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What do you wish you knew before starting at North Polk Middle School?
Community prompt from u/allk12. Replies below.
Enrollment
504
Middle
DISTRICT 462 · STATE 400
SCHOOL COMMUNITY·NORTH POLK COMM SCHOOL DISTRICT·NCES 192091002095
North Polk Middle School
315 NE 141st Ave., Alleman, IA 50007 · (515) 984-3400 · Polk County
GRADES 06–08MIDDLE41-RURALREGULAR SCHOOL504 STUDENTS
Student : Teacher
16.4:1
31 FTE teachers
DISTRICT 15.7:1 · STATE 15.2:1
Free / Reduced Lunch
9%
43 students
DISTRICT 9% · 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 | 156 | 31% |
| Grade 7 | 178 | 35% |
| Grade 8 | 170 | 34% |
Student demographics
12%Diversity index
The chance that two students picked at random belong to different racial or ethnic groups.
DISTRICT 15% · 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
North Polk Middle School→North Polk High School
Based on grade levels within North Polk Comm School District. Attendance zones can vary; confirm enrollment with the district.
Test scores
ISASP 2024-25 . % ProficientEnglish Language Arts
90.5%
IA avg 73.6% . +3.4pp since 2023
Math
86.5%
IA avg 70.9% . +2.5pp 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 87 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 3 points since 2023, while math scores are up about 3 points.
ISASP results by year
| School year | English Language Arts | Math |
|---|---|---|
| 2024-25 | 90.5% | 86.5% |
| 2023-24 | 87.1% | 84.0% |
% 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
87.1%
composite math + reading, all grades
Predicted
87.7%
based on IA schools with similar FRL share
Beats by
-0.6pp
below demographic expectation
What this means: About 87% of students here test proficient in math and reading, compared with the roughly 88% 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 North Polk Middle School
North Polk Middle School's state test result (87.1% proficient) is higher than 1 of the 5 schools below with a result.
| School | Students | Low-income | Proficient |
|---|---|---|---|
| North Polk Middle School this school | 504 | 8.5% | 87.1% |
| Solon Middle School Solon | 320 | 11.3% | 89.2% |
| Mount Vernon Middle School Mount Vernon | 425 | 15.8% | 90.1% |
| Pella Middle School Pella | 375 | 15.7% | 88.8% |
| Van Meter Middle School Van Meter | 252 | 6.7% | 91.8% |
| Ballard Middle School Huxley | 418 | 17.7% | 83.9% |
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 North Polk Middle School ranks
Among middle schools| Measure | This school | In Iowa | In Polk County |
|---|---|---|---|
| State test proficiency ranked highest first | 87.1% | #18 of 224 | #1 of 21 |
| Math proficiency ranked highest first | 86.5% | #22 of 224 ▲ 15 | #1 of 21 no change |
| Reading proficiency ranked highest first | 90.5% | #14 of 224 ▲ 27 | #1 of 21 ▲ 2 |
| Enrollment ranked largest first | 504 | #68 of 246 | #16 of 21 |
| Students per teacher ranked fewest first | 16.4:1 | #154 of 180 | #18 of 21 |
| Diversity index ranked most diverse first | 12.2% | #169 of 180 | #21 of 21 |
| Free and reduced lunch ranked highest share first | 8.5% | #236 of 237 | #21 of 21 |
| Enrollment change since 2017-18 ranked fastest growth first | +30.9% | #11 of 61 | #2 of 6 |
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
504
+52 (+12%) vs 2020
+185% since 2010-11, when it was 177
Student : Teacher
16.4:1
was 18.1:1
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 | 504 | 30.7 | 16.4:1 | 9% (43) |
| 2023-24 | 493 | 28 | 17.6:1 | 11% (54) |
| 2022-23 | 455 | 26.1 | 17.4:1 | 9% (43) |
| 2020-21 | 452 | 25 | 18.1:1 | 13% (60) |
| 2017-18 | 385 | 22.8 | 16.9:1 | 8% (32) |
| 2015-16 | 335 | 23 | 14.6:1 | 10% (34) |
| 2010-11 | 177 | 11 | 16.1:1 | 12% (21) |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data. Rows are the federal collections on file for North Polk Middle School.
Since 2017-18: students up 31% (385 to 504); teachers up 34% (22.8 to 30.7).
About North Polk Middle School
The public middle school North Polk Middle School is located in Alleman, Iowa. It offers grades 6 through 8 and has 504 students enrolled. It has 26% more students than the average for middle schools in Iowa (about 400).
North Polk Comm School District runs North Polk Middle School along with 4 other schools, enrolling 2,309 students in total.
Of every 100 students at North Polk Middle School, about 93 are White. Smaller groups are 3% Hispanic. For comparison, the population of Polk County is roughly 76% White. On a 0 to 100 scale, the school's diversity index is 12, compared with 70 nationally.
North Polk Middle School has a student-to-teacher ratio of 16.4:1, with 30.7 full-time-equivalent teachers. Compared with the 15.2:1 average for middle schools in Iowa, this school's ratio is higher. The school has 9% of students eligible for free or reduced-price lunch. Among public schools in Polk County, the average eligibility rate is 49%.
On the allk12 BeatsExpectations measure, North Polk Middle School is within a point of the average proficiency rate across its state test results predicted for its free or reduced-price lunch share: 87.1% actual, 87.7% predicted. That is outside both the top and bottom 10% in Iowa.
For the population of Polk County, median household income comes to about $83,576, roughly 40% of adults have a four-year degree or more, and about 7% of residents live below the federal poverty line. Polk County's 137 public schools enroll about 77,436 students and include North Polk Middle School.
Straight-line distance to the nearest public school, North Polk Central Elementary School, is about 0.1 miles. Around the school, 5 other public schools are within five miles. By average proficiency, North Polk Middle School is 1st among 9 schools close by.
North Polk Middle School has an NCES locale of Rural: Fringe.
Since 2020-21, enrollment has grown 12%, from 452 to 504. The number of students per teacher dropped from 18.1 to 16.4 over 4 years.
Use the discussion section to ask about homework, tutoring, and testing dates at North Polk Middle School. Current and former families are welcome to add their experience.
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 North Polk Comm School District
- North Polk High SchoolHigh · 644 students
- North Polk Central Elementary SchoolElementary · 408 students
- North Polk West Elementary SchoolElementary · 396 students
- Big Creek ElementaryElementary · 357 students
Other schools in Alleman
- North Polk High SchoolHigh · 644 students
- North Polk Central Elementary SchoolElementary · 408 students
Nearby schools
- North Polk Central Elementary School0.1 mi · 408
- North Polk High School0.2 mi · 644
- Rock Creek Elementary3.9 mi · 639
- Ashland Ridge Elementary4.5 mi · 548
- Ankeny Centennial High School4.7 mi · 1,470
- Northeast Elementary5.2 mi · 595
Frequently asked questions
About North Polk Middle SchoolHow large is North Polk Middle School?
North Polk Middle School enrolls approximately 504 students in grades 06-08.
What age range does North Polk Middle School serve?
North Polk Middle School serves students from grade 06 through grade 08.
What is the student-teacher ratio at North Polk Middle School?
The student-to-teacher ratio at North Polk Middle School is approximately 16.4:1 (31 FTE teachers).
What is the student diversity at North Polk Middle School?
Student demographics at North Polk Middle School are roughly 93% White, 3% Hispanic, 1% Black, 0% Asian, 2% Two or more.
Who oversees North Polk Middle School?
North Polk Middle School is overseen by North Polk Comm School District in Polk County.
Data sourceSchool profile facts are sourced from the NCES. Community content is posted by allk12 members.