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Which teacher or staff member at Van Meter Elementary School deserves more recognition?
Community prompt from u/allk12. Replies below.
Enrollment
578
Elementary
DISTRICT 382 · STATE 325
SCHOOL COMMUNITY·VAN METER COMM SCHOOL DISTRICT·NCES 192901001671
Van Meter Elementary School
520 1st Ave, Van Meter, IA 50261 · (515) 996-2221 · Dallas County
GRADES PK–05ELEMENTARY41-RURALREGULAR SCHOOL578 STUDENTS
Student : Teacher
16.4:1
35 FTE teachers
DISTRICT 21.4:1 · STATE 13.7:1
Free / Reduced Lunch
8%
47 students
DISTRICT 8% · 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 | 47 | 8% |
| Kindergarten | 102 | 18% |
| Grade 1 | 76 | 13% |
| Grade 2 | 86 | 15% |
| Grade 3 | 88 | 15% |
| Grade 4 | 91 | 16% |
| Grade 5 | 88 | 15% |
This year's kindergarten class (102) is 16% larger than its 5th grade class (88).
Student demographics
13%Diversity index
The chance that two students picked at random belong to different racial or ethnic groups.
DISTRICT 14% · 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
Based on grade levels within Van Meter Comm School District. Attendance zones can vary; confirm enrollment with the district.
Test scores
ISASP 2024-25 . % ProficientEnglish Language Arts
92.4%
IA avg 73.6% . +5.2pp since 2023
Math
92.5%
IA avg 70.9% . +3.4pp since 2023
What this means: On the ISASP, Iowa's statewide test, about 92 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 are up about 5 points since 2023, while math scores are up about 3 points.
ISASP results by year
| School year | English Language Arts | Math |
|---|---|---|
| 2024-25 | 92.4% | 92.5% |
| 2023-24 | 87.2% | 89.1% |
% 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
88.5%
composite math + reading, all grades
Predicted
87.9%
based on IA schools with similar FRL share
Beats by
+0.6pp
above demographic expectation
What this means: About 88% of students here test proficient in math and reading, compared with the roughly 88% 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 Van Meter Elementary School
Van Meter Elementary School's state test result (88.5% proficient) is higher than 3 of the 4 schools below with a result.
| School | Students | Low-income | Proficient |
|---|---|---|---|
| Van Meter Elementary School this school | 578 | 8.1% | 88.5% |
| Lakeview Elementary Solon | 490 | 6.3% | 78.0% |
| Lisbon Elementary School Lisbon | 461 | 12.6% | 78.5% |
| Peosta Elementary School Peosta | 425 | 11.1% | 80.2% |
| Denver Elementary School - Lincoln Street Building Denver | 431 | 12.1% | 93.1% |
| North Polk West Elementary School Polk City | 396 | 7.3% | 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 Van Meter Elementary School ranks
Among elementary schools| Measure | This school | In Iowa | In Dallas County |
|---|---|---|---|
| State test proficiency ranked highest first | 88.5% | #19 of 564 | #2 of 15 |
| Math proficiency ranked highest first | 92.5% | #19 of 564 ▲ 31 | #2 of 15 no change |
| Reading proficiency ranked highest first | 92.4% | #6 of 564 ▲ 23 | #1 of 15 ▲ 1 |
| Enrollment ranked largest first | 578 | #45 of 705 | #9 of 20 |
| Students per teacher ranked fewest first | 16.4:1 | #527 of 561 | #14 of 18 |
| Diversity index ranked most diverse first | 13.2% | #508 of 561 | #18 of 18 |
| Free and reduced lunch ranked highest share first | 8.1% | #655 of 666 | #18 of 20 |
| Enrollment change since 2017-18 ranked fastest growth first | +49.7% | #7 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
578
+65 (+13%) vs 2020
+183% since 1990-91, when it was 204
Student : Teacher
16.4:1
was 16.0:1
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 | 578 | 35.2 | 16.4:1 | 8% (47) |
| 2023-24 | 571 | 34.7 | 16.4:1 | 9% (53) |
| 2022-23 | 571 | 35.5 | 16.1:1 | 6% (37) |
| 2020-21 | 513 | 32 | 16.0:1 | 7% (36) |
| 2017-18 | 386 | 26.8 | 14.4:1 | 10% (39) |
| 2015-16 | 331 | 24 | 13.8:1 | 14% (46) |
| 2010-11 | 308 | 19 | 16.2:1 | 14% (43) |
| 2000-01 | 275 | 21 | 13.1:1 | 11% (31) |
| 1990-91 | 204 | 12 | 17.0:1 | N/A |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data. Rows are the federal collections on file for Van Meter Elementary School.
Since 2017-18: students up 50% (386 to 578); teachers up 31% (26.8 to 35.2).
About Van Meter Elementary School
Van Meter Elementary School is a large elementary school in Van Meter, Iowa, one of the schools in Van Meter Comm School District. It is open to students in pre-K through 5 and enrolls 578 students. Elementary schools in Iowa have about 325 students on average; enrollment here is 78% higher.
Van Meter Elementary School reports to Van Meter Comm School District, which has 3 schools and 1,146 students.
The share of White students at Van Meter Elementary School is 93%. The remaining shares are 4% multiracial and 2% Hispanic. Dallas County as a whole is about 84% White, so the school's share is higher. Its diversity index, the chance that two randomly chosen students belong to different racial or ethnic groups, is 13%.
On staff are 35.2 full-time-equivalent teachers; the student-to-teacher ratio is 16.4:1. Elementary schools in Iowa average 13.7:1, 2.7 fewer students per teacher than here. Van Meter Elementary School has a free or reduced-price lunch rate of 8%. Public schools in Dallas County average 22%.
In Iowa, Van Meter Elementary School is in the middle band of BeatsExpectations: 88.5% actual against a predicted 87.9%.
American Community Survey estimates for Dallas County show that median household income comes to about $102,379, a bachelor's degree or higher is held by about 52% of adults, and the poverty rate is about 5%. The county's public schools total 41, with about 22,938 students.
A public school less than a tenth of a mile away, Van Meter Middle School, is the closest to Van Meter Elementary School. In all, 4 other public schools sit within five miles of Van Meter Elementary School. Of 9 schools in the immediate area with test results, Van Meter Elementary School ranks 3rd on average proficiency.
Federal data place Van Meter Elementary School in the Rural: Fringe locale, which means it is in rural territory close to an urban area.
The school's student count increased 13% between the 2020-21 and 2024-25 school years.
The Van Meter Elementary School discussion page is a place for open houses, carpools, and field trips. You can also rate the school on this page.
Dallas County at a glance
View full county profilePopulation
107,968
Census ACS
Median income
$102,379
Household, ACS
Bachelor's+
52%
Adults 25+
Poverty rate
5%
Below federal line
Schools in county
41
22,938 students
Quick facts
Related schools
Other schools in Van Meter Comm School District
- Van Meter High SchoolHigh · 316 students
- Van Meter Middle SchoolMiddle · 252 students
Other schools in Van Meter
- Van Meter High SchoolHigh · 316 students
- Van Meter Middle SchoolMiddle · 252 students
Nearby schools
- Van Meter Middle School0.0 mi · 252
- Van Meter High School0.0 mi · 316
- DeSoto Intermediate School3.0 mi · 337
- Sugar Creek Elementary School4.6 mi · 630
- Timberline School5.8 mi · 992
- Woodland Hills Elementary School6.0 mi · 578
Frequently asked questions
About Van Meter Elementary SchoolWhat is the total enrollment at Van Meter Elementary School?
Van Meter Elementary School enrolls approximately 578 students in grades PK-05.
What grades does Van Meter Elementary School serve?
Van Meter Elementary School serves grades PK-05.
What is the student-teacher ratio at Van Meter Elementary School?
The student-to-teacher ratio at Van Meter Elementary School is approximately 16.4:1 (35 FTE teachers).
What is the racial breakdown of students at Van Meter Elementary School?
At Van Meter Elementary School, the student body is approximately 93% White, 2% Hispanic, 0% Black, 0% Asian, 4% Two or more.
Who oversees Van Meter Elementary School?
Van Meter Elementary School is overseen by Van Meter Comm School District in Dallas County.
Data sourceSchool profile facts are sourced from the NCES. Community content is posted by allk12 members.