Enrollment
230
Iowa · 2024-25 NCES data
Other / mixed grade configuration · Farnhamville, IA
Prairie Valley Elementary School
Federal NCES profile for Prairie Valley Elementary School, including enrollment, faculty, free-lunch eligibility, demographics, and resource indicators - Resource Investment Index 55/100.
2024-25 NCES dataOther / mixed grade configurationNCES 190002801381
👥 S:T ratio 42
🌟 Gifted program 70
🎓 Counselors 54
📋 Attendance 53
Scored 0–100 from federal NCES and CRDC indicators, resource allocation, not test scores. Full methodology →
The verdict
Prairie Valley Elementary School earns 55/100 on the Resource Investment Index, with class sizes near the Iowa median.
- 55
- Resource Index · Higher
- 14.4:1
- students per teacher
- 36.5%
- free-lunch eligible
- 230
- students enrolled
Prairie Valley Elementary School has class sizes near the Iowa median. Computed live against every Iowa school reporting to NCES.
School address
District: Prairie Valley Comm School District · Iowa
NCES ID 190002801381 Verify on NCES CCD record →
Teachers (FTE)
16.0
Federal CCD staff survey
Students per teacher
14.4:1
vs 14.8:1 Iowa avg
-3% vs state
Free-lunch eligible
36.5%
vs 36.4% Iowa avg
+0% vs state
Student-teacher ratio in context
How Prairie Valley Elementary School compares with Iowa and U.S. medians
What stands out at Prairie Valley Elementary School
Prairie Valley Elementary School is a mid-sized combined-grade school in Farnhamville, Iowa, enrolling 230 students.
At 14.4:1, 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.
Its free-meal eligibility rate of 36.5% lands close to the Iowa typical range, neither a high- nor low-need campus by this measure.
Enrollment of 230 puts it in the smaller third of Iowa schools by headcount.
Its Resource Investment Index lands in the upper third of 1,322 scored Iowa schools.
Against 396 statewide peers matched on enrollment and economic need, it ranks in the upper tier at #122.
Counselor coverage is strong, about 230 students per counselor, inside the American School Counselor Association's recommended 250:1.
Attendance runs somewhat below the norm, with 18.7% of students chronically absent per the 2021-22 civil-rights collection.
Its district, Prairie Valley Comm School District, also runs Southeast Valley High School (331 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 Prairie Valley Elementary School compares
Prairie Valley 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 | 14.4:1 | ▼ 3% | 14.8:1 | 15.7:1 |
| Free-lunch eligible | 36.5% | ▲ 0% | 36.4% | 51.7% |
| Enrollment | 230 | top 69% | - | - |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data School-level CCD + state/national means from Public School Universe · 2024-25
14.4:1
Leaner classes than 53% of US schools, a middle-of-the-pack class size.
230
Bigger than 23% of US schools by enrollment, mid-sized for the country.
Equity indicators (what these measure)
Economic need
36.5%
free-lunch eligible
- 0% above the Iowa average of 36.4%
Below the 40% Title I threshold; federal aid targets individual qualifying students rather than schoolwide programs.
Staffing depth
14.4:1
students per teacher
- 3% below state mean
Top 57% in Iowa - lower ratio than 43% of state schools
Close to the 15:1 benchmark most often cited for individualized attention.
Engagement
18.7%
chronically absent (missed 10%+ of school days)
In the 15-20% range, nearing the "high" absenteeism threshold.
Funding equity
$13,949
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 230 students, the combined health-and-guidance staffing load for this school.
Discipline context
3
in-school suspensions + 0 out-of-school
Suspension rate: 1.3 per 100 students. Combined in-school and out-of-school rate: 1.3 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.
Programs
Gifted & talented Yes
Funding & spending
District-wide per-pupil expenditure for Prairie Valley Comm School District, which includes Prairie Valley Elementary School.
$13,949
Per student
+9%
vs Iowa
Avg $12,854
-16%
vs U.S.
Avg $16,593
Revenue mix
Local 56.7%
State 36.1%
Federal 7.2%
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 Prairie Valley Elementary School Compares to District-Mates
| School | Enrollment | Economic Profile | Student-Teacher Ratio |
|---|---|---|---|
| Southeast Valley High School | Larger | Similar economic need | Similar S:T ratio |
Comparisons are relative to Prairie Valley Elementary School's own figures; each column derives from NCES Common Core of Data.
Other Schools in This District
- Enrollment
- 331
- Students per teacher
- 15:1
- Resource Index
- 50/100
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 (~230 students)
Next steps
Verify locally before acting on Prairie Valley Elementary School's federal record.
- Compare Prairie Valley Elementary School against another school. Compare schools
- Prairie Valley 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 Prairie Valley Elementary School
How many students attend Prairie Valley Elementary School?
Prairie Valley Elementary School has 230 students enrolled. It is a public school in Farnhamville, IA.
What is the student-teacher ratio at Prairie Valley Elementary School?
The student-teacher ratio at Prairie Valley Elementary School is 14.4:1, which is 3% lower than the Iowa average of 14.8:1 and 8% 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 Prairie Valley Elementary School?
36.5% of students at Prairie Valley Elementary School are eligible for free lunch, compared to the Iowa average of 36.4%.
What is the Resource Investment Index for Prairie Valley Elementary School?
Prairie Valley Elementary School has a Resource Investment Index of 55/100 (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 Prairie Valley Elementary School a good school?
Prairie Valley Elementary School earns 55/100 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 Prairie Valley Comm School District?
Besides Prairie Valley Elementary School, Prairie Valley Comm School District also operates Southeast Valley High School (331 students). See the Prairie Valley 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.