1
What's the vibe like in the hallways at Tilford Elementary School right now?
Community prompt from u/allk12. Replies below.
Enrollment
544
Elementary
DISTRICT 407 · STATE 325
SCHOOL COMMUNITY·VINTON-SHELLSBURG COMM SCHOOL DISTRICT·NCES 192931001550
Tilford Elementary School
308 E 13th St, Vinton, IA 52349 · (319) 436-4728 · Benton County
GRADES PK–04ELEMENTARY41-RURALTITLE IREGULAR SCHOOL544 STUDENTS
A-
allk12 Grade
Scored higher than 80% of Iowa public elementary schools
- B+Test scores Share of students meeting the state standard in reading, math, and other tested subjects, 2023-24 and 2024-25.
- ABeats 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
13.5:1
40 FTE teachers
DISTRICT 13.5:1 · STATE 13.7:1
Free / Reduced Lunch
53%
291 students
DISTRICT 52% · 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 | 68 | 13% |
| Kindergarten | 103 | 19% |
| Grade 1 | 82 | 15% |
| Grade 2 | 85 | 16% |
| Grade 3 | 101 | 19% |
| Grade 4 | 105 | 19% |
This year's kindergarten class (103) is about the same size as its 4th grade class (105).
Student demographics
16%Diversity index
The chance that two students picked at random belong to different racial or ethnic groups.
DISTRICT 16% · 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
80.4%
IA avg 73.6% . +8.8pp since 2023
Math
80.9%
IA avg 70.9% . +6.3pp since 2023
What this means: On the ISASP, Iowa's statewide test, about 80 of every 100 students at this school read and write at grade level and about 81 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 9 points since 2023, while math scores are up about 6 points.
ISASP results by year
| School year | English Language Arts | Math |
|---|---|---|
| 2024-25 | 80.4% | 80.9% |
| 2023-24 | 71.6% | 74.6% |
% 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
76.9%
composite math + reading, all grades
Predicted
65.2%
based on IA schools with similar FRL share
Beats by
+11.7pp
above demographic expectation
What this means: About 77% of students here test proficient in math and reading, well above the roughly 65% 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 12 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 Tilford Elementary School
Tilford Elementary School's state test result (76.9% proficient) is higher than 5 of the 5 schools below with a result.
| School | Students | Low-income | Proficient |
|---|---|---|---|
| Tilford Elementary School this school | 544 | 53.5% | 76.9% |
| Lakeview Elementary Centerville | 498 | 58.6% | 65.7% |
| Garfield Elementary School Clarinda | 573 | 47.6% | 69.8% |
| Greene County Elementary Jefferson | 518 | 51.0% | 62.4% |
| Inman Elementary School Red Oak | 461 | 53.6% | 54.7% |
| Creston Elementary School Creston | 416 | 56.3% | 67.4% |
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 Tilford Elementary School ranks
Among elementary schools| Measure | This school | In Iowa | In Benton County |
|---|---|---|---|
| State test proficiency ranked highest first | 76.9% | #200 of 564 | N/A |
| Math proficiency ranked highest first | 80.9% | #205 of 564 ▲ 105 | N/A |
| Reading proficiency ranked highest first | 80.4% | #145 of 564 ▲ 117 | N/A |
| Enrollment ranked largest first | 544 | #74 of 705 | #1 of 6 |
| Students per teacher ranked fewest first | 13.5:1 | #288 of 561 | N/A |
| Diversity index ranked most diverse first | 15.7% | #481 of 561 | N/A |
| Free and reduced lunch ranked highest share first | 53.5% | #179 of 666 | #2 of 6 |
| Enrollment change since 2017-18 ranked fastest growth first | +21.4% | #35 of 168 | N/A |
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
544
+48 (+10%) vs 2020
+5% since 2010-11, when it was 520
Student : Teacher
13.5:1
was 15.0:1
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 | 544 | 40.3 | 13.5:1 | 53% (291) |
| 2023-24 | 558 | 40.4 | 13.8:1 | 44% (248) |
| 2022-23 | 578 | 40 | 14.4:1 | 45% (262) |
| 2020-21 | 496 | 33 | 15.0:1 | 43% (214) |
| 2017-18 | 448 | 31.8 | 14.1:1 | 41% (182) |
| 2015-16 | 474 | 33 | 14.4:1 | 37% (176) |
| 2010-11 | 520 | 37 | 14.1:1 | 35% (181) |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data. Rows are the federal collections on file for Tilford Elementary School.
Since 2017-18: students up 21% (448 to 544); teachers up 27% (31.8 to 40.3).
About Tilford Elementary School
Tilford Elementary School is a large elementary school in Iowa, with an address in Vinton. The school enrolls 544 students, from pre-K through 4. Average enrollment for elementary schools in Iowa is about 325, so this school runs 67% above that.
In Vinton-Shellsburg Comm School District, 4 schools enroll a combined 1,558 students.
Tilford Elementary School enrolls a student body that is 92% White. Other reported shares: 3% Hispanic and 2% multiracial. The White share in Benton County as a whole is similar, at about 95%. By the diversity index, Tilford Elementary School comes in at 16%.
Teachers at the school number 40.3 full-time equivalents, and the ratio is 13.5:1. Elementary schools in Iowa average about 13.7:1, a similar figure. Roughly 53% of the student body qualifies for free or reduced-price lunch. It compares with 37% for public schools in Benton County.
The allk12 Grade for Tilford Elementary School is A-. Compared with Iowa public elementary schools, the school scored higher than 80% on a mix of test scores, poverty-adjusted results, and recent trend.
After accounting for student poverty, Tilford Elementary School is in the top 10% of Iowa schools. Its average proficiency rate on state tests of 76.9% is 11.7 points above the 65.2% predicted for its lunch-eligibility share.
Benton County census figures show that median household income is about $86,962, roughly 26% of adults have a four-year degree or more, and the share of residents below the poverty line is 4%. Tilford Elementary School is among the 12 public schools in Benton County.
Vinton-Shellsburg Middle School is located about 0.4 miles from Tilford Elementary School. Other public schools within five miles: 2. Nearby schools with test data average 78.3% proficiency; Tilford Elementary School posts 76.9%.
The National Center for Education Statistics classifies the school's location as Rural: Fringe, meaning it is in rural territory close to an urban area.
A comparison of 2020-21 and 2024-25 shows enrollment up 10%, from 496 to 544. The school's ratio fell from 15.0:1 to 13.5:1 between 2020-21 and 2024-25.
Posts about school safety, transportation, and start times are welcome on this page. Questions from prospective families are welcome too.
Benton County at a glance
View full county profilePopulation
25,724
Census ACS
Median income
$86,962
Household, ACS
Bachelor's+
26%
Adults 25+
Poverty rate
4%
Below federal line
Schools in county
12
3,919 students
Quick facts
Related schools
Other schools in Vinton-Shellsburg Comm School District
- Vinton-Shellsburg High SchoolHigh · 414 students
- Vinton-Shellsburg Middle SchoolMiddle · 331 students
- Shellsburg Elementary SchoolElementary · 269 students
Other schools in Vinton
- Vinton-Shellsburg High SchoolHigh · 414 students
- Vinton-Shellsburg Middle SchoolMiddle · 331 students
Nearby schools
- Vinton-Shellsburg Middle School0.4 mi · 331
- Vinton-Shellsburg High School0.6 mi · 414
- Shellsburg Elementary School8.7 mi · 269
- Center Point-Urbana Intermediate School8.8 mi · 275
- Benton Community Senior High School10.6 mi · 473
- Benton Community Middle School10.6 mi · 235
Frequently asked questions
About Tilford Elementary SchoolHow many students attend Tilford Elementary School?
Tilford Elementary School enrolls approximately 544 students in grades PK-04.
What grades does Tilford Elementary School serve?
Tilford Elementary School serves grades PK-04.
How many teachers does Tilford Elementary School have?
Tilford Elementary School employs 40 FTE teachers, for a student-to-teacher ratio of 13.5:1.
What is the racial breakdown of students at Tilford Elementary School?
At Tilford Elementary School, the student body is approximately 92% White, 3% Hispanic, 2% Black, 1% Asian, 2% Two or more.
Is Tilford Elementary School public or private?
Tilford Elementary School is a public K-12 school, overseen by Vinton-Shellsburg Comm School District.
Data sourceSchool profile facts are sourced from the NCES. Community content is posted by allk12 members.