The top reported proficiency rate is 87% in Math. The lowest is 77% in English language arts.
Original Research by School Decision on Davis Elementary School
Davis Elementary School serves just two grade levels, third and fourth, in Grinnell, Iowa, as part of the Grinnell-Newburg Community School District. Because it covers only a single two-year span of elementary school, it does not have its own graduation rate, nor does it offer the kind of course pathways that high schools provide. The school is a regular public school, not a charter or magnet.
Academically, Davis has strong state assessment results. Its overall proficiency, averaged across math and English language arts, places it above the midpoint among districts in Poweshiek County, landing in the top quarter of that field. In math, a large majority of students met or exceeded the state's proficiency standard on the Iowa Statewide Assessment of Student Progress. In English language arts, the proficiency rate was also solid, though a parent may notice it trailed the math performance somewhat. Participation in testing was high, so the scores reflect nearly the entire student body. There is only a single year of data available, so trends cannot be observed yet.
The student body is small and serves a couple of hundred children in the third and fourth grades. The population is predominantly white, with small shares of Hispanic students and students who identify as two or more races; other ethnic groups each account for a very small number of children. More than a third of students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, which means the school serves a modest-income community. Data on the share of students receiving special education services or classified as English learners was not available in the source data, so a parent who needs that information would want to ask the school directly.
Grinnell itself is a small college town, shaped by the presence of Grinnell College, a private liberal arts institution that is both a cultural and economic anchor. The college contributes to the town’s calendar of public events, and its location near downtown means the campus and community overlap. The town’s economy also includes agriculture and light manufacturing, with major employers like Grinnell Mutual Reinsurance and UnityPoint Grinnell. The downtown has a historic character, with landmarks including a Louis Sullivan-designed bank building and a public library. Central Park serves as a gathering space.
Housing values in the area are modest compared to national benchmarks, and the town has seen a slight population decline in recent years. A significant redevelopment project turned a former factory site into loft apartments and a transportation museum. Grinnell is accessible from Interstate 80. The compact layout means a short average commute time for residents.
The district itself did not show any recent major changes in the publicly reported material that was searched, so the district context appears stable for now. Davis Elementary fits a family looking for a straight-ahead elementary program in a town where the college brings a steady flow of cultural and intellectual life. A parent considering the school might want to learn more about special education and English learner supports directly from the staff, as those figures were not present in the available data. For a student in third or fourth grade, the academic picture is one of solid performance in a school that focuses tightly on those two years before students move on to the upper elementary grades elsewhere in the district.
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