Enrollment
279
Elementary
DISTRICT 347 · STATE 325
SCHOOL COMMUNITY·DES MOINES INDEPENDENT COMM SCHOOL DISTRICT·NCES 190897000541
Hillis Elementary School
2401 56th St, Des Moines, IA 50310 · (515) 242-8412 · Polk County
GRADES KG–05ELEMENTARY12-CITYTITLE IREGULAR SCHOOL279 STUDENTS
Student : Teacher
11.4:1
24 FTE teachers
DISTRICT 13.3:1 · STATE 13.7:1
Free / Reduced Lunch
76%
213 students
DISTRICT 76% · STATE 41%
Community
0
0 members
Enrollment and student:teacher ratio compared against other elementary schools. Free/Reduced Lunch and demographics compared against all schools.
Enrollment by grade, 2024-25
| Grade | Students | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Kindergarten | 37 | 13% |
| Grade 1 | 40 | 14% |
| Grade 2 | 56 | 20% |
| Grade 3 | 47 | 17% |
| Grade 4 | 52 | 19% |
| Grade 5 | 47 | 17% |
This year's kindergarten class (37) is 21% smaller than its 5th grade class (47).
Student demographics
75%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
43.4%
IA avg 73.6% . -6.2pp since 2023
Math
47.3%
IA avg 70.9% . -9.9pp since 2023
What this means: On the ISASP, Iowa's statewide test, about 43 of every 100 students at this school read and write at grade level and about 47 of 100 do math at grade level. Across all Iowa schools, those numbers are about 74 and 71. Reading and writing scores are down about 6 points since 2023, while math scores are down about 10 points.
ISASP results by year
| School year | English Language Arts | Math |
|---|---|---|
| 2024-25 | 43.4% | 47.3% |
| 2023-24 | 49.6% | 57.2% |
% Proficient, all students and all tested grades.
Source: ISASP. All students, all grades. See all years and grades →
BeatsExpectations
Demographically-adjusted score · methodologyTier
AS EXPECTED
Performing as predicted given the school's student profile
Actual proficiency
47.5%
composite math + reading, all grades
Predicted
53.8%
based on IA schools with similar FRL share
Beats by
-6.3pp
below demographic expectation
What this means: About 48% of students here test proficient in math and reading, compared with the roughly 54% typical for Iowa schools with a similar share of low-income students. BeatsExpectations measures results against demographically similar schools rather than by raw scores, and this school falls within the typical range, neither among Iowa's top nor bottom 10%.
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 Hillis Elementary School
Hillis Elementary School's state test result (47.5% proficient) is higher than 2 of the 4 schools below with a result.
| School | Students | Low-income | Proficient |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hillis Elementary School this school | 279 | 76.3% | 47.5% |
| Moore Elementary School Des Moines | 285 | 67.0% | 48.5% |
| Oak Park Des Moines | 288 | 78.5% | 38.9% |
| Mitchell Early Childhood Center Des Moines | 292 | 67.1% | N/A |
| Cattell Elementary School Des Moines | 314 | 86.3% | 51.8% |
| Findley Elementary School Des Moines | 324 | 85.2% | 43.9% |
Matched among Iowa elementary 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 Hillis Elementary School ranks
Among elementary schools| Measure | This school | In Iowa | In Polk County |
|---|---|---|---|
| State test proficiency ranked highest first | 47.5% | #519 of 564 | #57 of 78 |
| Math proficiency ranked highest first | 47.3% | #533 of 564 ▼ 42 | #64 of 78 ▼ 9 |
| Reading proficiency ranked highest first | 43.4% | #543 of 564 ▼ 41 | #69 of 78 ▼ 15 |
| Enrollment ranked largest first | 279 | #425 of 705 | #73 of 89 |
| Students per teacher ranked fewest first | 11.4:1 | #62 of 561 | #6 of 86 |
| Diversity index ranked most diverse first | 74.6% | #19 of 561 | #11 of 86 |
| Free and reduced lunch ranked highest share first | 76.3% | #52 of 666 | #30 of 89 |
| Enrollment change since 2017-18 ranked steepest decline first | -24.6% | #61 of 359 | #9 of 64 |
Ranked against other public elementary 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
279
-34 (-11%) vs 2020
-28% since 1990-91, when it was 390
Student : Teacher
11.4:1
was 11.6:1
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 | 279 | 24.4 | 11.4:1 | 76% (213) |
| 2023-24 | 291 | 24.1 | 12.1:1 | 64% (186) |
| 2022-23 | 305 | 24.1 | 12.7:1 | 79% (242) |
| 2020-21 | 313 | 27 | 11.6:1 | 78% (244) |
| 2017-18 | 370 | 28 | 13.2:1 | 74% (273) |
| 2015-16 | 447 | 33 | 13.6:1 | 70% (315) |
| 2010-11 | 471 | 30 | 15.7:1 | 57% (270) |
| 2000-01 | 461 | 30 | 15.4:1 | 35% (161) |
| 1990-91 | 390 | 29 | 13.4:1 | N/A |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data. Rows are the federal collections on file for Hillis Elementary School.
Since 2017-18: students down 25% (370 to 279); teachers down 13% (28 to 24.4).
About Hillis Elementary School
Hillis Elementary School is a mid-sized elementary school located in Des Moines, Iowa. The school runs kindergarten through 5 and enrolls 279 students.
Federal data list 59 schools in Des Moines Independent Comm School District, with 29,676 students enrolled.
About 36% of students at Hillis Elementary School are White, the largest single group. Other reported shares: 25% Hispanic, 22% Black, 10% Asian, and 7% multiracial. Polk County's residents are about 76% White, 40 points above the school's share. On a 0 to 100 scale, the school's diversity index is 75, compared with 70 nationally.
Hillis Elementary School has a student-to-teacher ratio of 11.4:1, with 24.4 full-time-equivalent teachers. The average for elementary schools in Iowa, 13.7:1, is higher. A common income measure, free or reduced-price lunch eligibility, is 76% at Hillis Elementary School. The average for public schools in Polk County is 49%.
On BeatsExpectations, Hillis Elementary School is 6.3 points below its prediction, a result in the middle 80% of Iowa schools.
The school's county is Polk County. According to Census Bureau estimates, the median household earns about $83,576 a year, a bachelor's degree or higher is held by about 40% of adults, and the share of residents below the poverty line is 7%. Public schools in Polk County number 137, with about 77,436 students.
Among nearby public schools, Horizon Science Academy Des Moines is closest at about 0.6 miles. In all, at least 8 other public schools sit within five miles of Hillis Elementary School. Hillis Elementary School places 8th of 9 on proficiency among the closest schools that report scores.
Hillis Elementary School falls in the City: Mid-size locale category, used for schools inside a principal city with a population between 100,000 and 250,000.
The 2020-21-to-2024-25 change in enrollment was an 11% decline, from 313 to 279.
Hillis Elementary School has a community page on allk12 for topics such as special education services, counseling, and support programs. You can also rate the school on this page.
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
- East High SchoolHigh · 1,952 students
- North High SchoolHigh · 1,428 students
- Hoover High SchoolHigh · 898 students
- Weeks Middle SchoolMiddle · 688 students
Other schools in Des Moines
- Lincoln High SchoolHigh · 2,364 students
- Roosevelt High SchoolHigh · 2,051 students
- East High SchoolHigh · 1,952 students
- North High SchoolHigh · 1,428 students
- Hoover High SchoolHigh · 898 students
- Weeks Middle SchoolMiddle · 688 students
Nearby schools
- Horizon Science Academy Des Moines0.6 mi · 150
- Cowles Elementary School0.8 mi · 392
- Moore Elementary School0.9 mi · 285
- Perkins Elementary School1.0 mi · 438
- Windsor Elementary1.2 mi · 254
- Meredith Middle School1.4 mi · 662
Frequently asked questions
About Hillis Elementary SchoolHow many students attend Hillis Elementary School?
Hillis Elementary School enrolls approximately 279 students in grades KG-05.
What grades does Hillis Elementary School serve?
Hillis Elementary School serves grades KG-05.
What is the student-teacher ratio at Hillis Elementary School?
The student-to-teacher ratio at Hillis Elementary School is approximately 11.4:1 (24 FTE teachers).
What is the racial breakdown of students at Hillis Elementary School?
At Hillis Elementary School, the student body is approximately 36% White, 25% Hispanic, 22% Black, 10% Asian, 7% Two or more.
What district is Hillis Elementary School in?
Hillis Elementary School is part of Des Moines Independent Comm School District.
Data sourceSchool profile facts are sourced from the NCES. Community content is posted by allk12 members.