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What's the most underrated thing about Clay Elementary that outsiders don't know?
Community prompt from u/allk12. Replies below.
Enrollment
700
Elementary
DISTRICT 441 · STATE 325
SCHOOL COMMUNITY·SOUTHEAST POLK COMM SCHOOL DISTRICT·NCES 192682001168
Clay Elementary
3200 First Avenue S., Altoona, IA 50009 · (515) 967-4198 · Polk County
GRADES PK–05ELEMENTARY21-SUBURBREGULAR SCHOOL700 STUDENTS
Student : Teacher
16.4:1
43 FTE teachers
DISTRICT 13.7:1 · STATE 13.7:1
Free / Reduced Lunch
36%
253 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 | 61 | 9% |
| Kindergarten | 109 | 16% |
| Grade 1 | 112 | 16% |
| Grade 2 | 100 | 14% |
| Grade 3 | 106 | 15% |
| Grade 4 | 105 | 15% |
| Grade 5 | 107 | 15% |
This year's kindergarten class (109) is about the same size as its 5th grade class (107).
Student demographics
59%Diversity index
The chance that two students picked at random belong to different racial or ethnic groups.
DISTRICT 49% · 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 Southeast Polk Comm School District. Attendance zones can vary; confirm enrollment with the district.
Test scores
ISASP 2024-25 . % ProficientEnglish Language Arts
71.4%
IA avg 73.6% . -0.3pp since 2023
Math
69.6%
IA avg 70.9% . -6.8pp since 2023
What this means: On the ISASP, Iowa's statewide test, about 71 of every 100 students at this school read and write at grade level and about 70 of 100 do math at grade level. Across all Iowa schools, those numbers are about 74 and 71. Reading and writing scores have held steady since 2023, while math scores are down about 7 points.
ISASP results by year
| School year | English Language Arts | Math |
|---|---|---|
| 2024-25 | 71.4% | 69.6% |
| 2023-24 | 71.7% | 76.4% |
% 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
71.3%
composite math + reading, all grades
Predicted
73.9%
based on IA schools with similar FRL share
Beats by
-2.5pp
below demographic expectation
What this means: About 71% of students here test proficient in math and reading, compared with the roughly 74% 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 Clay Elementary
Clay Elementary's state test result (71.3% proficient) is higher than 0 of the 5 schools below with a result.
| School | Students | Low-income | Proficient |
|---|---|---|---|
| Clay Elementary this school | 700 | 36.1% | 71.3% |
| Westridge Elementary West Des Moines | 744 | 39.5% | 80.7% |
| Southeast Elementary School Ankeny | 585 | 33.0% | 72.8% |
| Heritage Elementary Ankeny | 604 | 33.9% | 74.9% |
| Maple Grove Elementary Cedar Rapids | 539 | 41.2% | 76.9% |
| Eason Elementary School Waukee | 590 | 28.1% | 79.3% |
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 Clay Elementary ranks
Among elementary schools| Measure | This school | In Iowa | In Polk County |
|---|---|---|---|
| State test proficiency ranked highest first | 71.3% | #308 of 564 | #32 of 78 |
| Math proficiency ranked highest first | 69.6% | #390 of 564 ▼ 106 | #40 of 78 ▼ 12 |
| Reading proficiency ranked highest first | 71.4% | #308 of 564 ▼ 47 | #36 of 78 ▼ 4 |
| Enrollment ranked largest first | 700 | #11 of 705 | #3 of 89 |
| Students per teacher ranked fewest first | 16.4:1 | #523 of 561 | #77 of 86 |
| Diversity index ranked most diverse first | 58.6% | #149 of 561 | #49 of 86 |
| Free and reduced lunch ranked highest share first | 36.1% | #414 of 666 | #59 of 89 |
| Enrollment change since 2017-18 ranked fastest growth first | +8.7% | #95 of 168 | #6 of 16 |
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
700
+96 (+16%) vs 2020
+69% since 2010-11, when it was 413
Student : Teacher
16.4:1
was 15.9:1
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 | 700 | 42.7 | 16.4:1 | 36% (253) |
| 2023-24 | 670 | 40.1 | 16.7:1 | 34% (225) |
| 2022-23 | 657 | 37.5 | 17.5:1 | 30% (198) |
| 2020-21 | 604 | 38 | 15.9:1 | 24% (146) |
| 2017-18 | 644 | 36.3 | 17.8:1 | 25% (162) |
| 2015-16 | 620 | 36 | 17.2:1 | 17% (103) |
| 2010-11 | 413 | 24 | 17.2:1 | 21% (86) |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data. Rows are the federal collections on file for Clay Elementary.
Since 2017-18: students up 9% (644 to 700); teachers up 18% (36.3 to 42.7).
About Clay Elementary
Clay Elementary is an elementary school in Altoona, Iowa, and it is part of Southeast Polk Comm School District. The school offers pre-K through 5 and enrolls 700 students. That puts enrollment 115% bigger than the 325-student average for elementary schools in Iowa.
The district for Clay Elementary is Southeast Polk Comm School District, with 10 schools and 6,359 students.
Federal enrollment data show Clay Elementary is 60% White. Other groups include 15% Hispanic, 14% Black, 8% multiracial, and 3% Asian. The county population is about 76% White. Its diversity index, the chance that two randomly chosen students belong to different racial or ethnic groups, is 59%.
Classroom staffing at Clay Elementary totals 42.7 full-time-equivalent teachers, and the student-to-teacher ratio is 16.4:1. Statewide, elementary schools in Iowa average 13.7:1. Federal data show 36% of students (253) are eligible for free or reduced-price lunch. On average, public schools in Polk County report 49%.
Test results at Clay Elementary are 2.5 points below what its free or reduced-price lunch share predicts (71.3% actual, 73.9% predicted).
The county, Polk County, is where the school is located. Median household income comes to about $83,576, a bachelor's degree or higher is held by about 40% of adults, and the poverty rate is about 7%. The county has 137 public schools and about 77,436 students.
The closest school to Clay Elementary is Centennial Elementary, located about 1.4 miles away. The count of other public schools within five miles is at least 8. On proficiency, Clay Elementary is ahead of the 70.5% nearby average, ranking 6th of 9.
Locale: Suburb: Large. In NCES terms, the school is in a suburban area outside a principal city, within an urbanized area with a population of 250,000 or more.
Enrollment in 2024-25 stood at 700, compared with 604 in 2020-21.
Parents, students, and staff can share information on special education services, counseling, and support programs here. Parents, students, alumni, and staff are welcome to post.
Polk County at a glance
View full county profilePopulation
503,175
Census ACS
Median income
$83,576
Household, ACS
Bachelor's+
40%
Adults 25+
Poverty rate
7%
Below federal line
Schools in county
137
77,436 students
Quick facts
Related schools
Other schools in Southeast Polk Comm School District
- Southeast Polk High SchoolHigh · 1,722 students
- Southeast Polk Middle SchoolMiddle · 1,112 students
- Willowbrook ElementaryElementary · 523 students
- Four Mile ElementaryElementary · 495 students
- Delaware ElementaryElementary · 440 students
- Altoona ElementaryElementary · 429 students
Other schools in Altoona
- Southeast Polk Middle SchoolMiddle · 1,112 students
- Willowbrook ElementaryElementary · 523 students
- Altoona ElementaryElementary · 429 students
- Centennial ElementaryElementary · 423 students
Other Clay Elementary schools
7 other US public schools in 8 states are named Clay Elementary. Clay Elementary is the largest of the 8.
- Clay Elementary SchoolClay, AL · 606 students
- Clay Elementary SchoolChicago, IL · 578 students
- Clay Elementary SchoolClay, WV · 431 students
- Clay Elementary SchoolEphrata, PA · 377 students
- Clay Elementary SchoolPortsmouth, OH · 326 students
Nearby schools
- Centennial Elementary1.4 mi · 423
- Altoona Elementary1.7 mi · 429
- Southeast Polk Middle School2.0 mi · 1,112
- Southeast Polk High School2.0 mi · 1,722
- Willowbrook Elementary2.1 mi · 523
- Four Mile Elementary3.0 mi · 495
Frequently asked questions
About Clay ElementaryHow large is Clay Elementary?
Clay Elementary enrolls approximately 700 students in grades PK-05.
Is Clay Elementary an elementary, middle, or high school?
Clay Elementary is an elementary school covering grades PK-05.
How many teachers does Clay Elementary have?
Clay Elementary employs 43 FTE teachers, for a student-to-teacher ratio of 16.4:1.
How diverse is Clay Elementary?
Clay Elementary reports a student body of 60% White, 15% Hispanic, 14% Black, 3% Asian, 8% Two or more.
Is Clay Elementary public or private?
Clay Elementary is a public K-12 school, overseen by Southeast Polk Comm School District.
Data sourceSchool profile facts are sourced from the NCES. Community content is posted by allk12 members.