		48.3	$13,341	$1,146	$12,194
Orchard Hill Elementary School	Public	PK, KG-6	3909 Rownd St	Cedar Falls	50613	Black Hawk County	Cedar Falls Community School District	No	(n/a)	No	No	(319) 553-2465	458	34	13.5	28.6%	357 (77.9%)	6 (1.3%)	19 (4.1%)	23 (5.0%)	1 (0.2%)	13 (2.8%)	39 (8.5%)	70.9	163^rd of 576 public elementary schools	71.7%		64.3	206^th of 557 public elementary schools	63.0%	43	88.7	81.8	80.0	76.5	96.8	80.0	80.0	68.6	71.9	$12,775	$396	$12,378
Kingsley Elementary School	Public	K-5	201 Sunset Rd	Waterloo	50701	Black Hawk County	Waterloo Community School District	No	(n/a)	No	Yes	(319) 433-2210	337	29	11.6	49.9%	193 (57.3%)	47 (13.9%)	32 (9.5%)	14 (4.2%)	0 (0.0%)	9 (2.7%)	42 (12.5%)	69.8	174^th of 576 public elementary schools	69.8%		61.6	232^nd of 557 public elementary schools	58.3%	58	80.6	78.2	72.6		88.7	80.0	87.1		66.1	$12,606	$882	$11,722
Lincoln Elementary School	Public	PK, KG-5	302 Cedar Bend St	Waterloo	50703	Black Hawk County	Waterloo Community School District	No	(n/a)	No	Yes	(319) 433-1990	463	38	12.0	81.0%	103 (22.2%)	210 (45.4%)	55 (11.9%)	3 (0.6%)	0 (0.0%)	25 (5.4%)	67 (14.5%)	19.5	491^st of 576 public elementary schools	14.8%		15.4	486^th of 557 public elementary schools	12.7%	5	64.5	62.5	46.6		61.3	62.5	60.3		36.2	$14,309	$1,947	$12,361
Cedar Heights Elementary School	Public	PK, KG-6	2417 Rainbow Dr	Cedar Falls	50613	Black Hawk County	Cedar Falls Community School District	No	(n/a)	No	Yes	(319) 553-2855	451	34	13.3	33.7%	348 (77.2%)	25 (5.5%)	22 (4.9%)	8 (1.8%)	0 (0.0%)	7 (1.6%)	41 (9.1%)	54.6	295^th of 576 public elementary schools	48.8%		59.7	258^th of 557 public elementary schools	53.7%	37	77.3	70.8	71.1	76.2	84.8	64.6	77.8	68.3	75.6	$11,656	$449	$11,208
Irving Elementary School	Public	K-5	1115 W. 5th Street	Waterloo	50702	Black Hawk County	Waterloo Community School District	No	(n/a)	No	Yes	(319) 433-2800	353	33	10.5	89.2%	70 (19.8%)	127 (36.0%)	64 (18.1%)	9 (2.5%)	0 (0.0%)	28 (7.9%)	55 (15.6%)	33.3	446^th of 576 public elementary schools	22.6%		32.3	436^th of 557 public elementary schools	21.7%	10	75.5	70.8	58.3		65.3	62.5	66.7		47.9	$13,386	$1,643	$11,742
Southdale Elementary School	Public	PK, KG-6	627 Orchard Dr	Cedar Falls	50613	Black Hawk County	Cedar Falls Community School District	No	(n/a)	No	No	(319) 553-2900	539	39	13.8	22.1%	430 (79.8%)	23 (4.3%)	17 (3.2%)	33 (6.1%)	0 (0.0%)	4 (0.7%)	32 (5.9%)	77.1	105^th of 576 public elementary schools	81.8%		73.9	119^th of 557 public elementary schools	78.6%	14	85.7	86.4	85.9	86.8	92.9	84.7	69.0	85.3	71.8	$11,540	$473	$11,067
Lou Henry Elementary School	Public	K-5	312 Rachael St	Waterloo	50701	Black Hawk County	Waterloo Community School District	No	(n/a)	No	Yes	(319) 433-2860	460	38	12.1	65.9%	178 (38.7%)	176 (38.3%)	37 (8.0%)	30 (6.5%)	1 (0.2%)	8 (1.7%)	30 (6.5%)	24.9	473^rd of 576 public elementary schools	17.9%		45.9	356^th of 557 public elementary schools	36.1%	117	63.6	57.6	56.9		74.2	57.6	58.5		49.2	$13,402	$1,114	$12,288
Lowell Elementary School	Public	PK, KG-5	1628 Washington St	Waterloo	50702	Black Hawk County	Waterloo Community School District	No	(n/a)	No	Yes	(319) 433-1900	538	42	12.7	77.9%	145 (27.0%)	145 (27.0%)	128 (23.8%)	24 (4.5%)	1 (0.2%)	31 (5.8%)	64 (11.9%)	17.2	498^th of 576 public elementary schools	13.5%		14	492^nd of 557 public elementary schools	11.7%	6	40.8	48.7	64.3		59.2	43.6	66.1		44.6	$14,090	$1,974	$12,115
Kittrell Elementary School	Public	PK, KG-5	1304 Oregon St	Waterloo	50702	Black Hawk County	Waterloo Community School District	No	(n/a)	No	Yes	(319) 433-2910	576	46	12.4	71.5%	200 (34.7%)	156 (27.1%)	96 (16.7%)	43 (7.5%)	1 (0.2%)	35 (6.1%)	45 (7.8%)	39	405^th of 576 public elementary schools	29.7%		26.9	451^st of 557 public elementary schools	19.0%	46	47.7	65.3	69.6		77.9	72.0	70.9		58.2	$12,433	$1,211	$11,221

Frequently Asked Questions about Fred Becker Elementary School

What district is Fred Becker Elementary School in?

Waterloo Community School District

What is the racial makeup of Fred Becker Elementary School?

Students at Fred Becker Elementary School are 37% White, 29% African American, 15% Two or more races, 12% Hispanic, 5% Pacific Islander, 2% Asian.

Is Fred Becker Elementary School a good school?

Fred Becker Elementary School ranks in the bottom 13.4% of Iowa elementary schools.

How many students attend Fred Becker Elementary School?

In the 2024-25 school year, 501 students attended Fred Becker Elementary School.

What schools do graduates of Fred Becker Elementary School attend?

Students who attend Fred Becker Elementary School usually go on to attend:

Middle : Central Middle School
High : West High School

Rate Fred Becker Elementary 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.