Enrollment
316
High
DISTRICT 382 · STATE 468
SCHOOL COMMUNITY·VAN METER COMM SCHOOL DISTRICT·NCES 192901001672
Van Meter High School
520 1st Ave, Van Meter, IA 50261 · (515) 996-2221 · Dallas County
GRADES 09–12HIGH41-RURALREGULAR SCHOOL316 STUDENTS
Student : Teacher
14.7:1
21 FTE teachers
DISTRICT 21.4:1 · STATE 17.3:1
Free / Reduced Lunch
9%
29 students
DISTRICT 8% · STATE 41%
Community
0
0 members
Enrollment and student:teacher ratio compared against other high schools. Free/Reduced Lunch and demographics compared against all schools.
Enrollment by grade, 2024-25
| Grade | Students | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Grade 9 | 84 | 27% |
| Grade 10 | 82 | 26% |
| Grade 11 | 69 | 22% |
| Grade 12 | 81 | 26% |
Student demographics
17%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
Feeds from
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
94.8%
IA avg 73.6% . -1.6pp since 2023
Math
88.4%
IA avg 70.9% . +1.5pp since 2023
What this means: On the ISASP, Iowa's statewide test, about 95 of every 100 students at this school read and write at grade level and about 88 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 2 points since 2023, while math scores are up about 2 points.
ISASP results by year
| School year | English Language Arts | Math |
|---|---|---|
| 2024-25 | 94.8% | 88.4% |
| 2023-24 | 96.4% | 86.9% |
% 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
90.4%
composite math + reading, all grades
Predicted
87.3%
based on IA schools with similar FRL share
Beats by
+3.1pp
above demographic expectation
What this means: About 90% of students here test proficient in math and reading, compared with the roughly 87% 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 High School
Van Meter High School's state test result (90.4% proficient) is higher than 4 of the 5 schools below with a result.
| School | Students | Low-income | Proficient |
|---|---|---|---|
| Van Meter High School this school | 316 | 9.2% | 90.4% |
| Hinton High School Hinton | 370 | 10.5% | 84.4% |
| Alburnett Senior High School Alburnett | 293 | 7.5% | 80.6% |
| Janesville Junior-Senior High School Janesville | 243 | 11.9% | 81.8% |
| Solon High School Solon | 471 | 7.2% | 87.5% |
| Denver Senior High School Denver | 278 | 13.3% | 93.7% |
Matched among Iowa high 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 High School ranks
Among high schools| Measure | This school | In Iowa | In Dallas County |
|---|---|---|---|
| State test proficiency ranked highest first | 90.4% | #4 of 313 | #1 of 9 |
| Math proficiency ranked highest first | 88.4% | #6 of 314 ▲ 3 | #1 of 9 ▲ 1 |
| Reading proficiency ranked highest first | 94.8% | #4 of 314 ▼ 1 | #2 of 9 ▼ 1 |
| Enrollment ranked largest first | 316 | #161 of 340 | #8 of 9 |
| Students per teacher ranked fewest first | 14.7:1 | #144 of 259 | #2 of 9 |
| Diversity index ranked most diverse first | 17.2% | #172 of 260 | #7 of 9 |
| Free and reduced lunch ranked highest share first | 9.2% | #316 of 320 | #9 of 9 |
| Enrollment change since 2017-18 ranked fastest growth first | +25.9% | #31 of 133 | N/A |
Ranked against other public high 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
316
+65 (+26%) vs 2020
+83% since 1990-91, when it was 173
Student : Teacher
14.7:1
was 11.9:1
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 | 316 | 21.5 | 14.7:1 | 9% (29) |
| 2023-24 | 305 | 21.6 | 14.2:1 | 8% (25) |
| 2022-23 | 292 | 21.3 | 13.7:1 | 8% (22) |
| 2020-21 | 251 | 21 | 11.9:1 | 9% (23) |
| 2017-18 | 251 | 29.1 | 8.6:1 | 9% (23) |
| 2015-16 | 397 | 25 | 15.9:1 | 12% (46) |
| 2010-11 | 316 | 20 | 15.8:1 | 13% (40) |
| 2000-01 | 233 | 20 | 11.7:1 | 8% (19) |
| 1990-91 | 173 | 17 | 10.2:1 | N/A |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data. Rows are the federal collections on file for Van Meter High School.
Since 2017-18: students up 26% (251 to 316); teachers down 26% (29.1 to 21.5).
About Van Meter High School
In Van Meter, Iowa, Van Meter High School is a small high school. Enrollment is 316 students in 2024-25, and the school serves grades 9 through 12. The average for high schools in Iowa is about 468 students, so this school is 32% smaller than average.
The 3 schools in Van Meter Comm School District enroll 1,146 students altogether, Van Meter High School among them.
The large majority of students at Van Meter High School, 91%, are White. The next largest groups are 4% Hispanic and 3% multiracial. Van Meter High School has a diversity index of 17%, compared with 70% for all US public school students.
Van Meter High School operates with 21.5 full-time-equivalent teachers, a ratio of about 14.7:1. For comparison, high schools in Iowa average 17.3:1. About 9% of students at the school meet free or reduced-price lunch income limits. The rate at public schools in Dallas County averages 22%, higher than here.
Van Meter High School posts an average proficiency rate on state tests of 90.4%, compared with a predicted 87.3%. It is not in the top or bottom 10% of Iowa schools on BeatsExpectations.
Van Meter High School is located in Dallas County, where median household income is about $102,379, roughly 52% of adults have a four-year degree or more, and about 5% of residents live below the federal poverty line. Federal data list 41 public schools in Dallas County, with a combined enrollment of about 22,938.
The school nearest to Van Meter High School is Van Meter Middle School, at a distance of less than a tenth of a mile. Counting only straight-line distance, 4 other public schools are within five miles. Van Meter High School places 2nd of 9 on proficiency among the closest schools that report scores.
Van Meter High School is in rural territory close to an urban area, a location NCES labels Rural: Fringe.
Van Meter High School had 251 students in 2020-21 and 316 in 2024-25, a 26% rise. The student-to-teacher ratio rose from 11.9:1 in 2020-21 to 14.7:1 in 2024-25.
Community posts for Van Meter High School can cover science fairs, picture day, and bus routes. Questions from prospective families are welcome too.
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 Elementary SchoolElementary · 578 students
- Van Meter Middle SchoolMiddle · 252 students
Other schools in Van Meter
- Van Meter Elementary SchoolElementary · 578 students
- Van Meter Middle SchoolMiddle · 252 students
Nearby schools
- Van Meter Middle School0.0 mi · 252
- Van Meter Elementary School0.0 mi · 578
- 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 High SchoolHow large is Van Meter High School?
Van Meter High School enrolls approximately 316 students in grades 09-12.
What grades does Van Meter High School serve?
Van Meter High School serves grades 09-12.
How many students per teacher at Van Meter High School?
Approximately 14.7:1 students per teacher at Van Meter High School.
How diverse is Van Meter High School?
Van Meter High School reports a student body of 91% White, 4% Hispanic, 1% Black, 1% Asian, 3% Two or more.
Who oversees Van Meter High School?
Van Meter High 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.