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)
191878002290	301	Mason City Virtual Academy	Public, Virtual	7-12	1515 S Pennsylvania Ave	Mason City	50401	Cerro Gordo County	Mason City Community School District	No	(n/a)	Yes	No	(641) 421-4401	99	4	24.7	52.5%	71 (71.7%)	13 (13.1%)	11 (11.1%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	4 (4.0%)								17.5	9.7	312	11
190594002169	302	Iowa Connections Academy High School	Public, Virtual	9-12	807 Third St	Anita	50020	Cass County	CAM Community School District	No	(n/a)	Yes	No	(712) 581-0200	595	8	73.4	38.2%	496 (83.4%)	10 (1.7%)	49 (8.2%)	10 (1.7%)	6 (1.0%)	3 (0.5%)	21 (3.5%)	$8,486			$24			$8,463	15.6	32.8	258	44
192640001533	303	West High School	Public	9-12	2001 Casselman	Sioux City	51103	Woodbury County	Sioux City Community School District	No	(n/a)	No	No	(712) 279-6772	1,252	83	15	76.0%	453 (36.2%)	87 (6.9%)	532 (42.5%)	33 (2.6%)	52 (4.2%)	21 (1.7%)	74 (5.9%)	$13,862			$375			$13,487	15.5	7.9	315	12
190822000409	304	Abraham Lincoln High School	Public	9-12	1205 Bonham Ave	Council Bluffs	51503	Pottawattamie County	Council Bluffs Community School District	No	(n/a)	No	No	(712) 328-6481	1,399	88	15.9	51.8%	1,049 (75.0%)	46 (3.3%)	225 (16.1%)	20 (1.4%)	7 (0.5%)	7 (0.5%)	45 (3.2%)	$19,459			$745			$18,715	15.3	11.8	308	4
190999000635	305	Eagle Grove High School	Public	9-12	415 NW 2nd Street	Eagle Grove	50533	Wright County	Eagle Grove Community School District	No	(n/a)	No	No	(515) 448-5143	299	25	11.8	61.9%	181 (60.5%)	1 (0.3%)	105 (35.1%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	12 (4.0%)	$15,716			$452			$15,265	15.3	22.5	287	18
191182000724	306	Fort Dodge High School	Public	9-12	819 N 25th St	Fort Dodge	50501	Webster County	Fort Dodge Community School District	No	(n/a)	No	No	(515) 955-1770	1,072	64	16.7	54.4%	737 (68.8%)	76 (7.1%)	171 (16.0%)	5 (0.5%)	1 (0.1%)	4 (0.4%)	78 (7.3%)	$15,974			$1,047			$14,927	14.7	8.3	314	8
191878001099	307	Alternative School	Public	9-12	19 N. Illinois Ave.	Mason City	50401	Cerro Gordo County	Mason City Community School District	No	(n/a)	No	No	(641) 421-4426	94	6	15.9	61.7%	74 (78.7%)	6 (6.4%)	13 (13.8%)	0 (0.0%)	1 (1.1%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	$15,600			$305			$15,294	14.6	5.5	321	14
192532001447	308	Saydel High School	Public	9-12	5601 NE 7th St	Des Moines	50313	Polk County	Saydel Community School District	No	(n/a)	No	No	(515) 262-9325	451	33	13.5	60.5%	338 (74.9%)	4 (0.9%)	80 (17.7%)	3 (0.7%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	26 (5.8%)	$15,532			$350			$15,182	12.6	8.5	313	5
192739001601	309	Storm Lake High School	Public	9-12	621 Tornado Dr	Storm Lake	50588	Buena Vista County	Storm Lake Community School District	No	(n/a)	No	No	(712) 732-8065	793	47	16.8	62.5%	125 (15.8%)	32 (4.0%)	435 (54.9%)	128 (16.1%)	0 (0.0%)	57 (7.2%)	16 (2.0%)	$15,042			$355			$14,687	12.3	11.7	309
190579000181	310	Burlington Community High School	Public	9-12	421 Terrace Dr	Burlington	52601	Des Moines County	Burlington Community School District	No	(n/a)	No	No	(319) 753-2211	1,092	61	17.8	58.4%	729 (66.8%)	149 (13.6%)	80 (7.3%)	11 (1.0%)	5 (0.5%)	1 (0.1%)	117 (10.7%)	$15,640			$640			$15,000	11.7	10.4	311	1

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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:

Charter Schools vs Regular Public Schools: Understanding the Key Differences

No Child Left Behind (NCLB): A Comprehensive Analysis of Its Impact on Education