1
How has Westwood Elementary School changed in the last five years, for better or worse?
Community prompt from u/allk12. Replies below.
Enrollment
551
Elementary
DISTRICT 508 · STATE 325
SCHOOL COMMUNITY·ANKENY COMM SCHOOL DISTRICT·NCES 190369002026
Westwood Elementary School
2920 NW 9th St, Ankeny, IA 50023 · (515) 965-9690 · Polk County
GRADES KG–05ELEMENTARY21-SUBURBREGULAR SCHOOL551 STUDENTS
Student : Teacher
15.7:1
35 FTE teachers
DISTRICT 15.8:1 · STATE 13.7:1
Free / Reduced Lunch
18%
97 students
DISTRICT 22% · STATE 41%
Community
4
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Kindergarten | 94 | 17% |
| Grade 1 | 94 | 17% |
| Grade 2 | 83 | 15% |
| Grade 3 | 103 | 19% |
| Grade 4 | 86 | 16% |
| Grade 5 | 91 | 17% |
Student demographics
37%Diversity index
The chance that two students picked at random belong to different racial or ethnic groups.
DISTRICT 41% · 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
85.6%
IA avg 73.6% . +2.0pp since 2023
Math
85.6%
IA avg 70.9% . -0.7pp since 2023
What this means: On the ISASP, Iowa's statewide test, about 86 of every 100 students at this school read and write at grade level and about 86 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 2 points since 2023, while math scores have held steady.
ISASP results by year
| School year | English Language Arts | Math |
|---|---|---|
| 2024-25 | 85.6% | 85.6% |
| 2023-24 | 83.6% | 86.3% |
% 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
82.9%
composite math + reading, all grades
Predicted
83.1%
based on IA schools with similar FRL share
Beats by
-0.3pp
below demographic expectation
What this means: About 83% of students here test proficient in math and reading, compared with the roughly 83% 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 →
Where Westwood Elementary School ranks
Among elementary schools| Measure | This school | In Iowa | In Polk County |
|---|---|---|---|
| State test proficiency ranked highest first | 82.9% | #76 of 564 | #8 of 78 |
| Math proficiency ranked highest first | 85.6% | #109 of 564 | #10 of 78 |
| Reading proficiency ranked highest first | 85.6% | #58 of 564 | #7 of 78 |
| Enrollment ranked largest first | 551 | #67 of 705 | #20 of 89 |
| Students per teacher ranked fewest first | 15.7:1 | #497 of 561 | #73 of 86 |
| Diversity index ranked most diverse first | 36.7% | #288 of 561 | #73 of 86 |
| Enrollment change since 2017-18 ranked steepest decline first | -15.6% | #145 of 359 | #28 of 64 |
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.
7-year change
SY 2017-18 vs SY 2024-25Enrollment
551
-102 (-16%) vs 2017
Student : Teacher
15.7:1
was 18.9:1
% White
79%
was 86%
% Hispanic
9%
was 5%
% Black
4%
was 3%
% Asian
1%
was 1%
Source: NCES Common Core of Data
Enrollment and staffing by year
| School year | Students | Teachers (FTE) | Students per teacher | Free or reduced lunch |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024-25 | 551 | 35.1 | 15.7:1 | 18% (97) |
| 2023-24 | 615 | 42.1 | 14.6:1 | 13% (81) |
| 2022-23 | 642 | 37.9 | 16.9:1 | 16% (105) |
| 2017-18 | 653 | 34.6 | 18.9:1 | 11% (74) |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data. Rows are the federal collections on file for Westwood Elementary School.
About Westwood Elementary School
Westwood Elementary School is a public large elementary school in Ankeny, Iowa. It covers kindergarten through 5, with a total enrollment of 551 students. Enrollment is 70% higher than the average for elementary schools in Iowa, which is about 325.
Westwood Elementary School falls under Ankeny Comm School District, which has 18 schools enrolling 12,746 students.
Roughly 79% of students at Westwood Elementary School are White. Enrollment also includes 9% Hispanic, 7% multiracial, and 4% Black. The county population is about 76% White, within a few points of the school. The school's diversity index is 37%, meaning two students picked at random have a 37% chance of belonging to different racial or ethnic groups.
Westwood Elementary School's 35.1 full-time-equivalent teachers put its ratio at 15.7:1. On average, elementary schools in Iowa have 13.7:1, compared with 15.7:1 here. The school's rate of free or reduced-price lunch eligibility is 18%. The 49% average for public schools in Polk County is 31 points higher.
After adjusting for student poverty, Westwood Elementary School lands between the top and bottom 10% of Iowa schools. Its average proficiency rate on state tests is 82.9%; the prediction is 83.1%.
Among Polk County residents, the median household income is $83,576, about 40% of adults have at least a bachelor's degree, and the poverty rate is about 7%. Besides Westwood Elementary School, Polk County has 136 other public schools.
Ankeny Centennial High School is the closest public school, about 1.1 miles away in a straight line. Other public schools within five miles number at least 8. Nearby schools with test data average 80.3% proficiency; Westwood Elementary School posts 82.9%.
For locale, NCES codes Westwood Elementary School as Suburb: Large.
The school enrolled 551 students in 2024-25, 102 fewer than the 653 it had in 2017-18. Over that span, the White share moved 7 points, to 79%. Federal data show the ratio falling from 18.9:1 to 15.7:1.
Parents and students can post about sports tryouts, band and choir, and theater at Westwood Elementary School. Alumni can share how the school prepared them.
Polk County at a glance
View full county profilePopulation
503,175
Census ACS
Median income
$83,576
Household, ACS
Bachelor's+
40%
Adults 25+
Poverty rate
7%
Below federal line
Schools in county
137
77,436 students
Quick facts
Related schools
Other schools in Ankeny Comm School District
- Ankeny Centennial High SchoolHigh · 1,470 students
- Ankeny High SchoolHigh · 1,375 students
- Northview Middle SchoolHigh · 1,021 students
- Prairie Ridge Middle SchoolMiddle · 1,004 students
- Southview Middle SchoolHigh · 913 students
- Parkview Middle SchoolMiddle · 865 students
Other schools in Ankeny
- Ankeny Centennial High SchoolHigh · 1,470 students
- Ankeny High SchoolHigh · 1,375 students
- Northview Middle SchoolHigh · 1,021 students
- Prairie Ridge Middle SchoolMiddle · 1,004 students
- Southview Middle SchoolHigh · 913 students
- Parkview Middle SchoolMiddle · 865 students
Nearby schools
- Ankeny Centennial High School1.1 mi · 1,470
- Northwest Elementary School1.2 mi · 346
- Prairie Ridge Middle School1.3 mi · 1,004
- Abbie Grove Elementary1.5 mi · 445
- Ashland Ridge Elementary1.7 mi · 548
- Rock Creek Elementary1.8 mi · 639
Frequently asked questions
About Westwood Elementary SchoolWhat is the total enrollment at Westwood Elementary School?
Westwood Elementary School enrolls approximately 551 students in grades KG-05.
What grades does Westwood Elementary School serve?
Westwood Elementary School serves grades KG-05.
What is the student-teacher ratio at Westwood Elementary School?
The student-to-teacher ratio at Westwood Elementary School is approximately 15.7:1 (35 FTE teachers).
What is the racial breakdown of students at Westwood Elementary School?
At Westwood Elementary School, the student body is approximately 79% White, 9% Hispanic, 4% Black, 1% Asian, 7% Two or more.
Is Westwood Elementary School public or private?
Westwood Elementary School is a public K-12 school, overseen by Ankeny Comm School District.
Data sourceSchool profile facts are sourced from the NCES. Community content is posted by allk12 members.