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What do students at East High School actually talk about outside of class?
Community prompt from u/allk12. Replies below.
Enrollment
1,952
High
DISTRICT 1,512 · STATE 468
SCHOOL COMMUNITY·DES MOINES INDEPENDENT COMM SCHOOL DISTRICT·NCES 190897000528
East High School
815 E 13th St, Des Moines, IA 50316 · (515) 242-7788 · Polk County
GRADES 09–12HIGH12-CITYTITLE IREGULAR SCHOOL1,952 STUDENTS
F
allk12 Grade
Scored higher than 1% of Iowa public high schools
- FTest scores Share of students meeting the state standard in reading, math, and other tested subjects, 2023-24 and 2024-25.
- FBeats expectations How far test scores land above or below what the share of low-income students predicts for a school in this state.
Grades compare a school only with schools in the same state, because every state gives its own test. How grades work · Top-graded Iowa public high schools
Student : Teacher
21.8:1
89 FTE teachers
DISTRICT 24.0:1 · STATE 17.3:1
Free / Reduced Lunch
78%
1,530 students
DISTRICT 76% · STATE 41%
Community
6
0 members
Enrollment and student:teacher ratio compared against other high schools. Free/Reduced Lunch and demographics compared against all schools.
Enrollment by grade, 2024-25
| Grade | Students | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Grade 9 | 461 | 24% |
| Grade 10 | 457 | 23% |
| Grade 11 | 507 | 26% |
| Grade 12 | 527 | 27% |
Student demographics
69%Diversity index
The chance that two students picked at random belong to different racial or ethnic groups.
DISTRICT 74% · STATE 48% · US 70%
Student head counts by race/ethnicity from federal NCES enrollment data. District, state, and US figures are each group's share of all public school students in that area (US excludes territories). Very small groups may be suppressed in the source, so categories do not always sum exactly to total enrollment.
Gender split
Test scores
ISASP 2024-25 . % ProficientEnglish Language Arts
45.4%
IA avg 73.6% . +1.0pp since 2023
Math
35.6%
IA avg 70.9% . +2.3pp since 2023
What this means: On the ISASP, Iowa's statewide test, about 45 of every 100 students at this school read and write at grade level and about 36 of 100 do math at grade level. Across all Iowa schools, those numbers are about 74 and 71. Reading and writing scores are up about 1 points since 2023, while math scores are up about 2 points.
ISASP results by year
| School year | English Language Arts | Math |
|---|---|---|
| 2024-25 | 45.4% | 35.6% |
| 2023-24 | 44.4% | 33.3% |
% Proficient, all students and all tested grades.
Source: ISASP. All students, all grades. See all years and grades →
BeatsExpectations
Demographically-adjusted score · methodologyTier
UNDERPERFORMING
Bottom 10% of IA schools after controlling for student poverty
Actual proficiency
38.3%
composite math + reading, all grades
Predicted
52.7%
based on IA schools with similar FRL share
Beats by
-14.5pp
below demographic expectation
What this means: About 38% of students here test proficient in math and reading, below the roughly 53% typical for Iowa schools with a similar share of low-income students. BeatsExpectations compares each school with others at the same poverty level, not by raw scores, so a school lands here when its results trail those comparable schools, which is not the same as having low scores. A higher-scoring school can still fall in this tier if similar schools score higher still.
BeatsExpectations runs a per-state regression of proficiency on free/reduced-lunch share, then scores each school by residual. How this is calculated →
Schools most like East High School
East High School's state test result (38.3% proficient) is higher than 0 of the 5 schools below with a result.
| School | Students | Low-income | Proficient |
|---|---|---|---|
| East High School this school | 1,952 | 78.4% | 38.3% |
| Lincoln High School Des Moines | 2,364 | 74.9% | 41.1% |
| North High School Des Moines | 1,428 | 84.0% | 39.1% |
| North High School Sioux City | 1,529 | 63.2% | 54.4% |
| Marshalltown High School Marshalltown | 1,629 | 72.6% | 54.6% |
| Valley High School West Des Moines | 2,178 | 68.0% | 65.5% |
Matched among Iowa high schools on enrollment, the share of students from low-income families (eligible for free or reduced-price lunch), and racial and ethnic makeup. Proficient is the average share of students meeting the state standard across all of the school's state tests in 2023-24 and 2024-25, the same combined score our test-score rankings use. Online schools and schools serving specialized populations are not matched.
Where East High School ranks
Among high schools| Measure | This school | In Iowa | In Polk County |
|---|---|---|---|
| State test proficiency ranked highest first | 38.3% | #312 of 313 | #18 of 18 |
| Math proficiency ranked highest first | 35.6% | #313 of 314 ▼ 1 | #18 of 18 no change |
| Reading proficiency ranked highest first | 45.4% | #312 of 314 no change | #17 of 18 ▲ 1 |
| Enrollment ranked largest first | 1,952 | #5 of 340 | #4 of 20 |
| Students per teacher ranked fewest first | 21.8:1 | #256 of 259 | #16 of 18 |
| Diversity index ranked most diverse first | 69.4% | #7 of 260 | #5 of 18 |
| Free and reduced lunch ranked highest share first | 78.4% | #6 of 320 | #3 of 19 |
| Enrollment change since 2017-18 ranked steepest decline first | -12.7% | #45 of 125 | N/A |
Ranked against other public high schools. Online schools are left out of every list, and test-score lists leave out schools that serve specialized populations. Each rank links to the full list. Arrows under a test-score rank show places moved since the prior test year, among schools tested both years.
4-year change
SY 2020-21 vs SY 2024-25Enrollment
1,952
-252 (-11%) vs 2020
+7% since 1990-91, when it was 1,828
Student : Teacher
21.8:1
was 22.7:1
Source: NCES Common Core of Data
Enrollment and staffing by year
| School year | Students | Teachers (FTE) | Students per teacher | Free and reduced lunch |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024-25 | 1,952 | 89.4 | 21.8:1 | 78% (1,530) |
| 2023-24 | 2,014 | 85.5 | 23.6:1 | 69% (1,399) |
| 2022-23 | 2,040 | 94.2 | 21.7:1 | 79% (1,605) |
| 2020-21 | 2,204 | 97 | 22.7:1 | 82% (1,815) |
| 2017-18 | 2,236 | 115.6 | 19.3:1 | 81% (1,803) |
| 2015-16 | 2,307 | 128 | 18.0:1 | 75% (1,739) |
| 2010-11 | 2,268 | 117 | 19.4:1 | 72% (1,632) |
| 2000-01 | 1,667 | 109 | 15.3:1 | 41% (683) |
| 1990-91 | 1,828 | 124 | 14.7:1 | N/A |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data. Rows are the federal collections on file for East High School.
Since 2017-18: students down 13% (2,236 to 1,952); teachers down 23% (115.6 to 89.4).
About East High School
East High School serves students in Des Moines, Iowa, as a large high school. Grades offered run from 9 through 12, with 1,952 students enrolled. For comparison, high schools in Iowa average about 468 students.
Des Moines Independent Comm School District has a total of 59 schools and 29,676 students, East High School among them.
At East High School, the largest share of students is Hispanic, at 46%. Next come 25% White, 17% Black, 7% Asian, and 5% multiracial. The county population is about 10% Hispanic. East High School's diversity index is 69%, against a US figure of 70%.
East High School counts 89.4 full-time-equivalent teachers, about 21.8 students for each one. This ratio sits 4.5 above the 17.3:1 average for high schools in Iowa. About 78% of students at the school meet free or reduced-price lunch income limits. Among public schools in Polk County, the average eligibility rate is 49%.
allk12 grades East High School an F. The grade compares the school only with Iowa public high schools, because each state gives its own test.
In Iowa, East High School is one of the bottom 10% of schools on BeatsExpectations, with an average proficiency rate on state tests of 38.3% compared with a predicted 52.7%.
Census Bureau estimates for Polk County show that the median household income is $83,576, 40% of adults hold a bachelor's degree or higher, and about 7% of people live in poverty. East High School is one of 137 public schools in the county.
Hiatt Middle School is located about 0.3 miles from East High School. Around the school, at least 8 other public schools are within five miles. In a group of 9 nearby schools with scores, East High School ranks 8th on average proficiency.
NCES describes the area around East High School as City: Mid-size, meaning inside a principal city with a population between 100,000 and 250,000.
Over 4 years, East High School's enrollment dropped 11%, to 1,952.
Families, students, and staff can use this page to discuss school safety, transportation, and start times at East High School. Alumni can share how the school prepared them.
Polk County at a glance
View full county profilePopulation
503,175
Census ACS
Median income
$83,576
Household, ACS
Bachelor's+
40%
Adults 25+
Poverty rate
7%
Below federal line
Schools in county
137
77,436 students
Quick facts
Related schools
Other schools in Des Moines Independent Comm School District
- Lincoln High SchoolHigh · 2,364 students
- Roosevelt High SchoolHigh · 2,051 students
- North High SchoolHigh · 1,428 students
- Hoover High SchoolHigh · 898 students
- Weeks Middle SchoolMiddle · 688 students
- McCombs Middle SchoolMiddle · 670 students
Other schools in Des Moines
- Lincoln High SchoolHigh · 2,364 students
- Roosevelt High SchoolHigh · 2,051 students
- North High SchoolHigh · 1,428 students
- Hoover High SchoolHigh · 898 students
- Weeks Middle SchoolMiddle · 688 students
- McCombs Middle SchoolMiddle · 670 students
Other East High schools
19 other US public schools in 11 states are named East High. East High School is the 4th largest of the 20.
- East High SchoolSioux City, IA · 1,495 students
- East High SchoolWaterloo, IA · 1,016 students
- East High SchoolAurora, IL · 4,020 students
- East High SchoolDENVER, CO · 2,476 students
- East HighWichita, KS · 2,435 students
Nearby schools
- Hiatt Middle School0.3 mi · 488
- Capitol View Elementary School0.5 mi · 533
- Carver Elementary0.6 mi · 436
- Moulton Elementary School1.6 mi · 465
- McKinley Elementary School1.6 mi · 275
- Walnut Street School1.7 mi · 257
Frequently asked questions
About East High SchoolHow many students attend East High School?
East High School enrolls approximately 1,952 students in grades 09-12.
What grades does East High School serve?
East High School serves grades 09-12.
What is the student-teacher ratio at East High School?
The student-to-teacher ratio at East High School is approximately 21.8:1 (89 FTE teachers).
What is the student diversity at East High School?
Student demographics at East High School are roughly 25% White, 46% Hispanic, 17% Black, 7% Asian, 5% Two or more.
Is East High School public or private?
East High School is a public K-12 school, overseen by Des Moines Independent Comm School District.
Data sourceSchool profile facts are sourced from the NCES. Community content is posted by allk12 members.