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Parents: what's one thing you'd want the Valley Southwoods administration to hear?
Community prompt from u/allk12. Replies below.
Enrollment
678
High
DISTRICT 1,003 · STATE 468
SCHOOL COMMUNITY·WEST DES MOINES COMM SCHOOL DISTRICT·NCES 193093000483
Valley Southwoods
625 S 35th St, West Des Moines, IA 50265 · (515) 633-4500 · Polk County
GRADES 09–09HIGH13-CITYTITLE IREGULAR SCHOOL678 STUDENTS
B+
allk12 Grade
Scored higher than 71% of Iowa public high schools
- BTest scores Share of students meeting the state standard in reading, math, and other tested subjects, 2023-24 and 2024-25.
- ABeats expectations How far test scores land above or below what the share of low-income students predicts for a school in this state.
- ·Three-year trend Not available for this school, so the grade uses the other parts.
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
13.9:1
49 FTE teachers
DISTRICT 14.4:1 · STATE 17.3:1
Free / Reduced Lunch
49%
332 students
DISTRICT 55% · STATE 41%
Community
5
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 | 678 | 100% |
Student demographics
61%Diversity index
The chance that two students picked at random belong to different racial or ethnic groups.
DISTRICT 65% · 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
School pathway
Students here typically continue to
Valley Southwoods→Valley High School
Based on grade levels within West Des Moines Comm School District. Attendance zones can vary; confirm enrollment with the district.
Test scores
ISASP 2024-25 . % ProficientEnglish Language Arts
80.1%
IA avg 73.6% . +2.4pp since 2023
Math
71.3%
IA avg 70.9% . +2.9pp since 2023
What this means: On the ISASP, Iowa's statewide test, about 80 of every 100 students at this school read and write at grade level and about 71 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 2 points since 2023, while math scores are up about 3 points.
ISASP results by year
| School year | English Language Arts | Math |
|---|---|---|
| 2024-25 | 80.1% | 71.3% |
| 2023-24 | 77.7% | 68.4% |
% 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
74.4%
composite math + reading, all grades
Predicted
67.5%
based on IA schools with similar FRL share
Beats by
+6.9pp
above demographic expectation
What this means: About 74% of students here test proficient in math and reading, compared with the roughly 67% 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 Valley Southwoods
Valley Southwoods's state test result (74.4% proficient) is higher than 5 of the 5 schools below with a result.
| School | Students | Low-income | Proficient |
|---|---|---|---|
| Valley Southwoods this school | 678 | 49.0% | 74.4% |
| Evans Junior High School Ottumwa | 684 | 44.3% | 57.4% |
| Charles City High School Charles City | 472 | 44.7% | 60.5% |
| Urbandale High School Urbandale | 1,301 | 36.4% | 68.0% |
| West High School Davenport | 1,304 | 54.4% | 38.6% |
| Mason City High School Mason City | 891 | 41.2% | 58.6% |
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 Valley Southwoods ranks
Among high schools| Measure | This school | In Iowa | In Polk County |
|---|---|---|---|
| State test proficiency ranked highest first | 74.4% | #141 of 313 | #8 of 18 |
| Math proficiency ranked highest first | 71.3% | #160 of 314 ▲ 23 | #9 of 18 no change |
| Reading proficiency ranked highest first | 80.1% | #123 of 314 ▲ 40 | #9 of 18 ▼ 1 |
| Enrollment ranked largest first | 678 | #69 of 340 | #16 of 20 |
| Students per teacher ranked fewest first | 13.9:1 | #117 of 259 | #1 of 18 |
| Diversity index ranked most diverse first | 61.5% | #26 of 260 | #7 of 18 |
| Free and reduced lunch ranked highest share first | 49.0% | #60 of 320 | #9 of 19 |
| Enrollment change since 2017-18 ranked steepest decline first | -6.5% | #81 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
678
-9 (-1%) vs 2020
+2% since 2000-01, when it was 663
Student : Teacher
13.9:1
was 16.0:1
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 | 678 | 48.7 | 13.9:1 | 49% (332) |
| 2023-24 | 744 | 48.7 | 15.3:1 | 31% (231) |
| 2022-23 | 687 | 44.9 | 15.3:1 | 38% (259) |
| 2020-21 | 687 | 43 | 16.0:1 | 40% (273) |
| 2017-18 | 725 | 49 | 14.8:1 | 30% (220) |
| 2015-16 | 682 | 44 | 15.5:1 | 30% (207) |
| 2010-11 | 699 | 44 | 15.9:1 | 21% (149) |
| 2000-01 | 663 | 52 | 12.8:1 | 8% (51) |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data. Rows are the federal collections on file for Valley Southwoods.
Since 2017-18: students down 6% (725 to 678); teachers down 1% (49 to 48.7).
About Valley Southwoods
Families in West Des Moines, Iowa, are served by Valley Southwoods, a medium-sized high school. School enrollment was 678 students in 2024-25, in grade 9. The average among high schools in Iowa is roughly 468 students; this school is 45% bigger than that.
The district, West Des Moines Comm School District, has 9,009 students enrolled across 13 schools.
Valley Southwoods's enrollment is 58% White. Next come 18% Hispanic, 12% Black, 6% Asian, and 6% multiracial. That compares with about 76% White among all Polk County residents. The chance that two students picked at random at Valley Southwoods belong to different racial or ethnic groups, known as the diversity index, is 61%.
The teaching staff at Valley Southwoods is 48.7 full-time-equivalent teachers, and the ratio is 13.9:1. The average ratio among high schools in Iowa is 17.3:1, higher than at this school. About 49% of students, or 332, qualify for free or reduced-price lunch. Across public schools in Polk County, the average is about the same, 49%.
Measured against Iowa public high schools, Valley Southwoods receives a B+. The grade weighs proficiency most heavily, then how results compare with what the school's low-income share predicts, then the three-year change.
Valley Southwoods is 6.9 points above its predicted average proficiency rate on state tests (74.4% versus 67.5%), which places it in neither the top nor the bottom 10% in Iowa.
Valley Southwoods is located in Polk County, where median household income is about $83,576, about 40% of adults have at least a bachelor's degree, and roughly 7% of residents are in poverty. Valley Southwoods is one of 137 public schools in Polk County, which together enroll about 77,436 students.
The shortest distance from Valley Southwoods to another public school is about 0.3 miles, to Jordan Creek Elementary School. The five-mile area around Valley Southwoods holds at least 8 other public schools. Among 9 nearby schools that report test results, Valley Southwoods ranks 4th on proficiency.
Its location is classified as City: Small by the National Center for Education Statistics.
Compared with 2020-21, when it had 687 students, enrollment in 2024-25 was about the same at 678. The student-to-teacher ratio went down from 16.0:1 to 13.9:1.
Parents and students can post about enrollment questions, class placement, and PTA news at Valley Southwoods. 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 West Des Moines Comm School District
- Valley High SchoolHigh · 2,178 students
- Westridge ElementaryElementary · 744 students
- Indian Hills Junior High SchoolMiddle · 661 students
- Jordan Creek Elementary SchoolElementary · 652 students
- Stilwell Junior High SchoolMiddle · 645 students
- Western Hills Elementary SchoolElementary · 570 students
Other schools in West Des Moines
- Valley High SchoolHigh · 2,178 students
- Westridge ElementaryElementary · 744 students
- Jordan Creek Elementary SchoolElementary · 652 students
- Stilwell Junior High SchoolMiddle · 645 students
- Brookview Elementary SchoolElementary · 592 students
- Woodland Hills Elementary SchoolElementary · 578 students
Nearby schools
- Jordan Creek Elementary School0.3 mi · 652
- Western Hills Elementary School1.1 mi · 570
- Westridge Elementary1.6 mi · 744
- Fairmeadows Elementary School1.7 mi · 542
- Valley High School1.8 mi · 2,178
- Crossroads Park Elementary School1.9 mi · 530
Frequently asked questions
About Valley SouthwoodsWhat is the total enrollment at Valley Southwoods?
Valley Southwoods enrolls approximately 678 students in grades 09-09.
Is Valley Southwoods an elementary, middle, or high school?
Valley Southwoods is a high school covering grades 09-09.
How many teachers does Valley Southwoods have?
Valley Southwoods employs 49 FTE teachers, for a student-to-teacher ratio of 13.9:1.
How diverse is Valley Southwoods?
Valley Southwoods reports a student body of 58% White, 18% Hispanic, 12% Black, 6% Asian, 6% Two or more.
Is Valley Southwoods public or private?
Valley Southwoods is a public K-12 school, overseen by West Des Moines Comm School District.
Data sourceSchool profile facts are sourced from the NCES. Community content is posted by allk12 members.