1
What's the one class at Westridge Elementary every student should take?
Community prompt from u/allk12. Replies below.
Enrollment
744
Elementary
DISTRICT 587 · STATE 325
SCHOOL COMMUNITY·WEST DES MOINES COMM SCHOOL DISTRICT·NCES 193093002055
Westridge Elementary
5500 E P True Parkway, West Des Moines, IA 50266 · (515) 633-5400 · Polk County
GRADES PK–06ELEMENTARY13-CITYTITLE IREGULAR SCHOOL744 STUDENTS
A
allk12 Grade
Scored higher than 87% of Iowa public elementary schools
- A-Test 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 elementary schools
Student : Teacher
16.1:1
46 FTE teachers
DISTRICT 14.3:1 · STATE 13.7:1
Free / Reduced Lunch
40%
294 students
DISTRICT 55% · STATE 41%
Community
5
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Pre-K | 46 | 6% |
| Kindergarten | 101 | 14% |
| Grade 1 | 89 | 12% |
| Grade 2 | 102 | 14% |
| Grade 3 | 108 | 15% |
| Grade 4 | 90 | 12% |
| Grade 5 | 102 | 14% |
| Grade 6 | 106 | 14% |
This year's kindergarten class (101) is about the same size as its 6th grade class (106).
Student demographics
57%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
Test scores
ISASP 2024-25 . % ProficientEnglish Language Arts
80.1%
IA avg 73.6% . -0.8pp since 2023
Math
81.4%
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 81 of 100 do math at grade level. Across all Iowa schools, those numbers are about 74 and 71. Reading and writing scores have held steady since 2023, while math scores are down about 3 points.
ISASP results by year
| School year | English Language Arts | Math |
|---|---|---|
| 2024-25 | 80.1% | 81.4% |
| 2023-24 | 80.9% | 84.3% |
% 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
80.7%
composite math + reading, all grades
Predicted
72.2%
based on IA schools with similar FRL share
Beats by
+8.5pp
above demographic expectation
What this means: About 81% of students here test proficient in math and reading, compared with the roughly 72% 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 Westridge Elementary
Westridge Elementary's state test result (80.7% proficient) is higher than 5 of the 5 schools below with a result.
| School | Students | Low-income | Proficient |
|---|---|---|---|
| Westridge Elementary this school | 744 | 39.5% | 80.7% |
| Clay Elementary Altoona | 700 | 36.1% | 71.3% |
| Fairmeadows Elementary School West Des Moines | 542 | 43.5% | 72.3% |
| Heritage Elementary Ankeny | 604 | 33.9% | 74.9% |
| Southeast Elementary School Ankeny | 585 | 33.0% | 72.8% |
| Four Mile Elementary Pleasant Hill | 495 | 37.8% | 77.3% |
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 Westridge Elementary ranks
Among elementary schools| Measure | This school | In Iowa | In Polk County |
|---|---|---|---|
| State test proficiency ranked highest first | 80.7% | #121 of 564 | #12 of 78 |
| Math proficiency ranked highest first | 81.4% | #189 of 564 ▼ 67 | #21 of 78 ▼ 8 |
| Reading proficiency ranked highest first | 80.1% | #148 of 564 ▼ 53 | #17 of 78 ▼ 2 |
| Enrollment ranked largest first | 744 | #7 of 705 | #2 of 89 |
| Students per teacher ranked fewest first | 16.1:1 | #513 of 561 | #76 of 86 |
| Diversity index ranked most diverse first | 56.8% | #167 of 561 | #53 of 86 |
| Free and reduced lunch ranked highest share first | 39.5% | #372 of 666 | #55 of 89 |
| Enrollment change since 2017-18 ranked fastest growth first | +5.5% | #112 of 168 | #8 of 16 |
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
744
+23 (+3%) vs 2020
+11% since 1990-91, when it was 669
Student : Teacher
16.1:1
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 | 744 | 46.2 | 16.1:1 | 40% (294) |
| 2023-24 | 775 | 46.2 | 16.8:1 | 20% (155) |
| 2022-23 | 748 | 44.4 | 16.9:1 | 25% (187) |
| 2020-21 | 721 | 45 | 16.0:1 | 26% (187) |
| 2017-18 | 705 | 41.6 | 16.9:1 | 20% (143) |
| 2015-16 | 749 | 43 | 17.4:1 | 23% (173) |
| 2010-11 | 658 | 39 | 16.9:1 | 11% (72) |
| 2000-01 | 739 | 41 | 18.0:1 | 2% (15) |
| 1990-91 | 669 | 32 | 20.9:1 | N/A |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data. Rows are the federal collections on file for Westridge Elementary.
Since 2017-18: students up 6% (705 to 744); teachers up 11% (41.6 to 46.2).
About Westridge Elementary
In West Des Moines, Iowa, Westridge Elementary is a large elementary school. The school has 744 students in 2024-25 across pre-K through 6. Elementary schools in Iowa average about 325 students, which makes this school 129% larger than average.
West Des Moines Comm School District enrolls 9,009 students in 13 schools, including Westridge Elementary.
Of every 100 students at Westridge Elementary, about 63 are White. The rest of enrollment is 13% Hispanic, 10% Black, 9% multiracial, and 5% Asian. Among all residents of Polk County, the White share is about 76%. The diversity index for Westridge Elementary is 57%. For US public schools as a whole it is 70%.
The school lists 46.2 full-time-equivalent teachers and a student-to-teacher ratio of 16.1:1. The average for elementary schools in Iowa is 13.7:1, so this school has more students per teacher. A total of 294 students, or 40%, are eligible for free or reduced-price lunch. By comparison, the figure for public schools in Polk County is 49%.
On the allk12 Grade, Westridge Elementary lands at A, ahead of 87% of Iowa public elementary schools.
Schools in Iowa with a similar free or reduced-price lunch share are predicted to score about 72.2%. Westridge Elementary scores 80.7%.
The school is in Polk County, where the median household earns about $83,576 a year, about 40% of adults have at least a bachelor's degree, and roughly 7% of residents are in poverty. Across Polk County, 137 public schools serve about 77,436 students.
Crossroads Park Elementary School, about 1.1 miles away, is the closest public school. Counting only straight-line distance, at least 8 other public schools are within five miles. Among the 9 closest schools with test data, this one included, Westridge Elementary ranks 3rd on average proficiency.
Federal records code the school's setting as City: Small.
The school's enrollment rose 3% from 2020-21 to 2024-25.
Anyone can start a thread about fundraisers, report cards, and school supplies at Westridge Elementary. Teachers and staff are welcome to share updates 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
- Valley SouthwoodsHigh · 678 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
- Valley SouthwoodsHigh · 678 students
- Jordan Creek Elementary SchoolElementary · 652 students
- Stilwell Junior High SchoolMiddle · 645 students
- Brookview Elementary SchoolElementary · 592 students
- Woodland Hills Elementary SchoolElementary · 578 students
Other Westridge Elementary schools
7 other US public schools in 7 states are named Westridge Elementary. Westridge Elementary is the largest of the 8.
- Westridge ElementaryWoodbridge, VA · 642 students
- Westridge Elementary SchoolLITTLETON, CO · 400 students
- WESTRIDGE ELEM.BALLWIN, MO · 397 students
- Westridge Elementary SchoolLake Oswego, OR · 389 students
- Westridge ElementaryFrankfort, KY · 351 students
Nearby schools
- Crossroads Park Elementary School1.1 mi · 530
- Western Hills Elementary School1.3 mi · 570
- Jordan Creek Elementary School1.5 mi · 652
- Valley Southwoods1.6 mi · 678
- Valley High School1.8 mi · 2,178
- Brookview Elementary School1.8 mi · 592
Frequently asked questions
About Westridge ElementaryWhat is the total enrollment at Westridge Elementary?
Westridge Elementary enrolls approximately 744 students in grades PK-06.
What age range does Westridge Elementary serve?
Westridge Elementary serves students from grade PK through grade 06.
What is the student-teacher ratio at Westridge Elementary?
The student-to-teacher ratio at Westridge Elementary is approximately 16.1:1 (46 FTE teachers).
How diverse is Westridge Elementary?
Westridge Elementary reports a student body of 63% White, 13% Hispanic, 10% Black, 5% Asian, 9% Two or more.
Who oversees Westridge Elementary?
Westridge Elementary is overseen by West Des Moines Comm School District in Polk County.
Data sourceSchool profile facts are sourced from the NCES. Community content is posted by allk12 members.