1
Does Samuelson Elementary School have enough mental health and stress support?
Community prompt from u/allk12. Replies below.
Enrollment
386
Elementary
DISTRICT 347 · STATE 325
SCHOOL COMMUNITY·DES MOINES INDEPENDENT COMM SCHOOL DISTRICT·NCES 190897002093
Samuelson Elementary School
3929 Bel-Aire Rd, Des Moines, IA 50310 · (515) 242-8441 · Polk County
GRADES KG–05ELEMENTARY12-CITYTITLE IREGULAR SCHOOL386 STUDENTS
D
allk12 Grade
Scored higher than 11% of Iowa public elementary schools
- DTest scores Share of students meeting the state standard in reading, math, and other tested subjects, 2023-24 and 2024-25.
- C-Beats 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 elementary schools
Student : Teacher
12.6:1
31 FTE teachers
DISTRICT 13.3:1 · STATE 13.7:1
Free / Reduced Lunch
79%
305 students
DISTRICT 76% · STATE 41%
Community
1
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 | 68 | 18% |
| Grade 1 | 61 | 16% |
| Grade 2 | 63 | 16% |
| Grade 3 | 63 | 16% |
| Grade 4 | 56 | 15% |
| Grade 5 | 75 | 19% |
This year's kindergarten class (68) is 9% smaller than its 5th grade class (75).
Student demographics
77%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
47.0%
IA avg 73.6% . -3.5pp since 2023
Math
51.2%
IA avg 70.9% . -6.4pp since 2023
What this means: On the ISASP, Iowa's statewide test, about 47 of every 100 students at this school read and write at grade level and about 51 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 4 points since 2023, while math scores are down about 6 points.
ISASP results by year
| School year | English Language Arts | Math |
|---|---|---|
| 2024-25 | 47.0% | 51.2% |
| 2023-24 | 50.5% | 57.6% |
% 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
48.5%
composite math + reading, all grades
Predicted
52.4%
based on IA schools with similar FRL share
Beats by
-3.9pp
below demographic expectation
What this means: About 49% of students here test proficient in math and reading, compared with the roughly 52% 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 Samuelson Elementary School
Samuelson Elementary School's state test result (48.5% proficient) is higher than 3 of the 4 schools below with a result.
| School | Students | Low-income | Proficient |
|---|---|---|---|
| Samuelson Elementary School this school | 386 | 79.0% | 48.5% |
| Woodlawn Early Childhood Center Des Moines | 216 | 73.6% | N/A |
| River Woods Elementary School Des Moines | 493 | 86.8% | 46.6% |
| Findley Elementary School Des Moines | 324 | 85.2% | 43.9% |
| J C Hoglan Elementary School Marshalltown | 337 | 76.0% | 69.3% |
| Monroe Elementary School Des Moines | 341 | 90.3% | 37.5% |
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 Samuelson Elementary School ranks
Among elementary schools| Measure | This school | In Iowa | In Polk County |
|---|---|---|---|
| State test proficiency ranked highest first | 48.5% | #509 of 564 | #53 of 78 |
| Math proficiency ranked highest first | 51.2% | #510 of 564 ▼ 25 | #56 of 78 ▼ 4 |
| Reading proficiency ranked highest first | 47.0% | #522 of 564 ▼ 29 | #60 of 78 ▼ 9 |
| Enrollment ranked largest first | 386 | #240 of 705 | #54 of 89 |
| Students per teacher ranked fewest first | 12.6:1 | #174 of 561 | #25 of 86 |
| Diversity index ranked most diverse first | 76.9% | #4 of 561 | #3 of 86 |
| Free and reduced lunch ranked highest share first | 79.0% | #45 of 666 | #27 of 89 |
| Enrollment change since 2017-18 ranked steepest decline first | -14.0% | #168 of 359 | #31 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
386
-47 (-11%) vs 2020
-20% since 2010-11, when it was 481
Student : Teacher
12.6:1
was 12.4:1
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 | 386 | 30.6 | 12.6:1 | 79% (305) |
| 2023-24 | 384 | 33.6 | 11.4:1 | 73% (280) |
| 2022-23 | 412 | 34.3 | 12.0:1 | 79% (325) |
| 2020-21 | 433 | 35 | 12.4:1 | 84% (365) |
| 2017-18 | 449 | 31.6 | 14.2:1 | 80% (359) |
| 2015-16 | 470 | 35 | 13.4:1 | 76% (358) |
| 2010-11 | 481 | 32 | 15.0:1 | 62% (299) |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data. Rows are the federal collections on file for Samuelson Elementary School.
Since 2017-18: students down 14% (449 to 386); teachers down 3% (31.6 to 30.6).
About Samuelson Elementary School
As a medium-sized elementary school, Samuelson Elementary School serves students in Des Moines, Iowa. The school reports 386 students in kindergarten through 5.
Samuelson Elementary School sits within Des Moines Independent Comm School District, which has 59 schools and 29,676 students.
The most common group at Samuelson Elementary School is Asian students, at 31%. The school is also 25% Black, 23% White, 14% Hispanic, and 8% multiracial. The Asian share of the county population is lower, at 5%. The school's diversity index is 77%, meaning two students picked at random have a 77% chance of belonging to different racial or ethnic groups.
Federal staffing data show 30.6 full-time-equivalent teachers at Samuelson Elementary School and a ratio of 12.6:1. This ratio sits 1.1 below the 13.7:1 average for elementary schools in Iowa. Free or reduced-price lunch eligibility covers 79% of students. That is higher than the 49% average for public schools in Polk County.
Measured against Iowa public elementary schools, Samuelson Elementary School receives a D. The grade weighs proficiency most heavily, then how results compare with what the school's low-income share predicts, then the three-year change.
BeatsExpectations compares each school's average proficiency rate on state tests with a prediction based on free or reduced-price lunch eligibility. For Samuelson Elementary School, the prediction is 52.4% and the result is 48.5%.
Among Polk County residents, the median household income is $83,576, roughly 40% of adults have a four-year degree or more, and the share of residents below the poverty line is 7%. Samuelson Elementary School is one of 137 public schools in the county.
Nearest public school: Woodlawn Early Childhood Center, about 0.6 miles away. Within five miles are at least 8 other public schools. Ranked by average proficiency, Samuelson Elementary School places 4th out of 8 schools in its immediate area.
Samuelson Elementary School has an NCES locale of City: Mid-size.
Enrollment dropped 11% from its 2020-21 level of 433.
To ask about science fairs, picture day, and bus routes, start a discussion on this page. Posting is open to anyone connected to the school.
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
- Woodlawn Early Childhood Center0.6 mi · 216
- Hoover High School0.7 mi · 898
- Meredith Middle School0.8 mi · 662
- Moore Elementary School1.2 mi · 285
- Monroe Elementary School1.9 mi · 341
- Hillis Elementary School2.1 mi · 279
Frequently asked questions
About Samuelson Elementary SchoolHow large is Samuelson Elementary School?
Samuelson Elementary School enrolls approximately 386 students in grades KG-05.
What age range does Samuelson Elementary School serve?
Samuelson Elementary School serves students from grade KG through grade 05.
How many students per teacher at Samuelson Elementary School?
Approximately 12.6:1 students per teacher at Samuelson Elementary School.
What is the student diversity at Samuelson Elementary School?
Student demographics at Samuelson Elementary School are roughly 23% White, 14% Hispanic, 25% Black, 31% Asian, 8% Two or more.
Is Samuelson Elementary School public or private?
Samuelson Elementary 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.