The top reported proficiency rate is 47% in Math. The lowest is 19% in Science.
Original Research by School Decision on Cedar River Academy at Taylor
Cedar River Academy at Taylor serves students from pre-kindergarten through fifth grade in the Cedar Rapids Community School District. It is a regular public school located on the southwest side of the city, not a charter or magnet school. The school enrolls a large number of students for an elementary school, and the student body is diverse in its racial and ethnic composition. Roughly equal shares of students are Black and white, with smaller but notable populations of students who identify as two or more races and Hispanic students. A substantial share of students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, which places the school in a higher-poverty context compared to many of its peers.
Cedar River Academy participates in Iowa’s state testing program, the ISASP. On the most recent set of assessments, the school’s overall proficiency across math, English language arts, and science placed it in the bottom quartile relative to other districts in Linn County. In math, less than half of tested students scored at the proficient or above level. In English language arts, about a third of students met that bar. In science, the share was lower still, at roughly one in five. Because the school serves only elementary grades, there are no high school outcomes to consider, and no graduation rate is reported. The school’s participation rate on the assessments was high, so the results reflect nearly all enrolled students in the tested grades.
The data shows only a single year of test results tied to the current accountability system, so there is no trend line yet to indicate whether performance is improving, declining, or holding steady. A parent may want to ask the school directly about any internal assessments or progress monitoring it uses to track student growth from year to year.
Cedar River Academy is part of the Cedar Rapids Community School District, which has been undergoing significant changes. The district has been executing a multi-year elementary facilities master plan, opening three new elementary schools since 2022 while closing or consolidating older buildings and redrawing attendance boundaries. This means that attendance zones have shifted recently, and families in the area should confirm which school their address is currently assigned to. The district has also faced budget reductions driven by declining enrollment and state funding that has not kept pace with inflation, which has led to staff cuts and program adjustments. At the same time, the district opened a new high school with a community-based, experiential model, offering families an additional choice at the secondary level.
Cedar Rapids itself is a mid-sized city that serves as the economic hub of Eastern Iowa. It is known for its large grain processing industry and is home to major employers such as Collins Aerospace, CRST, and Aegon, along with large facilities operated by Archer Daniels Midland, Cargill, and General Mills. The city was severely damaged by a major flood years ago and continues to navigate recovery and infrastructure changes. The metropolitan area has seen steady population growth, and a large data center project announced in 2025 was described as the largest economic development project in the city’s history. The school is located on the southwest side, across the Cedar River from downtown, where civic and cultural anchors such as the Veterans Memorial Building, the Cedar Rapids Museum of Art, and the Paramount Theatre are concentrated.
Housing values in the area have risen moderately over the past year, while rental costs have increased more sharply. The estimated monthly mortgage payment for a median-priced home is higher than the estimated monthly rent, which may influence a family’s decision about whether to buy or rent in the neighborhood.
For a family considering Cedar River Academy, the picture is straightforward. The school serves a high-poverty, diverse elementary population. Its state test scores are low relative to other Linn County districts, particularly in English language arts and science. The district context includes active facility changes and budget pressures that could affect resources and class sizes. A parent whose priority is a neighborhood elementary school within the Cedar Rapids system will find a stable, regularly operating school here, but should expect to engage actively with the school and district to understand the specific academic supports in place and how the recent boundary and budget changes may affect their child’s experience.
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