Enrollment
346
Elementary
DISTRICT 508 · STATE 325
SCHOOL COMMUNITY·ANKENY COMM SCHOOL DISTRICT·NCES 190369000074
Northwest Elementary School
1202 W First St, Ankeny, IA 50023 · (515) 965-9680 · Polk County
GRADES KG–05ELEMENTARY21-SUBURBREGULAR SCHOOL346 STUDENTS
C
allk12 Grade
Scored higher than 31% of Iowa public elementary 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 elementary schools
Student : Teacher
12.8:1
27 FTE teachers
DISTRICT 15.8:1 · STATE 13.7:1
Free / Reduced Lunch
37%
129 students
DISTRICT 22% · STATE 41%
Community
0
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 | 68 | 20% |
| Grade 1 | 53 | 15% |
| Grade 2 | 57 | 16% |
| Grade 3 | 51 | 15% |
| Grade 4 | 53 | 15% |
| Grade 5 | 64 | 18% |
This year's kindergarten class (68) is 6% larger than its 5th grade class (64).
Student demographics
54%Diversity index
The chance that two students picked at random belong to different racial or ethnic groups.
DISTRICT 41% · 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
68.3%
IA avg 73.6% . -0.1pp since 2023
Math
72.4%
IA avg 70.9% . -2.9pp since 2023
What this means: On the ISASP, Iowa's statewide test, about 68 of every 100 students at this school read and write at grade level and about 72 of 100 do math at grade level. Across all Iowa schools, those numbers are about 74 and 71. Reading and writing scores have held steady since 2023, while math scores are down about 3 points.
ISASP results by year
| School year | English Language Arts | Math |
|---|---|---|
| 2024-25 | 68.3% | 72.4% |
| 2023-24 | 68.4% | 75.3% |
% 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
70.2%
composite math + reading, all grades
Predicted
73.3%
based on IA schools with similar FRL share
Beats by
-3.1pp
below demographic expectation
What this means: About 70% of students here test proficient in math and reading, compared with the roughly 73% 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 Northwest Elementary School
Northwest Elementary School's state test result (70.2% proficient) is higher than 0 of the 3 schools below with a result.
| School | Students | Low-income | Proficient |
|---|---|---|---|
| Northwest Elementary School this school | 346 | 37.3% | 70.2% |
| Herbert Hoover Elementary School Bettendorf | 359 | 33.7% | 71.3% |
| Fairview Elementary School Carroll | 419 | 40.1% | N/A |
| Early Childhood Center Fort Dodge | 376 | 42.0% | N/A |
| Franklin Elementary School Le Mars | 261 | 36.8% | 78.4% |
| Centennial Elementary Altoona | 423 | 38.1% | 79.4% |
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 Northwest Elementary School ranks
Among elementary schools| Measure | This school | In Iowa | In Polk County |
|---|---|---|---|
| State test proficiency ranked highest first | 70.2% | #325 of 564 | #36 of 78 |
| Math proficiency ranked highest first | 72.4% | #347 of 564 ▼ 47 | #35 of 78 ▼ 5 |
| Reading proficiency ranked highest first | 68.3% | #353 of 564 ▼ 32 | #41 of 78 ▼ 1 |
| Enrollment ranked largest first | 346 | #299 of 705 | #59 of 89 |
| Students per teacher ranked fewest first | 12.8:1 | #196 of 561 | #30 of 86 |
| Diversity index ranked most diverse first | 53.7% | #189 of 561 | #59 of 86 |
| Free and reduced lunch ranked highest share first | 37.3% | #400 of 666 | #58 of 89 |
| Enrollment change since 2017-18 ranked steepest decline first | -5.5% | #276 of 359 | #46 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
346
-27 (-7%) vs 2020
-28% since 1990-91, when it was 480
Student : Teacher
12.8:1
was 14.9:1
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 | 346 | 27 | 12.8:1 | 37% (129) |
| 2023-24 | 346 | 29.9 | 11.6:1 | 26% (89) |
| 2022-23 | 354 | 26.2 | 13.5:1 | 34% (119) |
| 2020-21 | 373 | 25 | 14.9:1 | 20% (75) |
| 2017-18 | 366 | 21 | 17.4:1 | 29% (106) |
| 2015-16 | 403 | 23 | 17.5:1 | 26% (103) |
| 2010-11 | 476 | 24 | 19.8:1 | 25% (121) |
| 2000-01 | 354 | 12 | 29.5:1 | 16% (55) |
| 1990-91 | 480 | 25 | 19.2:1 | N/A |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data. Rows are the federal collections on file for Northwest Elementary School.
Since 2017-18: students down 5% (366 to 346); teachers up 29% (21 to 27).
About Northwest Elementary School
Northwest Elementary School is a medium-sized elementary school that serves part of Ankeny, Iowa. Enrollment in 2024-25 was 346 students in kindergarten through 5.
Ankeny Comm School District is the district for Northwest Elementary School. It has 18 schools and 12,746 students.
Northwest Elementary School is 65% White by enrollment. The rest of enrollment is 16% Hispanic, 12% multiracial, and 6% Black. Census estimates put the White share of Polk County's population at about 76%. Northwest Elementary School's diversity index is 54%, against a US figure of 70%.
Federal staffing data show 27 full-time-equivalent teachers at Northwest Elementary School and a ratio of 12.8:1. The school has fewer students per teacher than the 13.7:1 average for elementary schools in Iowa. The count of students eligible for free or reduced-price lunch equals 37% of enrollment. On average, public schools in Polk County report 49%.
The allk12 Grade for Northwest Elementary School is C. Compared with Iowa public elementary schools, the school scored higher than 31% on a mix of test scores, poverty-adjusted results, and recent trend.
On the allk12 BeatsExpectations measure, Northwest Elementary School is 3.1 points below the average proficiency rate on state tests predicted for its free or reduced-price lunch share: 70.2% actual, 73.3% predicted. That is outside both the top and bottom 10% in Iowa.
Polk County has about 503,175 residents, and the median household income is $83,576, the share of adults with a bachelor's degree or higher is 40%, and about 7% of people live in poverty. Besides Northwest Elementary School, Polk County has 136 other public schools.
Nearest public school: Prairie Ridge Middle School, about 0.5 miles away. Within five miles are at least 8 other public schools. The average proficiency across nearby scored schools is 83.2%; Northwest Elementary School's is 70.2%, ranking 8th of 8.
Federal records code the school's setting as Suburb: Large.
Over 4 years, Northwest Elementary School's enrollment declined 7%, to 346. By 2024-25, the school had 12.8 students per teacher, compared with 14.9 in 2020-21.
The allk12 site hosts a discussion page for Northwest Elementary School covering things like sports schedules, lunch menus, and spirit week. 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 Ankeny Comm School District
- Ankeny Centennial High SchoolHigh · 1,470 students
- Ankeny High SchoolHigh · 1,375 students
- Northview Middle SchoolHigh · 1,021 students
- Prairie Ridge Middle SchoolMiddle · 1,004 students
- Southview Middle SchoolHigh · 913 students
- Parkview Middle SchoolMiddle · 865 students
Other schools in Ankeny
- Ankeny Centennial High SchoolHigh · 1,470 students
- Ankeny High SchoolHigh · 1,375 students
- Northview Middle SchoolHigh · 1,021 students
- Prairie Ridge Middle SchoolMiddle · 1,004 students
- Southview Middle SchoolHigh · 913 students
- Parkview Middle SchoolMiddle · 865 students
Other Northwest Elementary schools
28 other US public schools in 18 states are named Northwest Elementary. Northwest Elementary School is the 27th largest of the 29.
- Northwest Elementary SchoolTulsa, OK · 959 students
- Northwest Elementary SchoolJACKSON, MI · 758 students
- NORTHWEST ELEMENTARY SCHOOLTAMPA, FL · 658 students
- Northwest Elementary SchoolLa Salle, IL · 650 students
- Northwest ElementaryLexington, NC · 625 students
Nearby schools
- Prairie Ridge Middle School0.5 mi · 1,004
- Terrace Learning Center0.6 mi · 361
- Parkview Middle School0.6 mi · 865
- Southview Middle School0.9 mi · 913
- Northview Middle School0.9 mi · 1,021
- Ankeny High School1.1 mi · 1,375
Frequently asked questions
About Northwest Elementary SchoolWhat is the total enrollment at Northwest Elementary School?
Northwest Elementary School enrolls approximately 346 students in grades KG-05.
What age range does Northwest Elementary School serve?
Northwest Elementary School serves students from grade KG through grade 05.
How many students per teacher at Northwest Elementary School?
Approximately 12.8:1 students per teacher at Northwest Elementary School.
What is the racial breakdown of students at Northwest Elementary School?
At Northwest Elementary School, the student body is approximately 65% White, 16% Hispanic, 6% Black, 1% Asian, 12% Two or more.
Is Northwest Elementary School public or private?
Northwest Elementary School is a public K-12 school, overseen by Ankeny Comm School District.
Data sourceSchool profile facts are sourced from the NCES. Community content is posted by allk12 members.