The top reported proficiency rate is 69% in Math. The lowest is 49% in Science.
Original Research by School Decision on Nixon Elementary School
Nixon Elementary School serves students from pre-kindergarten through fifth grade in the suburban community of Hiawatha, on the northwestern side of Cedar Rapids. The school is a regular public elementary school within the Cedar Rapids Community School District, a large district that has been undergoing notable change in recent years, including the opening of new elementary schools, boundary adjustments, and budget reductions tied to declining enrollment.
The student body at Nixon is diverse. White students make up the largest share, followed by Black students, Asian students, Hispanic students, and students who identify as two or more races. A substantial majority of students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, which means the school serves a population with significant economic need.
On the Iowa Statewide Assessment of Student Progress, Nixon's results present a mixed picture. In math, a solid majority of students scored at or above the proficient level, a performance that many parents would consider a strength for an elementary school. In English language arts, the share of students reaching proficiency was lower, though still above half. Science proficiency was below half of the tested students. When compared against other schools in Linn County on an overall proficiency index that averages results across subjects, Nixon's performance fell into the bottom quartile. This is an important data point for parents to weigh, though it is worth noting that the comparison set includes schools across the county, and the range of performance among them is wide.
Test participation rates were high, above nine in ten for each subject, so the results reflect nearly all students in the tested grades rather than a select subset.
The school offers a standard elementary program, with no unusual or specialized course access identified in available data. Because Nixon is an elementary school, there is no graduation rate, and measures such as chronic absenteeism and discipline data were not available.
The surrounding community of Hiawatha itself has been growing. It is a suburban environment with a mix of residential neighborhoods and commercial development, three city parks with free WiFi, a farmers market, and access to the Cedar Valley Nature Trail. Housing values in the area have seen some upward movement, and the typical rent in the area is moderate relative to national benchmarks.
The parent district, Cedar Rapids Community School District, is the second largest in Iowa. Beyond the facilities master plan and the new schools that have opened, the district has faced budget pressures. For the 2024-25 school year, the district approved staff cuts and program adjustments in response to a shortfall driven by declining enrollment and state funding that has not kept up with inflation. These district-level realities can affect elementary schools like Nixon through changes in class sizes, staffing, and resource allocation in the years ahead.
For a family considering Nixon Elementary, the picture is one of a diverse, high-needs school community in a growing suburb, with test results that are stronger in math than in reading and science, and that place the school toward the lower end of the county's overall academic performance. The district's ongoing financial and facilities transitions mean that the context around the school is not static, and parents may want to follow how those changes affect Nixon in particular.
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