Enrollment
256
Elementary
DISTRICT 190 · STATE 325
SCHOOL COMMUNITY·ALTA-AURELIA COMM SCHOOL DISTRICT·NCES 190348000045
Alta Elementary School
1009 Main St, Alta, IA 51002 · (712) 200-1400 · Buena Vista County
GRADES PK–04ELEMENTARY42-RURALTITLE IREGULAR SCHOOL256 STUDENTS
A+
allk12 Grade
Scored higher than 97% of Iowa public elementary schools
- ATest scores Share of students meeting the state standard in reading, math, and other tested subjects, 2023-24 and 2024-25.
- A+Beats expectations How far test scores land above or below what the share of low-income students predicts for a school in this state.
- ·Three-year trend Not available for this school, so the grade uses the other parts.
Grades compare a school only with schools in the same state, because every state gives its own test. How grades work · Top-graded Iowa public elementary schools
Student : Teacher
15.4:1
17 FTE teachers
DISTRICT 14.7:1 · STATE 13.7:1
Free / Reduced Lunch
41%
104 students
DISTRICT 33% · STATE 41%
Community
0
0 members
Enrollment and student:teacher ratio compared against other elementary schools. Free/Reduced Lunch and demographics compared against all schools.
Enrollment by grade, 2024-25
| Grade | Students | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Pre-K | 33 | 13% |
| Kindergarten | 53 | 21% |
| Grade 1 | 44 | 17% |
| Grade 2 | 39 | 15% |
| Grade 3 | 47 | 18% |
| Grade 4 | 40 | 16% |
This year's kindergarten class (53) is 33% larger than its 4th grade class (40).
Student demographics
53%Diversity index
The chance that two students picked at random belong to different racial or ethnic groups.
DISTRICT 40% · STATE 48% · US 70%
Student head counts by race/ethnicity from federal NCES enrollment data. District, state, and US figures are each group's share of all public school students in that area (US excludes territories). Very small groups may be suppressed in the source, so categories do not always sum exactly to total enrollment.
Gender split
School pathway
Students here typically continue to
Based on grade levels within Alta-Aurelia Comm School District. Attendance zones can vary; confirm enrollment with the district.
Test scores
ISASP 2024-25 . % ProficientEnglish Language Arts
84.3%
IA avg 73.6% . -6.9pp since 2023
Math
80.7%
IA avg 70.9% . -5.7pp since 2023
What this means: On the ISASP, Iowa's statewide test, about 84 of every 100 students at this school read and write at grade level and about 81 of 100 do math at grade level. Across all Iowa schools, those numbers are about 74 and 71. Reading and writing scores are down about 7 points since 2023, while math scores are down about 6 points.
ISASP results by year
| School year | English Language Arts | Math |
|---|---|---|
| 2024-25 | 84.3% | 80.7% |
| 2023-24 | 91.2% | 86.4% |
% Proficient, all students and all tested grades.
Source: ISASP. All students, all grades. See all years and grades →
BeatsExpectations
Demographically-adjusted score · methodologyTier
OUTPERFORMING
Top 10% of IA schools after controlling for student poverty
Actual proficiency
85.7%
composite math + reading, all grades
Predicted
71.6%
based on IA schools with similar FRL share
Beats by
+14.1pp
above demographic expectation
What this means: About 86% of students here test proficient in math and reading, well above the roughly 72% typical for Iowa schools with a similar share of low-income students. BeatsExpectations ranks schools against others at the same poverty level, not by raw scores, so a school can post high scores and still fall short of its prediction, or post lower scores and still beat it. This school clears its prediction by about 14 points, placing it in Iowa's top 10%.
BeatsExpectations runs a per-state regression of proficiency on free/reduced-lunch share, then scores each school by residual. How this is calculated →
Schools most like Alta Elementary School
Alta Elementary School's state test result (85.7% proficient) is higher than 4 of the 5 schools below with a result.
| School | Students | Low-income | Proficient |
|---|---|---|---|
| Alta Elementary School this school | 256 | 40.6% | 85.7% |
| Grant Elementary School Muscatine | 300 | 41.0% | 65.1% |
| Lincoln Upper Elementary School Washington | 344 | 40.4% | 64.2% |
| West Hancock Elementary School Britt | 294 | 36.7% | 87.3% |
| Carter Lake Elementary School Carter Lake | 301 | 45.5% | 51.6% |
| Northwest Elementary School Ankeny | 346 | 37.3% | 70.2% |
Matched among Iowa elementary schools on enrollment, the share of students from low-income families (eligible for free or reduced-price lunch), and racial and ethnic makeup. Proficient is the average share of students meeting the state standard across all of the school's state tests in 2023-24 and 2024-25, the same combined score our test-score rankings use. Online schools and schools serving specialized populations are not matched.
Where Alta Elementary School ranks
Among elementary schools| Measure | This school | In Iowa | In Buena Vista County |
|---|---|---|---|
| State test proficiency ranked highest first | 85.7% | #41 of 564 | N/A |
| Math proficiency ranked highest first | 80.7% | #208 of 564 ▼ 123 | N/A |
| Reading proficiency ranked highest first | 84.3% | #75 of 564 ▼ 67 | N/A |
| Enrollment ranked largest first | 256 | #467 of 705 | #4 of 7 |
| Students per teacher ranked fewest first | 15.4:1 | #477 of 561 | N/A |
| Diversity index ranked most diverse first | 53.1% | #194 of 561 | N/A |
| Free and reduced lunch ranked highest share first | 40.6% | #353 of 666 | #7 of 7 |
| Enrollment change since 2017-18 ranked steepest decline first | -15.5% | #146 of 359 | N/A |
Ranked against other public elementary schools. Online schools are left out of every list, and test-score lists leave out schools that serve specialized populations. Each rank links to the full list. Arrows under a test-score rank show places moved since the prior test year, among schools tested both years.
4-year change
SY 2020-21 vs SY 2024-25Enrollment
256
-40 (-14%) vs 2020
-19% since 1990-91, when it was 318
Student : Teacher
15.4:1
was 13.4:1
Source: NCES Common Core of Data
Enrollment and staffing by year
| School year | Students | Teachers (FTE) | Students per teacher | Free and reduced lunch |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024-25 | 256 | 16.7 | 15.4:1 | 41% (104) |
| 2023-24 | 267 | 18.8 | 14.2:1 | 39% (103) |
| 2022-23 | 237 | 17.1 | 13.9:1 | 41% (98) |
| 2020-21 | 296 | 22 | 13.4:1 | 50% (148) |
| 2017-18 | 303 | 21.1 | 14.3:1 | 51% (156) |
| 2015-16 | 339 | 21 | 16.1:1 | 58% (195) |
| 2010-11 | 244 | 18 | 13.6:1 | 51% (125) |
| 2000-01 | 219 | 11 | 19.9:1 | 37% (81) |
| 1990-91 | 318 | 19 | 16.7:1 | N/A |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data. Rows are the federal collections on file for Alta Elementary School.
Since 2017-18: students down 16% (303 to 256); teachers down 21% (21.1 to 16.7).
About Alta Elementary School
Alta Elementary School is a small elementary school found in Alta, Iowa. It reported 256 students in pre-K through 4 in 2024-25. That compares with an average of about 325 students for elementary schools in Iowa.
Alta Elementary School is part of Alta-Aurelia Comm School District, where 4 schools serve 829 students.
At Alta Elementary School, 64% of students are White. Other students are 21% Hispanic, 7% Pacific Islander, 3% Black, and 2% multiracial. Measured by the diversity index, the student body scores 53%.
There are about 15.4 students for every full-time-equivalent teacher at Alta Elementary School, which has 16.7. By comparison, the average for elementary schools in Iowa is 13.7:1. Free or reduced-price lunch eligibility at Alta Elementary School is about 41%. That rate is below the 60% average among public schools in Buena Vista County.
Among Iowa public elementary schools, Alta Elementary School outscored 97%, which works out to an A+ on the allk12 Grade.
Alta Elementary School is 14.1 points above expectations on state tests, given its student poverty level, placing it in the top 10% in Iowa.
In Buena Vista County, the median household earns about $71,719 a year, about 22% of adults have at least a bachelor's degree, and the poverty rate is about 5%. Across Buena Vista County, 15 public schools serve about 4,691 students.
Alta Elementary School's nearest public school is Alta-Aurelia High School (less than a tenth of a mile). There are 4 more public schools inside five miles. Among the 5 closest schools with test data, this one included, Alta Elementary School ranks 1st on average proficiency.
On the NCES locale scale, the school is Rural: Distant.
Since 2020-21, enrollment has fallen 14%, from 296 to 256. Over the same period, the student-to-teacher ratio increased to 15.4:1, from 13.4:1.
Alta Elementary School has a community page on allk12 for topics such as special education services, counseling, and support programs. You can also rate the school on this page.
Buena Vista County at a glance
View full county profilePopulation
20,753
Census ACS
Median income
$71,719
Household, ACS
Bachelor's+
22%
Adults 25+
Poverty rate
5%
Below federal line
Schools in county
15
4,691 students
Quick facts
Related schools
Other schools in Alta-Aurelia Comm School District
- Alta-Aurelia Middle SchoolMiddle · 228 students
- Alta-Aurelia High SchoolHigh · 221 students
- Aurelia Elementary SchoolElementary · 124 students
Other Alta Elementary schools
2 other US public schools in 3 states are named Alta Elementary. Alta Elementary School is the 2nd largest of the 3.
- Alta ElementaryReedley, CA · 364 students
- Alta ElementaryAlta, WY · 33 students
Nearby schools
- Alta-Aurelia High School0.0 mi · 221
- Storm Lake Early Elementary School3.9 mi · 437
- Storm Lake Middle School4.1 mi · 651
- Storm Lake Elementary4.1 mi · 822
- Storm Lake High School5.8 mi · 851
- St Lake/IA Cntrl/Buena Vista Early College HS5.8 mi · 50
Frequently asked questions
About Alta Elementary SchoolHow many students attend Alta Elementary School?
Alta Elementary School enrolls approximately 256 students in grades PK-04.
Is Alta Elementary School an elementary, middle, or high school?
Alta Elementary School is an elementary school covering grades PK-04.
How many students per teacher at Alta Elementary School?
Approximately 15.4:1 students per teacher at Alta Elementary School.
How diverse is Alta Elementary School?
Alta Elementary School reports a student body of 64% White, 21% Hispanic, 3% Black, 1% Asian, 2% Two or more.
What district is Alta Elementary School in?
Alta Elementary School is part of Alta-Aurelia Comm School District.
Data sourceSchool profile facts are sourced from the NCES. Community content is posted by allk12 members.