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Does McCombs Middle School have enough mental health and stress support?
Community prompt from u/allk12. Replies below.
Enrollment
670
Middle
DISTRICT 593 · STATE 400
SCHOOL COMMUNITY·DES MOINES INDEPENDENT COMM SCHOOL DISTRICT·NCES 190897000557
McCombs Middle School
201 SW County Line Rd, Des Moines, IA 50320 · (515) 242-8447 · Polk County
GRADES 06–08MIDDLE12-CITYTITLE IREGULAR SCHOOL670 STUDENTS
Student : Teacher
16.8:1
40 FTE teachers
DISTRICT 15.7:1 · STATE 15.2:1
Free / Reduced Lunch
83%
558 students
DISTRICT 76% · STATE 41%
Community
5
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 | 224 | 33% |
| Grade 7 | 225 | 34% |
| Grade 8 | 221 | 33% |
Student demographics
72%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
55.5%
IA avg 73.6% . -2.4pp since 2023
Math
55.5%
IA avg 70.9% . +2.8pp since 2023
What this means: On the ISASP, Iowa's statewide test, about 56 of every 100 students at this school read and write at grade level and about 56 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 2 points since 2023, while math scores are up about 3 points.
ISASP results by year
| School year | English Language Arts | Math |
|---|---|---|
| 2024-25 | 55.5% | 55.5% |
| 2023-24 | 57.9% | 52.7% |
% 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
54.0%
composite math + reading, all grades
Predicted
50.3%
based on IA schools with similar FRL share
Beats by
+3.7pp
above demographic expectation
What this means: About 54% of students here test proficient in math and reading, compared with the roughly 50% 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 McCombs Middle School
McCombs Middle School's state test result (54.0% proficient) is higher than 5 of the 5 schools below with a result.
| School | Students | Low-income | Proficient |
|---|---|---|---|
| McCombs Middle School this school | 670 | 83.3% | 54.0% |
| Goodrell Middle School Des Moines | 511 | 84.7% | 42.4% |
| Hoyt Middle School Des Moines | 455 | 82.6% | 42.8% |
| Harding Middle School Des Moines | 603 | 88.6% | 39.9% |
| Hiatt Middle School Des Moines | 488 | 93.4% | 36.2% |
| Weeks Middle School Des Moines | 688 | 87.4% | 42.8% |
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 McCombs Middle School ranks
Among middle schools| Measure | This school | In Iowa | In Polk County |
|---|---|---|---|
| State test proficiency ranked highest first | 54.0% | #202 of 224 | #13 of 21 |
| Math proficiency ranked highest first | 55.5% | #199 of 224 no change | #13 of 21 no change |
| Reading proficiency ranked highest first | 55.5% | #208 of 224 ▼ 4 | #14 of 21 ▼ 1 |
| Enrollment ranked largest first | 670 | #38 of 246 | #7 of 21 |
| Students per teacher ranked fewest first | 16.8:1 | #161 of 180 | #21 of 21 |
| Diversity index ranked most diverse first | 72.4% | #8 of 180 | #6 of 21 |
| Free and reduced lunch ranked highest share first | 83.3% | #8 of 237 | #5 of 21 |
| Enrollment change since 2017-18 ranked steepest decline first | -8.6% | #71 of 103 | #9 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
670
-77 (-10%) vs 2020
+11% since 1990-91, when it was 606
Student : Teacher
16.8:1
was 15.9:1
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 | 670 | 39.8 | 16.8:1 | 83% (558) |
| 2023-24 | 644 | 39.8 | 16.2:1 | 77% (496) |
| 2022-23 | 654 | 43 | 15.2:1 | 84% (547) |
| 2020-21 | 747 | 47 | 15.9:1 | 85% (633) |
| 2017-18 | 733 | 47.3 | 15.5:1 | 81% (593) |
| 2015-16 | 691 | 45 | 15.4:1 | 81% (563) |
| 2010-11 | 626 | 33 | 19.0:1 | 69% (435) |
| 2000-01 | 590 | 40 | 14.8:1 | 41% (242) |
| 1990-91 | 606 | 35 | 17.3:1 | N/A |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data. Rows are the federal collections on file for McCombs Middle School.
Since 2017-18: students down 9% (733 to 670); teachers down 16% (47.3 to 39.8).
About McCombs Middle School
McCombs Middle School is classified as a middle school. It is located in Des Moines, Iowa. The school enrolls 670 students, from grades 6 through 8. Average enrollment for middle schools in Iowa is about 400, so this school runs 68% bigger than that.
Des Moines Independent Comm School District runs 59 schools with a combined 29,676 students. McCombs Middle School is one of them.
McCombs Middle School has no majority group; Hispanic students are the largest, at 39%. Other reported shares: 25% White, 23% Black, 7% Asian, and 6% multiracial. That compares with about 10% Hispanic among all Polk County residents. The school's diversity index is 72%, meaning two students picked at random have a 72% chance of belonging to different racial or ethnic groups.
Teacher staffing is 39.8 full-time equivalents, or about 16.8 students per teacher. On average, middle schools in Iowa have 15.2:1, compared with 16.8:1 here. About 83% of students, or 558, qualify for free or reduced-price lunch. Public schools in Polk County average 49%.
McCombs Middle School is 3.7 points above its predicted average proficiency rate on state tests (54.0% versus 50.3%), which places it in neither the top nor the bottom 10% in Iowa.
Census estimates describe Polk County this way: the median household income is $83,576, the share of adults with a bachelor's degree or higher is 40%, and about 7% of people live in poverty. Besides McCombs Middle School, Polk County has 136 other public schools.
Nearest public school: Studebaker Elementary School, about 0.4 miles away. A five-mile radius around the school includes at least 8 other public schools. McCombs Middle School ranks 2nd of 8 among nearby schools on average proficiency, with 54.0% against a local average of 49.0%.
On the NCES locale scale, the school is City: Mid-size.
Enrollment at McCombs Middle School dropped 10% between 2020-21 and 2024-25, from 747 to 670 students.
Discussions about McCombs Middle School may include school events, clubs, and volunteer needs. 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
- Studebaker Elementary School0.4 mi · 561
- Morris Elementary School1.2 mi · 519
- Mitchell Early Childhood Center1.4 mi · 292
- Lovejoy Elementary School1.6 mi · 394
- Wright Elementary School1.9 mi · 265
- South Union Elementary School2.2 mi · 422
Frequently asked questions
About McCombs Middle SchoolHow many students attend McCombs Middle School?
McCombs Middle School enrolls approximately 670 students in grades 06-08.
What grades does McCombs Middle School serve?
McCombs Middle School serves grades 06-08.
How many students per teacher at McCombs Middle School?
Approximately 16.8:1 students per teacher at McCombs Middle School.
How diverse is McCombs Middle School?
McCombs Middle School reports a student body of 25% White, 39% Hispanic, 23% Black, 7% Asian, 6% Two or more.
Who oversees McCombs Middle School?
McCombs Middle School is overseen by Des Moines Independent Comm School District in Polk County.
Data sourceSchool profile facts are sourced from the NCES. Community content is posted by allk12 members.