Best High Schools in Iowa

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Find the best Iowa high schools with SchoolDigger.com! Focused on test scores for accurate rankings, our user-friendly site simplifies your search. Empower your decisions by exploring top-rated schools, only on SchoolDigger.com - the ultimate guide to K-12 schools!

Year after year, SchoolDigger is always the first to publish Iowa test scores and rankings. Other sites use stale test score data that are several years old! Be in the know with the very latest performance metrics.

The list is updated annually upon the release of the ISASP test scores by the Iowa Department of Education. The most recent update was on Wednesday, September 18, 2024.

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School															Students/Teachers											Per Pupil Expenditures (2019)							Ranking (2024 vs 2023)
ID	Rank (of 338)	School	Type	Grades	Address	City	Zip	County	District	Is Charter	Is Magnet	Is Virtual	Is Title I	Phone	# Students	Full-time Teachers	Student/ Teacher Ratio	Free/Disc Lunch Recipients	White	Black	Hispanic	Asian	American Indian	Pacific Islander	Two or More Races	Per Pupil Expenditures: Total	Personnel from Federal Funds	Non-Personnel from Federal Funds	Total from Federal Funds	Personnel from State and Local Funds	Non-Personnel from State and Local Funds	Total from State and Local Funds	Average Standard Score (2024)	Average Standard Score (2023)	Rank (2023)	Rank Change from 2023	SchoolDigger Rating (2024)
193051002303	51	Northwest High School	Public	10-12	655 NW 10th ST	Waukee	50263	Dallas County	Waukee Community School District	No	(n/a)	No	No	(515) 987-5161	1,427	0		13.5%	1,130 (79.2%)	60 (4.2%)	109 (7.6%)	60 (4.2%)	2 (0.1%)	1 (0.1%)	65 (4.6%)								76.4	74.5	59	8
192004001883	52	Mount Vernon High School	Public	9-12	731 Palisades Rd SW	Mount Vernon	52314	Linn County	Mount Vernon Community School District	No	(n/a)	No	No	(319) 895-8843	468	28	16.6	14.3%	427 (91.2%)	8 (1.7%)	6 (1.3%)	1 (0.2%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	26 (5.6%)	$16,419			$191			$16,228	76.1	86.9	16	36
191545000927	53	Johnston Senior High School	Public	10-12	6500 NW 100th Street	Johnston	50131	Polk County	Johnston Community School District	No	(n/a)	No	No	(515) 278-0449	1,790	90	19.8	23.0%	1,241 (69.3%)	197 (11.0%)	142 (7.9%)	124 (6.9%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	86 (4.8%)	$11,440			$378			$11,061	75.9	78.5	43	10
190693000302	54	Central Lee High School	Public	9-12	2642 Highway 218	Donnellson	52625	Lee County	Central Lee Community School District	No	(n/a)	No	No	(319) 835-9510	326	23	13.9	35.0%	306 (93.9%)	4 (1.2%)	6 (1.8%)	2 (0.6%)	1 (0.3%)	0 (0.0%)	7 (2.1%)	$13,648			$237			$13,411	75.7	72.7	71	17
192898001670	55	Van Buren County Community Middle & High School	Public	7-12	405 4th Street	Keosauqua	52565	Van Buren County	Van Buren County Community School District	No	(n/a)	No	No	(319) 293-3334	369	28	13.3	53.4%	344 (93.2%)	4 (1.1%)	10 (2.7%)	3 (0.8%)	1 (0.3%)	0 (0.0%)	7 (1.9%)	$14,521			$252			$14,270	75.6	61.1	129	74
191893001118	56	Mediapolis High School	Public	9-12	725 N. Northfield	Mediapolis	52637	Des Moines County	Mediapolis Community School District	No	(n/a)	No	No	(319) 394-3101	295	26	11.4	28.1%	269 (91.2%)	1 (0.3%)	9 (3.1%)	0 (0.0%)	2 (0.7%)	0 (0.0%)	13 (4.4%)	$15,192			$266			$14,926	75.5	86.9	17	39
190420000105	57	Ballard High School	Public	9-12	701 Ballard Drive	Huxley	50124	Story County	Ballard Community School District	No	(n/a)	No	No	(515) 597-2971	545	33	16.3	17.2%	506 (92.8%)	14 (2.6%)	19 (3.5%)	1 (0.2%)	0 (0.0%)	1 (0.2%)	4 (0.7%)	$13,456			$266			$13,189	75.5	78.9	40	17
190385001899	58	North Union High School	Public	9-12	600 4th Ave	Armstrong	50514	Emmet County	North Union Community School District	No	(n/a)	No	No	(712) 868-3542	194	15	13.2	52.6%	176 (90.7%)	0 (0.0%)	9 (4.6%)	2 (1.0%)	1 (0.5%)	0 (0.0%)	6 (3.1%)	$15,647			$203			$15,444	75.4	70.8	79	21
192466001415	59	Rock Valley High School	Public	9-12	1712 20th Ave	Rock Valley	51247	Sioux County	Rock Valley Community School District	No	(n/a)	No	No	(712) 476-2701	294	24	12	42.5%	164 (55.8%)	2 (0.7%)	125 (42.5%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	3 (1.0%)	$19,603			$311			$19,292	75.4	69.6	90	31
190339000038	60	Waukon High School	Public	9-12	1061 3rd Ave NW	Waukon	52172	Allamakee County	Allamakee Community School District	No	(n/a)	No	No	(563) 568-3466	380	25	15.2	43.7%	360 (94.7%)	0 (0.0%)	13 (3.4%)	4 (1.1%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	3 (0.8%)	$15,929			$265			$15,665	75.3	73.3	66	6

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About our rankings:

Schooldigger calculates school rankings based on ISASP English Language Arts, ISASP Mathematics, ISASP Science test scores released by the Iowa Department of Education.
These rankings were last updated on September 18, 2024, and are based on the most recent test scores available. We update rankings as we receive new test scores from the Iowa Department of Education, usually on a yearly basis.
Our sources of data include the National Center for Education Statistics, U.S. Department of Education and the Iowa Department of Education.
For more information about our ranking process, please see our Ranking FAQ. Details about our methodology are here.

Educational resources:

Public School Districts and Their Services: A Comprehensive Guide

Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA): Transforming Education in America