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What's something Central Elementary School does better than most schools?
Community prompt from u/allk12. Replies below.
Enrollment
632
Elementary
DISTRICT 524 · STATE 325
SCHOOL COMMUNITY·NEVADA COMM SCHOOL DISTRICT·NCES 192025001200
Central Elementary School
925 H Ave, Nevada, IA 50201 · (515) 382-2383 · Story County
GRADES PK–04ELEMENTARY31-TOWNTITLE IREGULAR SCHOOL632 STUDENTS
A+
allk12 Grade
Scored higher than 98% of Iowa public elementary schools
- ATest scores Share of students meeting the state standard in reading, math, and other tested subjects, 2023-24 and 2024-25.
- A+Beats 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
13.7:1
46 FTE teachers
DISTRICT 14.7:1 · STATE 13.7:1
Free / Reduced Lunch
41%
256 students
DISTRICT 40% · STATE 41%
Community
5
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 | 92 | 15% |
| Kindergarten | 135 | 21% |
| Grade 1 | 101 | 16% |
| Grade 2 | 96 | 15% |
| Grade 3 | 96 | 15% |
| Grade 4 | 112 | 18% |
This year's kindergarten class (135) is 21% larger than its 4th grade class (112).
Student demographics
32%Diversity index
The chance that two students picked at random belong to different racial or ethnic groups.
DISTRICT 32% · 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
Based on grade levels within Nevada Comm School District. Attendance zones can vary; confirm enrollment with the district.
Test scores
ISASP 2024-25 . % ProficientEnglish Language Arts
88.1%
IA avg 73.6% . +16.0pp since 2023
Math
93.0%
IA avg 70.9% . +3.2pp since 2023
What this means: On the ISASP, Iowa's statewide test, about 88 of every 100 students at this school read and write at grade level and about 93 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 16 points since 2023, while math scores are up about 3 points.
ISASP results by year
| School year | English Language Arts | Math |
|---|---|---|
| 2024-25 | 88.1% | 93.0% |
| 2023-24 | 72.1% | 89.8% |
% 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
85.8%
composite math + reading, all grades
Predicted
71.7%
based on IA schools with similar FRL share
Beats by
+14.1pp
above demographic expectation
What this means: About 86% of students here test proficient in math and reading, well above the roughly 72% 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 14 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 School
Central Elementary School's state test result (85.8% proficient) is higher than 3 of the 3 schools below with a result.
| School | Students | Low-income | Proficient |
|---|---|---|---|
| Central Elementary School this school | 632 | 40.5% | 85.8% |
| New Hampton Elementary School New Hampton | 504 | 40.3% | 73.8% |
| E A Kreft Primary School Council Bluffs | 502 | 41.2% | N/A |
| Washington Elementary School Atlantic | 554 | 39.9% | 78.0% |
| Titan Hill Intermediate School Council Bluffs | 901 | 39.4% | 68.3% |
| Northeast Elementary School Glenwood | 538 | 45.7% | N/A |
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 School ranks
Among elementary schools| Measure | This school | In Iowa | In Story County |
|---|---|---|---|
| State test proficiency ranked highest first | 85.8% | #40 of 564 | #3 of 11 |
| Math proficiency ranked highest first | 93.0% | #15 of 564 ▲ 27 | #1 of 11 ▲ 2 |
| Reading proficiency ranked highest first | 88.1% | #36 of 564 ▲ 217 | #2 of 11 ▲ 7 |
| Enrollment ranked largest first | 632 | #25 of 705 | #1 of 13 |
| Students per teacher ranked fewest first | 13.7:1 | #311 of 561 | #7 of 11 |
| Diversity index ranked most diverse first | 31.6% | #324 of 561 | #7 of 11 |
| Free and reduced lunch ranked highest share first | 40.5% | #354 of 666 | #6 of 13 |
| Enrollment change since 2017-18 ranked steepest decline first | -6.5% | #264 of 359 | N/A |
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
632
+9 (+1%) vs 2020
+1% since 1990-91, when it was 626
Student : Teacher
13.7:1
was 14.5:1
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 | 632 | 46.1 | 13.7:1 | 41% (256) |
| 2023-24 | 646 | 45.8 | 14.1:1 | 37% (236) |
| 2022-23 | 608 | 45.7 | 13.3:1 | 28% (168) |
| 2020-21 | 623 | 43 | 14.5:1 | 34% (213) |
| 2017-18 | 676 | 47.3 | 14.3:1 | 31% (209) |
| 2015-16 | 726 | 53 | 13.7:1 | 33% (241) |
| 2010-11 | 692 | 42 | 16.5:1 | 38% (265) |
| 2000-01 | 599 | 40 | 15.0:1 | 20% (122) |
| 1990-91 | 626 | 32 | 19.6:1 | N/A |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data. Rows are the federal collections on file for Central Elementary School.
Since 2017-18: students down 7% (676 to 632); teachers down 2% (47.3 to 46.1).
About Central Elementary School
Central Elementary School sits in Nevada, Iowa, and is classified as an elementary school. It serves 632 students in pre-K through 4. For comparison, elementary schools in Iowa average about 325 students.
Central Elementary School is one of 3 schools in Nevada Comm School District, which enrolls 1,572 students in total.
The student body at Central Elementary School is 81% White. Enrollment also includes 13% Hispanic and 4% multiracial. The county population is about 82% White, within a few points of the school. Central Elementary School's diversity index is 32%, against a US figure of 70%.
Central Elementary School counts 46.1 full-time-equivalent teachers, about 13.7 students for each one. That is close to the 13.7:1 average for elementary schools in Iowa. About 41% of students at the school meet free or reduced-price lunch income limits. Compared with the 28% average for public schools in Story County, the school's rate is higher.
The allk12 Grade for Central Elementary School is A+. Compared with Iowa public elementary schools, the school scored higher than 98% on a mix of test scores, poverty-adjusted results, and recent trend.
Central Elementary School outperforms its prediction by 14.1 points. The model expects 71.7% for a school with its free or reduced-price lunch share in Iowa; the school's rate is 85.8%.
Census Bureau estimates for Story County show that the median household income is $69,685, roughly 55% of adults have a four-year degree or more, and the share of residents below the poverty line is 6%. There are 26 public schools in Story County, enrolling about 11,665 students in all.
Nearby, Nevada High School is about 0.4 miles away. There are 2 more public schools inside five miles. Central Elementary School ranks 1st of 8 among nearby schools on average proficiency, with 85.8% against a local average of 75.5%.
The school's setting, by NCES definition, is Town: Fringe: in a town close to an urbanized area.
Federal data show 623 students in 2020-21 and 632 in 2024-25, a difference of under 3%.
Parents and students can post about sports schedules, lunch menus, and spirit week at Central Elementary School. Questions from prospective families are welcome too.
Story County at a glance
View full county profilePopulation
100,466
Census ACS
Median income
$69,685
Household, ACS
Bachelor's+
55%
Adults 25+
Poverty rate
6%
Below federal line
Schools in county
26
11,665 students
Quick facts
Related schools
Other schools in Nevada Comm School District
- Nevada High SchoolHigh · 498 students
- Nevada Middle SchoolMiddle · 442 students
Other schools in Nevada
- Nevada High SchoolHigh · 498 students
- Nevada Middle SchoolMiddle · 442 students
Other Central Elementary schools
151 other US public schools in 35 states are named Central Elementary. Central Elementary School is the 16th largest of the 152.
- Central Elementary SchoolCoralville, IA · 343 students
- Central ElementaryElkader, IA · 292 students
- Central Elementary SchoolCarrollton, GA · 991 students
- CENTRAL ELEM.ST CHARLES, MO · 865 students
- Central ElementaryBanning, CA · 782 students
Nearby schools
- Nevada High School0.4 mi · 498
- Nevada Middle School0.5 mi · 442
- Colo-NESCO Middle/High School6.7 mi · 216
- Mitchell Elementary School8.1 mi · 314
- Meeker Elementary School8.7 mi · 361
- Northwood Pre-School9.0 mi · 244
Frequently asked questions
About Central Elementary SchoolHow many students attend Central Elementary School?
Central Elementary School enrolls approximately 632 students in grades PK-04.
What grades does Central Elementary School serve?
Central Elementary School serves grades PK-04.
What is the student-teacher ratio at Central Elementary School?
The student-to-teacher ratio at Central Elementary School is approximately 13.7:1 (46 FTE teachers).
What is the student diversity at Central Elementary School?
Student demographics at Central Elementary School are roughly 81% White, 13% Hispanic, 1% Black, 0% Asian, 4% Two or more.
What district is Central Elementary School in?
Central Elementary School is part of Nevada Comm School District.
Data sourceSchool profile facts are sourced from the NCES. Community content is posted by allk12 members.