Inman Elementary School, Red Oak IA

Original Research by School Decision on Inman Elementary School

Inman Elementary School serves the community of Red Oak, Iowa, a small county-seat city where a historic downtown with buildings on the National Register of Historic Places, such as the Montgomery County Courthouse and the restored Burlington Northern Depot, anchors civic life. The Red Oak Community School District operates the school, and the district itself is a major local employer alongside Montgomery County Memorial Hospital. Red Oak has experienced a gradual population decline, consistent with many small Iowa county seats, and the housing market reflects that context, with home values notably below state and national benchmarks. Rent, however, is relatively modest compared to the broader market, and the area’s affordability is a practical consideration for families.

Inman is a regular public school serving kindergarten through sixth grade, and its enrollment is moderate for that grade band. The student body is predominantly white, with a Hispanic population making up a notable share. A substantial majority of students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, indicating a high level of economic need within the school community. Data on the share of students with individualized education programs or English learner status was not available.

State testing results from the ISASP assessments for the most recent school year place Inman’s overall proficiency rate across math, English language arts, and science near the bottom among the three districts in Montgomery County. In math, over half of students met the proficiency standard, and in English language arts, just over half did as well. Science proficiency, tested in fewer grades, was similar. A single year of data does not show a trend, but the current performance is a soft spot relative to the county’s other districts, and a parent may want to look into this further with the school to understand the academic support available.

The school serves a broad age range, from kindergarten through sixth grade, so there is no high school graduation rate to report, and the chronic absenteeism metric was not available. Because the school is a regular elementary school, the missing figures are due to the grade band it serves rather than any institutional shortcoming. The district brief was searched for recent parent-relevant changes, but little of lasting impact was found.

For a family considering the area, Inman Elementary is situated in a small town with a clear civic identity and a school that serves a high-need population. The academic picture is one where proficiency rates are below the county median, and the available data offers a single snapshot rather than a trendline. The town’s gradual population decline and modest housing costs suggest a stable, if not growing, environment. Families would want to understand the school’s instructional support and how it addresses the challenges reflected in the testing results.

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Academic performance

How students perform on state tests, by grade, set against the district.

Math

Grades 3-860%

School 60% · District 64% · ▼ 4 pts below district

▼ 16 pts below state median

English language arts

Grades 3-853%

School 53% · District 56% · ▼ 3 pts below district

▼ 22 pts below state median

Science

Grades 3-851%

School 51% · District 57% · ▼ 5 pts below district

▼ 17 pts below state median

This schoolRed Oak Comm School District, same grade

Graduation rate (ACGR) reflects the federally published Adjusted Cohort Graduation Rate for the most recent year available. We refresh this data annually at the close of each academic year in June. The federal source publishes a banded rate (for example, "90-94%") instead of an exact number for cohorts small enough to risk identifying individual students. The state distribution chart, where shown, plots every school in the state with a published rate or band; schools whose rate is federally suppressed are excluded. Where the federal source publishes a band rather than an exact rate, the school is placed within its band using a stable, ID-derived offset, so its position is consistent across visits.

Proficiency by household income

English language arts

Grade 3Lower-income30%Higher-income54%24 pp gap

Grade 4Lower-income58%Higher-income63%4 pp gap

Grade 5Lower-income45%Higher-income82%36 pp gap

Grade 6Lower-income50%Higher-income55%5 pp gap

Grades 3-8Lower-income46%Higher-income64%18 pp gap

Mathematics

Grade 3Lower-income49%Higher-income83%35 pp gap

Grade 4Lower-income50%Higher-income72%22 pp gap

Grade 5Lower-income55%Higher-income59%4 pp gap

Grade 6Lower-income65%Higher-income59%6 pp gap

Grades 3-8Lower-income55%Higher-income69%14 pp gap