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)
190897000543	321	Hoover High School	Public	9-12	4800 Aurora Ave	Des Moines	50310	Polk County	Des Moines Independent Community School District	No	(n/a)	No	No	(515) 242-7300	991	46	21.4	78.1%	207 (20.9%)	312 (31.5%)	230 (23.2%)	172 (17.4%)	3 (0.3%)	2 (0.2%)	62 (6.3%)	$17,790			$689			$17,101	4.8	7.8	316	5
192607002298	322	IGNITE Online & Personalized Learning	Public, Virtual, Alternative	PK, KG-12	304 W. Nishna Road	Shenandoah	51601	Page County	Shenandoah Community School District	No	(n/a)	Yes	No	(712) 246-1581	80	2	42.1	28.8%	70 (87.5%)	1 (1.3%)	8 (10.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	1 (1.3%)								4.1	14	303	19
193054000832	323	Greenview Alternative School	Public	9-12	106 16th St SW	Waverly	50677	Bremer County	Waverly-Shell Rock Community School District	No	(n/a)	No	No	(319) 352-9273	31	1	31	48.4%	24 (77.4%)	2 (6.5%)	0 (0.0%)	1 (3.2%)	2 (6.5%)	0 (0.0%)	2 (6.5%)	$498			$63			$435	3			(n/a)
190897000550	324	Lincoln High School	Public	9-12	2600 SW 9th St	Des Moines	50315	Polk County	Des Moines Independent Community School District	No	(n/a)	No	No	(515) 242-7500	2,403	91	26.4	75.7%	842 (35.0%)	319 (13.3%)	909 (37.8%)	180 (7.5%)	9 (0.4%)	2 (0.1%)	142 (5.9%)	$14,888			$697			$14,190	2.7	4.5	324
190897000566	325	North High School	Public	9-12	501 Holcomb Ave	Des Moines	50313	Polk County	Des Moines Independent Community School District	No	(n/a)	No	Yes	(515) 242-7200	1,458	66	22	86.7%	285 (19.5%)	374 (25.7%)	527 (36.1%)	166 (11.4%)	10 (0.7%)	3 (0.2%)	92 (6.3%)	$15,636			$747			$14,889	2.2	2.1	329	4
190897000528	326	East High School	Public	9-12	815 E 13th St	Des Moines	50316	Polk County	Des Moines Independent Community School District	No	(n/a)	No	No	(515) 242-7788	2,040	94	21.6	78.7%	523 (25.6%)	323 (15.8%)	928 (45.5%)	135 (6.6%)	12 (0.6%)	3 (0.1%)	115 (5.6%)	$14,908			$672			$14,236	2.1	2.6	328	2
190858000487	327	West High School	Public	9-12	3505 W Locust St	Davenport	52804	Scott County	Davenport Community School District	No	(n/a)	No	No	(563) 723-5600	1,469	88	16.6	54.4%	864 (58.8%)	192 (13.1%)	216 (14.7%)	35 (2.4%)	6 (0.4%)	6 (0.4%)	148 (10.1%)	$15,155			$652			$14,503	1.4	1.3	330	3
193093000393	328	Walnut Creek Campus	Public	9-12	1020 8th Street	West Des Moines	50265	Polk County	West Des Moines Community School District	No	(n/a)	No	No	(515) 633-6480	147	14	10.5	68.7%	79 (53.7%)	24 (16.3%)	28 (19.0%)	3 (2.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	13 (8.8%)	$18,513			$197			$18,315	1.2	4	325	3
190948002309	329	Dubuque Online School	Public, Virtual	6-12	2300 Chaney Rd	Dubuque	52001	Dubuque County	Dubuque Community School District	No	(n/a)	Yes	(n/a)	(563) 552-3000	208	5	41.6	23.6%	167 (80.3%)	15 (7.2%)	11 (5.3%)	1 (0.5%)	0 (0.0%)	2 (1.0%)	12 (5.8%)								1			(n/a)
191872002289	330	Marshalltown Virtual Academy	Public, Virtual	7-12	1002 South 3rd Avenue	Marshalltown	50158	Marshall County	Marshalltown Community School District	No	(n/a)	Yes	No	(641) 754-1000	81	0		58.0%	24 (29.6%)	4 (4.9%)	43 (53.1%)	3 (3.7%)	2 (2.5%)	0 (0.0%)	5 (6.2%)								0.6	5.8	320	10

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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:

Student-Teacher Ratios and their Impact on Class Sizes & School Selection

Public School Districts and Their Services: A Comprehensive Guide