The top reported proficiency rate is 78% in Math. The lowest is 66% in Science.
Original Research by School Decision on Jefferson Elementary School
Jefferson Elementary School serves kindergarten through fifth grade in the Des Moines Independent Community School District, the state’s largest school system. It is a regular public school, not a charter or magnet, and sits in a residential area of Iowa’s capital city. Des Moines is both the seat of state government and a major center for insurance and financial services, with employers such as Principal Financial Group, Wellmark Blue Cross Blue Shield, and Wells Fargo operating in the metro. The city has a large park system, trails, and downtown cultural anchors, including the Iowa State Capitol, the Des Moines Art Center, and the World Food Prize Hall of Laureates.
The school’s enrollment centers on an elementary-aged population of a moderate size for a neighborhood school. The student body is predominantly white, with smaller shares of Hispanic, Black, and multiracial students, and a very small Asian student presence. A substantial share of students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, indicating a cohort of families with lower household incomes. Data on the percentage of students with individualized education programs or English learner status was not available in the state data, which is a gap a parent may want to check directly with the school.
State assessment results from the Iowa Statewide Assessment of Student Progress place Jefferson Elementary’s performance in a middle range when compared with other elementary schools in the Des Moines district and across Polk County. Proficiency rates in English language arts and math both stood in the upper portion of the scale, while science proficiency was lower. The unified proficiency index that combines these subjects sits below the midpoint among districts in Polk County, a comparison set that includes a wide spread of outcomes from lower-performing to high-performing districts. The school’s participation rate on the tests was high, meaning the results reflect nearly all enrolled students.
Jefferson Elementary serves only early grades, so it does not produce a four-year graduation rate—that metric applies only to high schools. No chronic absenteeism data was reported for this school in the state data. The school has no reported discipline or staffing breakdowns, and no course-access information is relevant for an elementary that does not offer high school-level coursework. Parents looking for data on class sizes, teacher experience, or special education staffing will need to request that directly from the school or the district.
The Des Moines Independent Community School District has not provided a recent district brief for this profile, so no information about district-level initiatives, recent budget changes, or boundary adjustments was available to include. The school itself has no listed magnet, Title I, or special program designations in the state directory. A family considering Jefferson Elementary would be choosing a neighborhood school with standard elementary programming in a mid-sized urban district. The housing in the school’s zip code has home values above the statewide average, which may signal a relatively stable or desirable pocket of the city. Rental prices in the area sit at a moderate level compared to typical incomes.
For a parent, Jefferson Elementary offers a straightforward elementary experience within a large district, with test results that are solid in reading and math and softer in science—something to inquire about, perhaps related to curriculum or instruction time in the early grades. The school’s student composition and economic mix are rooted in its immediate neighborhood. The absence of certain metrics, such as special education rates, discipline data, and chronic absenteeism, leaves some important dimensions of school life unreported in the public data. A visit and conversation with the principal would fill in those blanks.
See more original research from School Decision →