Enrollment
270
High
DISTRICT 360 · STATE 468
SCHOOL COMMUNITY·CARDINAL COMM SCHOOL DISTRICT·NCES 190624000211
Cardinal High School
4045 Ashland Rd, Eldon, IA 52554 · (641) 652-7531 · Wapello County
GRADES 09–12HIGH42-RURALTITLE IREGULAR SCHOOL270 STUDENTS
C+
allk12 Grade
Scored higher than 37% of Iowa public high schools
- C-Test scores Share of students meeting the state standard in reading, math, and other tested subjects, 2023-24 and 2024-25.
- BBeats 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 high schools
Student : Teacher
12.7:1
21 FTE teachers
DISTRICT 14.5:1 · STATE 17.3:1
Free / Reduced Lunch
53%
144 students
DISTRICT 60% · STATE 41%
Community
0
0 members
Enrollment and student:teacher ratio compared against other high schools. Free/Reduced Lunch and demographics compared against all schools.
Enrollment by grade, 2024-25
| Grade | Students | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Grade 9 | 72 | 27% |
| Grade 10 | 65 | 24% |
| Grade 11 | 71 | 26% |
| Grade 12 | 62 | 23% |
Student demographics
16%Diversity index
The chance that two students picked at random belong to different racial or ethnic groups.
DISTRICT 21% · 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
Feeds from
Based on grade levels within Cardinal Comm School District. Attendance zones can vary; confirm enrollment with the district.
Test scores
ISASP 2024-25 . % ProficientEnglish Language Arts
76.2%
IA avg 73.6% . +1.8pp since 2023
Math
54.4%
IA avg 70.9% . +2.1pp since 2023
What this means: On the ISASP, Iowa's statewide test, about 76 of every 100 students at this school read and write at grade level and about 54 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 2 points.
ISASP results by year
| School year | English Language Arts | Math |
|---|---|---|
| 2024-25 | 76.2% | 54.4% |
| 2023-24 | 74.4% | 52.3% |
% Proficient, all students and all tested grades.
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
65.3%
composite math + reading, all grades
Predicted
65.3%
based on IA schools with similar FRL share
Beats by
-0.0pp
below demographic expectation
What this means: About 65% of students here test proficient in math and reading, compared with the roughly 65% 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 →
Schools most like Cardinal High School
Cardinal High School's state test result (65.3% proficient) is higher than 3 of the 5 schools below with a result.
| School | Students | Low-income | Proficient |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cardinal High School this school | 270 | 53.3% | 65.3% |
| Wayne Community Jr-Sr High School Corydon | 255 | 54.9% | 78.4% |
| Chariton High School Chariton | 372 | 55.1% | 67.5% |
| Winfield-Mt Union Jr-Sr High School Winfield | 198 | 51.0% | 62.1% |
| Centerville High School Centerville | 368 | 51.1% | 60.8% |
| GMG Secondary School Garwin | 205 | 51.2% | 63.8% |
Matched among Iowa high 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 Cardinal High School ranks
Among high schools| Measure | This school | In Iowa |
|---|---|---|
| State test proficiency ranked highest first | 65.3% | #246 of 313 |
| Math proficiency ranked highest first | 54.4% | #282 of 314 ▲ 6 |
| Reading proficiency ranked highest first | 76.2% | #189 of 314 ▲ 14 |
| Enrollment ranked largest first | 270 | #197 of 340 |
| Students per teacher ranked fewest first | 12.7:1 | #65 of 259 |
| Diversity index ranked most diverse first | 16.0% | #189 of 260 |
| Free and reduced lunch ranked highest share first | 53.3% | #37 of 320 |
| Enrollment change since 2017-18 ranked fastest growth first | +26.2% | #29 of 133 |
Ranked against other public high 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
270
+4 (+2%) vs 2020
+29% since 1990-91, when it was 210
Student : Teacher
12.7:1
was 15.7:1
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 | 270 | 21.2 | 12.7:1 | 53% (144) |
| 2023-24 | 277 | 22.5 | 12.3:1 | 48% (133) |
| 2022-23 | 276 | 21.5 | 12.9:1 | 50% (137) |
| 2020-21 | 266 | 17 | 15.7:1 | 53% (140) |
| 2017-18 | 214 | 13.8 | 15.6:1 | 56% (119) |
| 2015-16 | 341 | 23 | 14.8:1 | 56% (191) |
| 2010-11 | 358 | 24 | 14.9:1 | 48% (173) |
| 2000-01 | 285 | 26 | 11.0:1 | 33% (95) |
| 1990-91 | 210 | 17 | 12.3:1 | N/A |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data. Rows are the federal collections on file for Cardinal High School.
Since 2017-18: students up 26% (214 to 270); teachers up 54% (13.8 to 21.2).
About Cardinal High School
Cardinal High School is a small high school in Eldon, Iowa, one of the schools in Cardinal Comm School District. Enrollment totals 270 students across grades 9 through 12. Across high schools in Iowa, the average enrollment is about 468.
Cardinal Comm School District runs 3 schools with a combined 1,079 students. Cardinal High School is one of them.
White students are 91% of those enrolled at Cardinal High School. Next come 6% Hispanic and 2% multiracial. That compares with about 79% White among all Wapello County residents. A diversity index of 16% means there is a 16% chance two randomly chosen students at Cardinal High School are from different groups.
The school has 21.2 full-time-equivalent teachers and a ratio of 12.7 students per teacher. The average for high schools in Iowa is 17.3:1, so this school has fewer students per teacher. The school reported 53% of students eligible for free or reduced-price lunch in 2024-25.
Among Iowa public high schools, Cardinal High School outscored 37%, which works out to a C+ on the allk12 Grade.
After adjusting for student poverty, Cardinal High School lands between the top and bottom 10% of Iowa schools. Its average proficiency rate across its state test results is 65.3%; the prediction is 65.3%.
In Wapello County, the median household earns about $64,766 a year, the share of adults with a bachelor's degree or higher is 20%, and roughly 12% of residents are in poverty. Across Wapello County, 18 public schools serve about 6,892 students.
The closest school to Cardinal High School is Cardinal Junior High, located less than a tenth of a mile away. Cardinal High School is one of several public schools in the area, with 2 others within five miles. Nearby schools average 55.4% on proficiency, and Cardinal High School is above that at 65.3%.
The school's setting, by NCES definition, is Rural: Distant: in rural territory some distance from an urban area.
Compared with 2020-21, when it had 266 students, enrollment in 2024-25 was about the same at 270. Over the same period, the student-to-teacher ratio dropped to 12.7:1, from 15.7:1.
Cardinal High School has a community page on allk12 for topics such as athletics, class schedules, and weather closures. Teachers and staff are welcome to share updates too.
Wapello County at a glance
View full county profilePopulation
35,362
Census ACS
Median income
$64,766
Household, ACS
Bachelor's+
20%
Adults 25+
Poverty rate
12%
Below federal line
Schools in county
18
6,892 students
Quick facts
Related schools
Other schools in Cardinal Comm School District
- Cardinal ElementaryElementary · 495 students
- Cardinal Junior HighMiddle · 314 students
Other schools in Eldon
- Cardinal ElementaryElementary · 495 students
- Cardinal Junior HighMiddle · 314 students
Nearby schools
- Cardinal Junior High0.0 mi · 314
- Cardinal Elementary0.2 mi · 495
- Wilson Elementary School9.2 mi · 335
- Ottumwa High School9.5 mi · 910
- Douma Elementary School10.2 mi · 327
- Fahrney Elementary10.2 mi · 490
Frequently asked questions
About Cardinal High SchoolWhat is the total enrollment at Cardinal High School?
Cardinal High School enrolls approximately 270 students in grades 09-12.
Is Cardinal High School an elementary, middle, or high school?
Cardinal High School is a high school covering grades 09-12.
How many students per teacher at Cardinal High School?
Approximately 12.7:1 students per teacher at Cardinal High School.
How diverse is Cardinal High School?
Cardinal High School reports a student body of 91% White, 6% Hispanic, 0% Black, 0% Asian, 2% Two or more.
Is Cardinal High School public or private?
Cardinal High School is a public K-12 school, overseen by Cardinal Comm School District.
Data sourceSchool profile facts are sourced from the NCES. Community content is posted by allk12 members.