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Teachers: what resource would make the biggest difference at Hoyt Middle School this year?
Community prompt from u/allk12. Replies below.
Enrollment
455
Middle
DISTRICT 593 · STATE 400
SCHOOL COMMUNITY·DES MOINES INDEPENDENT COMM SCHOOL DISTRICT·NCES 190897000545
Hoyt Middle School
2700 E 42nd St, Des Moines, IA 50317 · (515) 242-8446 · Polk County
GRADES 06–08MIDDLE12-CITYTITLE IREGULAR SCHOOL455 STUDENTS
F
allk12 Grade
Scored higher than 4% of Iowa public middle schools
- FTest scores Share of students meeting the state standard in reading, math, and other tested subjects, 2023-24 and 2024-25.
- DBeats 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 middle schools
Student : Teacher
15.8:1
29 FTE teachers
DISTRICT 15.7:1 · STATE 15.2:1
Free / Reduced Lunch
83%
376 students
DISTRICT 76% · STATE 41%
Community
6
0 members
Enrollment and student:teacher ratio compared against other middle schools. Free/Reduced Lunch and demographics compared against all schools.
Enrollment by grade, 2024-25
| Grade | Students | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Grade 6 | 140 | 31% |
| Grade 7 | 157 | 35% |
| Grade 8 | 158 | 35% |
Student demographics
71%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
43.9%
IA avg 73.6% . -5.6pp since 2023
Math
40.2%
IA avg 70.9% . +1.6pp since 2023
What this means: On the ISASP, Iowa's statewide test, about 44 of every 100 students at this school read and write at grade level and about 40 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 up about 2 points.
ISASP results by year
| School year | English Language Arts | Math |
|---|---|---|
| 2024-25 | 43.9% | 40.2% |
| 2023-24 | 49.5% | 38.6% |
% 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
42.8%
composite math + reading, all grades
Predicted
50.6%
based on IA schools with similar FRL share
Beats by
-7.8pp
below demographic expectation
What this means: About 43% of students here test proficient in math and reading, compared with the roughly 51% 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 Hoyt Middle School
Hoyt Middle School's state test result (42.8% proficient) is higher than 1 of the 5 schools below with a result.
| School | Students | Low-income | Proficient |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hoyt Middle School this school | 455 | 82.6% | 42.8% |
| Goodrell Middle School Des Moines | 511 | 84.7% | 42.4% |
| McCombs Middle School Des Moines | 670 | 83.3% | 54.0% |
| Bunger Middle School Evansdale | 440 | 74.5% | 58.3% |
| Brody Middle School Des Moines | 641 | 71.3% | 51.3% |
| West Middle School Sioux City | 826 | 78.8% | 62.7% |
Matched among Iowa middle 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 Hoyt Middle School ranks
Among middle schools| Measure | This school | In Iowa | In Polk County |
|---|---|---|---|
| State test proficiency ranked highest first | 42.8% | #220 of 224 | #18 of 21 |
| Math proficiency ranked highest first | 40.2% | #220 of 224 no change | #19 of 21 ▼ 1 |
| Reading proficiency ranked highest first | 43.9% | #222 of 224 ▼ 5 | #20 of 21 ▼ 3 |
| Enrollment ranked largest first | 455 | #79 of 246 | #18 of 21 |
| Students per teacher ranked fewest first | 15.8:1 | #145 of 180 | #15 of 21 |
| Diversity index ranked most diverse first | 70.9% | #11 of 180 | #7 of 21 |
| Free and reduced lunch ranked highest share first | 82.6% | #9 of 237 | #6 of 21 |
| Enrollment change since 2017-18 ranked steepest decline first | -23.9% | #15 of 103 | #2 of 14 |
Ranked against other public middle 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
455
-163 (-26%) vs 2020
-19% since 1990-91, when it was 563
Student : Teacher
15.8:1
was 14.4:1
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 | 455 | 28.8 | 15.8:1 | 83% (376) |
| 2023-24 | 486 | 31.1 | 15.6:1 | 71% (344) |
| 2022-23 | 486 | 29.2 | 16.6:1 | 80% (388) |
| 2020-21 | 618 | 43 | 14.4:1 | 78% (479) |
| 2017-18 | 598 | 39.4 | 15.2:1 | 76% (455) |
| 2015-16 | 510 | 39 | 13.1:1 | 80% (410) |
| 2010-11 | 580 | 46 | 12.6:1 | 83% (481) |
| 2000-01 | 600 | 41 | 14.6:1 | 53% (317) |
| 1990-91 | 563 | 37 | 15.2:1 | N/A |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data. Rows are the federal collections on file for Hoyt Middle School.
Since 2017-18: students down 24% (598 to 455); teachers down 27% (39.4 to 28.8).
About Hoyt Middle School
Students in Des Moines, Iowa, attend Hoyt Middle School, a medium-sized middle school. The school's enrollment of 455 students covers grades 6 through 8.
Des Moines Independent Comm School District has 59 schools; together they serve 29,676 students.
Hoyt Middle School has no majority group; White students are the largest, at 38%. Other students are 32% Hispanic, 18% Black, 5% multiracial, and 5% Asian. By comparison, Polk County residents are about 76% White. The school's diversity index is 71%, meaning two students picked at random have a 71% chance of belonging to different racial or ethnic groups.
The teaching staff at Hoyt Middle School is 28.8 full-time-equivalent teachers, and the ratio is 15.8:1. That matches the 15.2:1 average for middle schools in Iowa fairly closely. About 83% of students, or 376, qualify for free or reduced-price lunch. That rate is above the 49% average among public schools in Polk County.
Measured against Iowa public middle schools, Hoyt Middle School receives an F. The grade weighs proficiency most heavily, then how results compare with what the school's low-income share predicts, then the three-year change.
Hoyt Middle School's average proficiency rate on state tests of 42.8% is 7.8 points below the 50.6% the model predicts from its lunch-eligibility share.
Polk County has about 503,175 residents, and the median household income is $83,576, 40% of adults hold a bachelor's degree or higher, and about 7% of residents live below the federal poverty line. Besides Hoyt Middle School, Polk County has 136 other public schools.
Nearest public school: Brubaker Elementary School, less than a tenth of a mile away. Within five miles are at least 8 other public schools. Compared with its nearest neighbors, Hoyt Middle School ranks 5th of 8 on average proficiency.
Hoyt Middle School is coded as City: Mid-size in federal locale data.
Enrollment has fallen by 163 students since 2020-21, to 455. By 2024-25, the school had 15.8 students per teacher, compared with 14.4 in 2020-21.
Community posts for Hoyt Middle School can cover school safety, transportation, and start times. Questions from prospective families are welcome too.
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
- Brubaker Elementary School0.1 mi · 622
- McKee Elementary School0.5 mi · 235
- Stowe Elementary School1.3 mi · 297
- Delaware Elementary1.5 mi · 440
- Goodrell Middle School1.6 mi · 511
- Garton Elementary2.1 mi · 535
Frequently asked questions
About Hoyt Middle SchoolHow many students attend Hoyt Middle School?
Hoyt Middle School enrolls approximately 455 students in grades 06-08.
Is Hoyt Middle School an elementary, middle, or high school?
Hoyt Middle School is a middle school covering grades 06-08.
How many students per teacher at Hoyt Middle School?
Approximately 15.8:1 students per teacher at Hoyt Middle School.
What is the racial breakdown of students at Hoyt Middle School?
At Hoyt Middle School, the student body is approximately 38% White, 32% Hispanic, 18% Black, 5% Asian, 5% Two or more.
Is Hoyt Middle School public or private?
Hoyt Middle 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.