Summary:
The 50314 zip code area of Des Moines, Iowa is home to four elementary schools: Moulton Elementary, Edmunds Elementary, King Elementary, and Jessie Franklin Taylor. These schools serve students from pre-kindergarten through 5th grade and are part of the Des Moines Independent Community School District.
Based on the data provided, none of the four schools in the 50314 zip code area stand out as high-performing. All four schools have significantly lower proficiency rates in English Language Arts, Mathematics, and Science compared to the district and state averages. For example, in the 2024-2025 school year, the 5th grade English Language Arts proficiency rate at Moulton Elementary was 54%, compared to the district average of 50.6% and the state average of 69.8%. Additionally, the schools have very high chronic absenteeism rates, ranging from 21.6% to 21.6% in the 2023-2024 school year, which is significantly higher than the state average.
The data also reveals that these schools serve student populations with high levels of economic disadvantage, as evidenced by the extremely high percentages of students qualifying for free or reduced-price lunch, ranging from 82.47% to 94.76%. Despite the higher-than-average spending per student, ranging from $16,426 to $18,403 per year, the schools are not seeing commensurate improvements in academic performance. This suggests that simply increasing funding may not be the sole solution to the systemic challenges these schools are facing.
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