Summary:
The 50309 zip code area of Des Moines, Iowa is home to 3 schools - 2 elementary schools (Walnut Street School and Downtown School) and 1 high school (Virtual Campus). Based on the data, Downtown School stands out as the highest-performing school in the area, consistently ranking among the top elementary schools in Iowa and earning strong test scores across English Language Arts, Math, and Science.
Downtown School's 5th grade students scored significantly higher than the Des Moines Independent Community School District and state averages, with 84.2% proficient or better in ELA, 73.7% in Math, and 71.1% in Science. In contrast, Virtual Campus lags behind the district and state, with proficiency rates often 10-20 percentage points lower. Walnut Street School performs closer to the district average, but still below the state.
While Downtown School spends less per student than Walnut Street, it has a lower student-teacher ratio and serves a more affluent student population, with only 25.1% of students receiving free/reduced lunch compared to 65.43% at Walnut Street and 79.49% at Virtual Campus. These factors likely contribute to the stark differences in academic performance between the schools in this zip code area.
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