1
Enrollment
512
Elementary
DISTRICT 333 · STATE 325
SCHOOL COMMUNITY·IOWA CITY COMM SCHOOL DISTRICT·NCES 191470000898
Penn Elementary School
230 N Dubuque St, North Liberty, IA 52317 · (319) 688-1150 · Johnson County
GRADES PK–05ELEMENTARY22-SUBURBREGULAR SCHOOL512 STUDENTS
B
allk12 Grade
Scored higher than 57% of Iowa public elementary schools
- A-Test scores Share of students meeting the state standard in reading, math, and other tested subjects, 2023-24 and 2024-25.
- C-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 elementary schools
Student : Teacher
15.4:1
33 FTE teachers
DISTRICT 12.4:1 · STATE 13.7:1
Free / Reduced Lunch
13%
68 students
DISTRICT 45% · 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 |
|---|---|---|
| Pre-K | 31 | 6% |
| Kindergarten | 84 | 16% |
| Grade 1 | 82 | 16% |
| Grade 2 | 78 | 15% |
| Grade 3 | 89 | 17% |
| Grade 4 | 73 | 14% |
| Grade 5 | 75 | 15% |
This year's kindergarten class (84) is 12% larger than its 5th grade class (75).
Student demographics
41%Diversity index
The chance that two students picked at random belong to different racial or ethnic groups.
DISTRICT 66% · 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
86.9%
IA avg 73.6% . +7.2pp since 2023
Math
84.8%
IA avg 70.9% . -1.3pp since 2023
What this means: On the ISASP, Iowa's statewide test, about 87 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 7 points since 2023, while math scores are down about 1 points.
ISASP results by year
| School year | English Language Arts | Math |
|---|---|---|
| 2024-25 | 86.9% | 84.8% |
| 2023-24 | 79.7% | 86.1% |
% 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
81.6%
composite math + reading, all grades
Predicted
85.3%
based on IA schools with similar FRL share
Beats by
-3.7pp
below demographic expectation
What this means: About 82% of students here test proficient in math and reading, compared with the roughly 85% 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 Penn Elementary School
| School | Students | Low-income | Proficient |
|---|---|---|---|
| Penn Elementary School this school | 512 | 13.3% | 81.6% |
| Morris Elementary Bondurant | 601 | 13.6% | N/A |
| Westwood Elementary School Ankeny | 551 | 17.6% | 82.9% |
| Ashland Ridge Elementary Ankeny | 548 | 14.1% | 82.2% |
| Oviatt Elementary School Norwalk | 548 | 14.4% | N/A |
| Heritage Elementary Grimes | 530 | 20.2% | N/A |
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 Penn Elementary School ranks
Among elementary schools| Measure | This school | In Iowa | In Johnson County |
|---|---|---|---|
| State test proficiency ranked highest first | 81.6% | #107 of 564 | #5 of 28 |
| Math proficiency ranked highest first | 84.8% | #126 of 564 ▼ 36 | #7 of 28 ▼ 4 |
| Reading proficiency ranked highest first | 86.9% | #42 of 564 ▲ 68 | #2 of 28 ▲ 4 |
| Enrollment ranked largest first | 512 | #95 of 705 | #1 of 30 |
| Students per teacher ranked fewest first | 15.4:1 | #482 of 561 | #23 of 23 |
| Diversity index ranked most diverse first | 41.1% | #266 of 561 | #20 of 23 |
| Free and reduced lunch ranked highest share first | 13.3% | #637 of 666 | #28 of 30 |
| Enrollment change since 2017-18 ranked steepest decline first | -23.9% | #65 of 359 | #10 of 20 |
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
512
+8 (+2%) vs 2020
+6% since 1990-91, when it was 484
Student : Teacher
15.4:1
was 16.3:1
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 | 512 | 33.2 | 15.4:1 | 13% (68) |
| 2023-24 | 560 | 33.3 | 16.8:1 | 13% (74) |
| 2022-23 | 542 | 33.5 | 16.2:1 | 14% (74) |
| 2020-21 | 504 | 31 | 16.3:1 | 11% (56) |
| 2017-18 | 673 | 38.8 | 17.4:1 | 22% (150) |
| 2015-16 | 565 | 32 | 17.7:1 | 18% (102) |
| 2010-11 | 447 | 29 | 15.4:1 | 22% (100) |
| 2000-01 | 403 | 21 | 19.2:1 | 28% (114) |
| 1990-91 | 484 | 18 | 26.9:1 | N/A |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data. Rows are the federal collections on file for Penn Elementary School.
Since 2017-18: students down 24% (673 to 512); teachers down 14% (38.8 to 33.2).
About Penn Elementary School
In North Liberty, Iowa, part of Johnson County, Penn Elementary School is an elementary school. The school covers pre-K through 5 and reported 512 students in 2024-25. On average, elementary schools in Iowa enroll around 325, and this school is 58% larger than that mark.
Penn Elementary School is a school in Iowa City Comm School District. The district has 29 schools and 15,111 students.
Federal enrollment data show Penn Elementary School is 76% White. The next largest groups are 8% Hispanic, 8% Black, 5% multiracial, and 2% Asian. That is in line with Johnson County, where about 76% of residents are White. Measured by the diversity index, the student body scores 41%.
Penn Elementary School has a student-to-teacher ratio of 15.4:1, with 33.2 full-time-equivalent teachers. Compared with the 13.7:1 average for elementary schools in Iowa, this school's ratio is higher. The school has 13% of students eligible for free or reduced-price lunch. Across public schools in Johnson County, the average is 37%.
On the allk12 Grade, Penn Elementary School lands at B, ahead of 57% of Iowa public elementary schools.
After adjusting for student poverty, Penn Elementary School lands between the top and bottom 10% of Iowa schools. Its average proficiency rate across its state test results is 81.6%; the prediction is 85.3%.
In Johnson County, home to about 156,639 people, median household income comes to about $74,935, the share of adults with a bachelor's degree or higher is 55%, and roughly 7% of residents are in poverty. There are 43 public schools in the county, enrolling about 20,019, Penn Elementary School among them.
Penn Elementary School's closest public school neighbor is Buford Garner Elementary, about 0.4 miles away. A five-mile radius around the school includes at least 8 other public schools. Local comparison: Penn Elementary School ranks 2nd of 9 nearby schools, at 81.6% versus a 76.5% average.
Federal records code the school's setting as Suburb: Mid-size.
Enrollment has been fairly stable: 504 in 2020-21 and 512 in 2024-25.
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.
Johnson County at a glance
View full county profilePopulation
156,639
Census ACS
Median income
$74,935
Household, ACS
Bachelor's+
55%
Adults 25+
Poverty rate
7%
Below federal line
Schools in county
43
20,019 students
Quick facts
Related schools
Other schools in Iowa City Comm School District
- Iowa City High SchoolHigh · 1,666 students
- West Senior High SchoolHigh · 1,514 students
- Liberty High SchoolHigh · 1,286 students
- Southeast Middle SchoolMiddle · 1,269 students
- Northwest Middle SchoolMiddle · 1,113 students
- North Central Middle SchoolMiddle · 925 students
Other schools in North Liberty
- Liberty High SchoolHigh · 1,286 students
- North Central Middle SchoolMiddle · 925 students
- Christine Grant ElementaryElementary · 426 students
- James Van Allen Elementary SchoolElementary · 376 students
- Buford Garner ElementaryElementary · 344 students
- North Bend ElementaryElementary · 326 students
Other Penn Elementary schools
2 other US public schools in 3 states are named Penn Elementary. Penn Elementary School is the largest of the 3.
- Penn ElementarySan Diego, CA · 366 students
- Penn Elementary SchoolChicago, IL · 218 students
Nearby schools
- Buford Garner Elementary0.4 mi · 344
- Christine Grant Elementary0.7 mi · 426
- James Van Allen Elementary School1.4 mi · 376
- Liberty High School1.6 mi · 1,286
- North Central Middle School1.7 mi · 925
- North Bend Elementary2.1 mi · 326
Frequently asked questions
About Penn Elementary SchoolWhat is the total enrollment at Penn Elementary School?
Penn Elementary School enrolls approximately 512 students in grades PK-05.
Is Penn Elementary School an elementary, middle, or high school?
Penn Elementary School is an elementary school covering grades PK-05.
How many students per teacher at Penn Elementary School?
Approximately 15.4:1 students per teacher at Penn Elementary School.
How diverse is Penn Elementary School?
Penn Elementary School reports a student body of 76% White, 8% Hispanic, 8% Black, 2% Asian, 5% Two or more.
Who oversees Penn Elementary School?
Penn Elementary School is overseen by Iowa City Comm School District in Johnson County.
Data sourceSchool profile facts are sourced from the NCES. Community content is posted by allk12 members.