Enrollment
357
Elementary
DISTRICT 387 · STATE 325
SCHOOL COMMUNITY·NORTH POLK COMM SCHOOL DISTRICT·NCES 192091002314
Big Creek Elementary
340 E Vista Lake Drive, Polk City, IA 50226 · (515) 984-3400 · Polk County
GRADES 03–05ELEMENTARY41-RURALREGULAR SCHOOL357 STUDENTS
Student : Teacher
14.3:1
25 FTE teachers
DISTRICT 15.0:1 · STATE 13.7:1
Free / Reduced Lunch
10%
35 students
DISTRICT 9% · 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
Student demographics
Student head counts by race/ethnicity from federal NCES enrollment data. 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
Feeds from
Based on grade levels within North Polk Comm School District. Attendance zones can vary; confirm enrollment with the district.
Test scores
ISASP 2024-25 . % ProficientEnglish Language Arts
83.1%
IA avg 73.6% . +1.8pp since 2023
Math
88.7%
IA avg 70.9% . +1.3pp since 2023
What this means: On the ISASP, Iowa's statewide test, about 83 of every 100 students at this school read and write at grade level and about 89 of 100 do math at grade level. Across all Iowa schools, those numbers are about 74 and 71. Reading and writing scores are up about 2 points since 2023, while math scores are up about 1 points.
Source: ISASP. All students, all grades. See all years and grades →
BeatsExpectations
Demographically-adjusted score · methodologyTier
AS EXPECTED
Performing as predicted given the school's student profile
Actual proficiency
83.3%
composite math + reading, all grades
Predicted
87.0%
based on IA schools with similar FRL share
Beats by
-3.8pp
below demographic expectation
What this means: About 83% of students here test proficient in math and reading, compared with the roughly 87% typical for Iowa schools with a similar share of low-income students. BeatsExpectations measures results against demographically similar schools rather than by raw scores, and this school falls within the typical range, neither among Iowa's top nor bottom 10%.
BeatsExpectations runs a per-state regression of proficiency on free/reduced-lunch share, then scores each school by residual. How this is calculated →
About Big Creek Elementary
Big Creek Elementary operates as a moderately sized primary school in Polk City, Iowa, part of North Polk Comm School District. Current enrollment sits at 357 students spanning grades 3 through 5.
Across the 5 schools in North Polk Comm School District (2,309 students total), Big Creek Elementary accounts for its share of the district's footprint.
For racial and ethnic makeup, Big Creek Elementary shows that 91% of students identify as White, making the school strongly White-majority; the rest consists of 4% multiracial, 3% Hispanic. The wider county runs roughly 76% White, putting the school's mix noticeably more White than the area baseline.
Looking at school resources, On paper, Big Creek Elementary has 25 full-time-equivalent teachers, translating to a class-load average of around 14.3:1. The state averages about 13.7:1, putting this campus right in line with peers. About 10% of enrolled students meet the income threshold for free or reduced-price lunch, which schools and policymakers use as a rough income-mix signal. Set against Polk County (around 49%), the school's rate is south of typical.
On a demographically-adjusted basis, Big Creek Elementary performs roughly as the BeatsExpectations model predicts for a school with this FRL share. The predicted value is around 87.0%, the actual is 83.3%, a residual of -3.8 points.
Zooming out to the county, community-level numbers for Polk County indicate median household income runs about $83,576, 40% of adults hold a bachelor's degree or higher, and census figures put the poverty rate at about 7%. Big Creek Elementary is one of 137 public schools in Polk County (combined enrollment of about 77,436 students).
Nearest neighbor: North Polk West Elementary School, around 1.1 miles off. 5 of the 8 nearest public schools sit inside a five-mile radius. On composite proficiency, Big Creek Elementary comes 2nd of 7 in the immediate cluster, above the nearby-schools average of 81.4%.
The school occupies a countryside site.
On allk12, members of the Big Creek Elementary community share and discuss open house dates, ride-share offers, and field-trip permission slips. Posting is open to anyone connected to the school.
Polk County at a glance
View full county profilePopulation
503,175
Census ACS
Median income
$83,576
Household, ACS
Bachelor's+
40%
Adults 25+
Poverty rate
7%
Below federal line
Schools in county
137
77,436 students
Quick facts
Related schools
Other schools in North Polk Comm School District
- North Polk High SchoolHigh · 644 students
- North Polk Middle SchoolMiddle · 504 students
- North Polk Central Elementary SchoolElementary · 408 students
- North Polk West Elementary SchoolElementary · 396 students
Other schools in Polk City
- North Polk West Elementary SchoolElementary · 396 students
Nearby schools
- North Polk West Elementary School1.1 mi · 396
- Abbie Grove Elementary3.3 mi · 445
- Rock Creek Elementary4.2 mi · 639
- Westwood Elementary School4.6 mi · 551
- Ankeny Centennial High School4.8 mi · 1,470
- Ashland Ridge Elementary5.2 mi · 548
Frequently asked questions
About Big Creek ElementaryHow many students attend Big Creek Elementary?
Big Creek Elementary enrolls approximately 357 students in grades 03-05.
Is Big Creek Elementary an elementary, middle, or high school?
Big Creek Elementary is an elementary school covering grades 03-05.
How many students per teacher at Big Creek Elementary?
Approximately 14.3:1 students per teacher at Big Creek Elementary.
What is the student diversity at Big Creek Elementary?
Student demographics at Big Creek Elementary are roughly 91% White, 3% Hispanic, 1% Black, 0% Asian, 4% Two or more.
What district is Big Creek Elementary in?
Big Creek Elementary is part of North Polk Comm School District.
Data sourceSchool profile facts are sourced from the NCES. Community content is posted by allk12 members.