Enrollment
379
Middle
DISTRICT 440 · STATE 400
SCHOOL COMMUNITY·SPIRIT LAKE COMM SCHOOL DISTRICT·NCES 192700001905
Spirit Lake Middle School
609 28th St, Spirit Lake, IA 51360 · (712) 336-1370 · Dickinson County
GRADES 05–08MIDDLE33-TOWNREGULAR SCHOOL379 STUDENTS
B-
allk12 Grade
Scored higher than 45% of Iowa public middle schools
- BTest 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 middle schools
Student : Teacher
16.0:1
24 FTE teachers
DISTRICT 15.3:1 · STATE 15.2:1
Free / Reduced Lunch
28%
108 students
DISTRICT 26% · STATE 41%
Community
0
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 5 | 101 | 27% |
| Grade 6 | 89 | 23% |
| Grade 7 | 98 | 26% |
| Grade 8 | 91 | 24% |
Student demographics
20%Diversity index
The chance that two students picked at random belong to different racial or ethnic groups.
DISTRICT 23% · 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
Spirit Lake Middle School→Spirit Lake High School
Feeds from
Based on grade levels within Spirit Lake Comm School District. Attendance zones can vary; confirm enrollment with the district.
Test scores
ISASP 2024-25 . % ProficientEnglish Language Arts
78.3%
IA avg 73.6% . -1.0pp since 2023
Math
78.9%
IA avg 70.9% . -3.3pp since 2023
What this means: On the ISASP, Iowa's statewide test, about 78 of every 100 students at this school read and write at grade level and about 79 of 100 do math at grade level. Across all Iowa schools, those numbers are about 74 and 71. Reading and writing scores are down about 1 points since 2023, while math scores are down about 3 points.
ISASP results by year
| School year | English Language Arts | Math |
|---|---|---|
| 2024-25 | 78.3% | 78.9% |
| 2023-24 | 79.3% | 82.2% |
% 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
77.7%
composite math + reading, all grades
Predicted
77.7%
based on IA schools with similar FRL share
Beats by
-0.0pp
below demographic expectation
What this means: About 78% of students here test proficient in math and reading, compared with the roughly 78% 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 Spirit Lake Middle School
Spirit Lake Middle School's state test result (77.7% proficient) is higher than 4 of the 5 schools below with a result.
| School | Students | Low-income | Proficient |
|---|---|---|---|
| Spirit Lake Middle School this school | 379 | 28.5% | 77.7% |
| Winterset Middle School Winterset | 351 | 30.5% | 77.3% |
| Decorah Middle School Decorah | 432 | 26.2% | 84.2% |
| Mid-Prairie Middle School Kalona | 415 | 27.2% | 74.9% |
| Okoboji Middle School Milford | 339 | 31.6% | 77.5% |
| Anamosa Middle School Anamosa | 335 | 31.6% | 72.7% |
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 Spirit Lake Middle School ranks
Among middle schools| Measure | This school | In Iowa |
|---|---|---|
| State test proficiency ranked highest first | 77.7% | #89 of 224 |
| Math proficiency ranked highest first | 78.9% | #84 of 224 ▼ 37 |
| Reading proficiency ranked highest first | 78.3% | #115 of 224 ▼ 3 |
| Enrollment ranked largest first | 379 | #110 of 246 |
| Students per teacher ranked fewest first | 16.0:1 | #150 of 180 |
| Diversity index ranked most diverse first | 20.1% | #141 of 180 |
| Free and reduced lunch ranked highest share first | 28.5% | #172 of 237 |
| Enrollment change since 2017-18 ranked fastest growth first | +7.4% | #32 of 61 |
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
379
+16 (+4%) vs 2020
+95% since 1990-91, when it was 194
Student : Teacher
16.0:1
was 16.5:1
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 | 379 | 23.7 | 16.0:1 | 28% (108) |
| 2023-24 | 364 | 23.8 | 15.3:1 | 24% (88) |
| 2022-23 | 358 | 22.1 | 16.2:1 | 24% (87) |
| 2020-21 | 363 | 22 | 16.5:1 | 25% (90) |
| 2017-18 | 353 | 21.6 | 16.4:1 | 25% (88) |
| 2015-16 | 353 | 22 | 16.1:1 | 25% (90) |
| 2010-11 | 412 | 26 | 15.8:1 | 25% (105) |
| 2000-01 | 419 | 30 | 14.0:1 | 14% (59) |
| 1990-91 | 194 | 12 | 16.2:1 | N/A |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data. Rows are the federal collections on file for Spirit Lake Middle School.
Since 2017-18: students up 7% (353 to 379); teachers up 10% (21.6 to 23.7).
About Spirit Lake Middle School
Spirit Lake Middle School is a medium-sized middle-grades school in Spirit Lake, Iowa, one of the schools in Spirit Lake Comm School District. The school serves 379 students in grades 5 through 8 in 2024-25.
Spirit Lake Comm School District enrolls 1,319 students, and its 3 schools include Spirit Lake Middle School.
The student body at Spirit Lake Middle School is 89% White. Beyond that, enrollment is 4% multiracial and 4% Hispanic. Pick two students at random and there is a 20% chance they belong to different racial or ethnic groups; that figure is the school's diversity index.
The school reports 23.7 full-time-equivalent teachers, which works out to about 16.0 students per teacher. That is 0.8 students per teacher above the 15.2:1 average for middle schools in Iowa. Free or reduced-price lunch eligibility covers 28% of students. That tracks the 31% average for public schools in Dickinson County.
Spirit Lake Middle School is graded B- by allk12, scoring above 45% of Iowa public middle schools once test results, poverty-adjusted performance, and the recent trend are combined.
After adjusting for student poverty, Spirit Lake Middle School lands between the top and bottom 10% of Iowa schools. Its average proficiency rate on state tests is 77.7%; the prediction is 77.7%.
In the county around the school, Dickinson County, the median household income is $75,432, 31% of adults hold a bachelor's degree or higher, and about 5% of people live in poverty. There are 9 public schools in Dickinson County, enrolling about 3,005 students in all.
Of nearby public schools, Spirit Lake Elementary School is the closest, at less than a tenth of a mile. Spirit Lake Middle School has 2 other public schools within five miles. The nearest schools with test data average 77.0%, lower than Spirit Lake Middle School's 77.7%.
Federal records code the school's setting as Town: Remote.
Enrollment grew 4% from its 2020-21 level of 363.
Discussion on this page can cover science fairs, picture day, and bus routes. Reviews and ratings from people who know the school are welcome.
Dickinson County at a glance
View full county profilePopulation
17,990
Census ACS
Median income
$75,432
Household, ACS
Bachelor's+
31%
Adults 25+
Poverty rate
5%
Below federal line
Schools in county
9
3,005 students
Quick facts
Related schools
Other schools in Spirit Lake Comm School District
- Spirit Lake Elementary SchoolElementary · 547 students
- Spirit Lake High SchoolHigh · 393 students
Other schools in Spirit Lake
- Spirit Lake Elementary SchoolElementary · 547 students
- Spirit Lake High SchoolHigh · 393 students
Nearby schools
- Spirit Lake Elementary School0.1 mi · 547
- Spirit Lake High School0.2 mi · 393
- Okoboji Elementary School6.9 mi · 491
- Okoboji High School6.9 mi · 366
- Okoboji Middle School7.1 mi · 339
- Graettinger-Terril Elementary School9.8 mi · 149
Frequently asked questions
About Spirit Lake Middle SchoolHow many students attend Spirit Lake Middle School?
Spirit Lake Middle School enrolls approximately 379 students in grades 05-08.
Is Spirit Lake Middle School an elementary, middle, or high school?
Spirit Lake Middle School is a middle school covering grades 05-08.
How many teachers does Spirit Lake Middle School have?
Spirit Lake Middle School employs 24 FTE teachers, for a student-to-teacher ratio of 16.0:1.
What is the student diversity at Spirit Lake Middle School?
Student demographics at Spirit Lake Middle School are roughly 89% White, 4% Hispanic, 1% Black, 1% Asian, 4% Two or more.
What district is Spirit Lake Middle School in?
Spirit Lake Middle School is part of Spirit Lake Comm School District.
Data sourceSchool profile facts are sourced from the NCES. Community content is posted by allk12 members.