Enrollment
134
Elementary
DISTRICT 156 · STATE 325
SCHOOL COMMUNITY·RIVERSIDE COMM SCHOOL DISTRICT·NCES 190002700249
Carson Elementary
330 Pleasant St, Carson, IA 51525 · (712) 484-2291 · Pottawattamie County
GRADES 03–05ELEMENTARY42-RURALTITLE IREGULAR SCHOOL134 STUDENTS
C
allk12 Grade
Scored higher than 26% of Iowa public elementary schools
- CTest scores Share of students meeting the state standard in reading, math, and other tested subjects, 2023-24 and 2024-25.
- CBeats 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
13.3:1
10 FTE teachers
DISTRICT 12.5:1 · STATE 13.7:1
Free / Reduced Lunch
49%
65 students
DISTRICT 42% · 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 |
|---|---|---|
| Grade 3 | 50 | 37% |
| Grade 4 | 39 | 29% |
| Grade 5 | 45 | 34% |
Student demographics
39%Diversity index
The chance that two students picked at random belong to different racial or ethnic groups.
DISTRICT 31% · 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
Carson Elementary→Riverside Middle/Senior High School
Feeds from
Based on grade levels within Riverside Comm School District. Attendance zones can vary; confirm enrollment with the district.
Test scores
ISASP 2024-25 . % ProficientEnglish Language Arts
66.1%
IA avg 73.6% . +1.4pp since 2023
Math
69.3%
IA avg 70.9% . +3.1pp since 2023
What this means: On the ISASP, Iowa's statewide test, about 66 of every 100 students at this school read and write at grade level and about 69 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 1 points since 2023, while math scores are up about 3 points.
ISASP results by year
| School year | English Language Arts | Math |
|---|---|---|
| 2024-25 | 66.1% | 69.3% |
| 2023-24 | 64.7% | 66.2% |
% 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
65.2%
composite math + reading, all grades
Predicted
67.7%
based on IA schools with similar FRL share
Beats by
-2.5pp
below demographic expectation
What this means: About 65% of students here test proficient in math and reading, compared with the roughly 68% 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 Carson Elementary
Carson Elementary's state test result (65.2% proficient) is higher than 0 of the 4 schools below with a result.
| School | Students | Low-income | Proficient |
|---|---|---|---|
| Carson Elementary this school | 134 | 48.5% | 65.2% |
| Adair-Casey Elementary School Adair | 160 | 48.1% | 77.0% |
| West Harrison Elementary Mondamin | 126 | 49.2% | 68.5% |
| Little Husky Learning Center Oelwein | 173 | 49.1% | N/A |
| Schaller-Crestland Elementary Schaller | 159 | 50.3% | 85.8% |
| Colo-Nesco Elementary School Zearing | 169 | 50.9% | 70.5% |
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 Carson Elementary ranks
Among elementary schools| Measure | This school | In Iowa | In Pottawattamie County |
|---|---|---|---|
| State test proficiency ranked highest first | 65.2% | #408 of 564 | #9 of 16 |
| Math proficiency ranked highest first | 69.3% | #394 of 564 ▲ 32 | #12 of 16 ▼ 1 |
| Reading proficiency ranked highest first | 66.1% | #392 of 564 ▼ 18 | #8 of 16 ▼ 1 |
| Enrollment ranked largest first | 134 | #638 of 705 | #18 of 19 |
| Free and reduced lunch ranked highest share first | 48.5% | #239 of 666 | #1 of 19 |
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
134
-18 (-12%) vs 2020
-42% since 2000-01, when it was 231
Student : Teacher
13.3:1
was 13.8:1
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 | 134 | 10.1 | 13.3:1 | 49% (65) |
| 2023-24 | 136 | 9.9 | 13.8:1 | 52% (71) |
| 2022-23 | 146 | 10.8 | 13.6:1 | 47% (68) |
| 2020-21 | 152 | 11 | 13.8:1 | 45% (69) |
| 2017-18 | 149 | 7 | 21.3:1 | 33% (49) |
| 2015-16 | 130 | 8 | 16.3:1 | 32% (41) |
| 2010-11 | 177 | 12 | 14.8:1 | 42% (75) |
| 2000-01 | 231 | 17 | 13.6:1 | 24% (55) |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data. Rows are the federal collections on file for Carson Elementary.
Since 2017-18: students down 10% (149 to 134); teachers up 44% (7 to 10.1).
About Carson Elementary
A small elementary school in Carson, Iowa, Carson Elementary is part of Riverside Comm School District. Its 134 students are spread across grades 3 through 5. The school's enrollment is 59% smaller than the 325 average for elementary schools in Iowa.
The Riverside Comm School District system has 3 schools and 677 students.
A majority of students at Carson Elementary, 76%, are White. The remaining shares are 14% Hispanic and 7% multiracial. Pottawattamie County as a whole is about 88% White, so the school's share is lower. The chance that two students picked at random at Carson Elementary belong to different racial or ethnic groups, known as the diversity index, is 39%.
Dividing enrollment by its 10.1 full-time-equivalent teachers gives a ratio of about 13.3:1. Elementary schools in Iowa have a similar average ratio of 13.7:1. Eligible students account for 49% of enrollment in the free or reduced-price lunch program. Public schools in Pottawattamie County average 40%.
allk12 grades Carson Elementary a C. The grade compares the school only with Iowa public elementary schools, because each state gives its own test.
Carson Elementary posts an average proficiency rate on state tests of 65.2%, compared with a predicted 67.7%. It is not in the top or bottom 10% of Iowa schools on BeatsExpectations.
Pottawattamie County has these Census figures: median household income is about $73,602, a bachelor's degree or higher is held by about 24% of adults, and the poverty rate is about 8%. The public schools of Pottawattamie County number 35 and enroll about 15,270.
The closest public school to Carson Elementary is Riverside Middle/Senior High School, about 3.6 miles away. Within five miles of Carson Elementary, there are 2 other public schools. In a group of 8 nearby schools with scores, Carson Elementary ranks 8th on average proficiency.
Carson Elementary is in rural territory some distance from an urban area, a location NCES labels Rural: Distant.
The number of students declined from 152 to 134 over 4 years.
Conversations here can range across sports schedules, lunch menus, and spirit week. Reviews and ratings from people who know the school are welcome.
Pottawattamie County at a glance
View full county profilePopulation
93,424
Census ACS
Median income
$73,602
Household, ACS
Bachelor's+
24%
Adults 25+
Poverty rate
8%
Below federal line
Schools in county
35
15,270 students
Quick facts
Related schools
Other schools in Riverside Comm School District
- Riverside Middle/Senior High SchoolHigh · 365 students
- Oakland ElementaryElementary · 178 students
Other Carson Elementary schools
8 other US public schools in 7 states are named Carson Elementary. Carson Elementary is the 9th largest of the 9.
- Carson Elementary SchoolChicago, IL · 724 students
- Carson Elementary SchoolDECATUR, TX · 489 students
- Carson Elementary SchoolSAN ANTONIO, TX · 488 students
- Carson Elementary SchoolNewark, OH · 414 students
- Carson Elementary SchoolDENVER, CO · 412 students
Nearby schools
- Riverside Middle/Senior High School3.6 mi · 365
- Oakland Elementary4.7 mi · 178
- Treynor Elementary School9.6 mi · 366
- Treynor Middle School9.8 mi · 197
- Treynor High School9.8 mi · 254
- Griswold Elementary14.7 mi · 227
Frequently asked questions
About Carson ElementaryHow large is Carson Elementary?
Carson Elementary enrolls approximately 134 students in grades 03-05.
What grades does Carson Elementary serve?
Carson Elementary serves grades 03-05.
How many students per teacher at Carson Elementary?
Approximately 13.3:1 students per teacher at Carson Elementary.
How diverse is Carson Elementary?
Carson Elementary reports a student body of 76% White, 14% Hispanic, 1% Asian, 7% Two or more.
Who oversees Carson Elementary?
Carson Elementary is overseen by Riverside Comm School District in Pottawattamie County.
Data sourceSchool profile facts are sourced from the NCES. Community content is posted by allk12 members.