The top reported proficiency rate is 73% in Math. The lowest is 67% in English language arts.
Original Research by School Decision on J C Hoglan Elementary School
J C Hoglan Elementary School serves students from prekindergarten through fourth grade in Marshalltown, Iowa, as part of the Marshalltown Community School District. This is a regular public school, not a charter or magnet school. The school occupies the southern end of the city, on South 3rd Avenue, in a community that functions as the county seat and a regional hub for manufacturing, healthcare, and education. Marshalltown has a deep industrial tradition, anchored by major employers such as a large pork processing facility, a valve and regulator manufacturer, and an HVAC plant, alongside the school district itself. The city’s downtown was heavily damaged by a tornado several years ago, and recovery efforts have shaped the local conversation around growth and development. Population has remained relatively stable, with a slight uptick in recent years.
The student body at Hoglan is diverse. Hispanic students make up the largest share, followed by white students, then Asian students, with smaller populations of Black students, students of two or more races, Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander students, and American Indian or Alaska Native students. A substantial share of students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, indicating a predominantly low-income population. The enrollment is at a size typical for a school covering the early elementary grades in a district of this scale.
On state assessments, Hoglan’s results show a clear majority of students meeting proficiency standards in both math and English language arts. The proficiency rate is above the midpoint among districts in Marshall County. Only a single year of assessment data is available for this school, so there is no trend to examine. Because the school ends at fourth grade, there is no high school graduation rate to report. Staffing data, chronic absenteeism data, and student-teacher ratios were not available from the source material, so those dimensions cannot be characterized here. A parent who wants to understand class sizes or teacher qualifications would need to ask the school directly.
The school does not offer the kinds of programs typical of a high school, such as Advanced Placement, career pathways, or dual credit, because it serves only the earliest grades. What matters most at this level is the academic foundation students build, and the assessment scores suggest that the school is performing solidly in that regard relative to its county peers.
For a family considering Hoglan, the school sits within a community where the housing market is more affordable than the state average. Home values and rents are both below the Iowa benchmark, and the cost of a mortgage in this area is lower than what a household would pay for equivalent housing in much of the rest of the state. This makes Marshalltown a comparatively accessible market for families looking to buy a home while their children are in elementary school.
The broader peer environment is shaped by the demographics of the school itself. With a high share of students from low-income households, the school serves a population that often requires additional support. Federal Title I status was not provided in the data, so it is unclear whether the school receives extra federal funding for its low-income students. A parent may want to confirm this with the district or school office, as it can affect the availability of targeted academic interventions and family support services.
Marshalltown’s civic landscape includes the county courthouse downtown, the Iowa Veterans Home, a community college, and a park system with trails along the Iowa River. The school’s location on the south side of town places it within a short distance of these amenities, though the city’s layout is auto-oriented, with US Route 30 bypassing the town and Iowa Highway 14 running through its center. For families who work at the major industrial employers in town, Hoglan is a neighborhood elementary school serving the families in that part of the city.
This is a school whose academic record is based on a single snapshot, and that snapshot is positive. For a family looking for an elementary school in a working-class, industrial Midwest town with a diverse student body and housing costs below the state norm, Hoglan presents a straightforward option. The missing pieces, around staffing levels, discipline, and attendance, mean a family should plan to visit the school and ask those questions directly.
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