Can I use Poweshiek County's school score to choose a house?

No. Use the Poweshiek County school score as a first-pass county screen, then verify the exact district, attendance boundary, transfer rules, and grade pathway for any address you are considering.

Does SchoolsByCounty confirm school attendance boundaries in Poweshiek County?

No. SchoolsByCounty publishes NCES and Census-backed public-school records. Attendance zones, magnet eligibility, charter lotteries, transportation, and transfer rules must be confirmed with local districts.

How should parents compare public schools in Poweshiek County?

Start with the 11 listed public schools and 3 district entries, then compare similar grade bands and confirm the address-level rules locally.

Poweshiek County Schools & Education

Name: Poweshiek County, Iowa Education Data
Creator: National Center for Education Statistics (NCES)
License: https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/

Poweshiek County, Iowa

NCES 2022-23 public school data and FY 2022 school-finance data

School Score

64/100

Percentile-style score

Score Band

Midrange Signal

Graduation Rate

93.1%

National avg 87.5%

Education Statistics

Graduation Rate

93.1%

National avg 87.5%

State avg 92.3%

Per-Pupil Spending

$7,459

National avg $13,239

State avg $7,591

School Score

64/100

Percentile-style score

State avg 61/100

State Score Position

#47

of 99 counties by score

Education Data Brief: Poweshiek County

Measured School Summary

Poweshiek County performs at an average level with a school score of 64/100 and a solid graduation rate of 93.1%.

Funding Context

At $7,459 per pupil, Poweshiek County operates with limited funding, which may constrain staffing, materials, and extracurricular offerings.

Neighbor Context

Its school score is 5% above the Iowa average, and its graduation rate exceeds the state average by 0.8 percentage points, while per-pupil spending is 2% lower than the state norm.

School Data Brief

How to read Poweshiek County before comparing districts

County-level education data is best used as a screening layer. It summarizes the local school environment, then points you toward the district and school records that matter for local review.

Local context that changes the interpretation

11 public schools and 3 districts are represented below. Use those school and district records to confirm whether the county-level context fits the neighborhoods you are actually considering.

Overall screen

64/100

Mixed county signal. Ranks #47 of 99 Iowa counties with school score data.

Completion

93.1%

0.8 pts above the state average

Funding context

$7,459

$132 below the state average

School coverage

3 districts represented in the county school list.

Start with measured county context

This county needs a closer look at district mix, school level, and local context. Compare the score, graduation rate, and spending together rather than treating any single metric as final.

Check the local school mix

Poweshiek County has 11 public schools across 3 districts, so school-level fit can vary inside the county.

Verify local rules

Use this page as county-level context, then confirm attendance zones, transportation, special programs, and current school boundaries with local districts.

View Public Schools Compare Counties

Parent decision brief

What Poweshiek County school data means before you move

County averages are useful for screening, but parents choose addresses, grade pathways, and district rules. This brief turns the public data into the checks that matter before you sign a lease or mortgage.

Mixed school landscape

Poweshiek County has enough school-level records to compare the local mix, but no single county metric should be treated as the answer. Use district shape, grade span, and data coverage together.

State position

#47

of 99 Iowa counties with school score data. The county score is 3 points above the state average.

Data confidence

Usable

3 of 5 county signals are present, and 100% of listed schools report enrollment. Compare schools, then verify missing fields locally.

K-12 continuity check

These are the largest visible district slices in the county data. They show whether elementary, middle, and high school records appear together or whether a family needs to investigate transition points.

Grinnell-Newburg Comm School District

Elementary to high school visible

1,538 students

Elementary 3Middle 1High 1Other 0

5 listed schools in this county slice.

Brooklyn-Guernsey-Malcom Comm School District

Elementary and high visible

561 students

Elementary 1Middle 0High 1Other 0

2 listed schools in this county slice.

Montezuma Comm School District

Elementary to high school visible

493 students

Elementary 1Middle 1High 1Other 1

4 listed schools in this county slice.

District reality check

Grinnell-Newburg Comm School District is the largest listed district slice, with 5 schools. County pages do not prove address assignment, so verify boundaries with local district tools.

What the data cannot tell you

NCES records do not confirm current attendance zones, private-school options, transfer approvals, program capacity, transportation, or whether a listed school is available to a specific address.

Questions to ask before choosing an address

Which district actually serves the addresses we are considering in Poweshiek County?

Do the neighborhoods we like fall inside the same district, or are we comparing different Poweshiek County district systems?

What changes at the elementary-to-middle and middle-to-high transitions in the district pathway we would likely use?

Which charter, magnet, or virtual options require a lottery, application window, separate transportation plan, or address eligibility check?

Are the largest listed schools the ones our address can actually attend, or are they only county-level context?

Data Story

Poweshiek County Graduation Rate Outpaces State and National Norms

Education data brief for Poweshiek County, Iowa.

By Evan Brooks, Data EditorPublished Jul 7, 2026Reviewed by Evan Brooks, Data Editor

Lead metric:Graduation rate

Poweshiek County reports a graduation rate of 93.1%, which is higher than both the Iowa state average of 92.3% and the national average of 87.0%. This performance is reflected in a composite school score of 63.8, exceeding the state average of 61.3 and the national median of 50.0. The county's 2,592 students are enrolled in 11 public schools across three districts. The largest is the Grinnell-Newburg Community School District, which serves 1,538 students across five schools. The school directory indicates a predominantly rural environment, with eight rural schools and three schools in town settings. The average school size is 236 students, and there are no charter schools in the county. Per-pupil expenditure stands at $7,459, which is lower than the Iowa average of $7,591 and significantly below the national average of $13,000. Detailed school records are available via the NCES Common Core of Data.

Sources

NCES Common Core of Data
U.S. Census Bureau ACS

School Overview

Total Schools

in Poweshiek County

Reported Enrollment

2,592

11 schools reporting

School Districts

districts

Charter Schools

0% of total

School Level Breakdown

Elementary5

Middle2

High3

Other1

3 School Districts in Poweshiek County

Grinnell-Newburg Comm School District

5 schools

1,538 students

Brooklyn-Guernsey-Malcom Comm School District

2 schools

561 students

Montezuma Comm School District

4 schools

493 students

11 Public Schools in Poweshiek County

Sorted by reported enrollment. Every NCES public school remains listed here; no school-level profile pages are included in the current generated coverage for this county.

NCES 2022-23 public school data and FY 2022 school-finance data

Search schools

Level

Sort

Showing 11 of 11 matching schools

Public schools in Poweshiek County, including district, location, profile availability, grades, type, and enrollment.
School Name	Profile	District	Location	Grades	Type / Flags	Reported Enrollment
Grinnell Community Senior High School	Record	Grinnell-Newburg Comm School District	Grinnell, 50112Rural: Fringe	9–12	High	471
Grinnell Community Middle School	Record	Grinnell-Newburg Comm School District	Grinnell, 50112Rural: Fringe	5–8	Middle	457
Brooklyn-Guernsey-Malcom Elementary School	Record	Brooklyn-Guernsey-Malcom Comm School District	Brooklyn, 52211Rural: Remote	PK–6	Primary	296
Brooklyn-Guernsey-Malcom Jr-Sr High School	Record	Brooklyn-Guernsey-Malcom Comm School District	Brooklyn, 52211Rural: Remote	7–12	High	265
Fairview Elementary School	Record	Grinnell-Newburg Comm School District	Grinnell, 50112Town: Remote	PK–2	Primary	243
Montezuma Elementary School	Record	Montezuma Comm School District	Montezuma, 50171Rural: Remote	PK–5	Primary	229
Davis Elementary School	Record	Grinnell-Newburg Comm School District	Grinnell, 50112Town: Remote	3–4	Primary	215
Bailey Park Elementary School	Record	Grinnell-Newburg Comm School District	Grinnell, 50112Town: Remote	KG–2	Primary	152
Montezuma High School	Record	Montezuma Comm School District	Montezuma, 50171Rural: Remote	9–12	High	148
Montezuma Junior High School	Record	Montezuma Comm School District	Montezuma, 50171Rural: Remote	6–8	Middle	112
Montezuma Virtual Learning Academy	Record	Montezuma Comm School District	Montezuma, 50171Rural: Remote	KG–12	Virtual	4

Grinnell Community Senior High School

Grinnell-Newburg Comm School District

Grinnell, 50112 / Rural: Fringe

Record9–12High471 students

Grinnell Community Middle School

Grinnell-Newburg Comm School District

Grinnell, 50112 / Rural: Fringe

Record5–8Middle457 students

Brooklyn-Guernsey-Malcom Elementary School

Brooklyn-Guernsey-Malcom Comm School District

Brooklyn, 52211 / Rural: Remote

RecordPK–6Primary296 students

Brooklyn-Guernsey-Malcom Jr-Sr High School

Brooklyn-Guernsey-Malcom Comm School District

Brooklyn, 52211 / Rural: Remote

Record7–12High265 students

Fairview Elementary School

Grinnell-Newburg Comm School District

Grinnell, 50112 / Town: Remote

RecordPK–2Primary243 students

Montezuma Elementary School

Montezuma Comm School District

Montezuma, 50171 / Rural: Remote

RecordPK–5Primary229 students

Davis Elementary School

Grinnell-Newburg Comm School District

Grinnell, 50112 / Town: Remote

Record3–4Primary215 students

Bailey Park Elementary School

Grinnell-Newburg Comm School District

Grinnell, 50112 / Town: Remote

RecordKG–2Primary152 students

Montezuma High School

Montezuma Comm School District

Montezuma, 50171 / Rural: Remote

Record9–12High148 students

Montezuma Junior High School

Montezuma Comm School District

Montezuma, 50171 / Rural: Remote

Record6–8Middle112 students

Montezuma Virtual Learning Academy

Montezuma Comm School District

Montezuma, 50171 / Rural: Remote

RecordKG–12Virtual4 students

Education Funding Detail

Annual Per-Pupil Expenditure

$7,459

State avg $7,591

Compare Nearby Counties

Review Poweshiek County against other counties using the same NCES-backed metrics.

Open Compare

Browse Public Schools

See school-level enrollment, grade ranges, school type, and district affiliation.

View Schools

Frequently Asked Questions

Which Iowa counties have the highest graduation rates?

Dallas County (97.3%), Clay County (97.0%), and Davis County (97.0%) currently lead Iowa among counties with available NCES four-year adjusted cohort graduation-rate data. This answer is generated from the same dataset used in the county table and can change when federal data refreshes.

What is per-pupil spending like in Iowa?

Across Iowa counties with available NCES district-finance data, average per-pupil spending is $7,591. The highest current county values are Kossuth County ($8,712), Cerro Gordo County ($8,682), and Franklin County ($8,627). Compare counties in the table before treating the statewide average as representative of a local district.

How should I read the school score in Poweshiek County?

Poweshiek County has a school score of 64/100, which is a midrange measured signal in this county-level index. This score is calculated from available NCES graduation-rate and school-finance data, with school-level records shown separately below.

What is the graduation rate in Poweshiek County?

The high school graduation rate in Poweshiek County is 93.1%, which is above the national average of 87.5%. This figure is based on NCES district-level data for public high schools in the county.

How much does Poweshiek County spend per student?

Poweshiek County spends $7,459 per pupil annually on public education, based on NCES district finance data. Current operating spending per fall enrollment, including instruction, support services, administration, transportation, and operations. It excludes capital outlays and debt service in the SchoolsByCounty methodology.

Counties with Similar School Profile

Winnebago County

Iowa

-0 pts

64/100

School score

Louisa County

Iowa

-1 pts

63/100

School score

Fayette County

Iowa

-1 pts

63/100

School score

By Evan Brooks, Data EditorUpdated Jul 7, 2026Reviewed by Evan Brooks, Data Editor

Data Sources

Education data sourced from the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) Common Core of Data and School District Finance Survey. School scores are derived composite metrics based on available NCES graduation-rate and school-finance signals.

Data is informational only. Coverage varies by county and reporting year. Not for use as the sole basis for educational decisions.

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