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What's the most underrated thing about Holmes Junior High School that outsiders don't know?
Community prompt from u/allk12. Replies below.
Enrollment
628
Middle
DISTRICT 662 · STATE 400
SCHOOL COMMUNITY·CEDAR FALLS COMM SCHOOL DISTRICT·NCES 190651000224
Holmes Junior High School
505 Holmes Dr, Cedar Falls, IA 50613 · (319) 553-2650 · Black Hawk County
GRADES 07–09MIDDLE13-CITYREGULAR SCHOOL628 STUDENTS
Student : Teacher
13.4:1
47 FTE teachers
DISTRICT 13.8:1 · STATE 15.2:1
Free / Reduced Lunch
25%
158 students
DISTRICT 27% · 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 7 | 205 | 33% |
| Grade 8 | 210 | 33% |
| Grade 9 | 213 | 34% |
Student demographics
32%Diversity index
The chance that two students picked at random belong to different racial or ethnic groups.
DISTRICT 33% · 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
Holmes Junior High School→Cedar Falls High School
Based on grade levels within Cedar Falls Comm School District. Attendance zones can vary; confirm enrollment with the district.
Test scores
ISASP 2024-25 . % ProficientEnglish Language Arts
91.0%
IA avg 73.6% . +3.8pp since 2023
Math
85.5%
IA avg 70.9% . +0.9pp since 2023
What this means: On the ISASP, Iowa's statewide test, about 91 of every 100 students at this school read and write at grade level and about 86 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 4 points since 2023, while math scores have held steady.
ISASP results by year
| School year | English Language Arts | Math |
|---|---|---|
| 2024-25 | 91.0% | 85.5% |
| 2023-24 | 87.2% | 84.6% |
% 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
85.3%
composite math + reading, all grades
Predicted
79.4%
based on IA schools with similar FRL share
Beats by
+5.9pp
above demographic expectation
What this means: About 85% of students here test proficient in math and reading, compared with the roughly 79% 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 Holmes Junior High School
Holmes Junior High School's state test result (85.3% proficient) is higher than 4 of the 5 schools below with a result.
| School | Students | Low-income | Proficient |
|---|---|---|---|
| Holmes Junior High School this school | 628 | 25.2% | 85.3% |
| Excelsior Middle School Marion | 594 | 28.5% | 81.1% |
| Boulder Peak Intermediate School Marion | 613 | 31.5% | 71.4% |
| DC-G Oak View Grimes | 537 | 20.5% | 85.8% |
| Clear Creek Amana Middle School Tiffin | 702 | 27.6% | 78.5% |
| Peet Junior High School Cedar Falls | 695 | 20.3% | 84.1% |
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 Holmes Junior High School ranks
Among middle schools| Measure | This school | In Iowa | In Black Hawk County |
|---|---|---|---|
| State test proficiency ranked highest first | 85.3% | #28 of 224 | #1 of 6 |
| Math proficiency ranked highest first | 85.5% | #35 of 224 ▼ 2 | #1 of 6 no change |
| Reading proficiency ranked highest first | 91.0% | #11 of 224 ▲ 27 | #1 of 6 ▲ 1 |
| Enrollment ranked largest first | 628 | #49 of 246 | #3 of 6 |
| Students per teacher ranked fewest first | 13.4:1 | #54 of 180 | #3 of 6 |
| Diversity index ranked most diverse first | 32.4% | #92 of 180 | #6 of 6 |
| Free and reduced lunch ranked highest share first | 25.2% | #193 of 237 | #5 of 6 |
| Enrollment change since 2017-18 ranked fastest growth first | +4.8% | #43 of 61 | 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
628
-45 (-7%) vs 2020
+12% since 1990-91, when it was 559
Student : Teacher
13.4:1
was 14.6:1
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 | 628 | 46.7 | 13.4:1 | 25% (158) |
| 2023-24 | 629 | 47.7 | 13.2:1 | 28% (178) |
| 2022-23 | 639 | 46.8 | 13.7:1 | 28% (180) |
| 2020-21 | 673 | 46 | 14.6:1 | 29% (195) |
| 2017-18 | 599 | 42.7 | 14.0:1 | 21% (127) |
| 2015-16 | 581 | 42 | 13.8:1 | 27% (156) |
| 2010-11 | 498 | 37 | 13.5:1 | 21% (106) |
| 2000-01 | 558 | 39 | 14.3:1 | 17% (97) |
| 1990-91 | 559 | 35 | 16.0:1 | N/A |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data. Rows are the federal collections on file for Holmes Junior High School.
Since 2017-18: students up 5% (599 to 628); teachers up 9% (42.7 to 46.7).
About Holmes Junior High School
Federal records list Holmes Junior High School as a middle-grades school in Cedar Falls, Iowa. The school counts 628 students across grades 7 through 9. The school's enrollment is 57% larger than the 400 average for middle schools in Iowa.
A total of 10 schools make up Cedar Falls Comm School District, with 5,853 students enrolled.
Most students at Holmes Junior High School are White: 82% of enrollment. Smaller groups are 7% multiracial, 5% Black, 3% Hispanic, and 3% Asian. For comparison, Black Hawk County is about 80% White. Holmes Junior High School has a diversity index of 32%, compared with 70% for all US public school students.
Teachers at the school number 46.7 full-time equivalents, and the ratio is 13.4:1. Among middle schools in Iowa, the typical ratio is 15.2:1. The school's lunch program data list 25% of students as eligible for free or reduced-price meals. Across public schools in Black Hawk County, the average is 52%.
Compared with Iowa schools that have similar shares of low-income students, Holmes Junior High School's results are 5.9 points above predicted: 85.3% against 79.4%.
Black Hawk County has these Census figures: median household income is about $66,417, about 30% of adults have at least a bachelor's degree, and the poverty rate is about 9%. Holmes Junior High School is among the 35 public schools in Black Hawk County.
Of nearby public schools, Helen A Hansen Elementary School is the closest, at about 0.1 miles. Inside a five-mile radius, there are at least 8 other public schools. Among 9 nearby schools that report test results, Holmes Junior High School ranks 3rd on proficiency.
Holmes Junior High School is coded as City: Small in federal locale data.
Between 2020-21 and 2024-25, the student count dropped from 673 to 628. Students per teacher fell from 14.6 in 2020-21 to 13.4 in 2024-25.
The allk12 site hosts a discussion page for Holmes Junior High School covering things like school events, clubs, and volunteer needs. Reviews and ratings from people who know the school are welcome.
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 Cedar Falls Comm School District
- Cedar Falls High SchoolHigh · 1,333 students
- Peet Junior High SchoolMiddle · 695 students
- Helen A Hansen Elementary SchoolElementary · 569 students
- Southdale Elementary SchoolElementary · 539 students
- Bess Streeter Aldrich ElementaryElementary · 472 students
- Orchard Hill Elementary SchoolElementary · 458 students
Other schools in Cedar Falls
- Cedar Falls High SchoolHigh · 1,333 students
- Peet Junior High SchoolMiddle · 695 students
- Helen A Hansen Elementary SchoolElementary · 569 students
- Southdale Elementary SchoolElementary · 539 students
- Bess Streeter Aldrich ElementaryElementary · 472 students
- Orchard Hill Elementary SchoolElementary · 458 students
Other Holmes Junior High schools
One other US public school is named Holmes Junior High. Holmes Junior High School is the largest of the 2.
- Holmes Jr High SchoolMount Prospect, IL · 459 students
Nearby schools
- Helen A Hansen Elementary School0.1 mi · 569
- Lincoln Elementary School1.1 mi · 416
- Cedar Falls High School1.3 mi · 1,333
- North Cedar Elementary School1.9 mi · 292
- Peet Junior High School2.0 mi · 695
- Southdale Elementary School2.6 mi · 539
Frequently asked questions
About Holmes Junior High SchoolHow large is Holmes Junior High School?
Holmes Junior High School enrolls approximately 628 students in grades 07-09.
Is Holmes Junior High School an elementary, middle, or high school?
Holmes Junior High School is a middle school covering grades 07-09.
How many teachers does Holmes Junior High School have?
Holmes Junior High School employs 47 FTE teachers, for a student-to-teacher ratio of 13.4:1.
What is the student diversity at Holmes Junior High School?
Student demographics at Holmes Junior High School are roughly 82% White, 3% Hispanic, 5% Black, 3% Asian, 7% Two or more.
Is Holmes Junior High School public or private?
Holmes Junior High School is a public K-12 school, overseen by Cedar Falls Comm School District.
Data sourceSchool profile facts are sourced from the NCES. Community content is posted by allk12 members.