Enrollment
399
Elementary
DISTRICT 344 · STATE 344
SCHOOL COMMUNITY·MINNEAPOLIS PUBLIC SCHOOL DISTRICT·NCES 272124001868
Dowling Elementary
3900 W RIVER PKWY, MINNEAPOLIS, MN 55406 · (612) 668-4410 · Hennepin County
GRADES KG–05ELEMENTARY11-CITYREGULAR SCHOOL399 STUDENTS
Student : Teacher
16.0:1
25 FTE teachers
DISTRICT 12.2:1 · STATE 13.7:1
Free / Reduced Lunch
39%
157 students
DISTRICT 63% · STATE 48%
Community
0
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 | 80 | 20% |
| Grade 1 | 77 | 19% |
| Grade 2 | 72 | 18% |
| Grade 3 | 52 | 13% |
| Grade 4 | 56 | 14% |
| Grade 5 | 62 | 16% |
This year's kindergarten class (80) is 29% larger than its 5th grade class (62).
Student demographics
62%Diversity index
The chance that two students picked at random belong to different racial or ethnic groups.
DISTRICT 74% · STATE 60% · 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
MCA 2024-25 . % Meets or Exceeds StandardsEnglish Language Arts
60.5%
MN avg 49.7%
Math
55.8%
MN avg 45.3%
What this means: On the MCA, Minnesota's statewide test, about 60 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 Minnesota schools, those numbers are about 50 and 45.
Source: MCA. 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
54.5%
composite math + reading, all grades
Predicted
43.9%
based on MN schools with similar FRL share
Beats by
+10.6pp
above demographic expectation
What this means: About 55% of students here test proficient in math and reading, compared with the roughly 44% typical for Minnesota 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 Minnesota'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 Dowling Elementary
Dowling Elementary's state test result (54.5% proficient) is higher than 4 of the 5 schools below with a result.
| School | Students | Low-income | Proficient |
|---|---|---|---|
| Dowling Elementary this school | 399 | 39.3% | 54.5% |
| ZACHARY LANE ELEMENTARY PLYMOUTH | 428 | 39.5% | 56.3% |
| FAIR School Pilgrim Lane PLYMOUTH | 403 | 40.9% | 52.4% |
| WASHINGTON ELEMENTARY MANKATO | 376 | 40.2% | 53.5% |
| JJ Hill Montessori SAINT PAUL | 360 | 35.0% | 33.7% |
| SUSAN LINDGREN ELEMENTARY SAINT LOUIS PARK | 457 | 38.9% | 51.0% |
Matched among Minnesota 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 Dowling Elementary ranks
Among elementary schools| Measure | This school | In Minnesota | In Hennepin County |
|---|---|---|---|
| State test proficiency ranked highest first | 54.5% | #249 of 844 | #58 of 169 |
| Math proficiency ranked highest first | 55.8% | #343 of 844 | #64 of 169 |
| Reading proficiency ranked highest first | 60.5% | #194 of 844 | #57 of 169 |
| Enrollment ranked largest first | 399 | #484 of 1,130 | #109 of 206 |
| Students per teacher ranked fewest first | 16.0:1 | #635 of 769 | #129 of 164 |
| Diversity index ranked most diverse first | 61.7% | #259 of 796 | #83 of 165 |
| Free and reduced lunch ranked highest share first | 39.3% | #519 of 942 | #104 of 183 |
| Enrollment change since 2017-18 ranked steepest decline first | -20.0% | #158 of 499 | #36 of 99 |
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
399
-63 (-14%) vs 2020
+1% since 2000-01, when it was 395
Student : Teacher
16.0:1
was 14.9:1
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 | 399 | 24.9 | 16.0:1 | 39% (157) |
| 2023-24 | 315 | 21.9 | 14.4:1 | 38% (119) |
| 2022-23 | 297 | 19 | 15.6:1 | 39% (115) |
| 2020-21 | 462 | 31 | 14.9:1 | 37% (169) |
| 2017-18 | 499 | 34.7 | 14.4:1 | 54% (270) |
| 2015-16 | 503 | 34 | 14.8:1 | 49% (244) |
| 2010-11 | 486 | 30 | 16.2:1 | 36% (173) |
| 2000-01 | 395 | 32 | 12.3:1 | 42% (164) |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data. Rows are the federal collections on file for Dowling Elementary.
Since 2017-18: students down 20% (499 to 399); teachers down 28% (34.7 to 24.9).
About Dowling Elementary
Among the schools in MINNEAPOLIS, Minnesota, is Dowling Elementary, a mid-sized elementary school. The school teaches kindergarten through 5 and enrolls 399 students.
Dowling Elementary is run by Minneapolis Public School District, whose 86 schools enroll 29,928 students.
More than half of the students at Dowling Elementary are White (57%). Beyond that, enrollment is 20% Black, 9% multiracial, 9% Hispanic, and 4% Native American. In Hennepin County overall, about 66% of residents are White. On the diversity index, which measures the chance that two random students are from different groups, Dowling Elementary scores 62%.
With 24.9 full-time-equivalent teachers, the student-to-teacher ratio is about 16.0:1. Elementary schools in Minnesota average 13.7:1, 2.3 fewer students per teacher than here. Roughly 39% of students come from households that qualify for free or reduced-price lunch.
The BeatsExpectations prediction for Dowling Elementary is 43.9%, and its average proficiency rate across its state test results is 54.5%.
In Hennepin County, median household income comes to about $97,653, a bachelor's degree or higher is held by about 54% of adults, and the poverty rate is about 5%. The county's public schools total 496, with about 177,509 students.
Dowling Elementary's closest public school neighbor is Howe Elementary, about 0.4 miles away. Within five miles of Dowling Elementary, there are at least 8 other public schools. On proficiency, Dowling Elementary is ahead of the 53.6% nearby average, ranking 5th of 7.
By NCES locale, the school is City: Large, or inside a principal city with a population of 250,000 or more.
Over 4 years, enrollment decreased by 63 students, from 462 to 399. There were more students per teacher in 2024-25 (16.0:1) than in 2020-21 (14.9:1).
This community page is for conversations about athletics, class schedules, and weather closures. You can also rate the school on this page.
Hennepin County at a glance
View full county profilePopulation
1,269,496
Census ACS
Median income
$97,653
Household, ACS
Bachelor's+
54%
Adults 25+
Poverty rate
5%
Below federal line
Schools in county
496
177,509 students
Quick facts
Related schools
Other schools in Minneapolis Public School District
- Washburn HighHigh · 1,521 students
- South HighHigh · 1,257 students
- Southwest HighHigh · 1,195 students
- Roosevelt HighHigh · 1,148 students
- Andersen MiddleMiddle · 1,052 students
- Justice Page MiddleMiddle · 1,020 students
Other schools in MINNEAPOLIS
- Washburn HighHigh · 1,521 students
- South HighHigh · 1,257 students
- Southwest HighHigh · 1,195 students
- Roosevelt HighHigh · 1,148 students
- Andersen MiddleMiddle · 1,052 students
- Justice Page MiddleMiddle · 1,020 students
Other Dowling Elementary schools
One other US public school is named Dowling Elementary. Dowling Elementary is the 2nd largest of the 2.
- Dowling Elementary SchoolODESSA, TX · 712 students
Nearby schools
- Howe Elementary0.4 mi · 230
- Hiawatha Elementary0.6 mi · 201
- Sanford Middle0.6 mi · 728
- Groveland Park Elementary0.9 mi · 409
- Friendship Academy of Arts - Interm1.0 mi · 167
- Horace Mann School1.2 mi · 445
Frequently asked questions
About Dowling ElementaryWhat is the total enrollment at Dowling Elementary?
Dowling Elementary enrolls approximately 399 students in grades KG-05.
What grades does Dowling Elementary serve?
Dowling Elementary serves grades KG-05.
How many students per teacher at Dowling Elementary?
Approximately 16.0:1 students per teacher at Dowling Elementary.
What is the racial breakdown of students at Dowling Elementary?
At Dowling Elementary, the student body is approximately 57% White, 9% Hispanic, 20% Black, 1% Asian, 9% Two or more.
Who oversees Dowling Elementary?
Dowling Elementary is overseen by Minneapolis Public School District in Hennepin County.
Data sourceSchool profile facts are sourced from the NCES. Community content is posted by allk12 members.