The top reported proficiency rate is 77% in English language arts. The lowest is 67% in Science.
Original Research by School Decision on Mulberry Elementary School
Mulberry Elementary School serves kindergarten through sixth grade as a regular public school within the Muscatine Comm School District. It sits in a mixed-use river city on the Mississippi River with bluffs, hills, and a historic downtown. The city has a strong industrial and manufacturing base that includes several large employers in office furniture, tire products, food processing, agricultural chemicals, lighting, and consulting. The riverfront and downtown historic district form the most walkable core, with parks, public art, and civic institutions clustered there, while residential neighborhoods spread across ridges divided by creeks. The broader city relies heavily on auto travel along US Highway 61 and state routes. Public transit runs four weekday bus routes. The city's population has grown modestly over recent decades, and economic strength rankings place it well among comparable micropolitan areas.
The school itself reported state assessment results for math, English language arts, and science from the Iowa Statewide Assessment of Student Progress. Proficiency rates across all tested subjects and grades place Mulberry in the top quartile when compared with other districts in Muscatine County, a set that includes three districts overall. That is a notably strong position. In math and ELA, the share of students reaching proficiency was well above the county median. Science proficiency was also solid, though tested only at a single grade level. Participation rates were high, above the typical threshold. Because the school serves only elementary grades, there is no graduation rate, and no chronic absenteeism data were available for this report.
The student body is predominantly white, with smaller shares of Hispanic, Black, Asian, multiracial, and American Indian or Alaska Native students. A substantial share of students qualifies for free or reduced-price lunch. Data on students with individualized education programs and English learners were not reported in the available records, so a parent may want to ask the school directly about special education staffing and English learner support. Similarly, no information on staffing ratios, discipline, or course access was included in this profile, so the full picture of school environment and resource allocation is incomplete from this data set alone.
Muscatine’s housing market shows home values and rents that are modest relative to national benchmarks. The typical home price is below the state median and well below the national median. Rent is comparatively affordable. That context matters for families weighing home purchase versus rental near the school. The city’s economy offers a range of jobs across manufacturing, professional services, and agriculture, and the community profile emphasizes a growing workforce and strategic transportation access.
No recent district-level changes of lasting impact were identified in publicly available searches, and the school itself has not undergone a name change or cut-score change that would disrupt assessment comparability. This is a single-year snapshot of test results, so no trend data are available to show improvement or decline over time.
For a family evaluating this school, the core takeaway is straightforward: Mulberry is an elementary school with academic performance that stands out among the small group of districts in Muscatine County. The city provides a riverfront setting with a historic core, an industrial and manufacturing employment base, and a housing market that is more affordable than many parts of the state and country. Some key operational details are missing from this public data, including special education and English learner counts, staff allocations, and program offerings. A parent looking for deeper context on those dimensions would need to go straight to the school or district office.
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