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What's the most underrated thing about Prairie Trail Elementary that outsiders don't know?
Community prompt from u/allk12. Replies below.
Enrollment
526
Elementary
DISTRICT 508 · STATE 325
SCHOOL COMMUNITY·ANKENY COMM SCHOOL DISTRICT·NCES 190369002183
Prairie Trail Elementary
1850 SW College Ave, Ankeny, IA 50023 · (515) 965-9605 · Polk County
GRADES KG–05ELEMENTARY21-SUBURBREGULAR SCHOOL526 STUDENTS
Student : Teacher
16.4:1
32 FTE teachers
DISTRICT 15.8:1 · STATE 13.7:1
Free / Reduced Lunch
6%
31 students
DISTRICT 22% · 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 |
|---|---|---|
| Kindergarten | 88 | 17% |
| Grade 1 | 83 | 16% |
| Grade 2 | 84 | 16% |
| Grade 3 | 98 | 19% |
| Grade 4 | 79 | 15% |
| Grade 5 | 94 | 18% |
This year's kindergarten class (88) is 6% smaller than its 5th grade class (94).
Student demographics
30%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
90.2%
IA avg 73.6% . +0.3pp since 2023
Math
92.8%
IA avg 70.9% . -0.9pp since 2023
What this means: On the ISASP, Iowa's statewide test, about 90 of every 100 students at this school read and write at grade level and about 93 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 have held steady.
ISASP results by year
| School year | English Language Arts | Math |
|---|---|---|
| 2024-25 | 90.2% | 92.8% |
| 2023-24 | 89.9% | 93.7% |
% 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
90.2%
composite math + reading, all grades
Predicted
89.0%
based on IA schools with similar FRL share
Beats by
+1.2pp
above demographic expectation
What this means: About 90% of students here test proficient in math and reading, compared with the roughly 89% 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 Prairie Trail Elementary
Prairie Trail Elementary's state test result (90.2% proficient) is higher than 3 of the 4 schools below with a result.
| School | Students | Low-income | Proficient |
|---|---|---|---|
| Prairie Trail Elementary this school | 526 | 5.9% | 90.2% |
| Bess Streeter Aldrich Elementary Cedar Falls | 472 | 10.4% | 90.7% |
| Abbie Grove Elementary Ankeny | 445 | 11.5% | N/A |
| Lakeview Elementary Solon | 490 | 6.3% | 78.0% |
| Van Meter Elementary School Van Meter | 578 | 8.1% | 88.5% |
| Cody Elementary School LeClaire | 443 | 13.8% | 88.8% |
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 Prairie Trail Elementary ranks
Among elementary schools| Measure | This school | In Iowa | In Polk County |
|---|---|---|---|
| State test proficiency ranked highest first | 90.2% | #10 of 564 | #1 of 78 |
| Math proficiency ranked highest first | 92.8% | #18 of 564 ▼ 10 | #3 of 78 ▼ 2 |
| Reading proficiency ranked highest first | 90.2% | #22 of 564 ▼ 8 | #3 of 78 ▼ 2 |
| Enrollment ranked largest first | 526 | #88 of 705 | #31 of 89 |
| Students per teacher ranked fewest first | 16.4:1 | #524 of 561 | #78 of 86 |
| Diversity index ranked most diverse first | 29.7% | #338 of 561 | #80 of 86 |
| Free and reduced lunch ranked highest share first | 5.9% | #661 of 666 | #88 of 89 |
| Enrollment change since 2017-18 ranked steepest decline first | -26.7% | #46 of 359 | #6 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
526
-11 (-2%) vs 2020
Student : Teacher
16.4:1
was 16.8:1
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 | 526 | 32.1 | 16.4:1 | 6% (31) |
| 2023-24 | 542 | 36.1 | 15.0:1 | 7% (37) |
| 2022-23 | 571 | 34.9 | 16.4:1 | 7% (40) |
| 2020-21 | 537 | 32 | 16.8:1 | 4% (22) |
| 2017-18 | 718 | 38.7 | 18.6:1 | 7% (48) |
| 2015-16 | 670 | 34 | 19.7:1 | 5% (33) |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data. Rows are the federal collections on file for Prairie Trail Elementary.
Since 2017-18: students down 27% (718 to 526); teachers down 17% (38.7 to 32.1).
About Prairie Trail Elementary
Prairie Trail Elementary operates as a high-enrollment elementary school in Ankeny, Iowa. Enrollment stands at 526 students, covering kindergarten through 5. It has 62% more students than the average for elementary schools in Iowa (about 325).
Prairie Trail Elementary is run by Ankeny Comm School District, whose 18 schools enroll 12,746 students.
Of every 100 students at Prairie Trail Elementary, about 83 are White. Other students are 7% Hispanic, 6% multiracial, and 2% Asian. A diversity index of 30% means there is a 30% chance two randomly chosen students at Prairie Trail Elementary are from different groups.
Prairie Trail Elementary has 32.1 full-time-equivalent teachers, for a student-to-teacher ratio of about 16.4:1. Elementary schools in Iowa average 13.7:1, 2.7 fewer students per teacher than here. A common income measure, free or reduced-price lunch eligibility, is 6% at Prairie Trail Elementary. That is lower than the 49% average for public schools in Polk County.
BeatsExpectations compares each school's average proficiency rate across its state test results with a prediction based on free or reduced-price lunch eligibility. For Prairie Trail Elementary, the prediction is 89.0% and the result is 90.2%.
Looking at the county, Polk County, median household income comes to about $83,576, a bachelor's degree or higher is held by about 40% of adults, and the share of residents below the poverty line is 7%. The county's public schools total 137, with about 77,436 students.
Straight-line distance to the nearest public school, Crocker Elementary School, is about 0.9 miles. Within five miles are at least 8 other public schools. Compared with its nearest neighbors, Prairie Trail Elementary ranks 1st of 9 on average proficiency.
Prairie Trail Elementary has an NCES locale of Suburb: Large.
From 2020-21 to 2024-25, enrollment held near 526, starting from 537.
The discussion board for Prairie Trail Elementary is open to topics like pickup and drop-off, after-school programs, and teacher feedback. Parents, students, alumni, and staff are welcome to post.
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 Prairie Trail Elementary schools
One other US public school is named Prairie Trail Elementary. Prairie Trail Elementary is the 2nd largest of the 2.
- Prairie Trail Elementary SchoolFLOWER MOUND, TX · 672 students
Nearby schools
- Crocker Elementary School0.9 mi · 489
- Southview Middle School1.2 mi · 913
- Heritage Elementary1.4 mi · 604
- Ankeny High School1.4 mi · 1,375
- Northwest Elementary School1.6 mi · 346
- Westwood Elementary School1.8 mi · 551
Frequently asked questions
About Prairie Trail ElementaryWhat is the total enrollment at Prairie Trail Elementary?
Prairie Trail Elementary enrolls approximately 526 students in grades KG-05.
What age range does Prairie Trail Elementary serve?
Prairie Trail Elementary serves students from grade KG through grade 05.
How many students per teacher at Prairie Trail Elementary?
Approximately 16.4:1 students per teacher at Prairie Trail Elementary.
How diverse is Prairie Trail Elementary?
Prairie Trail Elementary reports a student body of 83% White, 7% Hispanic, 1% Black, 2% Asian, 6% Two or more.
What district is Prairie Trail Elementary in?
Prairie Trail Elementary is part of Ankeny Comm School District.
Data sourceSchool profile facts are sourced from the NCES. Community content is posted by allk12 members.