The top reported proficiency rate is 46% in English language arts. The lowest is 37% in Science.
Original Research by School Decision on Wright Elementary School
Wright Elementary School is a regular public elementary school in the Des Moines Independent Community School District, serving kindergarten through fifth grade. Located in Iowa’s capital and largest city, the school sits within a district that covers a broad, economically diverse urban area. Des Moines itself is a major insurance and financial services hub, home to Principal Financial Group and Wellmark Blue Cross Blue Shield, among other large employers. The city has seen steady metropolitan growth and recent investment from major tech companies in data-processing facilities, though the school’s surrounding housing market shows home values below the state average.
The school’s student body is diverse. White students make up the largest share, followed by a substantial Hispanic population and smaller groups of Black, multiracial, and Asian students. More than two-thirds of students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, a rate that signals a high level of economic need across the school community.
On the Iowa Statewide Assessment of Student Progress (ISASP), Wright’s overall proficiency across tested subjects falls in the bottom quartile when compared to other districts within Polk County. In English language arts, just under half of students scored at the proficient level. Math proficiency was a little lower, and science proficiency was lower still, with just over a third of students meeting the bar. These are the school’s baseline results for the 2024-25 school year, and because only a single year of data was available, there is no trend line to indicate whether performance is improving or declining. A parent may want to ask the school about any academic improvement initiatives underway.
The school serves only elementary grades, so there is no graduation rate to report. Chronic absenteeism data was also not available in the record. Information on special education and English learner populations was missing from the available data, which means a parent of a child with an IEP or a multilingual learner would need to contact the school directly to understand the support structures in place.
Program offerings at the school level were not provided in the data, so there is no detail on enrichment, arts, or extracurricular access from this source. The Des Moines district is large and does offer a range of programming across its schools, but whether Wright Elementary has its own specialty programs or partnerships is something a family would need to investigate with the school office.
The neighborhood around the school, in southwest Des Moines, reflects the city’s mix of older residential areas and commercial corridors. Housing in the zip code is more affordable than both the state and national medians, and rents are moderate relative to incomes, which may be a consideration for families moving into the attendance zone. The city itself has extensive parkland and trail systems, though specific walkability scores for this particular area were not available.
For a family considering Wright Elementary, the picture is one of a school serving a high-need population with academic performance that trails most other Polk County districts. The student body is diverse, the setting is urban, and the housing is relatively accessible. The missing data on special programs and student support services means a direct visit and conversation with school leadership would be especially valuable to fill in the gaps that the available records leave open.
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