Enrollment
291
High
DISTRICT 211 · STATE 468
SCHOOL COMMUNITY·CENTRAL DECATUR COMM SCHOOL DISTRICT·NCES 190690000297
Central Decatur MS/HS High School
1201 NE Poplar St, Leon, IA 50144 · (641) 446-4816 · Decatur County
GRADES 07–12HIGH43-RURALTITLE IREGULAR SCHOOL291 STUDENTS
B
allk12 Grade
Scored higher than 60% 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.
- ABeats 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
13.2:1
22 FTE teachers
DISTRICT 11.6:1 · STATE 17.3:1
Free / Reduced Lunch
60%
176 students
DISTRICT 66% · 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 7 | 37 | 13% |
| Grade 8 | 35 | 12% |
| Grade 9 | 54 | 19% |
| Grade 10 | 44 | 15% |
| Grade 11 | 62 | 21% |
| Grade 12 | 59 | 20% |
Student demographics
10%Diversity index
The chance that two students picked at random belong to different racial or ethnic groups.
DISTRICT 14% · 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 Central Decatur Comm School District. Attendance zones can vary; confirm enrollment with the district.
QUIET COMMUNITY
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START A DISCUSSIONTest scores
ISASP 2024-25 . % ProficientEnglish Language Arts
76.6%
IA avg 73.6% . -3.0pp since 2023
Math
61.9%
IA avg 70.9% . +6.8pp since 2023
What this means: On the ISASP, Iowa's statewide test, about 77 of every 100 students at this school read and write at grade level and about 62 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 3 points since 2023, while math scores are up about 7 points.
ISASP results by year
| School year | English Language Arts | Math |
|---|---|---|
| 2024-25 | 76.6% | 61.9% |
| 2023-24 | 79.6% | 55.1% |
% 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
69.6%
composite math + reading, all grades
Predicted
61.7%
based on IA schools with similar FRL share
Beats by
+7.9pp
above demographic expectation
What this means: About 70% of students here test proficient in math and reading, compared with the roughly 62% 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 Central Decatur MS/HS High School
Central Decatur MS/HS High School's state test result (69.6% proficient) is higher than 2 of the 5 schools below with a result.
| School | Students | Low-income | Proficient |
|---|---|---|---|
| Central Decatur MS/HS High School this school | 291 | 60.5% | 69.6% |
| Van Buren County Community Middle & High School Keosauqua | 354 | 60.2% | 74.5% |
| East Union Middle-High School Afton | 242 | 58.3% | 78.5% |
| Wayne Community Jr-Sr High School Corydon | 255 | 54.9% | 78.4% |
| Chariton High School Chariton | 372 | 55.1% | 67.5% |
| Cardinal High School Eldon | 270 | 53.3% | 65.3% |
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 Central Decatur MS/HS High School ranks
Among high schools| Measure | This school | In Iowa |
|---|---|---|
| State test proficiency ranked highest first | 69.6% | #201 of 313 |
| Math proficiency ranked highest first | 61.9% | #250 of 314 ▲ 29 |
| Reading proficiency ranked highest first | 76.6% | #181 of 314 ▼ 48 |
| Enrollment ranked largest first | 291 | #181 of 340 |
| Students per teacher ranked fewest first | 13.2:1 | #85 of 259 |
| Diversity index ranked most diverse first | 9.9% | #247 of 260 |
| Free and reduced lunch ranked highest share first | 60.5% | #19 of 320 |
| Enrollment change since 2017-18 ranked steepest decline first | -2.0% | #113 of 125 |
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
291
-55 (-16%) vs 2020
-7% since 1990-91, when it was 314
Student : Teacher
13.2:1
was 17.3:1
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 | 291 | 22.1 | 13.2:1 | 60% (176) |
| 2023-24 | 321 | 19.3 | 16.6:1 | 68% (217) |
| 2022-23 | 348 | 20.8 | 16.7:1 | 65% (226) |
| 2020-21 | 346 | 20 | 17.3:1 | 67% (233) |
| 2017-18 | 297 | 21 | 14.1:1 | 56% (166) |
| 2015-16 | 301 | 22 | 13.7:1 | 65% (196) |
| 2010-11 | 388 | 28 | 13.9:1 | 54% (208) |
| 2000-01 | 404 | 30 | 13.5:1 | 41% (164) |
| 1990-91 | 314 | 26 | 12.1:1 | N/A |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data. Rows are the federal collections on file for Central Decatur MS/HS High School.
Since 2017-18: students down 2% (297 to 291); teachers up 5% (21 to 22.1).
About Central Decatur MS/HS High School
This page covers Central Decatur MS/HS High School, a small high school in Leon, Iowa. The school reports 291 students in grades 7 through 12. The typical figure for high schools in Iowa is about 468 students.
Central Decatur Comm School District is the district for Central Decatur MS/HS High School. It has 3 schools and 632 students.
The large majority of students at Central Decatur MS/HS High School, 95%, are White. Next come 3% Hispanic. County-wide, about 92% of residents are White. Central Decatur MS/HS High School has a diversity index of 10%, compared with 70% for all US public school students.
Central Decatur MS/HS High School employs 22.1 full-time-equivalent teachers. That gives a ratio of about 13.2:1. The average ratio among high schools in Iowa is 17.3:1, higher than at this school. Central Decatur MS/HS High School's free or reduced-price lunch eligibility rate is 60%. That is close to the 61% average for public schools in Decatur County.
allk12 grades Central Decatur MS/HS High School a B. The grade compares the school only with Iowa public high schools, because each state gives its own test.
Central Decatur MS/HS High School posts an average proficiency rate on state tests of 69.6%, compared with a predicted 61.7%. It is not in the top or bottom 10% of Iowa schools on BeatsExpectations.
Decatur County has about 7,759 residents, and median household income is about $59,044, about 24% of adults have at least a bachelor's degree, and roughly 11% of residents are in poverty. Federal data list 6 public schools in Decatur County, with a combined enrollment of about 967.
The shortest distance from Central Decatur MS/HS High School to another public school is less than a tenth of a mile, to North Elementary School. A five-mile radius around the school includes 2 other public schools. Among the 7 closest schools with test data, this one included, Central Decatur MS/HS High School ranks 3rd on average proficiency.
The NCES locale for Central Decatur MS/HS High School is Rural: Remote, which covers schools in rural territory far from an urban area.
The 2024-25 enrollment of 291 was 16% lower than in 2020-21, when it was 346. There were fewer students per teacher in 2024-25 (13.2:1) than in 2020-21 (17.3:1).
If you have questions about sports schedules, lunch menus, and spirit week at Central Decatur MS/HS High School, you can post them here. Posting is open to anyone connected to the school.
Decatur County at a glance
View full county profilePopulation
7,759
Census ACS
Median income
$59,044
Household, ACS
Bachelor's+
24%
Adults 25+
Poverty rate
11%
Below federal line
Schools in county
6
967 students
Quick facts
Related schools
Other schools in Central Decatur Comm School District
- South Elementary SchoolElementary · 173 students
- North Elementary SchoolElementary · 168 students
Other schools in Leon
- South Elementary SchoolElementary · 173 students
- North Elementary SchoolElementary · 168 students
Nearby schools
- North Elementary School0.0 mi · 168
- South Elementary School0.9 mi · 173
- Lamoni Middle School13.3 mi · 63
- Lamoni High School13.3 mi · 81
- Lamoni Elementary School13.3 mi · 191
- Mormon Trail Jr-Sr High School14.6 mi · 98
Frequently asked questions
About Central Decatur MS/HS High SchoolHow large is Central Decatur MS/HS High School?
Central Decatur MS/HS High School enrolls approximately 291 students in grades 07-12.
What grades does Central Decatur MS/HS High School serve?
Central Decatur MS/HS High School serves grades 07-12.
How many students per teacher at Central Decatur MS/HS High School?
Approximately 13.2:1 students per teacher at Central Decatur MS/HS High School.
How diverse is Central Decatur MS/HS High School?
Central Decatur MS/HS High School reports a student body of 95% White, 3% Hispanic, 1% Black, 2% Two or more.
Is Central Decatur MS/HS High School public or private?
Central Decatur MS/HS High School is a public K-12 school, overseen by Central Decatur Comm School District.
Data sourceSchool profile facts are sourced from the NCES. Community content is posted by allk12 members.