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Irving Elementary School

Public Grades K-5

446^th

SchoolDigger Rank ?

of 576 Iowa Elementary Schools

Better than 23% of Iowa elementary schools

Summary

Irving Elementary School is a public elementary school in Waterloo, Iowa, serving 388 students from kindergarten to 5th grade. The school is part of the Waterloo Community School District, which is ranked 287 out of 313 school districts in the state and has a 0-star rating from SchoolDigger.

Irving Elementary School faces significant challenges in providing a high-quality education to its students. The school has consistently high chronic absenteeism rates, ranging from 21.6% to 42.4% over the past few years, which is much higher than the state and district averages. Additionally, the school's test scores in English Language Arts, Mathematics, and Science are generally lower than the Waterloo Community School District and the state of Iowa averages. For example, in the 2024-2025 school year, the percentage of 5th-grade students proficient or better in Science was 47.9% at Irving Elementary, compared to 51.1% for the Waterloo district and 64.2% for the state.

Another notable factor is the extremely high percentage of students receiving free or reduced-price lunch at Irving Elementary School, ranging from 89.14% to 91.79% over the past few years. This is significantly higher than the nearby schools and the district average. Despite the higher spending per student at Irving Elementary School compared to nearby schools, the school's academic performance remains lower, suggesting that the school may need to re-evaluate how it allocates its resources and funding to better support student learning.

353

Students ?

10.5

Student/teacher ratio ?

$13,386

Per pupil spending ?

89.2%

Free/discounted lunch ?

1115 W. 5th Street
Waterloo, IA 50702

(319) 433-2800

District: Waterloo Community School District

Students who attend Irving Elementary School usually attend:

Middle:	Central Middle School
High:	West High School

Racial breakdown:

African American:

36.0%

White:

19.8%

Hispanic:

18.1%

See top rated Iowa elementary schools

Compare Irving Elementary School to nearby elementary schools!

At a glance

▲ Ranking trend: Improving — 2nd percentile in 2015 → 23rd in 2025

Strengths

✓Ranking is trending up — up 21 percentile points since 2015

✓Small classes — about 10 students per teacher

Worth a look

!Test scores below the Iowa average (64% vs 71% meeting standards)

!In the lower quartile statewide (23rd percentile)

!High chronic absenteeism (34% vs 22% Iowa)

Students meeting standards (2024-2025) ?

This school64%

District avg62%

Iowa avg71%

446^th of 576

Iowa public elementary schools ?

Bottom 23%▲ up 21 pts since 2015

From bottom 2% (2015) to bottom 23% (2025)

See the entire ranking list of Iowa Elementary Schools →

★★★★★

SchoolDigger rating ?

5^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	33.3	446 of 576	22.6%	★☆☆☆☆
2024	32.3	436 of 557	21.7%	★☆☆☆☆
2023	26.5	456 of 565	19.3%	★☆☆☆☆
2022	25.4	469 of 574	18.3%	★☆☆☆☆
2021	10.8	530 of 567	6.5%	☆☆☆☆☆
2019	3.4	592 of 603	1.8%	☆☆☆☆☆
2018	4.4	546 of 567	3.7%	☆☆☆☆☆
2017	1.9	564 of 574	1.7%	☆☆☆☆☆
2016	5.6	577 of 599	3.7%	☆☆☆☆☆
2015	2.0	605 of 616	1.8%	☆☆☆☆☆
2014	6.1	575 of 603	4.6%	☆☆☆☆☆
2013	0.3	623 of 624	0.2%	☆☆☆☆☆
2012	1.0	623 of 626	0.5%	☆☆☆☆☆

By subject vs Iowa (2024-2025) ?

English Language Arts68%-3 vs state

Mathematics65%-9 vs state

Science48%-16 vs state

★

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Schools Near Irving 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
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
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
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
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
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
Cunningham School	Public	PK, KG-5	1224 Mobile St	Waterloo	50703	Black Hawk County	Waterloo Community School District	No	(n/a)	No	Yes	(319) 433-2600	443	35	12.6	91.4%	32 (7.2%)	258 (58.2%)	50 (11.3%)	3 (0.7%)	1 (0.2%)	39 (8.8%)	60 (13.5%)	3.8	561^st of 576 public elementary schools	2.6%		3.2	545^th of 557 public elementary schools	2.2%	16	33.9	42.4	32.8	58.1	31.8	52.5	21.7	$14,512	$2,793	$11,718
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
Highland Elementary School	Public	PK, KG-5	812 Idaho St	Waterloo	50703	Black Hawk County	Waterloo Community School District	No	(n/a)	No	Yes	(319) 433-2630	448	38	11.9	89.5%	126 (28.1%)	115 (25.7%)	131 (29.2%)	3 (0.7%)	0 (0.0%)	14 (3.1%)	59 (13.2%)	12.8	515^th of 576 public elementary schools	10.6%		12	502^nd of 557 public elementary schools	9.9%	13	43.1	48.2	50.9	63.9	46.4	66.0	41.5	$12,711	$1,327	$11,383
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
Orange Elementary School	Public	PK, KG-5	5805 Kimball Ave	Waterloo	50701	Black Hawk County	Waterloo Community School District	No	(n/a)	No	Yes	(319) 433-2880	518	38	13.6	49.6%	364 (70.3%)	56 (10.8%)	38 (7.3%)	5 (1.0%)	1 (0.2%)	6 (1.2%)	48 (9.3%)	69.7	176^th of 576 public elementary schools	69.4%		63.8	214^th of 557 public elementary schools	61.6%	38	73.6	78.7	78.3	86.1	86.7	78.3	69.6	$12,067	$769	$11,297

Frequently Asked Questions about Irving Elementary School

What district is Irving Elementary School in?

Waterloo Community School District

What schools do graduates of Irving Elementary School attend?

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

Middle : Central Middle School
High : West High School

How many students attend Irving Elementary School?

In the 2024-25 school year, 353 students attended Irving Elementary School.

What is the racial makeup of Irving Elementary School?

Students at Irving Elementary School are 36% African American, 20% White, 18% Hispanic, 16% Two or more races, 8% Pacific Islander, 3% Asian.

Is Irving Elementary School a good school?

Irving Elementary School ranks in the bottom 22.6% of Iowa elementary schools.

Rate Irving 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.