Summary:
The 52233 zip code area is home to two elementary schools - Hiawatha Elementary School and Nixon Elementary School, both part of the Cedar Rapids Community School District. While the schools share the same geographic area, they exhibit notable differences in student demographics, academic performance, and socioeconomic factors.
Hiawatha Elementary consistently outperforms Nixon Elementary on standardized test scores, particularly in mathematics. For example, in the 2023-2024 school year, 78.4% of 5th graders at Hiawatha were proficient or better in math, compared to 65.3% at Nixon. This academic advantage at Hiawatha is observed across multiple grade levels and subject areas. Additionally, Hiawatha has a lower percentage of students receiving free or reduced-price lunch (54.27%) compared to Nixon (67.13%), indicating a lower proportion of economically disadvantaged students.
Despite the differences in test scores, both schools spend a similar amount per student, with Hiawatha spending $15,749 per student and Nixon spending $15,864 per student in the 2018-2019 school year. The student-teacher ratios are also relatively low at both schools, with Hiawatha having a 13.7 student-teacher ratio and Nixon having a 12.6 student-teacher ratio. These factors suggest that funding and staffing levels alone may not be the sole drivers of the observed academic performance gap between the two schools.
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