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How has Creston High School changed in the last five years, for better or worse?
Community prompt from u/allk12. Replies below.
Enrollment
486
High
DISTRICT 326 · STATE 468
SCHOOL COMMUNITY·CRESTON COMM SCHOOL DISTRICT·NCES 190831000444
Creston High School
601 W Townline, Creston, IA 50801 · (641) 782-2116 · Union County
GRADES 09–12HIGH33-TOWNTITLE IREGULAR SCHOOL486 STUDENTS
A-
allk12 Grade
Scored higher than 76% of Iowa public high schools
- BTest 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
15.6:1
31 FTE teachers
DISTRICT 13.0:1 · STATE 17.3:1
Free / Reduced Lunch
44%
215 students
DISTRICT 49% · STATE 41%
Community
5
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 9 | 124 | 26% |
| Grade 10 | 108 | 22% |
| Grade 11 | 126 | 26% |
| Grade 12 | 128 | 26% |
Student demographics
23%Diversity index
The chance that two students picked at random belong to different racial or ethnic groups.
DISTRICT 22% · 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 Creston Comm School District. Attendance zones can vary; confirm enrollment with the district.
Test scores
ISASP 2024-25 . % ProficientEnglish Language Arts
83.0%
IA avg 73.6% . +1.1pp since 2023
Math
72.8%
IA avg 70.9% . +1.5pp since 2023
What this means: On the ISASP, Iowa's statewide test, about 83 of every 100 students at this school read and write at grade level and about 73 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 2 points.
ISASP results by year
| School year | English Language Arts | Math |
|---|---|---|
| 2024-25 | 83.0% | 72.8% |
| 2023-24 | 81.9% | 71.3% |
% 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
76.1%
composite math + reading, all grades
Predicted
69.8%
based on IA schools with similar FRL share
Beats by
+6.3pp
above demographic expectation
What this means: About 76% of students here test proficient in math and reading, compared with the roughly 70% 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 Creston High School
Creston High School's state test result (76.1% proficient) is higher than 2 of the 5 schools below with a result.
| School | Students | Low-income | Proficient |
|---|---|---|---|
| Creston High School this school | 486 | 44.2% | 76.1% |
| Spencer High School Spencer | 688 | 45.3% | 79.1% |
| Crestwood High School Cresco | 346 | 44.2% | 76.2% |
| East Sac County High School Lake View | 344 | 43.6% | 73.2% |
| Oelwein High School Oelwein | 334 | 42.5% | 58.6% |
| Shenandoah High School Shenandoah | 300 | 45.0% | 78.8% |
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 Creston High School ranks
Among high schools| Measure | This school | In Iowa |
|---|---|---|
| State test proficiency ranked highest first | 76.1% | #118 of 313 |
| Math proficiency ranked highest first | 72.8% | #144 of 314 ▲ 1 |
| Reading proficiency ranked highest first | 83.0% | #79 of 314 ▲ 24 |
| Enrollment ranked largest first | 486 | #93 of 340 |
| Students per teacher ranked fewest first | 15.6:1 | #185 of 259 |
| Diversity index ranked most diverse first | 22.5% | #129 of 260 |
| Free and reduced lunch ranked highest share first | 44.2% | #82 of 320 |
| Enrollment change since 2017-18 ranked fastest growth first | +3.8% | #106 of 133 |
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
486
-34 (-7%) vs 2020
-9% since 1990-91, when it was 535
Student : Teacher
15.6:1
was 16.3:1
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 | 486 | 31.1 | 15.6:1 | 44% (215) |
| 2023-24 | 509 | 31.3 | 16.3:1 | 48% (243) |
| 2022-23 | 532 | 33.5 | 15.9:1 | 46% (243) |
| 2020-21 | 520 | 32 | 16.3:1 | 48% (251) |
| 2017-18 | 468 | 34.8 | 13.4:1 | 44% (207) |
| 2015-16 | 478 | 35 | 13.7:1 | 46% (218) |
| 2010-11 | 461 | 32 | 14.4:1 | 41% (189) |
| 2000-01 | 572 | 43 | 13.3:1 | 25% (145) |
| 1990-91 | 535 | 36 | 14.9:1 | N/A |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data. Rows are the federal collections on file for Creston High School.
Since 2017-18: students up 4% (468 to 486); teachers down 11% (34.8 to 31.1).
About Creston High School
Creston High School is a mid-sized high school that serves part of Creston, Iowa. It reported 486 students in grades 9 through 12 in 2024-25.
Creston Comm School District is the district for Creston High School. It has 4 schools and 1,303 students.
White students are 88% of those enrolled at Creston High School. The rest of enrollment is 7% Hispanic and 2% multiracial. Its diversity index, the chance that two randomly chosen students belong to different racial or ethnic groups, is 23%.
Based on 31.1 full-time-equivalent teachers, Creston High School has a ratio of 15.6:1. The average for high schools in Iowa, 17.3:1, is higher. Income data for the school show 44% of students eligible for free or reduced-price lunch.
On the allk12 Grade, Creston High School lands at A-, ahead of 76% of Iowa public high schools.
Based on student poverty, the model expects 69.8% at Creston High School; the school's average proficiency rate across its state test results is 76.1%.
For the population of Union County, the median household earns about $57,772 a year, about 23% of adults have at least a bachelor's degree, and roughly 10% of residents are in poverty. Across Union County, 6 public schools serve about 1,746 students.
Creston Middle School is about 0.3 miles away, making it the nearest public school. Other public schools within five miles number 3. Compared with its nearest neighbors, Creston High School ranks 4th of 7 on average proficiency.
For locale, NCES codes Creston High School as Town: Remote.
In 2024-25, the school enrolled 486, down from 520 in 2020-21.
Creston High School has a community page on allk12 for topics such as pickup and drop-off, after-school programs, and teacher feedback. Teachers and staff are welcome to share updates too.
Union County at a glance
View full county profilePopulation
11,993
Census ACS
Median income
$57,772
Household, ACS
Bachelor's+
23%
Adults 25+
Poverty rate
10%
Below federal line
Schools in county
6
1,746 students
Quick facts
Related schools
Other schools in Creston Comm School District
- Creston Elementary SchoolElementary · 416 students
- Creston Middle SchoolMiddle · 259 students
- Creston Early Childhood CenterElementary · 142 students
Other schools in Creston
- Creston Elementary SchoolElementary · 416 students
- Creston Middle SchoolMiddle · 259 students
- Creston Early Childhood CenterElementary · 142 students
Nearby schools
- Creston Middle School0.3 mi · 259
- Creston Elementary School0.3 mi · 416
- Creston Early Childhood Center0.5 mi · 142
- Orient-Macksburg Senior High School9.2 mi · 50
- Orient Elementary School9.2 mi · 58
- East Union Middle-High School10.4 mi · 242
Frequently asked questions
About Creston High SchoolHow large is Creston High School?
Creston High School enrolls approximately 486 students in grades 09-12.
What grades does Creston High School serve?
Creston High School serves grades 09-12.
What is the student-teacher ratio at Creston High School?
The student-to-teacher ratio at Creston High School is approximately 15.6:1 (31 FTE teachers).
How diverse is Creston High School?
Creston High School reports a student body of 88% White, 7% Hispanic, 2% Black, 1% Asian, 2% Two or more.
Who oversees Creston High School?
Creston High School is overseen by Creston Comm School District in Union County.
Data sourceSchool profile facts are sourced from the NCES. Community content is posted by allk12 members.