Grinnell Middle School

Grinnell Middle School serves 22 students in grades 5–8 in the small community of Grinnell and is part of Grinnell Public Schools; the only nearby school in the data is Oakley Middle School, about 12 miles away. The clearest overall finding is that Grinnell’s 2025–2026 results were higher than the state’s and Oakley’s in ELA, math and science, though its ELA and math results were below its own district’s.

Science is Grinnell’s strongest subject across the comparisons: 45% of students were proficient, compared with 38% statewide and 25% at Oakley; the district also scored 45%. ELA and math were each 48%, above Oakley’s 32% in ELA and 28% in math, and above state results of 46% and 41%, respectively, but below district results of 57% and 55%. Fifth grade stands out, with 64% proficient in both ELA and math. Sixth-grade math is a clear area to watch: 40% were proficient, below the state’s 41%, and seventh-grade math (50%) was below Oakley’s 55%.

Results have improved substantially since 2022–2023: proficiency rose 25 percentage points in ELA, 32 in math and 24 in science, moving Grinnell from below to above the state in all three subjects. The gains were uneven, with results dipping in 2023–2024 before rising in the next two reported years. SchoolDigger ranks Grinnell 113th of 368 schools, at the 69th percentile with 3 stars, up from the 21st percentile the year before; Oakley ranks 270th, at the 27th percentile with 1 star. Grinnell’s student-teacher ratio was 5.3, compared with Oakley’s 13.3, and its free/reduced-lunch rate was 45%, versus 58% at Oakley—context, not an explanation for results. Chronic absenteeism was low at 2%, compared with 12% districtwide and 18% statewide, while the reported dropout rate was 18%, versus 8% in the district and 1% statewide; this contrast is worth asking the school about. SchoolDigger’s statewide ranking for students with low socioeconomic status was at the 9th percentile in 2020–2021, while its ranking for White students rose from the 5th to the 20th percentile between 2023–2024 and 2024–2025, close to the overall 21st percentile that later year.