Enrollment
170
High
DISTRICT 150 · STATE 468
SCHOOL COMMUNITY·NORTH UNION COMM SCHOOL DISTRICT·NCES 190385001899
North Union High School
600 4th Ave, Armstrong, IA 50514 · (712) 868-3542 · Emmet County
GRADES 09–12HIGH43-RURALTITLE IREGULAR SCHOOL170 STUDENTS
A+
allk12 Grade
Scored higher than 97% of Iowa public high schools
- ATest scores Share of students meeting the state standard in reading, math, and other tested subjects, 2023-24 and 2024-25.
- A+Beats 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
10.6:1
16 FTE teachers
DISTRICT 10.0:1 · STATE 17.3:1
Free / Reduced Lunch
46%
78 students
DISTRICT 50% · 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 9 | 41 | 24% |
| Grade 10 | 46 | 27% |
| Grade 11 | 38 | 22% |
| Grade 12 | 45 | 26% |
Student demographics
22%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
Test scores
ISASP 2024-25 . % ProficientEnglish Language Arts
92.4%
IA avg 73.6% . +6.5pp since 2023
Math
77.3%
IA avg 70.9% . +2.3pp since 2023
What this means: On the ISASP, Iowa's statewide test, about 92 of every 100 students at this school read and write at grade level and about 77 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 7 points since 2023, while math scores are up about 2 points.
ISASP results by year
| School year | English Language Arts | Math |
|---|---|---|
| 2024-25 | 92.4% | 77.3% |
| 2023-24 | 85.9% | 75.0% |
% Proficient, all students and all tested grades.
Source: ISASP. All students, all grades. See all years and grades →
BeatsExpectations
Demographically-adjusted score · methodologyTier
OUTPERFORMING
Top 10% of IA schools after controlling for student poverty
Actual proficiency
83.2%
composite math + reading, all grades
Predicted
69.0%
based on IA schools with similar FRL share
Beats by
+14.2pp
above demographic expectation
What this means: About 83% of students here test proficient in math and reading, well above the roughly 69% typical for Iowa schools with a similar share of low-income students. BeatsExpectations ranks schools against others at the same poverty level, not by raw scores, so a school can post high scores and still fall short of its prediction, or post lower scores and still beat it. This school clears its prediction by about 14 points, placing it in Iowa's top 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 Union High School
North Union High School's state test result (83.2% proficient) is higher than 5 of the 5 schools below with a result.
| School | Students | Low-income | Proficient |
|---|---|---|---|
| North Union High School this school | 170 | 45.9% | 83.2% |
| English Valleys Jr-Sr High School North English | 214 | 43.0% | 76.2% |
| Sidney High School Sidney | 196 | 48.0% | 75.6% |
| Mount Ayr High School Mount Ayr | 304 | 44.7% | 80.7% |
| AGWSR High School Ackley | 190 | 44.2% | 67.1% |
| Rockford Junior-Senior High School Rockford | 173 | 49.1% | 68.2% |
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 North Union High School ranks
Among high schools| Measure | This school | In Iowa |
|---|---|---|
| State test proficiency ranked highest first | 83.2% | #30 of 313 |
| Math proficiency ranked highest first | 77.3% | #86 of 314 ▲ 11 |
| Reading proficiency ranked highest first | 92.4% | #13 of 314 ▲ 36 |
| Enrollment ranked largest first | 170 | #292 of 340 |
| Free and reduced lunch ranked highest share first | 45.9% | #72 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
170
-42 (-20%) vs 2020
+12% since 1990-91, when it was 152
Student : Teacher
10.6:1
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 | 170 | 16 | 10.6:1 | 46% (78) |
| 2023-24 | 186 | 16.1 | 11.6:1 | 51% (95) |
| 2022-23 | 194 | 14.6 | 13.3:1 | 53% (102) |
| 2020-21 | 212 | 16 | 13.3:1 | 55% (116) |
| 2017-18 | 198 | 15.7 | 12.6:1 | 41% (81) |
| 2015-16 | 189 | 16 | 11.8:1 | 39% (73) |
| 2010-11 | 193 | 18 | 10.7:1 | 30% (58) |
| 2000-01 | 147 | 15 | 9.8:1 | 22% (33) |
| 1990-91 | 152 | 16 | 9.5:1 | N/A |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data. Rows are the federal collections on file for North Union High School.
Since 2017-18: students down 14% (198 to 170); teachers up 2% (15.7 to 16).
About North Union High School
North Union High School is the name of a very small high school in Armstrong, Iowa. The school enrolls 170 students in grades 9 through 12. That compares with an average of about 468 students for high schools in Iowa.
District-wide, North Union Comm School District has 2 schools and 300 students.
At North Union High School, 88% of students are White. Smaller groups are 6% Hispanic and 4% multiracial. Census estimates put Emmet County at about 87% White, close to the school's figure. On the diversity index, which measures the chance that two random students are from different groups, North Union High School scores 22%.
North Union High School reported 16 full-time-equivalent teachers in 2024-25, a ratio of 10.6:1. High schools in Iowa have an average ratio of 17.3:1. Roughly 46% of students at North Union High School can receive free or reduced-price lunch.
North Union High School holds an A+ allk12 Grade, placing it above 97% of Iowa public high schools.
On allk12's BeatsExpectations measure, North Union High School is among the top 10% of schools in Iowa. Predicted: 69.0%. Actual: 83.2%.
In the surrounding county, Emmet County, the median household earns about $63,730 a year, 17% of adults hold a bachelor's degree or higher, and about 7% of people live in poverty. Emmet County has 4 public schools with about 1,297 students, including North Union High School.
About 8.4 miles separate North Union High School from the closest public school, North Union Middle School. A ten-mile radius around the school includes 2 other public schools. North Union High School's average proficiency of 83.2% compares with 61.5% for its nearest scored neighbors.
Locale data from NCES put North Union High School in rural territory far from an urban area (Rural: Remote).
In 2024-25, the school enrolled 170, down from 212 in 2020-21. Students per teacher dropped from 13.3 in 2020-21 to 10.6 in 2024-25.
This community page is for conversations about open houses, carpools, and field trips. Teachers and staff are welcome to share updates too.
Emmet County at a glance
View full county profilePopulation
9,262
Census ACS
Median income
$63,730
Household, ACS
Bachelor's+
17%
Adults 25+
Poverty rate
7%
Below federal line
Schools in county
4
1,297 students
Quick facts
Related schools
Other schools in North Union Comm School District
- North Union ElementaryElementary · 130 students
Other North Union High schools
One other US public school is named North Union High. North Union High School is the 2nd largest of the 2.
- North Union High SchoolRichwood, OH · 385 students
Nearby schools
- North Union Middle School8.4 mi · 110
- North Kossuth Elementary School8.4 mi · 131
- North Union Elementary13.8 mi · 130
- FAIRMONT JR./SR. HIGH SCHOOL16.5 mi · 839
- FAIRMONT ELEMENTARY SCHOOL17.2 mi · 1,007
- Demoney Elementary17.2 mi · 460
Frequently asked questions
About North Union High SchoolHow large is North Union High School?
North Union High School enrolls approximately 170 students in grades 09-12.
Is North Union High School an elementary, middle, or high school?
North Union High School is a high school covering grades 09-12.
How many teachers does North Union High School have?
North Union High School employs 16 FTE teachers, for a student-to-teacher ratio of 10.6:1.
What is the student diversity at North Union High School?
Student demographics at North Union High School are roughly 88% White, 6% Hispanic, 2% Asian, 4% Two or more.
What district is North Union High School in?
North Union High School is part of North Union Comm School District.
Data sourceSchool profile facts are sourced from the NCES. Community content is posted by allk12 members.