The top reported proficiency rate is 73% in Math. The lowest is 71% in Science.
Original Research by School Decision on Irving Elementary School
Irving Elementary School is a regular public elementary school serving prekindergarten through fifth grade in Dubuque, part of the Dubuque Community School District. The school sits on Pennsylvania Avenue in a residential section of this mid-sized Mississippi River city, which functions as a regional hub where the manufacturing, health care, and education sectors anchor the economy. Dubuque has undergone a sustained downtown and riverfront revitalization since the 1990s, and a large bond referendum passed by voters in late 2024 will fund facility upgrades across the district, including HVAC and security improvements, with construction planned through 2027. The district has also been transitioning to Standards-Based Learning, which measures students against specific learning standards rather than traditional letter grades, beginning at the elementary level in the 2022-2023 school year. A full-time virtual option called the Dubuque Online School launched for grades six through twelve, but that program does not serve Irving’s grade band.
Irving Elementary reported state assessment results for math, English language arts, and science, with a participation rate high enough that the results reflect the student body reliably. Across the tested subjects, the share of students meeting proficiency was solid, and the school’s overall performance on these measures landed above the midpoint among the districts in Dubuque County. For a family comparing elementary options within the county, Irving’s academic results place it in a competitive position.
The student body is predominantly white, with smaller shares of Black, Hispanic, multiracial, and Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander students. A substantial share of students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, which signals that the school serves a mix of income levels. Data on students with individualized education plans and English learners was not available in the source material; a parent who wants to understand the full range of special education and language support at Irving would need to ask the school directly. Because Irving is an elementary school, there is no graduation rate to consider: that metric applies only to high schools.
Housing values and rents in the area around Irving have been rising, roughly in line with statewide trends and at a level that remains more accessible than the national median. For a family moving into the attendance zone, a mortgage payment on a typical home in the area would run higher than the typical rent, which is a common pattern when interest rates are elevated. The broader Dubuque housing market has seen steady growth driven by downtown redevelopment and riverfront investment, rather than explosive growth.
The school’s size is typical for an elementary, with a classroom structure that lets children move through each grade from kindergarten through fifth. The building itself, given the approved bond work, is set for some level of modernization in the near term, though the specific scope for this school depends on district planning. Irving does not offer secondary-level programs like Advanced Placement or dual credit because it does not serve those grades, and no data on arts, music, or extracurricular programs was in the source material.
A family considering Irving Elementary should see a school with solid tested proficiency, a mixed-income student body, and a district that is investing in facilities and shifting toward standards-based grading. The setting is a mid-sized city with a stable economy and a walkable downtown, though the school’s neighborhood is auto-dependent like most of the hill-climbing residential areas above the river. The missing pieces on special education and English learner services mean that a parent with a child who has an identified need or is learning English should contact the school directly to understand available supports.
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