Other / mixed grade configuration · Iowa City, IA

Grant Wood Elementary School

Federal NCES profile for Grant Wood Elementary School, including enrollment, faculty, free-lunch eligibility, demographics, and resource indicators - Resource Investment Index 46/100.

2024-25 NCES dataOther / mixed grade configurationNCES 191470000886
0/100100/10046/100
👥 S:T ratio
65
🌟 Gifted program
70
🎓 Counselors
39
📋 Attendance
11
Scored 0–100 from federal NCES and CRDC indicators, resource allocation, not test scores. Full methodology →

The verdict

Grant Wood Elementary School earns 46/100 on the Resource Investment Index, with class sizes smaller than 97% of Iowa schools. It is also more racially and ethnically mixed than most Iowa schools.

#7 of 9
schools in Iowa City · Resource Index
46
Resource Index · Typical
8.7:1
small classes for Iowa
66.5%
free-lunch eligible

Grant Wood Elementary School has class sizes smaller than 97% of Iowa schools. Computed live against every Iowa school reporting to NCES.

By Resource Investment Index, Grant Wood Elementary School ranks #7 of 9 schools in Iowa City, IA.

Enrollment

306

Iowa · 2024-25 NCES data

Teachers (FTE)

35.0

Federal CCD staff survey

Students per teacher

8.7:1

vs 14.8:1 Iowa avg

-41% vs state

Free-lunch eligible

66.5%

vs 36.4% Iowa avg

+83% vs state

Student-teacher ratio in context

How Grant Wood Elementary School compares with Iowa and U.S. medians

Smaller classes than state median

Source: NCES Common Core of Data As of 2024-25 federal staff survey Total enrollment ÷ full-time-equivalent classroom teachers

What stands out at Grant Wood Elementary School

Grant Wood Elementary School is a higher-need, mid-sized combined-grade school in Iowa City, Iowa, enrolling 306 students.

Classes run notably small here: at 8.7:1, Grant Wood Elementary School is leaner than roughly 97% of Iowa schools and 41% under the state's 14.8:1 norm, more adult attention per pupil than most peers.

Economic need is high: 66.5% of students qualify for free meals, 83% above the Iowa average, a Title I-weighted population that federal funding formulas prioritise.

With 306 students, its enrollment sits close to the Iowa median campus size.

Its Resource Investment Index sits near the middle of the pack among 1,322 scored Iowa schools.

Against 105 statewide peers matched on enrollment and economic need, it ranks in the upper tier at #33.

Its student body is led by African American (50%) and Hispanic or Latino (23%), more mixed than most schools in the state (diversity index 66/100).

Counselor coverage runs a bit thin, about 306 students per counselor, somewhat past the ASCA-recommended 250:1 benchmark.

Chronic absenteeism is elevated: 35.6% of students missed 10% or more of school days (2021-22 Civil Rights Data Collection).

Among Iowa City's public schools, it stands alongside Herbert Hoover Elementary School (464 students): Grant Wood Elementary School is smaller than that campus by headcount and runs leaner classes (8.7:1 vs 12.2:1).

Iowa City Comm School District also operates Iowa City High School (1,666 students) and West Senior High School (1,514 students) alongside Grant Wood Elementary School.

Sourced from NCES CCD, CRDC, and F-33 (federal records, not a quality verdict). How we source and compute this.

Source: National Center for Education Statistics Common Core of Data + CRDC + F-33 · 2024-25

How Grant Wood Elementary School compares

Grant Wood Elementary School on the metrics families compare, against Iowa and U.S. means.

Metric This school vs Iowa Iowa avg U.S. avg
Students per teacher 8.7:1 ▼ 41% 14.8:1 15.7:1
Free-lunch eligible 66.5% ▲ 83% 36.4% 51.7%
Enrollment 306 top 50% - -

Source: NCES Common Core of Data School-level CCD + state/national means from Public School Universe · 2024-25

8.7:1
Leaner classes than 93% of US schools, among the more generously staffed nationally.
306
Bigger than 33% of US schools by enrollment, mid-sized for the country.

Equity indicators (what these measure)

Economic need
66.5%
free-lunch eligible - 83% above the Iowa average of 36.4%
Well above the 40% Title I schoolwide threshold, among the highest-need profiles in the state; federal funds support the whole school, not individual students.
Staffing depth
8.7:1
students per teacher - 41% below state mean
Top 3% in Iowa - lower ratio than 97% of state schools
Well under the widely cited 15:1 individualized-attention benchmark, among the leaner class loads nationally.
Engagement
35.6%
chronically absent (missed 10%+ of school days)
At or above 20%, the commonly used threshold for "high" chronic absenteeism, signaling significant barriers to regular attendance.
Funding equity
$13,920
per pupil, district-wide - above Iowa avg of $12,854
Somewhat below the U.S. average per-pupil spend; funding constraints may affect programs, facilities, and staffing.
Support staff
Counselors1.0 FTE
Per 306 students, the combined health-and-guidance staffing load for this school.
Discipline context
2
in-school suspensions + 11 out-of-school
Suspension rate: 0.7 per 100 students. Combined in-school and out-of-school rate: 4.2 per 100 students. Reported via the Civil Rights Data Collection.

Overview

  • Common Core of Data (June 2026): enrollment, staffing, and the student-teacher ratio above.
  • Civil Rights Data Collection: discipline counts and program access (AP, gifted, special education).
  • F-33 School District Finance Survey: the district-wide per-pupil spending figures below.

Three separate federal collections, each on its own reporting cadence - which is why this school's numbers line up on a consistent basis against every other school and state on this site, rather than mixing figures pulled from different survey years.

Student demographics

African American 50.0%
Hispanic or Latino 22.9%
White 19.9%
Two or More 5.6%
Native Hawaiian / Pacific Islander 1.0%
Asian 0.7%

Largest group: African American at 50.0% of enrollment.

Student-body diversity index 65.5/100

Simpson diversity index - at 65.5, Grant Wood Elementary School is more mixed than the Iowa school average of 33.8.

Programs

Gifted & talented Yes

Funding & spending

District-wide per-pupil expenditure for Iowa City Comm School District, which includes Grant Wood Elementary School.

$13,920
Per student
+8%
vs Iowa
Avg $12,854
-16%
vs U.S.
Avg $16,593
Revenue mix
Local 45.7%
State 41.5%
Federal 12.8%

Source: NCES F-33 School District Finance Survey District-level finance · FY 2021-22 Per-pupil expenditure reflects the district-wide average. Individual school budgets are not reported at the federal level.

How Grant Wood Elementary School Compares to District-Mates

School Enrollment Economic Profile Student-Teacher Ratio
Iowa City High School Larger Lower economic need Higher S:T ratio
West Senior High School Larger Lower economic need Higher S:T ratio
Liberty High School Larger Lower economic need Higher S:T ratio
Southeast Junior High School Larger Lower economic need Higher S:T ratio
Northwest Junior High School Larger Lower economic need Higher S:T ratio

Comparisons are relative to Grant Wood Elementary School's own figures; each column derives from NCES Common Core of Data.

Other Schools in This District

Iowa City Comm School District · 5 sibling schools

View district profile

Similar other schools in Iowa City

6 comparable other schools (grades Mixed) serving the same city.

Similar other schools statewide

Matched by enrollment size and by staffing ratio across all of Iowa, not just this city - a different peer set than the local comparisons above.

Next steps

Verify locally before acting on Grant Wood Elementary School's federal record.

Federal record (CCD 2024-25, CRDC 2021-22) - PlainSchools assigns no subjective rating; the composite quality score is a transparent, reproducible index computed from this cited federal data.

Frequently asked questions about Grant Wood Elementary School

How many students attend Grant Wood Elementary School?

Grant Wood Elementary School has 306 students enrolled. It is a public school in Iowa City, IA.

What is the student-teacher ratio at Grant Wood Elementary School?

The student-teacher ratio at Grant Wood Elementary School is 8.7:1, which is 41% lower than the Iowa average of 14.8:1 and 45% lower than the national average of 15.7:1. Lower ratios generally mean more individual attention per student.

What percentage of students receive free lunch at Grant Wood Elementary School?

66.5% of students at Grant Wood Elementary School are eligible for free lunch, compared to the Iowa average of 36.4%.

What is the racial and ethnic makeup of Grant Wood Elementary School?

The largest demographic group at Grant Wood Elementary School is African American at 50.0% of enrollment, in Iowa City, IA. Its student body is more racially and ethnically mixed than most US schools, with a diversity index of 65.5/100.

What is the Resource Investment Index for Grant Wood Elementary School?

Grant Wood Elementary School has a Resource Investment Index of 46/100 (typical reported resources relative to schools nationally) based on 4 factors: student-teacher ratio, counselor availability, attendance rates. Not a test-score or academic measure (national median ~41/100, see methodology).

How does Grant Wood Elementary School rank among schools in Iowa City?

By Resource Investment Index, Grant Wood Elementary School ranks #7 of 9 schools in Iowa City, IA. This compares federal resource and staffing data among local peers; it is not a test-score or academic ranking. See all schools in Iowa City on the city page.

Is Grant Wood Elementary School a good school?

Grant Wood Elementary School earns 46/100 on the Resource Investment Index, with class sizes smaller than 97% of Iowa schools. It is also more racially and ethnically mixed than most Iowa schools. This is a resource snapshot, not an academic rating; see the Resource Investment Index question above for what the number does and doesn't measure.

What other schools are in Iowa City Comm School District?

Besides Grant Wood Elementary School, Iowa City Comm School District also operates Iowa City High School (1,666 students), West Senior High School (1,514 students), and Liberty High School (1,286 students). See the Iowa City Comm School District district page for the complete list.

Source: National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) CCD + Public School Universe (2024-25), CRDC (2021-22), F-33 District Finance Survey (FY 2021-22) · 2024-25 Data as of the 2024-25 school year. Coverage from U.S. Department of Education NCES Common Core of Data. Varies by entity type; administrative districts and certain charter networks may report only a subset of fields.

All federal data sources used on this page

Full source list and how we compute each figure: methodology page.

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Every figure on PlainSchools is rendered directly from the source NCES, CRDC and F-33 federal records, no number is typed in by an editor. Each school's figures reflect its most recent NCES/CRDC submission on file. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error. Data current as of June 2026.