The top reported proficiency rate is 75% in Math. The lowest is 63% in Science.
Original Research by School Decision on Franklin Elementary School
Franklin Elementary School is a regular public school in Muscatine, Iowa, serving kindergarten through sixth grade as part of the Muscatine Community School District. It sits in a mixed-use river city with a strong industrial and manufacturing base—Fortune 500 companies such as HNI Corporation, Bridgestone Bandag, and Bayer have facilities here—and a historic downtown and West Hill district listed on the National Register of Historic Places. The school itself is located on Taylor Street, within walking distance of the riverfront and the city’s civic core.
Academically, Franklin Elementary posts strong results on the Iowa Statewide Assessment of Student Progress, the state’s regular assessment. In math and English language arts, a large majority of students are working at or above the proficient level, and the school’s overall proficiency across tested subjects places it above the midpoint among districts in Muscatine County. That is a solid position in a small cohort of three districts. Science proficiency is somewhat lower but still in the comfortable majority range. Because this is an elementary school with no high school grades, there is no graduation rate to report, and no data on chronic absenteeism or discipline was available in the public record. The assessment participation rate was very high, which gives confidence in the results. The school had only a single year of testing data in this snapshot, so no trend line could be drawn.
The student body is diverse. About half of the students are White, and a nearly equal share are Hispanic, with smaller numbers of Black, two-or-more-race, and American Indian students. A substantial share of students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, indicating that a significant portion of families are working with modest household budgets. This economic context aligns with the community profile: Muscatine is a manufacturing hub with a long history of industrial employment, and while it ranks highly among micropolitan areas for economic strength, housing values in the local zip code are below the state median, and rents are relatively affordable compared to national benchmarks.
No data on special education or English learner enrollment was reported for this school, and no program offerings were listed in the available information. A parent who wants to know about gifted services, special education supports, or enrichment programming would need to ask Franklin directly or consult the district. The district brief turned up no recent publicly reported changes affecting Franklin, so the school appears stable in terms of leadership and operations.
The setting matters for families choosing a school. Muscatine is not a bedroom suburb; it is a stand-alone industrial city with its own employment base, a riverfront park system, a historic downtown, and a community college. The street layout follows the hills and ridges above the Mississippi, making some neighborhoods more walkable than others. The school is in a residential area near the central part of town. Families who live outside the city may have a longer drive, but the district covers the city itself and surrounding areas.
Franklin Elementary offers a consistently strong academic foundation for elementary-aged children, particularly in math and reading, with a student population that reflects the economic and ethnic diversity of the city. The school does not have the breadth of program data that some families may want to see before enrolling, and the science results suggest an area where a parent may wish to ask about curriculum and instructional focus. But the core academic picture is one of reliable proficiency in a community that is itself a functioning industrial river town with a distinct identity and a solid economic base.
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