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If you could change one rule at Independence Junior Senior High School, what would it be?
Community prompt from u/allk12. Replies below.
Enrollment
712
High
DISTRICT 346 · STATE 468
SCHOOL COMMUNITY·INDEPENDENCE COMM SCHOOL DISTRICT·NCES 191458000866
Independence Junior Senior High School
700 20th Ave SW, Independence, IA 50644 · (319) 334-7405 · Buchanan County
GRADES 07–12HIGH32-TOWNREGULAR SCHOOL712 STUDENTS
C
allk12 Grade
Scored higher than 34% of Iowa public high schools
- C+Test scores Share of students meeting the state standard in reading, math, and other tested subjects, 2023-24 and 2024-25.
- CBeats 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
15.8:1
45 FTE teachers
DISTRICT 15.9:1 · STATE 17.3:1
Free / Reduced Lunch
29%
209 students
DISTRICT 37% · 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 7 | 101 | 14% |
| Grade 8 | 119 | 17% |
| Grade 9 | 108 | 15% |
| Grade 10 | 136 | 19% |
| Grade 11 | 119 | 17% |
| Grade 12 | 129 | 18% |
Student demographics
18%Diversity index
The chance that two students picked at random belong to different racial or ethnic groups.
DISTRICT 18% · 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 Independence Comm School District. Attendance zones can vary; confirm enrollment with the district.
Test scores
ISASP 2024-25 . % ProficientEnglish Language Arts
71.9%
IA avg 73.6% . -5.8pp since 2023
Math
69.0%
IA avg 70.9% . -4.3pp since 2023
What this means: On the ISASP, Iowa's statewide test, about 72 of every 100 students at this school read and write at grade level and about 69 of 100 do math at grade level. Across all Iowa schools, those numbers are about 74 and 71. Reading and writing scores are down about 6 points since 2023, while math scores are down about 4 points.
ISASP results by year
| School year | English Language Arts | Math |
|---|---|---|
| 2024-25 | 71.9% | 69.0% |
| 2023-24 | 77.7% | 73.3% |
% 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
71.1%
composite math + reading, all grades
Predicted
77.3%
based on IA schools with similar FRL share
Beats by
-6.2pp
below demographic expectation
What this means: About 71% of students here test proficient in math and reading, compared with the roughly 77% 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 Independence Junior Senior High School
Independence Junior Senior High School's state test result (71.1% proficient) is higher than 1 of the 5 schools below with a result.
| School | Students | Low-income | Proficient |
|---|---|---|---|
| Independence Junior Senior High School this school | 712 | 29.4% | 71.1% |
| Boone High School Boone | 704 | 30.7% | 69.2% |
| Winterset Senior High School Winterset | 530 | 27.7% | 74.9% |
| Northeast Middle-High School Goose Lake | 452 | 29.0% | 80.1% |
| Central DeWitt High School De Witt | 533 | 26.6% | 76.4% |
| Harlan High School Harlan | 486 | 28.6% | 76.7% |
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 Independence Junior Senior High School ranks
Among high schools| Measure | This school | In Iowa |
|---|---|---|
| State test proficiency ranked highest first | 71.1% | #186 of 313 |
| Math proficiency ranked highest first | 69.0% | #188 of 314 ▼ 73 |
| Reading proficiency ranked highest first | 71.9% | #234 of 314 ▼ 72 |
| Enrollment ranked largest first | 712 | #65 of 340 |
| Students per teacher ranked fewest first | 15.8:1 | #187 of 259 |
| Diversity index ranked most diverse first | 17.8% | #164 of 260 |
| Free and reduced lunch ranked highest share first | 29.4% | #216 of 320 |
| Enrollment change since 2017-18 ranked fastest growth first | +1.3% | #128 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
712
+22 (+3%) vs 2020
+41% since 1990-91, when it was 504
Student : Teacher
15.8:1
was 15.0:1
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 | 712 | 45 | 15.8:1 | 29% (209) |
| 2023-24 | 724 | 44.3 | 16.4:1 | 35% (251) |
| 2022-23 | 701 | 46.6 | 15.0:1 | 32% (225) |
| 2020-21 | 690 | 46 | 15.0:1 | 35% (243) |
| 2017-18 | 703 | 47.6 | 14.8:1 | 36% (250) |
| 2015-16 | 676 | 46 | 14.7:1 | 28% (192) |
| 2010-11 | 407 | 35 | 11.6:1 | 30% (124) |
| 2000-01 | 568 | 40 | 14.2:1 | 15% (88) |
| 1990-91 | 504 | 36 | 14.0:1 | N/A |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data. Rows are the federal collections on file for Independence Junior Senior High School.
Since 2017-18: students up 1% (703 to 712); teachers down 5% (47.6 to 45).
About Independence Junior Senior High School
Independence Junior Senior High School serves students in Independence, Iowa, as a high-enrollment high school. A federal count lists 712 students at the school, in grades 7 through 12. An average school in this group (high schools in Iowa) has about 468 students.
Across its 4 schools, Independence Comm School District enrolls 1,383 students. Independence Junior Senior High School is one of those schools.
About 90% of the student body at Independence Junior Senior High School is White. Other students are 4% Hispanic and 4% multiracial. The school's diversity index is 18%, meaning two students picked at random have an 18% chance of belonging to different racial or ethnic groups.
Federal data list 45 full-time-equivalent teachers at Independence Junior Senior High School in 2024-25, for a ratio of 15.8:1. That is lower than the 17.3:1 average for high schools in Iowa. The lunch program counts 29% of students at Independence Junior Senior High School as eligible for free or reduced-price meals. That tracks the 29% average for public schools in Buchanan County.
Independence Junior Senior High School is graded C by allk12, scoring above 34% of Iowa public high schools once test results, poverty-adjusted performance, and the recent trend are combined.
Independence Junior Senior High School's actual average proficiency rate on state tests (71.1%) and its predicted rate (77.3%) put it outside the top and bottom 10% of Iowa schools.
Within Buchanan County, the median household income is $78,236, a bachelor's degree or higher is held by about 22% of adults, and the share of residents below the poverty line is 6%. In all, Buchanan County has 18 public schools and roughly 3,231 students.
The shortest distance from Independence Junior Senior High School to another public school is about 0.5 miles, to West Elementary School. Other public schools within five miles: 3. Nearby schools with test data average 78.8% proficiency; Independence Junior Senior High School posts 71.1%.
Locale: Town: Distant. In NCES terms, the school is in a town some distance from an urbanized area.
The school enrolled 712 students in 2024-25, 22 more than the 690 it had in 2020-21.
Parents and students can post about school events, clubs, and volunteer needs at Independence Junior Senior High School. Anyone with firsthand experience at this school can post or comment.
Buchanan County at a glance
View full county profilePopulation
20,694
Census ACS
Median income
$78,236
Household, ACS
Bachelor's+
22%
Adults 25+
Poverty rate
6%
Below federal line
Schools in county
18
3,231 students
Quick facts
Related schools
Other schools in Independence Comm School District
- West Elementary SchoolElementary · 360 students
- East Elementary SchoolElementary · 265 students
- Early Childhood CenterElementary · 46 students
Other schools in Independence
- West Elementary SchoolElementary · 360 students
- East Elementary SchoolElementary · 265 students
- Early Childhood CenterElementary · 46 students
- Perry #1 Elementary SchoolElementary · 29 students
Nearby schools
- West Elementary School0.5 mi · 360
- East Elementary School0.6 mi · 265
- Early Childhood Center0.6 mi · 46
- Perry #1 Elementary School6.0 mi · 29
- Jesup High School7.6 mi · 269
- Jesup Middle School7.6 mi · 249
Frequently asked questions
About Independence Junior Senior High SchoolHow many students attend Independence Junior Senior High School?
Independence Junior Senior High School enrolls approximately 712 students in grades 07-12.
Is Independence Junior Senior High School an elementary, middle, or high school?
Independence Junior Senior High School is a high school covering grades 07-12.
How many students per teacher at Independence Junior Senior High School?
Approximately 15.8:1 students per teacher at Independence Junior Senior High School.
How diverse is Independence Junior Senior High School?
Independence Junior Senior High School reports a student body of 90% White, 4% Hispanic, 1% Black, 0% Asian, 4% Two or more.
Is Independence Junior Senior High School public or private?
Independence Junior Senior High School is a public K-12 school, overseen by Independence Comm School District.
Data sourceSchool profile facts are sourced from the NCES. Community content is posted by allk12 members.