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Best kept secret at Lawson Elementary School?
Community prompt from u/allk12. Replies below.
Enrollment
545
Elementary
DISTRICT 648 · STATE 325
SCHOOL COMMUNITY·JOHNSTON COMM SCHOOL DISTRICT·NCES 191545000532
Lawson Elementary School
5450 NW 62nd Ave, Johnston, IA 50131 · (515) 278-0478 · Polk County
GRADES KG–05ELEMENTARY21-SUBURBREGULAR SCHOOL545 STUDENTS
Student : Teacher
13.3:1
41 FTE teachers
DISTRICT 14.2:1 · STATE 13.7:1
Free / Reduced Lunch
33%
181 students
DISTRICT 26% · 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 |
|---|---|---|
| Kindergarten | 89 | 16% |
| Grade 1 | 82 | 15% |
| Grade 2 | 96 | 18% |
| Grade 3 | 86 | 16% |
| Grade 4 | 88 | 16% |
| Grade 5 | 104 | 19% |
This year's kindergarten class (89) is 14% smaller than its 5th grade class (104).
Student demographics
58%Diversity index
The chance that two students picked at random belong to different racial or ethnic groups.
DISTRICT 56% · 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 Johnston Comm School District. Attendance zones can vary; confirm enrollment with the district.
Test scores
ISASP 2024-25 . % ProficientEnglish Language Arts
79.9%
IA avg 73.6% . +1.1pp since 2023
Math
84.7%
IA avg 70.9% . +3.4pp since 2023
What this means: On the ISASP, Iowa's statewide test, about 80 of every 100 students at this school read and write at grade level and about 85 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 3 points.
ISASP results by year
| School year | English Language Arts | Math |
|---|---|---|
| 2024-25 | 79.9% | 84.7% |
| 2023-24 | 78.8% | 81.3% |
% 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
78.1%
composite math + reading, all grades
Predicted
75.3%
based on IA schools with similar FRL share
Beats by
+2.8pp
above demographic expectation
What this means: About 78% of students here test proficient in math and reading, compared with the roughly 75% 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 Lawson Elementary School
Lawson Elementary School's state test result (78.1% proficient) is higher than 2 of the 5 schools below with a result.
| School | Students | Low-income | Proficient |
|---|---|---|---|
| Lawson Elementary School this school | 545 | 33.2% | 78.1% |
| Timber Ridge Elementary Johnston | 667 | 27.3% | 73.9% |
| Fellows Elementary School Ames | 489 | 28.8% | 83.5% |
| Brookview Elementary School West Des Moines | 592 | 22.0% | 82.0% |
| Woodland Hills Elementary School West Des Moines | 578 | 21.6% | 83.3% |
| Valerius Elementary School Urbandale | 598 | 43.3% | 77.5% |
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 Lawson Elementary School ranks
Among elementary schools| Measure | This school | In Iowa | In Polk County |
|---|---|---|---|
| State test proficiency ranked highest first | 78.1% | #165 of 564 | #20 of 78 |
| Math proficiency ranked highest first | 84.7% | #130 of 564 ▲ 48 | #13 of 78 ▲ 7 |
| Reading proficiency ranked highest first | 79.9% | #152 of 564 ▼ 22 | #19 of 78 no change |
| Enrollment ranked largest first | 545 | #73 of 705 | #24 of 89 |
| Students per teacher ranked fewest first | 13.3:1 | #257 of 561 | #36 of 86 |
| Diversity index ranked most diverse first | 58.0% | #156 of 561 | #51 of 86 |
| Free and reduced lunch ranked highest share first | 33.2% | #458 of 666 | #63 of 89 |
| Enrollment change since 2017-18 ranked steepest decline first | -16.0% | #138 of 359 | #27 of 64 |
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
545
-39 (-7%) vs 2020
-3% since 2000-01, when it was 562
Student : Teacher
13.3:1
was 13.3:1
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 | 545 | 41.1 | 13.3:1 | 33% (181) |
| 2023-24 | 595 | 40.5 | 14.7:1 | 37% (223) |
| 2022-23 | 607 | 40.4 | 15.0:1 | 32% (194) |
| 2020-21 | 584 | 44 | 13.3:1 | 24% (141) |
| 2017-18 | 649 | 43.1 | 15.1:1 | 31% (199) |
| 2015-16 | 620 | 39 | 15.9:1 | 27% (169) |
| 2010-11 | 489 | 35 | 14.0:1 | 22% (106) |
| 2000-01 | 562 | 46 | 12.2:1 | 15% (84) |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data. Rows are the federal collections on file for Lawson Elementary School.
Since 2017-18: students down 16% (649 to 545); teachers down 5% (43.1 to 41.1).
About Lawson Elementary School
Lawson Elementary School is an elementary school with a street address in Johnston, Iowa. Grades offered run from kindergarten through 5, with 545 students enrolled. For comparison, elementary schools in Iowa average about 325 students.
Lawson Elementary School sits within Johnston Comm School District, which has 8 schools and 7,339 students.
Roughly 62% of students at Lawson Elementary School are White. The rest of enrollment is 14% Asian, 9% Black, 8% Hispanic, and 7% multiracial. Among all residents of Polk County, the White share is about 76%. Lawson Elementary School's diversity index is 58%, against a US figure of 70%.
Federal staffing data show 41.1 full-time-equivalent teachers at Lawson Elementary School and a ratio of 13.3:1. For comparison, elementary schools in Iowa average 13.7:1. Free or reduced-price lunch eligibility covers 33% of students. The rate at public schools in Polk County averages 49%, higher than here.
Based on student poverty, the model expects 75.3% at Lawson Elementary School; the school's average proficiency rate on state tests is 78.1%.
Federal survey data for Polk County show that the median household income is $83,576, about 40% of adults have at least a bachelor's degree, and roughly 7% of residents are in poverty. Polk County is home to 137 public schools and about 77,436 public school students.
Nearby, Henry A Wallace Elementary School is about 0.4 miles away. Within five miles of Lawson Elementary School, there are at least 8 other public schools. Ranked by average proficiency, Lawson Elementary School places 4th out of 9 schools in its immediate area.
The school is in a suburban area outside a principal city, within an urbanized area with a population of 250,000 or more, according to its NCES locale (Suburb: Large).
Enrollment dropped 7% from its 2020-21 level of 584.
Discussion on this page can cover school events, clubs, and volunteer needs. Posting is open to anyone connected to the school.
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 Johnston Comm School District
- Johnston Senior High SchoolHigh · 1,820 students
- Johnston Middle SchoolHigh · 1,161 students
- Summit Middle SchoolMiddle · 1,118 students
- Henry A Wallace Elementary SchoolElementary · 840 students
- Timber Ridge ElementaryElementary · 667 students
- Horizon ElementaryElementary · 613 students
Other schools in Johnston
- Johnston Senior High SchoolHigh · 1,820 students
- Johnston Middle SchoolHigh · 1,161 students
- Summit Middle SchoolMiddle · 1,118 students
- Henry A Wallace Elementary SchoolElementary · 840 students
- Timber Ridge ElementaryElementary · 667 students
- Horizon ElementaryElementary · 613 students
Other Lawson Elementary schools
2 other US public schools in 3 states are named Lawson Elementary. Lawson Elementary School is the largest of the 3.
- LAWSON ELEM.FLORISSANT, MO · 316 students
- LAWSON ELEMENTARY SCHOOLLITTLE ROCK, AR · 220 students
Nearby schools
- Henry A Wallace Elementary School0.4 mi · 840
- Johnston Middle School0.6 mi · 1,161
- Timber Ridge Elementary1.7 mi · 667
- Beaver Creek Elementary School2.3 mi · 575
- Samuelson Elementary School2.5 mi · 386
- Hoover High School2.6 mi · 898
Frequently asked questions
About Lawson Elementary SchoolHow large is Lawson Elementary School?
Lawson Elementary School enrolls approximately 545 students in grades KG-05.
What age range does Lawson Elementary School serve?
Lawson Elementary School serves students from grade KG through grade 05.
How many teachers does Lawson Elementary School have?
Lawson Elementary School employs 41 FTE teachers, for a student-to-teacher ratio of 13.3:1.
What is the student diversity at Lawson Elementary School?
Student demographics at Lawson Elementary School are roughly 62% White, 8% Hispanic, 9% Black, 14% Asian, 7% Two or more.
Who oversees Lawson Elementary School?
Lawson Elementary School is overseen by Johnston Comm School District in Polk County.
Data sourceSchool profile facts are sourced from the NCES. Community content is posted by allk12 members.