North Mahaska has been ranked among the 2024 Best Elementary School rankings by the U.S. News & World Report. The rankings include more than 79,000 public elementary and middle schools across the country. Schools are ranked at the state and district level, with Best Charter Schools and Best Magnet Schools ranked as stand-alone categories. North Mahaska has been ranked 19th out of more than 500 schools in Iowa.
North Mahaska Elementary Principal Amber Goemaat was glowing when she informed the school board of the report. In a message to her staff, Goemaat reiterated how special she feels about her school.
“I know I’ve said it before, but I cannot be prouder of the school we are and the school that we are striving to be,” said Goemaat in an email to staff. “You are all amazing. Keep up the fantastic work.”
The methodology focuses on state assessments of students who were proficient in mathematics and reading/language arts while accounting for student backgrounds, achievement in core subjects, and how well schools are educating their students. Student-teacher ratios are applied to break ties in the overall score.
“The 2024 Best Elementary and Middle Schools rankings offer a way for parents to get a snapshot of their child’s school and how well it is doing compared with other schools in their community,” said LaMont Jones, managing editor for education at U.S. News. “In addition, U.S. News Provides easily accessible data on student-teacher ratios, district spending, and the number of counselors a school makes available to its students.”
Parents, educators and students can see how North Mahaska compares to other institutions and how the rankings are calculated on USNews.com.