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What's the most underrated thing about George Washington Carver Academy that outsiders don't know?
Community prompt from u/allk12. Replies below.
Enrollment
455
Middle
DISTRICT 553 · STATE 400
SCHOOL COMMUNITY·WATERLOO COMM SCHOOL DISTRICT·NCES 193048001725
George Washington Carver Academy
1505 Logan Ave, Waterloo, IA 50703 · (319) 433-2500 · Black Hawk County
GRADES 06–08MIDDLE13-CITYTITLE IREGULAR SCHOOL455 STUDENTS
C-
allk12 Grade
Scored higher than 24% of Iowa public middle schools
- DTest scores Share of students meeting the state standard in reading, math, and other tested subjects, 2023-24 and 2024-25.
- BBeats 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 middle schools
Student : Teacher
13.7:1
33 FTE teachers
DISTRICT 13.6:1 · STATE 15.2:1
Free / Reduced Lunch
91%
412 students
DISTRICT 73% · STATE 41%
Community
5
0 members
Enrollment and student:teacher ratio compared against other middle schools. Free/Reduced Lunch and demographics compared against all schools.
Enrollment by grade, 2024-25
| Grade | Students | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Grade 6 | 147 | 32% |
| Grade 7 | 143 | 31% |
| Grade 8 | 165 | 36% |
Student demographics
70%Diversity index
The chance that two students picked at random belong to different racial or ethnic groups.
DISTRICT 74% · 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
Test scores
ISASP 2024-25 . % ProficientEnglish Language Arts
52.7%
IA avg 73.6% . +0.7pp since 2023
Math
52.3%
IA avg 70.9% . +3.3pp since 2023
What this means: On the ISASP, Iowa's statewide test, about 53 of every 100 students at this school read and write at grade level and about 52 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 up about 3 points.
ISASP results by year
| School year | English Language Arts | Math |
|---|---|---|
| 2024-25 | 52.7% | 52.3% |
| 2023-24 | 52.0% | 49.0% |
% 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
49.8%
composite math + reading, all grades
Predicted
46.6%
based on IA schools with similar FRL share
Beats by
+3.2pp
above demographic expectation
What this means: About 50% of students here test proficient in math and reading, compared with the roughly 47% 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 George Washington Carver Academy
George Washington Carver Academy's state test result (49.8% proficient) is higher than 3 of the 5 schools below with a result.
| School | Students | Low-income | Proficient |
|---|---|---|---|
| George Washington Carver Academy this school | 455 | 90.5% | 49.8% |
| Callanan Middle School Des Moines | 553 | 79.9% | 50.0% |
| Central Middle School Waterloo | 469 | 85.1% | 47.5% |
| Wilson Middle School Cedar Rapids | 422 | 78.0% | 44.2% |
| Roosevelt Creative Corridor Business Academy Cedar Rapids | 484 | 71.1% | 53.1% |
| Frank L Smart Middle School Davenport | 430 | 68.8% | 30.9% |
Matched among Iowa middle 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 George Washington Carver Academy ranks
Among middle schools| Measure | This school | In Iowa | In Black Hawk County |
|---|---|---|---|
| State test proficiency ranked highest first | 49.8% | #212 of 224 | #5 of 6 |
| Math proficiency ranked highest first | 52.3% | #205 of 224 ▲ 2 | #5 of 6 no change |
| Reading proficiency ranked highest first | 52.7% | #211 of 224 ▲ 1 | #5 of 6 no change |
| Enrollment ranked largest first | 455 | #80 of 246 | #5 of 6 |
| Students per teacher ranked fewest first | 13.7:1 | #62 of 180 | #4 of 6 |
| Diversity index ranked most diverse first | 69.9% | #16 of 180 | #3 of 6 |
| Free and reduced lunch ranked highest share first | 90.5% | #3 of 237 | #1 of 6 |
| Enrollment change since 2017-18 ranked steepest decline first | -6.8% | #79 of 103 | N/A |
Ranked against other public middle 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
455
-32 (-7%) vs 2020
-22% since 1990-91, when it was 585
Student : Teacher
13.7:1
was 13.5:1
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 | 455 | 33.3 | 13.7:1 | 91% (412) |
| 2023-24 | 447 | 32.2 | 13.9:1 | 90% (402) |
| 2022-23 | 442 | 34.9 | 12.7:1 | 91% (402) |
| 2020-21 | 487 | 36 | 13.5:1 | 88% (430) |
| 2017-18 | 488 | 34.1 | 14.3:1 | 59% (287) |
| 2015-16 | 450 | 39 | 11.5:1 | 91% (408) |
| 2010-11 | 485 | 33 | 14.7:1 | 88% (429) |
| 2000-01 | 438 | 25 | 17.5:1 | 78% (343) |
| 1990-91 | 585 | 29 | 20.2:1 | N/A |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data. Rows are the federal collections on file for George Washington Carver Academy.
Since 2017-18: students down 7% (488 to 455); teachers down 2% (34.1 to 33.3).
About George Washington Carver Academy
George Washington Carver Academy, located in Waterloo, Iowa, is a medium-sized middle-grades school. Its 455 students are spread across grades 6 through 8.
Waterloo Comm School District counts 10,484 students in its 18 schools, and George Washington Carver Academy is one of them.
No single group makes up more than half of enrollment at George Washington Carver Academy. The largest is Black students, at 47%. Next come 20% Hispanic, 12% White, 12% multiracial, and 9% Pacific Islander. That compares with about 9% Black among all Black Hawk County residents. George Washington Carver Academy's diversity index is 70%, against a US figure of 70%.
The school employs the equivalent of 33.3 full-time teachers, for a ratio of 13.7:1. That is 1.5 students per teacher below the 15.2:1 average for middle schools in Iowa. The free or reduced-price lunch rate at George Washington Carver Academy is 91%. For comparison, public schools in Black Hawk County average 52%.
Measured against Iowa public middle schools, George Washington Carver Academy receives a C-. The grade weighs proficiency most heavily, then how results compare with what the school's low-income share predicts, then the three-year change.
The school's average proficiency rate on state tests is 49.8%. For its free or reduced-price lunch share, the predicted value is 46.6%.
Within Black Hawk County, the median household income is $66,417, 30% of adults hold a bachelor's degree or higher, and about 9% of residents live below the federal poverty line. There are 35 public schools in Black Hawk County, enrolling about 18,224 students in all.
Of nearby public schools, Lincoln Elementary School is the closest, at about 1.2 miles. In all, at least 8 other public schools sit within five miles of George Washington Carver Academy. On proficiency, George Washington Carver Academy is behind the 50.3% nearby average, ranking 5th of 8.
NCES describes the area around George Washington Carver Academy as City: Small, meaning inside a principal city with a population under 100,000.
The school enrolled 455 students in 2024-25, 32 fewer than the 487 it had in 2020-21.
To ask about school events, clubs, and volunteer needs, start a discussion on this page. Anyone with firsthand experience at this school can post or comment.
Black Hawk County at a glance
View full county profilePopulation
131,049
Census ACS
Median income
$66,417
Household, ACS
Bachelor's+
30%
Adults 25+
Poverty rate
9%
Below federal line
Schools in county
35
18,224 students
Quick facts
Related schools
Other schools in Waterloo Comm School District
- West High SchoolHigh · 1,696 students
- East High SchoolHigh · 1,016 students
- Hoover Middle SchoolMiddle · 848 students
- Kittrell Elementary SchoolElementary · 576 students
- Expo Alternative Learning CenterHigh · 561 students
- Lowell Elementary SchoolElementary · 538 students
Other schools in Waterloo
- West High SchoolHigh · 1,696 students
- East High SchoolHigh · 1,016 students
- Hoover Middle SchoolMiddle · 848 students
- Kittrell Elementary SchoolElementary · 576 students
- Expo Alternative Learning CenterHigh · 561 students
- Lowell Elementary SchoolElementary · 538 students
Nearby schools
- Lincoln Elementary School1.2 mi · 463
- Cunningham School1.3 mi · 443
- East High School1.5 mi · 1,016
- Expo Alternative Learning Center2.4 mi · 561
- Irving Elementary School2.4 mi · 353
- Highland Elementary School2.5 mi · 448
Frequently asked questions
About George Washington Carver AcademyHow many students attend George Washington Carver Academy?
George Washington Carver Academy enrolls approximately 455 students in grades 06-08.
Is George Washington Carver Academy an elementary, middle, or high school?
George Washington Carver Academy is a middle school covering grades 06-08.
How many teachers does George Washington Carver Academy have?
George Washington Carver Academy employs 33 FTE teachers, for a student-to-teacher ratio of 13.7:1.
How diverse is George Washington Carver Academy?
George Washington Carver Academy reports a student body of 12% White, 20% Hispanic, 47% Black, 0% Asian, 12% Two or more.
Who oversees George Washington Carver Academy?
George Washington Carver Academy is overseen by Waterloo Comm School District in Black Hawk County.
Data sourceSchool profile facts are sourced from the NCES. Community content is posted by allk12 members.