Des Moines school district students improve from 2021

Des Moines metro students' mostly improved academically last school year in comparison to 2021, according to new reports by the Iowa Department of Education.

Why it matters: The Des Moines school district improved the most in comparison to neighboring districts after suffering some of the hardest setbacks from the pandemic.

State of play: Iowa School Performance Profiles are published annually by the Iowa Department of Education for each public school.

• The department measures on state assessment results, graduation rates, English language proficiency and learning environments.
• Each school receives an overall score from the state, which determines where they rank from exceptional, high performing, commendable, acceptable, needs improvement and lastly, priority.
• The state's average score is 54.8.

Of note: While scores are a snapshot of school performance, they may not tell the "entire story," according to the state.

Zoom in: Two DSM high schools were identified as needing improvement based on the 2022-23 school year: Lincoln and East.

• Hoover, North and Roosevelt moved up to acceptable.

• Hoover, North, Lincoln and East were all ranked "priority" in 2021, while Roosevelt needed improvement.

The big picture: While overall scores were highest in the metro's suburban school districts, they also don't have as many students facing steeper barriers to academic success.

Between the lines: At East High School last year, 79% of students were identified as low-income, 24% were English learners and 20% had a disability.

• Compare that with Johnston High School, where 23% of students were low-income, 7% were English learners and 10% had a disability.