The top reported proficiency rate is 63% in Math. The lowest is 50% in Science.
Original Research by School Decision on Fred Becker Elementary School
Fred Becker Elementary School is a regular public school in Waterloo, Iowa, serving students from prekindergarten through fifth grade as part of the Waterloo Community School District. The school sits within a mid-sized, industrial city that has long been known as a manufacturing hub, anchored by John Deere’s century-old presence. Waterloo’s population has been essentially flat to slightly declining in recent years, and the local housing market remains relatively affordable. The city is diverse, with a population that includes a mix of white, Black, and growing Latino, Congolese, and Burmese communities. Many families commute by car, and the district is in the midst of a major reorganization that will consolidate its two traditional high schools into a single new building, a change that will eventually affect all feeder schools in the district.
Academically, Fred Becker Elementary’s state testing results present a mixed picture. In math, a substantial majority of students met or exceeded the proficiency standard on the Iowa Statewide Assessment of Student Progress, a solid showing. In English language arts, about half of students reached that same benchmark, placing it on the lower end of the range when compared with other elementary schools in Black Hawk County. Science results, which come from a smaller testing cohort, also landed at about half proficient. The school’s overall proficiency index, which averages performance across all tested subjects and grades, places it in the bottom quartile of schools in the county. Because the state assessment data available for this school is for a single year, there is no trend line to examine yet. A parent may want to look into this further with the school to understand how these results align with the instruction their child would receive.
The student body at Fred Becker Elementary is diverse by race and ethnicity. White students make up the largest share, followed by Black students, with smaller groups of students who are Hispanic, of two or more races, Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander, and Asian. A very small number of American Indian or Alaska Native students are also enrolled. The school is not a charter school, and it does not have a magnet designation. Data on the share of students with disabilities or who are English learners was not available in the materials reviewed, nor was information on discipline rates, chronic absenteeism, or staffing ratios.
Fred Becker serves a population with significant economic need. A large majority of students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, reflecting the economic circumstances of many families in the area. This is a school where the peer environment will include many children from households facing financial pressure, and the supports that come with Title I funding may be a factor in the school’s operations, though the Title I status was not specified in the data provided.
The school itself is located on Sheldon Street in a residential area of Waterloo. The district brief notes that the Waterloo Community School District is in the process of consolidating its two traditional high schools into a single new high school called Waterloo United High School, a major structural change approved in 2024 that will reshape the secondary pathway for all students in the district over the coming years. For a family considering Fred Becker Elementary, this means the high school experience their child would eventually enter will look different from what older siblings or neighbors experienced.
This is a school with a real strength in math instruction relative to its own performance in other subjects, but with overall academic results that fall below many of its county peers. It serves a diverse, economically challenged student body in a city with a stable but not growing population. A family should look closely at the specific classroom experience and how the school addresses literacy and science, and should be aware that the district’s high school landscape is in transition.
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