Enrollment
468
Iowa · 2024-25 NCES data
Other / mixed grade configuration · Letts, IA
Louisa-Muscatine Elementary
Federal NCES profile for Louisa-Muscatine Elementary, including enrollment, faculty, free-lunch eligibility, demographics, and resource indicators - Resource Investment Index 49/100.
2024-25 NCES dataOther / mixed grade configurationNCES 191782001023
👥 S:T ratio 45
🌟 Gifted program 70
🎓 Counselors 6
📋 Attendance 74
Scored 0–100 from federal NCES and CRDC indicators, resource allocation, not test scores. Full methodology →
The verdict
Louisa-Muscatine Elementary earns 49/100 on the Resource Investment Index, with class sizes near the Iowa median.
- 49
- Resource Index · Higher
- 13.8:1
- students per teacher
- 29.5%
- free-lunch eligible
- 468
- students enrolled
Louisa-Muscatine Elementary has class sizes near the Iowa median. Computed live against every Iowa school reporting to NCES.
School address
District: Louisa-Muscatine Comm School District · Iowa
NCES ID 191782001023 Verify on NCES CCD record →
Teachers (FTE)
34.0
Federal CCD staff survey
Students per teacher
13.8:1
vs 14.8:1 Iowa avg
-7% vs state
Free-lunch eligible
29.5%
vs 36.4% Iowa avg
-19% vs state
Student-teacher ratio in context
How Louisa-Muscatine Elementary compares with Iowa and U.S. medians
What stands out at Louisa-Muscatine Elementary
Louisa-Muscatine Elementary is a mid-sized combined-grade school in Letts, Iowa, enrolling 468 students.
At 13.8:1, its student-teacher ratio sits close to the Iowa median, within a few percentage points of the 14.8:1 state norm, neither notably crowded nor notably small.
Economic need runs somewhat below the state's typical profile, with 29.5% of students eligible for free meals.
Enrollment of 468 puts it in the larger third of Iowa schools by headcount.
Its Resource Investment Index sits near the middle of the pack among 1,322 scored Iowa schools.
Against 386 statewide peers matched on enrollment and economic need, it ranks in the upper tier at #134.
Its student body is predominantly White (90% of enrollment) (diversity index 19/100).
Counselor access is stretched at roughly 468 students per counselor, well above the ASCA-recommended 250:1 ceiling.
10.3% of students were chronically absent in the 2021-22 collection, in line with the post-pandemic national range.
Among Letts's public schools, it stands alongside Louisa-Muscatine Jr/Sr High School (353 students): Louisa-Muscatine Elementary is larger than that campus by headcount and runs heavier classes (13.8:1 vs 13.6:1).
Its district, Louisa-Muscatine Comm School District, also runs Louisa-Muscatine Jr/Sr High School (353 students).
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 Louisa-Muscatine Elementary compares
Louisa-Muscatine Elementary on the metrics families compare, against Iowa and U.S. means.
| Metric | This school | vs Iowa | Iowa avg | U.S. avg |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Students per teacher | 13.8:1 | ▼ 7% | 14.8:1 | 15.7:1 |
| Free-lunch eligible | 29.5% | ▼ 19% | 36.4% | 51.7% |
| Enrollment | 468 | top 22% | - | - |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data School-level CCD + state/national means from Public School Universe · 2024-25
13.8:1
Leaner classes than 59% of US schools, a middle-of-the-pack class size.
468
Bigger than 57% of US schools by enrollment, mid-sized for the country.
Equity indicators (what these measure)
Economic need
29.5%
free-lunch eligible
- 19% below the Iowa average of 36.4%
Below the 40% Title I threshold; federal aid targets individual qualifying students rather than schoolwide programs.
Staffing depth
13.8:1
students per teacher
- 7% below state mean
Top 47% in Iowa - lower ratio than 53% of state schools
Close to the 15:1 benchmark most often cited for individualized attention.
Engagement
10.3%
chronically absent (missed 10%+ of school days)
In the 10-15% range, above the pre-pandemic national baseline but within the broader post-pandemic picture.
Funding equity
$11,802
per pupil, district-wide
- below Iowa avg of $12,854
Well below the U.S. average per-pupil spend, a notably leaner funding position that may affect programs, facilities, and staffing.
Support staff
Counselors1.0 FTE
Per 468 students, the combined health-and-guidance staffing load for this school.
Discipline context
8
in-school suspensions + 0 out-of-school
Suspension rate: 1.7 per 100 students. Combined in-school and out-of-school rate: 1.7 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
White 89.5%
Hispanic or Latino 8.3%
Two or More 1.5%
Asian 0.4%
African American 0.2%
Largest group: White at 89.5% of enrollment.
Student-body diversity index 19.2/100
Simpson diversity index - at 19.2, Louisa-Muscatine Elementary is less mixed than the Iowa school average of 33.8.
Programs
Gifted & talented Yes
Funding & spending
District-wide per-pupil expenditure for Louisa-Muscatine Comm School District, which includes Louisa-Muscatine Elementary.
$11,802
Per student
-8%
vs Iowa
Avg $12,854
-29%
vs U.S.
Avg $16,593
Revenue mix
Local 40.9%
State 49.4%
Federal 9.7%
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 Louisa-Muscatine Elementary Compares to District-Mates
| School | Enrollment | Economic Profile | Student-Teacher Ratio |
|---|---|---|---|
| Louisa-Muscatine Jr/Sr High School | Similar size | Similar economic need | Similar S:T ratio |
Comparisons are relative to Louisa-Muscatine Elementary's own figures; each column derives from NCES Common Core of Data.
Other Schools in This District
- Enrollment
- 353
- Students per teacher
- 13.6:1
- Resource Index
- 51/100
Similar other schools in Letts
1 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.
Similar enrollment (~468 students)
Similar student-teacher ratio (~13.8:1)
Next steps
Verify locally before acting on Louisa-Muscatine Elementary's federal record.
- Compare Louisa-Muscatine Elementary against another school. Compare schools
- Louisa-Muscatine Comm School District's spending and staffing shape this school. District profile
- Confirm current enrollment and boundaries with the school. Choosing guide
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 Louisa-Muscatine Elementary
How many students attend Louisa-Muscatine Elementary?
Louisa-Muscatine Elementary has 468 students enrolled. It is a public school in Letts, IA.
What is the student-teacher ratio at Louisa-Muscatine Elementary?
The student-teacher ratio at Louisa-Muscatine Elementary is 13.8:1, which is 7% lower than the Iowa average of 14.8:1 and 12% 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 Louisa-Muscatine Elementary?
29.5% of students at Louisa-Muscatine Elementary are eligible for free lunch, compared to the Iowa average of 36.4%.
What is the racial and ethnic makeup of Louisa-Muscatine Elementary?
The largest demographic group at Louisa-Muscatine Elementary is White at 89.5% of enrollment, in Letts, IA.
What is the Resource Investment Index for Louisa-Muscatine Elementary?
Louisa-Muscatine Elementary has a Resource Investment Index of 49/100 (higher 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).
Is Louisa-Muscatine Elementary a good school?
Louisa-Muscatine Elementary earns 49/100 on the Resource Investment Index, with class sizes near the Iowa median. 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 Louisa-Muscatine Comm School District?
Besides Louisa-Muscatine Elementary, Louisa-Muscatine Comm School District also operates Louisa-Muscatine Jr/Sr High School (353 students). See the Louisa-Muscatine Comm School District district page for the complete list.
Related tools
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.