Enrollment
292
Elementary
DISTRICT 237 · STATE 325
SCHOOL COMMUNITY·CENTRAL COMM SCHOOL DISTRICT·NCES 190684000293
Central Elementary
400 1st Street NW, Elkader, IA 52043 · (563) 245-1472 · Clayton County
GRADES PK–06ELEMENTARY43-RURALTITLE IREGULAR SCHOOL292 STUDENTS
A
allk12 Grade
Scored higher than 89% of Iowa public elementary schools
- A-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.
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
15.3:1
19 FTE teachers
DISTRICT 13.4:1 · STATE 13.7:1
Free / Reduced Lunch
47%
138 students
DISTRICT 43% · 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 | 31 | 11% |
| Kindergarten | 41 | 14% |
| Grade 1 | 37 | 13% |
| Grade 2 | 39 | 13% |
| Grade 3 | 38 | 13% |
| Grade 4 | 42 | 14% |
| Grade 5 | 33 | 11% |
| Grade 6 | 31 | 11% |
This year's kindergarten class (41) is 32% larger than its 6th grade class (31).
Student demographics
22%Diversity index
The chance that two students picked at random belong to different racial or ethnic groups.
DISTRICT 18% · 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
Central Elementary→Central Middle School/High School
Based on grade levels within Central Comm School District. Attendance zones can vary; confirm enrollment with the district.
Test scores
ISASP 2024-25 . % ProficientEnglish Language Arts
75.4%
IA avg 73.6% . -2.9pp since 2023
Math
88.4%
IA avg 70.9% . +3.1pp since 2023
What this means: On the ISASP, Iowa's statewide test, about 75 of every 100 students at this school read and write at grade level and about 88 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 3 points.
ISASP results by year
| School year | English Language Arts | Math |
|---|---|---|
| 2024-25 | 75.4% | 88.4% |
| 2023-24 | 78.3% | 85.3% |
% 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
80.4%
composite math + reading, all grades
Predicted
68.3%
based on IA schools with similar FRL share
Beats by
+12.1pp
above demographic expectation
What this means: About 80% of students here test proficient in math and reading, well above the roughly 68% 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 12 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 Central Elementary
Central Elementary's state test result (80.4% proficient) is higher than 5 of the 5 schools below with a result.
| School | Students | Low-income | Proficient |
|---|---|---|---|
| Central Elementary this school | 292 | 47.3% | 80.4% |
| Pekin Elementary School Packwood | 308 | 45.1% | 73.7% |
| Franklin Elementary School Boone | 329 | 45.9% | 77.1% |
| Shenandoah Elementary School Shenandoah | 349 | 46.7% | 75.2% |
| Longfellow Elementary School Belle Plaine | 267 | 44.2% | 71.1% |
| Eldora-New Providence Elementary School Eldora | 242 | 46.3% | 71.2% |
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 Central Elementary ranks
Among elementary schools| Measure | This school | In Iowa |
|---|---|---|
| State test proficiency ranked highest first | 80.4% | #128 of 564 |
| Math proficiency ranked highest first | 88.4% | #55 of 564 ▲ 46 |
| Reading proficiency ranked highest first | 75.4% | #233 of 564 ▼ 90 |
| Enrollment ranked largest first | 292 | #395 of 705 |
| Students per teacher ranked fewest first | 15.3:1 | #472 of 561 |
| Diversity index ranked most diverse first | 21.8% | #405 of 561 |
| Free and reduced lunch ranked highest share first | 47.3% | #253 of 666 |
| Enrollment change since 2017-18 ranked fastest growth first | +46.0% | #9 of 168 |
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
292
+63 (+28%) vs 2020
+20% since 1990-91, when it was 243
Student : Teacher
15.3:1
was 15.3:1
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 | 292 | 19.1 | 15.3:1 | 47% (138) |
| 2023-24 | 277 | 18.3 | 15.1:1 | 51% (140) |
| 2022-23 | 263 | 17.2 | 15.3:1 | 47% (123) |
| 2020-21 | 229 | 15 | 15.3:1 | 42% (96) |
| 2017-18 | 200 | 14.3 | 14.0:1 | 31% (61) |
| 2015-16 | 242 | 15 | 16.1:1 | 34% (82) |
| 2010-11 | 225 | 18 | 12.5:1 | 39% (87) |
| 2000-01 | 172 | 11 | 15.6:1 | 37% (64) |
| 1990-91 | 243 | 13 | 18.7:1 | N/A |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data. Rows are the federal collections on file for Central Elementary.
Since 2017-18: students up 46% (200 to 292); teachers up 33% (14.3 to 19.1).
About Central Elementary
Central Elementary is a mid-sized elementary school in Elkader, Iowa. It is open to students in pre-K through 6 and enrolls 292 students.
Central Elementary is a school in Central Comm School District. The district has 2 schools and 474 students.
Of every 100 students at Central Elementary, about 88 are White. The remaining students are 7% Hispanic and 5% multiracial. On a 0 to 100 scale, the school's diversity index is 22, compared with 70 nationally.
Central Elementary lists 19.1 full-time-equivalent teachers; that is about 15.3 students per teacher. Across elementary schools in Iowa, the average ratio is 13.7:1. Free or reduced-price lunch covers 47% of the student body. That is 8 points above the 39% average for public schools in Clayton County.
On the allk12 Grade, Central Elementary lands at A, ahead of 89% of Iowa public elementary schools.
Central Elementary outperforms its prediction by 12.1 points. The model expects 68.3% for a school with its free or reduced-price lunch share in Iowa; the school's rate is 80.4%.
Census data for Clayton County show the median household earns about $67,242 a year, roughly 15% of adults have a four-year degree or more, and the share of residents below the poverty line is 6%. Public schools in Clayton County number 11, with about 3,625 students.
Central Elementary's closest public school neighbor is Central Middle School/High School, less than a tenth of a mile away. Counting only straight-line distance, 2 other public schools are within ten miles. Of 9 schools in the immediate area with test results, Central Elementary ranks 2nd on average proficiency.
The National Center for Education Statistics classifies the school's location as Rural: Remote, meaning it is in rural territory far from an urban area.
Enrollment figures show a rise of 63 students from 2020-21 to 2024-25.
You can use this page to share news and ask questions about fundraisers, report cards, and school supplies. Current and former families are welcome to add their experience.
Clayton County at a glance
View full county profilePopulation
17,013
Census ACS
Median income
$67,242
Household, ACS
Bachelor's+
15%
Adults 25+
Poverty rate
6%
Below federal line
Schools in county
11
3,625 students
Quick facts
Related schools
Other schools in Central Comm School District
- Central Middle School/High SchoolHigh · 182 students
Other Central Elementary schools
151 other US public schools in 35 states are named Central Elementary. Central Elementary is the 110th largest of the 152.
- Central Elementary SchoolNevada, IA · 632 students
- Central Elementary SchoolCoralville, IA · 343 students
- Central Elementary SchoolCarrollton, GA · 991 students
- CENTRAL ELEM.ST CHARLES, MO · 865 students
- Central ElementaryBanning, CA · 782 students
Nearby schools
- Central Middle School/High School0.0 mi · 182
- Clayton Ridge Elementary School8.4 mi · 293
- MFL MarMac High School13.1 mi · 263
- MFL MarMac Elementary School13.1 mi · 318
- Edgewood-Colesburg High School14.6 mi · 206
- North Fayette Valley Middle School14.8 mi · 312
Frequently asked questions
About Central ElementaryWhat is the total enrollment at Central Elementary?
Central Elementary enrolls approximately 292 students in grades PK-06.
Is Central Elementary an elementary, middle, or high school?
Central Elementary is an elementary school covering grades PK-06.
How many teachers does Central Elementary have?
Central Elementary employs 19 FTE teachers, for a student-to-teacher ratio of 15.3:1.
What is the student diversity at Central Elementary?
Student demographics at Central Elementary are roughly 88% White, 7% Hispanic, 5% Two or more.
Is Central Elementary public or private?
Central Elementary is a public K-12 school, overseen by Central Comm School District.
Data sourceSchool profile facts are sourced from the NCES. Community content is posted by allk12 members.