Belle Plaine

The three public schools in Belle Plaine serve 554 students from prekindergarten through 12th grade: Belle Plaine Elementary serves PK–4, Belle Plaine Middle serves grades 5–8, and Belle Plaine High serves grades 9–12. The clearest concern is the high school: in 2025–26, proficiency was 24% in ELA, 9% in math and 18% in science, all below state results, while chronic absenteeism was 26% versus 18% statewide.

Belle Plaine Elementary led the reported all-grades ELA and math results, with 44% proficient in each; that was 17 points above the average of the other two schools in ELA and 29 points above them in math. Its math result was also 3 points above the state, although its ELA result was 2 points below. Belle Plaine Middle was a standout in science at 49%, 11 points above the state and 31 points above the high school. Its ELA and math results, 30% and 21%, remained below state figures. Belle Plaine High was lowest in each reported subject, particularly math: its 9% proficiency was 32 points below the state and 24 points below the average of the other schools.

Recent changes were mixed: elementary and middle ELA improved by 1 and 6 points, respectively, while high school ELA fell by 4 points. Elementary math rose 12 points, middle math changed little, and high school math fell 14 points; overall, the three-school math average declined by 1 point as the state result improved. SchoolDigger ranks Elementary at the 39th percentile (2 stars), Middle at the 20th (1 star), and High at the 9th (0 stars); its reported percentile fell 69 points for High from 2023–24 to 2025–26. Student-teacher ratios are similar, from 10.1 to 11.0, and reported free/reduced-lunch rates range from 48% to 53%; these figures do not explain the differences in results. Elementary has no supplied all-grades science score, and school enrollments range from 162 to 211 students.