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North High School

Public Grades 9-12

326^th

SchoolDigger Rank ?

of 340 Iowa High Schools

Better than 4% of Iowa high schools

Summary

North High School is a public high school located in Des Moines, Iowa, serving grades 9-12 with a total enrollment of 1,514 students. The school is part of the Des Moines Independent Community School District, which is ranked 306 out of 313 districts in the state and has a 0-star rating from SchoolDigger. North High School has consistently ranked in the bottom 10-15% of Iowa high schools over the past decade, with a statewide rank between 312-329 out of 320-340 schools.

North High School faces significant challenges, including a 4-year graduation rate ranging from 67.4% to 88.3%, which is significantly lower than the state average of around 90%. The school also has a very high chronic absenteeism rate, ranging from 21.6% to 54.2% in recent years, much higher than the state average. Academically, North High School students consistently perform well below the state and district averages in ISASP (Iowa Statewide Assessment of Student Progress) tests for English Language Arts, Mathematics, and Science. For example, in 2024-2025, only 48.8% of 10th-grade students were proficient or better in ELA, compared to 74.7% statewide. Additionally, North High School has an extremely high percentage of students (75.03% to 88.76%) receiving free or reduced-price lunch, indicating a high level of economic disadvantage among the student population.

When comparing North High School to other high schools in the Des Moines area, it consistently underperforms its peers. For example, Roosevelt High School, which is also in the Des Moines district, has significantly higher test scores, graduation rates, and lower chronic absenteeism. Despite the persistent challenges faced by North High School, there appears to be a critical need for targeted interventions and support to address the root causes of the school's underperformance, such as improving attendance, providing additional academic and social-emotional resources, and addressing the needs of the economically disadvantaged student population.

1,428

Students ?

21.4

Student/teacher ratio ?

$15,636

Per pupil spending ?

84%

Free/discounted lunch ?

501 Holcomb Ave
Des Moines, IA 50313

(515) 242-7200

District: Des Moines Independent Community School District

Feeder schools for North High School:

Elementary:	Cattell Elementary School
	Findley Elementary School
	Garton Elementary
	Madison Elementary School
	More...
	Moulton Elementary School
	Oak Park
Middle:	Goodrell Middle School
	Harding Middle School

Racial breakdown:

Hispanic:

38.7%

African American:

23.9%

White:

19.5%

See top rated Iowa high schools

Compare North High School to nearby high schools!

At a glance

▬ Ranking trend: Holding steady — 2nd percentile in 2015 → 4th in 2025

Worth a look

!Test scores below the Iowa average (41% vs 69% meeting standards)

!In the lower quartile statewide (4th percentile)

!Graduation rate below the Iowa average (67% vs 88%)

Students meeting standards (2024-2025) ?

This school41%

District avg47%

Iowa avg69%

326^th of 340

Iowa public high schools ?

Bottom 4%▲ up 2 pts since 2015

See the entire ranking list of Iowa High Schools →

★★★★★

SchoolDigger rating ?

4^th of 5High Schools in the Des Moines Independent Community School District

306^th of 313Des Moines Independent Community School District among Iowa districts

Statewide rank percentile over time (100 = the top-ranked school in the state; click a legend item to add a student group)

Show full rank history (all student groups)

All Students

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Iowa percentile	Rating
2025	2.8	326 of 340	4.1%	☆☆☆☆☆
2024	2.2	325 of 338	3.8%	☆☆☆☆☆
2023	2.1	329 of 336	2.1%	☆☆☆☆☆
2022	3.0	327 of 332	1.5%	☆☆☆☆☆
2021	1.2	320 of 327	2.1%	☆☆☆☆☆
2019	1.0	320 of 327	2.1%	☆☆☆☆☆
2018	0.5	312 of 320	2.5%	☆☆☆☆☆
2017	0.8	316 of 325	2.8%	☆☆☆☆☆
2016	1.2	314 of 320	1.9%	☆☆☆☆☆
2015	0.4	317 of 324	2.2%	☆☆☆☆☆
2014	0.1	318 of 322	1.2%	☆☆☆☆☆
2013	12.1	327 of 351	6.8%	☆☆☆☆☆
2012	0.7	342 of 351	2.6%	☆☆☆☆☆

By subject vs Iowa (2024-2025) ?

English Language Arts45%-28 vs state

Science42%-25 vs state

Mathematics36%-30 vs state

1.0

2 ratings · 2 written reviews

5★0

4★0

3★0

2★0

1★2

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What people are saying

by a student
Sunday, October 23, 2016

The school fired the drama, the two engineering education teachers, three science teachers, a math a sewing teacher. The football program stinks, they are worse than the Cubs. The principal penalizes us by shortening the lunch hour and the administrators are unfeeling toward us. They have got rid of the old caring teachers and the young are naive and believe anything the principal says. I can't see how the President obama came here and thought it was so great, and now we are a demonstration school. WHat for to demonstrate how the morale is terrible. A teacher had on the wall, "The beatings will continue until the morale improves." They need to fire all the administration here and get some people who really care about the students. I graduate this year, I sure hope what they claim I know is what everyone else knows. Close Quote

by a teacher
Wednesday, April 1, 2015

Since Matt Smith left North High, there has been a steady decline in all areas of improvement. North High is back to the 2008 standards. Students are rude to teachers, they are more interested on what games to play with their school iPads, personal smart phones. Discipline is at a new low.

The older staff have been forced out of the building,either forced to resign, retire or just gone. The younger teachers and new administration seem less student orientated and they don't care or see that what Dr. Smith's methods worked, they are doing what many parents do, not get student focused.

They have school improvement leaders who are more orientated to blaming teachers than to bring in failing students and getting them back on track.

It is time for a change Close Quote

Schools Near North High School

Choose columns to see: Summary School Students/Teachers Ranking Test Scores Finance All

School													Students/Teachers											Ranking (2025)				Ranking (2024)				ISASP English Language Arts (2025)			ISASP Mathematics (2025)			ISASP Science (2025)	Per Pupil Expenditures (2019)
Name	Type	Grades	Address	City	Zip	County	District	Is Charter	Is Magnet	Is Virtual	Is Title I	Phone	Enrollment	Full-time Teachers	Student/ Teacher Ratio	Free/Discounted Lunch Recipients	White	Black	Hispanic	Asian	American Indian	Pacific Islander	Two or More Races	Average Standard Score (2025)	Statewide Rank (2025)	State Percentile (2025)	SchoolDigger Rating (2025)	Average Standard Score (2024)	Statewide Rank (2024)	State Percentile (2024)	Rank Change from Previous Year	ISASP English Language Arts 9th Grade	ISASP English Language Arts 10th Grade	ISASP English Language Arts 11th Grade	ISASP Mathematics 9th Grade	ISASP Mathematics 10th Grade	ISASP Mathematics 11th Grade	ISASP Science 10th Grade	Per Pupil Expenditures Total	Sub-total from Federal Funds	Sub-total from State/Local Funds
North High School	Public	9-12	501 Holcomb Ave	Des Moines	50313	Polk County	Des Moines Independent Community School District	No	(n/a)	No	Yes	(515) 242-7200	1,428	66	21.4	84.0%	278 (19.5%)	342 (23.9%)	553 (38.7%)	155 (10.9%)	12 (0.8%)	4 (0.3%)	84 (5.9%)	2.8	326^th of 340 public high schools	4.1%		2.2	325^th of 338 public high schools	3.8%	1	48.0	48.8	38.5	33.5	39.2	34.8	42.1	$15,636	$747	$14,889
Great Oaks High School and Career Center	Public, Charter	9-12	100 East Euclid	Des Moines	50313	Polk County	Charter Organization: Oakmont Education	Yes	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(319) 321-9976	72	3	24.1	4.2%	23 (31.9%)	27 (37.5%)	21 (29.2%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	1 (1.4%)	0 (0.0%)								(n/a)			25.0			14.3
East High School	Public	9-12	815 E 13th St	Des Moines	50316	Polk County	Des Moines Independent Community School District	No	(n/a)	No	No	(515) 242-7788	1,952	89	21.8	78.4%	484 (24.8%)	334 (17.1%)	890 (45.6%)	130 (6.7%)	12 (0.6%)	5 (0.3%)	94 (4.8%)	2.6	328^th of 340 public high schools	3.5%		2.1	326^th of 338 public high schools	3.6%	2	45.1	48.6	42.5	36.0	41.2	29.7	37.6	$14,908	$672	$14,236
Virtual Campus	Public, Virtual	9-12	1800 Grand Avenue	Des Moines	50309	Polk County	Des Moines Independent Community School District	No	(n/a)	Yes	No	(515) 242-8502	380	16	23.9	69.5%	178 (46.8%)	51 (13.4%)	103 (27.1%)	11 (2.9%)	2 (0.5%)	0 (0.0%)	34 (8.9%)	2.8	327^th of 340 public high schools	3.8%		8.9	314^th of 338 public high schools	7.1%	13	51.4	53.9	45.7	21.6	27.0	28.4	37.9
Saydel High School	Public	9-12	5601 NE 7th St	Des Moines	50313	Polk County	Saydel Community School District	No	(n/a)	No	No	(515) 262-9325	458	28	16.6	52.8%	311 (67.9%)	9 (2.0%)	93 (20.3%)	2 (0.4%)	1 (0.2%)	0 (0.0%)	41 (9.0%)	9.5	315^th of 340 public high schools	7.4%		12.6	308^th of 338 public high schools	8.9%	7	53.6	62.7	49.6	41.7	46.4	47.1	44.5	$15,532	$350	$15,182
Roosevelt High School	Public	9-12	4419 Center St	Des Moines	50312	Polk County	Des Moines Independent Community School District	No	(n/a)	No	No	(515) 242-7272	2,051	66	31.2	55.2%	850 (41.4%)	562 (27.4%)	364 (17.7%)	64 (3.1%)	9 (0.4%)	7 (0.3%)	178 (8.7%)	31.5	269^th of 340 public high schools	20.9%		22.5	290^th of 338 public high schools	14.2%	21	71.0	67.5	61.6	58.8	65.4	54.1	60.7	$14,829	$690	$14,140
Hoover High School	Public	9-12	4800 Aurora Ave	Des Moines	50310	Polk County	Des Moines Independent Community School District	No	(n/a)	No	No	(515) 242-7300	898	44	20.5	80.0%	150 (16.7%)	329 (36.6%)	229 (25.5%)	134 (14.9%)	4 (0.4%)	0 (0.0%)	48 (5.3%)	5.7	319^th of 340 public high schools	6.2%		4.8	321^st of 338 public high schools	5.0%	2	51.8	51.2	49.7	43.0	45.1	39.5	39.9	$17,790	$689	$17,101
Lincoln High School	Public	9-12	2600 SW 9th St	Des Moines	50315	Polk County	Des Moines Independent Community School District	No	(n/a)	No	No	(515) 242-7500	2,364	94	25.1	74.9%	717 (30.3%)	402 (17.0%)	903 (38.2%)	195 (8.2%)	10 (0.4%)	2 (0.1%)	130 (5.5%)	4.1	322^nd of 340 public high schools	5.3%		2.7	324^th of 338 public high schools	4.1%	2	54.5	47.9	43.5	40.5	42.1	37.9	38.9	$14,888	$697	$14,190
Urbandale High School	Public	9-12	7111 Aurora Avenue	Urbandale	50322	Polk County	Urbandale Community School District	No	(n/a)	No	No	(515) 457-6800	1,301	88	14.7	36.4%	817 (62.8%)	117 (9.0%)	205 (15.8%)	88 (6.8%)	4 (0.3%)	2 (0.2%)	68 (5.2%)	61.2	150^th of 340 public high schools	55.9%		34.3	263^rd of 338 public high schools	22.2%	113	83.2	82.0	80.4	63.3	68.1	71.0	71.8	$11,428	$388	$11,040
Walnut Creek Campus	Public	9-12	1020 8th Street	West Des Moines	50265	Polk County	West Des Moines Community School District	No	(n/a)	No	No	(515) 633-6480	152	14	10.8	76.3%	76 (50.0%)	30 (19.7%)	28 (18.4%)	1 (0.7%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	17 (11.2%)	0.6	334^th of 340 public high schools	1.8%		1.2	328^th of 338 public high schools	3.0%	6	23.1	34.8	41.2	7.7	26.1	23.5	26.1	$18,513	$197	$18,315

Frequently Asked Questions about North High School

What is the racial makeup of North High School?

Students at North High School are 39% Hispanic, 24% African American, 19% White, 11% Asian, 6% Two or more races.

How many students attend North High School?

In the 2024-25 school year, 1,428 students attended North High School.

What district is North High School in?

Des Moines Independent Community School District

Is North High School a good school?

North High School ranks in the bottom 4.1% of Iowa high schools.

What schools feed into North High School?

North High School is fed by the following schools:

Elementary : Cattell Elementary School
Elementary : Findley Elementary School
Elementary : Garton Elementary
Elementary : Madison Elementary School
Elementary : Moulton Elementary School
Elementary : Oak Park
Middle : Goodrell Middle School
Middle : Harding Middle School

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SchoolDigger data sources: National Center for Education Statistics, U.S. Department of Education, the U.S. Census Bureau and the Iowa Department of Education.

IMPORTANT DISCLAIMERS: Not all boundaries are included. We make every effort to ensure that boundaries are up-to-date. But it's important to note that these are approximations and are for general informational purposes only. To verify legal descriptions of boundaries or school locations, contact your local tax assessor's office and/or school district.