Enrollment
151
High
DISTRICT 154 · STATE 468
SCHOOL COMMUNITY·MELCHER-DALLAS COMM SCHOOL DISTRICT·NCES 191896001122
Melcher-Dallas High School
214 S Main, Melcher, IA 50163 · (641) 947-3731 · Marion County
GRADES 07–12HIGH42-RURALREGULAR SCHOOL151 STUDENTS
D
allk12 Grade
Scored higher than 9% of Iowa public high schools
- DTest scores Share of students meeting the state standard in reading, math, and other tested subjects, 2023-24 and 2024-25.
- DBeats 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
10.4:1
14 FTE teachers
DISTRICT 11.8:1 · STATE 17.3:1
Free / Reduced Lunch
30%
46 students
DISTRICT 35% · STATE 41%
Community
0
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 | 18 | 12% |
| Grade 8 | 19 | 13% |
| Grade 9 | 27 | 18% |
| Grade 10 | 26 | 17% |
| Grade 11 | 34 | 23% |
| Grade 12 | 27 | 18% |
Student demographics
6%Diversity index
The chance that two students picked at random belong to different racial or ethnic groups.
DISTRICT 6% · 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 Melcher-Dallas Comm School District. Attendance zones can vary; confirm enrollment with the district.
Test scores
ISASP 2024-25 . % ProficientEnglish Language Arts
69.0%
IA avg 73.6% . -6.9pp since 2023
Math
49.1%
IA avg 70.9% . -6.1pp since 2023
What this means: On the ISASP, Iowa's statewide test, about 69 of every 100 students at this school read and write at grade level and about 49 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 7 points since 2023, while math scores are down about 6 points.
ISASP results by year
| School year | English Language Arts | Math |
|---|---|---|
| 2024-25 | 69.0% | 49.1% |
| 2023-24 | 75.9% | 55.2% |
% Proficient, all students and all tested grades.
Source: ISASP. All students, all grades. See all years and grades →
BeatsExpectations
Demographically-adjusted score · methodologyTier
UNDERPERFORMING
Bottom 10% of IA schools after controlling for student poverty
Actual proficiency
60.7%
composite math + reading, all grades
Predicted
76.7%
based on IA schools with similar FRL share
Beats by
-16.0pp
below demographic expectation
What this means: About 61% of students here test proficient in math and reading, below the roughly 77% typical for Iowa schools with a similar share of low-income students. BeatsExpectations compares each school with others at the same poverty level, not by raw scores, so a school lands here when its results trail those comparable schools, which is not the same as having low scores. A higher-scoring school can still fall in this tier if similar schools score higher still.
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 Melcher-Dallas High School
Melcher-Dallas High School's state test result (60.7% proficient) is higher than 0 of the 4 schools below with a result.
| School | Students | Low-income | Proficient |
|---|---|---|---|
| Melcher-Dallas High School this school | 151 | 30.5% | 60.7% |
| Montezuma High School Montezuma | 140 | 32.9% | 75.0% |
| Maquoketa Valley Senior High School Delhi | 206 | 32.0% | 82.7% |
| Glidden-Ralston Jr-Sr High School Glidden | 163 | 28.8% | 66.6% |
| Dunkerton High School Dunkerton | 200 | 32.0% | 74.0% |
| West Fork High School Sheffield | 191 | 31.4% | N/A |
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 Melcher-Dallas High School ranks
Among high schools| Measure | This school | In Iowa |
|---|---|---|
| State test proficiency ranked highest first | 60.7% | #278 of 313 |
| Math proficiency ranked highest first | 49.1% | #298 of 314 ▼ 19 |
| Reading proficiency ranked highest first | 69.0% | #257 of 314 ▼ 74 |
| Enrollment ranked largest first | 151 | #303 of 340 |
| Free and reduced lunch ranked highest share first | 30.5% | #201 of 320 |
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
151
-18 (-11%) vs 2020
+10% since 1990-91, when it was 137
Student : Teacher
10.4:1
was 12.1:1
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 | 151 | 14.5 | 10.4:1 | 30% (46) |
| 2023-24 | 145 | 12.5 | 11.6:1 | 30% (44) |
| 2022-23 | 153 | 14.7 | 10.4:1 | 34% (52) |
| 2020-21 | 169 | 14 | 12.1:1 | 37% (63) |
| 2017-18 | 83 | 12.3 | 6.7:1 | 41% (34) |
| 2015-16 | 82 | 8 | 10.3:1 | 50% (41) |
| 2010-11 | 105 | 12 | 8.8:1 | 42% (44) |
| 2000-01 | 137 | 13 | 10.5:1 | 17% (23) |
| 1990-91 | 137 | 14 | 9.8:1 | N/A |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data. Rows are the federal collections on file for Melcher-Dallas High School.
Since 2017-18: students up 82% (83 to 151); teachers up 18% (12.3 to 14.5).
About Melcher-Dallas High School
At 214 S Main in Melcher, Iowa, Melcher-Dallas High School operates as a very small high school. In all, 151 students attend the school in grades 7 through 12. The school is 68% below the average for high schools in Iowa.
Melcher-Dallas Comm School District has a total of 2 schools and 308 students, Melcher-Dallas High School among them.
Of every 100 students at Melcher-Dallas High School, about 97 are White. The remaining students are 3% Black. Census estimates put Marion County at about 94% White, close to the school's figure. On a 0 to 100 scale, the school's diversity index is 6, compared with 70 nationally.
There are about 10.4 students for every full-time-equivalent teacher at Melcher-Dallas High School, which has 14.5. The school's 10.4:1 compares with an average of 17.3:1 for high schools in Iowa. Eligibility for free or reduced-price lunch stands at 30%. Public schools in Marion County average a similar 29%.
On the allk12 Grade, Melcher-Dallas High School lands at D, ahead of 9% of Iowa public high schools.
BeatsExpectations compares each school's average proficiency rate across its state test results with a prediction based on free or reduced-price lunch eligibility. Melcher-Dallas High School posts 60.7% against a 76.7% prediction, a bottom-10% result in Iowa.
Looking at the county, Marion County, the median household earns about $78,680 a year, 32% of adults hold a bachelor's degree or higher, and about 6% of residents live below the federal poverty line. Counting Melcher-Dallas High School, Marion County has 17 public schools.
Melcher-Dallas Elementary is about 0.9 miles away, making it the nearest public school. Other public schools within ten miles number 5. Ranked by average proficiency, Melcher-Dallas High School places 8th out of 8 schools in its immediate area.
NCES lists the school's locale as Rural: Distant. That means it sits in rural territory some distance from an urban area.
The 2020-21-to-2024-25 change in enrollment was an 11% decrease, from 169 to 151. Staffing shifted too: the ratio moved from 12.1:1 to 10.4:1.
You can use this page to share news and ask questions about fundraisers, report cards, and school supplies. Current and former families are welcome to add their experience.
Marion County at a glance
View full county profilePopulation
33,642
Census ACS
Median income
$78,680
Household, ACS
Bachelor's+
32%
Adults 25+
Poverty rate
6%
Below federal line
Schools in county
17
5,571 students
Quick facts
Related schools
Other schools in Melcher-Dallas Comm School District
- Melcher-Dallas ElementaryElementary · 157 students
Nearby schools
- Melcher-Dallas Elementary0.9 mi · 157
- Southeast Warren Intermediate7.6 mi · 95
- Knoxville High School9.1 mi · 508
- Knoxville Middle School9.1 mi · 323
- West Elementary9.3 mi · 485
- Northstar Elementary School10.4 mi · 348
Frequently asked questions
About Melcher-Dallas High SchoolHow many students attend Melcher-Dallas High School?
Melcher-Dallas High School enrolls approximately 151 students in grades 07-12.
What age range does Melcher-Dallas High School serve?
Melcher-Dallas High School serves students from grade 07 through grade 12.
How many teachers does Melcher-Dallas High School have?
Melcher-Dallas High School employs 14 FTE teachers, for a student-to-teacher ratio of 10.4:1.
What is the student diversity at Melcher-Dallas High School?
Student demographics at Melcher-Dallas High School are roughly 97% White, 1% Hispanic, 3% Black.
Who oversees Melcher-Dallas High School?
Melcher-Dallas High School is overseen by Melcher-Dallas Comm School District in Marion County.
Data sourceSchool profile facts are sourced from the NCES. Community content is posted by allk12 members.