Best Middle Schools in Iowa

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Find the best Iowa middle 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 337)	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)
190954000625	161	Dunkerton High School	Public	6-12	509 Canfield	Dunkerton	50626	Black Hawk County	Dunkerton Community School District	No	(n/a)	No	No	(319) 822-4295	211	20	10.7	38.4%	193 (91.5%)	3 (1.4%)	3 (1.4%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	1 (0.5%)	11 (5.2%)	$15,242			$249			$14,993	56.7	50.4	188	27
192787000290	162	Tipton Middle School	Public	5-8	725 West 7th St.	Tipton	52772	Cedar County	Tipton Community School District	No	(n/a)	No	No	(563) 886-6025	292	20	14.4	32.5%	273 (93.5%)	1 (0.3%)	11 (3.8%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	7 (2.4%)	$10,591			$216			$10,375	56.5	44.1	212	50
193186000369	163	Winterset Junior High School	Public	7-8	720 Husky Dr	Winterset	50273	Madison County	Winterset Community School District	No	(n/a)	No	No	(515) 462-3336	247	19	13	31.6%	228 (92.3%)	0 (0.0%)	13 (5.3%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	6 (2.4%)	$12,355			$233			$12,122	56.5	65.9	104	59
190000900386	164	Colfax-Mingo Junior/Senior High School	Public	7-12	204 N League Rd	Colfax	50054	Jasper County	Colfax-Mingo Community School District	No	(n/a)	No	No	(515) 674-4111	333	28	11.9	37.8%	284 (85.3%)	6 (1.8%)	15 (4.5%)	1 (0.3%)	0 (0.0%)	4 (1.2%)	22 (6.6%)	$13,707			$447			$13,261	56.4	30.5	262	98
192928002207	165	Southwest Valley Middle School	Public	6-8	406 East Third Street	Villisca	50864	Montgomery County	Villisca Community School District	No	(n/a)	No	No	(712) 826-2552	149	14	10.5	48.3%	139 (93.3%)	1 (0.7%)	2 (1.3%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	7 (4.7%)	$13,094			$285			$12,809	56.2	41.5	224	59
192187001310	166	Oskaloosa Middle School	Public	6-8	1704 N 3rd St	Oskaloosa	52577	Mahaska County	Oskaloosa Community School District	No	(n/a)	No	No	(641) 673-8308	454	40	11.4	49.3%	391 (86.1%)	8 (1.8%)	25 (5.5%)	8 (1.8%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	22 (4.8%)	$14,563			$281			$14,283	56.1	47	202	36
190684000292	167	Central Middle School/High School	Public	7-12	400 1st Street NW	Elkader	52043	Clayton County	Central Community School District	No	(n/a)	No	Yes	(563) 245-1750	210	14	15.4	33.3%	200 (95.2%)	1 (0.5%)	4 (1.9%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	5 (2.4%)	$13,348			$326			$13,022	55.9	46.2	204	37
192316001403	168	Pleasantville Middle School	Public	7-8	415 Jones St	Pleasantville	50225	Marion County	Pleasantville Community School District	No	(n/a)	No	No	(515) 848-0528	114	7	16.6	30.7%	104 (91.2%)	2 (1.8%)	5 (4.4%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	3 (2.6%)	$6,497			$87			$6,410	55.8	63	122	46
190354000060	169	Ames Middle School	Public	6-8	3915 Mortensen Road	Ames	50014	Story County	Ames Community School District	No	(n/a)	No	No	(515) 268-2400	1,002	76	13.2	30.8%	651 (65.0%)	102 (10.2%)	117 (11.7%)	64 (6.4%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	64 (6.4%)	$11,412			$258			$11,154	55.5	55.2	175	6
191434000857	170	Hudson High School	Public	7-12	245 S Washington	Hudson	50643	Black Hawk County	Hudson Community School District	No	(n/a)	No	No	(319) 988-4226	342	25	13.5	26.9%	293 (85.7%)	6 (1.8%)	23 (6.7%)	3 (0.9%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	17 (5.0%)	$13,977			$58			$13,919	55.5	79.3	43	127

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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:

State-Administered Standardized Tests: A Comprehensive Guide

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Virtual Schools: The Future of Online Education