Iowa · NCES CCD 2024-25

Best-Resourced Public Schools in Iowa

Top 50 schools ranked by resource quality score, based on student-teacher ratio, counselor access, gifted programs, and attendance.

Compiled from official source data by .
70/100
Top score
B
Top grade
64/100
Avg score (top 50)
50
Schools ranked

The ranking in one line

St Ansgar High School in St Ansgar is Iowa's top-resourced public school, scoring 70/100 on the NCES resource index.

70/100
top score (grade B)
1
schools at the top grade (B)
64/100
average across the top 50
#SchoolGradeScore
1St Ansgar High SchoolSt AnsgarB70
2Andrew Elementary SchoolAndrewB-69
3Adair-Casey Jr. High SchoolAdairB-69
4West Hancock High SchoolBrittB-68
5Riceville Elementary SchoolRicevilleB-67
6Janesville Elementary SchoolJanesvilleB-66
7Hartley-Melvin-Sanborn Elementary SchoolHartleyB-66
8Madrid Elementary SchoolMadridB-66
9Irwin Elementary SchoolIrwinB-66
10Van Buren County Community School District Harmony CenterFarmingtonB-66
11Hinton Elementary SchoolHintonB-65
12Exira-Elk Horn-Kimballton ElementaryExiraB-65
13Hawarden Elementary SchoolHawardenB-65
14Virgil Grissom Elementary SchoolPrincetonB-65
15Madrid Junior High SchoolMadridB-65
16Panorama Middle SchoolPanoraB-65
17Essex Elementary SchoolEssexB-65
18Solon Middle SchoolSolonC+64
19Lenox Elementary SchoolLenoxC+64
20West Elementary SchoolEmmetsburgC+64
21Lincoln Elementary SchoolPellaC+64
22West Bend-Mallard Elementary SchoolWest BendC+64
23North Union ElementaryFentonC+64
24West Harrison ElementaryMondaminC+64
25Fredericksburg Elem SchoolFredericksburgC+64
26Solon High SchoolSolonC+63
27Colfax-Mingo Elementary SchoolColfaxC+63
28Westwood Elementary SchoolSloanC+63
29Akron Westfield Elementary SchoolAkronC+63
30Grundy Center Middle SchoolGrundy CenterC+63
31South Winneshiek Elementary SchoolOssianC+63
32Harris-Lake Park High SchoolLake ParkC+63
33Tripoli Middle/Sr High SchoolTripoliC+63
34Dallas Center ElementaryDallas CenterC+63
35H-L-V Elementary SchoolVictorC+63
36Mormon Trail Elementary SchoolHumestonC+63
37Central Lee Elementary SchoolDonnellsonC+62
38Pence ElementaryFairfieldC+62
39Grundy Center Elementary SchoolGrundy CenterC+62
40Prairie City Elementary SchoolPrairie CityC+62
41Sioux Central Elementary SchoolSioux RapidsC+62
42West Union Elementary SchoolWest UnionC+62
43Alta-Aurelia Middle SchAureliaC+62
44Parkersburg Elementary SchoolParkersburgC+62
45Baxter Elementary SchoolBaxterC+62
46East Union ElementaryAftonC+62
47Turkey Valley Elementary SchoolJackson JunctionC+62
48Downtown SchoolDes MoinesC+62
49Underwood Middle SchoolUnderwoodC+62
50Clarksville Elementary SchoolClarksvilleC+62

Frequently Asked Questions

What are the best public schools in Iowa? ▼

The highest-ranked school in Iowa is St Ansgar High School in St Ansgar with a quality score of 70/100 (grade B). Rankings are based on student-teacher ratio, counselor availability, gifted programs, and attendance rates from NCES data.

How are school quality scores calculated? ▼

Quality scores (0-100) are computed from NCES data across 4 metrics: student-teacher ratio (lower is better, national avg ~16:1), counselor availability (ASCA recommends 250:1), gifted program availability, and chronic absenteeism rate (lower is better). This measures school resources, not test scores.

Explore More for Iowa

All Schools → Largest Schools → Absenteeism Data → Highest Spending → National Ranking →

Methodology

Quality scores (0-100) are computed from NCES Common Core of Data (CCD) 2024-25 metrics: student-teacher ratio, school counselor availability, gifted program access, and chronic absenteeism rates. Schools must have at least 50 students and data for one or more metrics. This measures resource quality, not test scores. Higher scores indicate smaller class sizes, better counselor access, and lower absenteeism.

Read our methodology - how this data is sourced, computed, and verified.