Enrollment
229
Elementary
DISTRICT 173 · STATE 325
SCHOOL COMMUNITY·WAPELLO COMM SCHOOL DISTRICT·NCES 192973001691
Wapello Elementary School
505 N Cedar, Wapello, IA 52653 · (319) 523-5571 · Louisa County
GRADES PK–05ELEMENTARY43-RURALREGULAR SCHOOL229 STUDENTS
D
allk12 Grade
Scored higher than 11% of Iowa public elementary schools
- C-Test scores Share of students meeting the state standard in reading, math, and other tested subjects, 2023-24 and 2024-25.
- FBeats 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
11.7:1
20 FTE teachers
DISTRICT 14.5:1 · STATE 13.7:1
Free / Reduced Lunch
19%
44 students
DISTRICT 34% · STATE 41%
Community
0
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 | 32 | 14% |
| Kindergarten | 36 | 16% |
| Grade 1 | 24 | 10% |
| Grade 2 | 28 | 12% |
| Grade 3 | 41 | 18% |
| Grade 4 | 31 | 14% |
| Grade 5 | 37 | 16% |
This year's kindergarten class (36) is about the same size as its 5th grade class (37).
Student demographics
29%Diversity index
The chance that two students picked at random belong to different racial or ethnic groups.
DISTRICT 28% · 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 Wapello Comm School District. Attendance zones can vary; confirm enrollment with the district.
Test scores
ISASP 2024-25 . % ProficientEnglish Language Arts
63.0%
IA avg 73.6% . +6.9pp since 2023
Math
66.7%
IA avg 70.9% . -2.7pp since 2023
What this means: On the ISASP, Iowa's statewide test, about 63 of every 100 students at this school read and write at grade level and about 67 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 7 points since 2023, while math scores are down about 3 points.
ISASP results by year
| School year | English Language Arts | Math |
|---|---|---|
| 2024-25 | 63.0% | 66.7% |
| 2023-24 | 56.1% | 69.4% |
% Proficient, all students and all tested grades.
Source: ISASP. All students, all grades. See all years and grades →
BeatsExpectations
Demographically-adjusted score · methodologyTier
UNDERPERFORMING
Bottom 10% of IA schools after controlling for student poverty
Actual proficiency
62.5%
composite math + reading, all grades
Predicted
82.3%
based on IA schools with similar FRL share
Beats by
-19.8pp
below demographic expectation
What this means: About 62% of students here test proficient in math and reading, below the roughly 82% typical for Iowa schools with a similar share of low-income students. BeatsExpectations compares each school with others at the same poverty level, not by raw scores, so a school lands here when its results trail those comparable schools, which is not the same as having low scores. A higher-scoring school can still fall in this tier if similar schools score higher still.
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 Wapello Elementary School
| School | Students | Low-income | Proficient |
|---|---|---|---|
| Wapello Elementary School this school | 229 | 19.2% | 62.5% |
| Mid-Prairie East Elementary School Kalona | 255 | 22.4% | N/A |
| Center Point-Urbana Intermediate School Urbana | 275 | 21.1% | N/A |
| Mid-Prairie West Elementary School Wellman | 330 | 19.1% | 73.3% |
| Lincoln Elementary School Pella | 254 | 17.3% | 86.4% |
| John Cline Elementary School Decorah | 300 | 22.3% | 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 Wapello Elementary School ranks
Among elementary schools| Measure | This school | In Iowa |
|---|---|---|
| State test proficiency ranked highest first | 62.5% | #440 of 564 |
| Math proficiency ranked highest first | 66.7% | #430 of 564 ▼ 39 |
| Reading proficiency ranked highest first | 63.0% | #428 of 564 ▲ 33 |
| Enrollment ranked largest first | 229 | #513 of 705 |
| Students per teacher ranked fewest first | 11.7:1 | #88 of 561 |
| Diversity index ranked most diverse first | 29.1% | #342 of 561 |
| Free and reduced lunch ranked highest share first | 19.2% | #603 of 666 |
| Enrollment change since 2017-18 ranked steepest decline first | -19.6% | #99 of 359 |
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
229
0 (0%) vs 2020
-48% since 1990-91, when it was 442
Student : Teacher
11.7:1
was 10.9:1
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 | 229 | 19.6 | 11.7:1 | 19% (44) |
| 2023-24 | 230 | 20.4 | 11.3:1 | 29% (67) |
| 2022-23 | 239 | 22.6 | 10.6:1 | 28% (67) |
| 2020-21 | 229 | 21 | 10.9:1 | 51% (117) |
| 2017-18 | 285 | 23.7 | 12.1:1 | 55% (156) |
| 2015-16 | 292 | 25 | 11.7:1 | 52% (153) |
| 2010-11 | 400 | 32 | 12.5:1 | 54% (217) |
| 2000-01 | 397 | 27 | 14.7:1 | 44% (173) |
| 1990-91 | 442 | 28 | 15.8:1 | N/A |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data. Rows are the federal collections on file for Wapello Elementary School.
Since 2017-18: students down 20% (285 to 229); teachers down 17% (23.7 to 19.6).
About Wapello Elementary School
Students in Wapello, Iowa, attend Wapello Elementary School, a small elementary school. It educates 229 students in pre-K through 5. The school's enrollment is 30% smaller than the 325 average for elementary schools in Iowa.
District-wide, Wapello Comm School District has 3 schools and 518 students.
Federal enrollment data show Wapello Elementary School is 83% White. After that, the student body is 14% Hispanic. The school's diversity index is 29%, meaning two students picked at random have a 29% chance of belonging to different racial or ethnic groups.
Teachers at Wapello Elementary School total 19.6 full-time equivalents, and the ratio is 11.7:1. The school has fewer students per teacher than the 13.7:1 average for elementary schools in Iowa. The school counts 44 students as eligible for free or reduced-price lunch, or 19%. Across public schools in Louisa County, the average is 46%.
The allk12 Grade for Wapello Elementary School is D. Compared with Iowa public elementary schools, the school scored higher than 11% on a mix of test scores, poverty-adjusted results, and recent trend.
On a poverty-adjusted basis, Wapello Elementary School is in the bottom 10% of Iowa schools: 62.5% actual against 82.3% predicted.
County data help place the school in context: in Louisa County, the median household income is $77,354, about 17% of adults have at least a bachelor's degree, and roughly 7% of residents are in poverty. In all, Louisa County has 9 public schools and roughly 2,165 students.
The shortest distance from Wapello Elementary School to another public school is about 0.3 miles, to Wapello Senior High School. Counting only straight-line distance, 2 other public schools are within five miles. Among the 9 closest schools with test data, this one included, Wapello Elementary School ranks 8th on average proficiency.
The school's federal locale classification is Rural: Remote.
Compared with 2020-21, when it had 229 students, enrollment in 2024-25 was about the same at 229.
Posts about school events, clubs, and volunteer needs are welcome on this page. Reviews and ratings from people who know the school are welcome.
Louisa County at a glance
View full county profilePopulation
10,678
Census ACS
Median income
$77,354
Household, ACS
Bachelor's+
17%
Adults 25+
Poverty rate
7%
Below federal line
Schools in county
9
2,165 students
Quick facts
Related schools
Other schools in Wapello Comm School District
- Wapello Senior High SchoolHigh · 187 students
- Wapello Junior High SchoolMiddle · 102 students
Other schools in Wapello
- Wapello Senior High SchoolHigh · 187 students
- Wapello Junior High SchoolMiddle · 102 students
Other Wapello Elementary schools
One other US public school is named Wapello Elementary. Wapello Elementary School is the largest of the 2.
- WAPELLO ELEMENTARY SCHOOLBLACKFOOT, ID · 211 students
Nearby schools
- Wapello Senior High School0.3 mi · 187
- Wapello Junior High School0.3 mi · 102
- Morning Sun Elementary School6.8 mi · 119
- Louisa-Muscatine JR/SR High School8.5 mi · 353
- Louisa-Muscatine Elementary8.5 mi · 468
- New Boston Elementary School10.4 mi · 165
Frequently asked questions
About Wapello Elementary SchoolWhat is the total enrollment at Wapello Elementary School?
Wapello Elementary School enrolls approximately 229 students in grades PK-05.
What age range does Wapello Elementary School serve?
Wapello Elementary School serves students from grade PK through grade 05.
How many teachers does Wapello Elementary School have?
Wapello Elementary School employs 20 FTE teachers, for a student-to-teacher ratio of 11.7:1.
What is the racial breakdown of students at Wapello Elementary School?
At Wapello Elementary School, the student body is approximately 83% White, 14% Hispanic, 0% Black, 1% Asian, 1% Two or more.
Is Wapello Elementary School public or private?
Wapello Elementary School is a public K-12 school, overseen by Wapello Comm School District.
Data sourceSchool profile facts are sourced from the NCES. Community content is posted by allk12 members.