Big Creek Elementary

Q: Is Big Creek Elementary a good school?

Big Creek Elementary ranks 59 th of 557 Iowa elementary schools. SchoolDigger rates this school 4 stars out of 5.

Summary:

Big Creek Elementary is a public elementary school located in Polk City, Iowa, serving grades 3-5 with a total enrollment of 354 students. The school is part of the North Polk Community School District, which is ranked 24th out of 309 school districts in Iowa and is rated 5 out of 5 stars by SchoolDigger.

Big Creek Elementary consistently outperforms the state average in ISASP (Iowa Statewide Assessment of Student Progress) test scores across all grade levels and subject areas. In the 2023-2024 school year, the school had the highest percentage of students proficient or better in English Language Arts (ELA) and Mathematics compared to the North Polk Community School District and the state of Iowa. For example, in 5th grade ELA, 82.1% of students at Big Creek Elementary were proficient or better, compared to 79.1% in the district and 69% statewide. In 5th grade Mathematics, 90.5% of students at Big Creek Elementary were proficient or better, compared to 85.1% in the district and 70.7% statewide.

When compared to the nearby North Polk Central Elementary and North Polk West Elementary, which are also part of the North Polk Community School District, Big Creek Elementary consistently outperforms these schools in academic metrics, suggesting a higher level of academic excellence. However, the school's racial and socioeconomic diversity appears to be lower than these nearby schools, which could be an area for further investigation and potential improvement.

Detail:

Public 3-5

340 E Vista Lake Drive
Polk City, IA 50226

(515) 984-3400

District: North Polk Community School District

SchoolDigger Rank:
59^th of 557 Iowa Elementary Schools

Student/teacher ratio: 14.4

Number of students: 337

Racial breakdown:

White:

92.0%

Two or more races:

3.9%

Hispanic:

2.7%

Free/discounted lunch recipients: 11.3%

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Performance Trends

Compare Details Big Creek Elementary ranks better than 89.4% of elementary schools in Iowa. (See more...)

Compare Details In 2024 the calculated Average Standard Score was 81.89. (See more...)

Chronic absenteeism in a school refers to a situation where students repeatedly miss school, with the threshold often defined as missing 10% or more of school days for any reason, excused or unexcused.

Student Body

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Teachers

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Schooldigger Rankings:

Big Creek Elementary was not ranked this year due to insufficient test score data.

North Polk Community School District:

SchoolDigger ranks North Polk Community School District 24^th of 309 Iowa school districts. (See district ranking list.)

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Rank History for Big Creek Elementary

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Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Elementary Schools	IA State Percentile	SchoolDigger Rating
2024	81.89	59^th	557	89.4%

See the entire list of Iowa Elementary School Rankings!

Data source: test scores: Iowa Department of Education, rankings: SchoolDigger.com

Data source: Iowa Department of Education

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Enrollment information for Big Creek Elementary

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Year	White	African American	Asian	Hispanic	Two or More Races	Not Specified	Total
2022	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
2023	330	3	0	7	13	1	354
2024	310	3	1	9	13	1	337

Data source: National Center for Education Statistics, U.S. Dept of Education.

About Enrollment/Ethnicity

For more information about how the Department of Education defines ethnicity, see Defining Race and Ethnicity Data, National Center for Education Statistics

Students eligible for free or discounted lunch at Big Creek Elementary

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Year	# Students	Full-time Teachers	Student/Teacher ratio	% Free/Discounted Lunch
2022	0	n/a	n/a	n/a
2023	354	23.9	14.8	9.3
2024	337	23.2	14.4	11.3

Data source: National Center for Education Statistics, U.S. Dept of Education.

About Students eligible for discounted/free lunch:

The National School Lunch Program (NSLP) provides low-cost or free meals to students in U.S. public and nonprofit private schools based on household income. Those with incomes below 130% of the poverty line receive free lunch, while those between 130% and 185% qualify for reduced-price lunch. The percentage of students receiving free or reduced-price lunch serves as a marker for poverty, as it reflects the socioeconomic status of families in a given school or district. A higher FRPL rate typically indicates a higher concentration of low-income families, suggesting that the school or district may face additional challenges in providing adequate resources and support for student success.

Student/Teacher Ratio Big Creek Elementary

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Year	# Students	Full-time Teachers	Student/Teacher ratio	% Free/Discounted Lunch
2022	0	n/a	n/a	n/a
2023	354	23.9	14.8	9.3
2024	337	23.2	14.4	11.3

Data source: National Center for Education Statistics, U.S. Dept of Education.

About Student-Teacher Ratio

Student/teacher ratio is calculated by dividing the total number of students by the total number of full-time equivalent teachers. Please note that a smaller student/teacher ratio does not necessarily translate to smaller class size. In some instances, schools hire teachers part time, and some teachers are hired for specialized instruction with very small class sizes. These and other factors contribute to the student/teacher ratio. Note: For private schools, Student/teacher ratio may not include Pre-Kindergarten.

Schools Near Big Creek Elementary

Choose columns to see: Summary School Students/Teachers Ranking Test Scores Finance All

School													Students/Teachers											Ranking (2024)				Ranking (2023)				ISASP English Language Arts (2024)			ISASP Mathematics (2024)			ISASP Science (2024)	Per Pupil Expenditures (2019)
Name	Type	Grades	Address	City	Zip	County	District	Is Charter	Is Magnet	Is Virtual	Is Title I	Phone	Enrollment	Full-time Teachers	Student/ Teacher Ratio	Free/Discounted Lunch Recipients	White	Black	Hispanic	Asian	American Indian	Pacific Islander	Two or More Races	Average Standard Score (2024)	Statewide Rank (2024)	State Percentile (2024)	SchoolDigger Rating (2024)	Average Standard Score (2023)	Statewide Rank (2023)	State Percentile (2023)	Rank Change from Previous Year	ISASP English Language Arts 3rd Grade	ISASP English Language Arts 4th Grade	ISASP English Language Arts 5th Grade	ISASP Mathematics 3rd Grade	ISASP Mathematics 4th Grade	ISASP Mathematics 5th Grade	ISASP Science 5th Grade	Per Pupil Expenditures Total	Sub-total from Federal Funds	Sub-total from State/Local Funds
Big Creek Elementary	Public	3-5	340 E Vista Lake Drive	Polk City	50226	Polk County	North Polk Community School District	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(515) 984-3400	337	23	14.4	11.3%	310 (92.0%)	3 (0.9%)	9 (2.7%)	1 (0.3%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	13 (3.9%)	81.9	59^th of 557 public elementary schools	89.4%					(n/a)	76.6	84.6	82.1	87.0	85.4	90.5	75.8
North Polk West Elementary School	Public	PK, KG-2	1400 W Broadway	Polk City	50226	Polk County	North Polk Community School District	No	(n/a)	No	No	(515) 984-3400	416	29	14.4	9.6%	386 (92.8%)	5 (1.2%)	10 (2.4%)	2 (0.5%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	12 (2.9%)								(n/a)								$10,867	$125	$10,741
Rock Creek Elementary	Public	K-5	3800 NW Abilene Rd	Ankeny	50023	Polk County	Ankeny Community School District	No	(n/a)	No	No	(515) 965-9629	733	49	14.9	17.6%	562 (76.7%)	59 (8.0%)	49 (6.7%)	28 (3.8%)	2 (0.3%)	1 (0.1%)	32 (4.4%)	75.9	104^th of 557 public elementary schools	81.3%		79.1	87^th of 565 public elementary schools	84.6%	17	79.5	84.5	81.8	89.3	72.9	84.1	68.2	$11,986	$349	$11,637
Westwood Elementary School	Public	K-5	2920 NW 9th St	Ankeny	50023	Polk County	Ankeny Community School District	No	(n/a)	No	No	(515) 965-9690	615	42	14.5	13.2%	502 (81.6%)	22 (3.6%)	46 (7.5%)	7 (1.1%)	2 (0.3%)	0 (0.0%)	36 (5.9%)	82.5	57^th of 557 public elementary schools	89.8%		75	117^th of 565 public elementary schools	79.3%	60	87.0	82.7	81.4	93.5	83.7	82.4	75.7	$11,911	$384	$11,527
Ashland Ridge Elementary	Public	K-5	2600 NW Ash Drive	Ankeny	50023	Polk County	Ankeny Community School District	No	(n/a)	No	No	(515) 965-9594	768	45	17.0	10.5%	624 (81.3%)	29 (3.8%)	43 (5.6%)	24 (3.1%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	48 (6.3%)	81.2	61^st of 557 public elementary schools	89.0%		85.1	38^th of 565 public elementary schools	93.3%	23	82.0	87.1	85.7	85.0	83.3	84.0	71.2	$11,160	$239	$10,921
North Polk Central Elementary School	Public	PK, KG-5	311 NE 141st Ave	Alleman	50007	Polk County	North Polk Community School District	No	(n/a)	No	Yes	(515) 984-3400	379	27	14.1	10.8%	345 (91.0%)	10 (2.6%)	11 (2.9%)	3 (0.8%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	10 (2.6%)	70.4	157^th of 557 public elementary schools	71.8%		70	167^th of 565 public elementary schools	70.4%	10	65.5	88.2	73.6	84.5	94.1	75.5	64.2	$12,580	$378	$12,202
Northwest Elementary School	Public	K-5	1202 W First St	Ankeny	50023	Polk County	Ankeny Community School District	No	(n/a)	No	Yes	(515) 965-9680	346	30	11.5	25.7%	236 (68.2%)	21 (6.1%)	51 (14.7%)	6 (1.7%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	32 (9.2%)	55.1	298^th of 557 public elementary schools	46.5%		58.2	257^th of 565 public elementary schools	54.5%	41	59.6	71.0	75.0	73.7	78.3	72.9	66.7	$12,743	$644	$12,099
Woodward-Granger Elementary School	Public	2-5	2002 Oak Street	Granger	50109	Dallas County	Woodward-Granger Community School District	No	(n/a)	No	Yes	(515) 999-2357	369	26	14.3	21.4%	336 (91.1%)	2 (0.5%)	23 (6.2%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	8 (2.2%)	84.1	43^rd of 557 public elementary schools	92.3%		82.8	60^th of 565 public elementary schools	89.4%	17	81.9	89.2	79.6	92.6	90.4	83.7	73.5	$16,809	$855	$15,954
Woodward-Granger Early Learning Center	Public	PK, KG-1	2200 State Street	Granger	50109	Dallas County	Woodward-Granger Community School District	No	(n/a)	No	Yes	(515) 999-8058	264	14	19.4	12.5%	245 (92.8%)	0 (0.0%)	10 (3.8%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	9 (3.4%)								(n/a)
Terrace Learning Center	Public	PK	310 NW School St	Ankeny	50023	Polk County	Ankeny Community School District	No	(n/a)	No	No	(515) 965-9670	355	16	21.8	0.8%	242 (68.2%)	35 (9.9%)	40 (11.3%)	16 (4.5%)	1 (0.3%)	0 (0.0%)	21 (5.9%)								(n/a)

Frequently Asked Questions about Big Creek Elementary

What is the racial makeup of Big Creek Elementary?

Students at Big Creek Elementary are 92% White, 4% Two or more races, 3% Hispanic.

Is Big Creek Elementary a good school?

Big Creek Elementary ranks 59^th of 557 Iowa elementary schools. SchoolDigger rates this school 4 stars out of 5.

How many students attend Big Creek Elementary?

In the 2023-24 school year, 337 students attended Big Creek Elementary.

What district is Big Creek Elementary in?

North Polk Community School District

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SchoolDigger data sources: National Center for Education Statistics, U.S. Department of Education, the U.S. Census Bureau and the Iowa Department of Education.

IMPORTANT DISCLAIMERS: Not all boundaries are included. We make every effort to ensure that boundaries are up-to-date. But it's important to note that these are approximations and are for general informational purposes only. To verify legal descriptions of boundaries or school locations, contact your local tax assessor's office and/or school district.

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