Elementary school (grades K-5) · Des Moines, IA

Moore Elementary School

Federal NCES profile for Moore Elementary School, including enrollment, faculty, free-lunch eligibility, demographics, and resource indicators - Resource Investment Index 49/100.

2024-25 NCES dataElementary school (grades K-5)NCES 190897002228
0/100100/10049/100
👥 S:T ratio
54
🌟 Gifted program
70
🎓 Counselors
37
📋 Attendance
33
Scored 0–100 from federal NCES and CRDC indicators, resource allocation, not test scores. Full methodology →

The verdict

Moore Elementary School earns 49/100 on the Resource Investment Index, with class sizes smaller than 84% of Iowa schools. It is also more racially and ethnically mixed than most Iowa schools.

#6 of 34
elementary schools in Des Moines · Resource Index
49
Resource Index · Higher
11.4:1
small classes for Iowa
63.9%
free-lunch eligible

Moore Elementary School has class sizes smaller than 84% of Iowa schools. Computed live against every Iowa school reporting to NCES.

By Resource Investment Index, Moore Elementary School ranks #6 of 34 elementary schools in Des Moines, IA.

Enrollment

285

Iowa · 2024-25 NCES data

Teachers (FTE)

25.0

Federal CCD staff survey

Students per teacher

11.4:1

vs 14.8:1 Iowa avg

-23% vs state

Free-lunch eligible

63.9%

vs 36.4% Iowa avg

+76% vs state

Student-teacher ratio in context

How Moore Elementary School compares with Iowa and U.S. medians

Smaller classes than state median

Source: NCES Common Core of Data As of 2024-25 federal staff survey Total enrollment ÷ full-time-equivalent classroom teachers

What stands out at Moore Elementary School

Moore Elementary School is a higher-need, mid-sized elementary school in Des Moines, Iowa, enrolling 285 students.

Class sizes run a bit leaner than typical: 11.4:1 puts it in the smaller third of Iowa schools by student-teacher ratio.

Economic need is high: 63.9% of students qualify for free meals, 76% above the Iowa average, a Title I-weighted population that federal funding formulas prioritise.

With 285 students, its enrollment sits close to the Iowa median campus size.

Its Resource Investment Index sits near the middle of the pack among 1,322 scored Iowa schools.

Against 121 statewide peers matched on enrollment and economic need, it ranks in the upper tier at #30.

Its student body is led by White (35%) and Hispanic or Latino (21%), more mixed than most schools in the state (diversity index 76/100).

Counselor coverage runs a bit thin, about 317 students per counselor, somewhat past the ASCA-recommended 250:1 benchmark.

Chronic absenteeism is elevated: 26.7% of students missed 10% or more of school days (2021-22 Civil Rights Data Collection).

Among Des Moines's elementary schools, it stands alongside Brubaker Elementary School (622 students): Moore Elementary School is smaller than that campus by headcount and runs leaner classes (11.4:1 vs 12:1).

Des Moines Independent Comm School District also operates Lincoln High School (2,364 students) and Roosevelt High School (2,051 students) alongside Moore Elementary School.

Sourced from NCES CCD, CRDC, and F-33 (federal records, not a quality verdict). How we source and compute this.

Source: National Center for Education Statistics Common Core of Data + CRDC + F-33 · 2024-25

How Moore Elementary School compares

Moore Elementary School on the metrics families compare, against Iowa and U.S. means.

Metric This school vs Iowa Iowa avg U.S. avg
Students per teacher 11.4:1 ▼ 23% 14.8:1 15.7:1
Free-lunch eligible 63.9% ▲ 76% 36.4% 51.7%
Enrollment 285 top 56% - -

Source: NCES Common Core of Data School-level CCD + state/national means from Public School Universe · 2024-25

11.4:1
Leaner classes than 80% of US schools, among the more generously staffed nationally.
285
Bigger than 30% of US schools by enrollment, mid-sized for the country.

Equity indicators (what these measure)

Economic need
63.9%
free-lunch eligible - 76% above the Iowa average of 36.4%
Well above the 40% Title I schoolwide threshold, among the highest-need profiles in the state; federal funds support the whole school, not individual students.
Staffing depth
11.4:1
students per teacher - 23% below state mean
Top 16% in Iowa - lower ratio than 84% of state schools
Well under the widely cited 15:1 individualized-attention benchmark, among the leaner class loads nationally.
Engagement
26.7%
chronically absent (missed 10%+ of school days)
At or above 20%, the commonly used threshold for "high" chronic absenteeism, signaling significant barriers to regular attendance.
Funding equity
$14,308
per pupil, district-wide - above Iowa avg of $12,854
Somewhat below the U.S. average per-pupil spend; funding constraints may affect programs, facilities, and staffing.
Support staff
Counselors0.9 FTE
Student-support staffing from the Civil Rights Data Collection.
Discipline context
0
in-school suspensions + 0 out-of-school
Suspension rate: 0.0 per 100 students. Combined in-school and out-of-school rate: 0.0 per 100 students. Reported via the Civil Rights Data Collection.

Overview

  • Common Core of Data (June 2026): enrollment, staffing, and the student-teacher ratio above.
  • Civil Rights Data Collection: discipline counts and program access (AP, gifted, special education).
  • F-33 School District Finance Survey: the district-wide per-pupil spending figures below.

Three separate federal collections, each on its own reporting cadence - which is why this school's numbers line up on a consistent basis against every other school and state on this site, rather than mixing figures pulled from different survey years.

Student demographics

White 35.4%
Hispanic or Latino 21.4%
African American 20.7%
Two or More 11.2%
Asian 10.2%
Native Hawaiian / Pacific Islander 0.7%
American Indian / Alaska Native 0.4%

Largest group: White at 35.4% of enrollment.

Student-body diversity index 76.3/100

Simpson diversity index - at 76.3, Moore Elementary School is more mixed than the Iowa school average of 33.8.

Programs

Gifted & talented Yes

Funding & spending

District-wide per-pupil expenditure for Des Moines Independent Comm School District, which includes Moore Elementary School.

$14,308
Per student
+11%
vs Iowa
Avg $12,854
-14%
vs U.S.
Avg $16,593
Revenue mix
Local 29.4%
State 56.2%
Federal 14.4%

Source: NCES F-33 School District Finance Survey District-level finance · FY 2021-22 Per-pupil expenditure reflects the district-wide average. Individual school budgets are not reported at the federal level.

How Moore Elementary School Compares to District-Mates

School Enrollment Economic Profile Student-Teacher Ratio
Lincoln High School Larger Similar economic need Higher S:T ratio
Roosevelt High School Larger Lower economic need Higher S:T ratio
East High School Larger Similar economic need Higher S:T ratio
North High School Larger Higher economic need Higher S:T ratio
Hoover High School Larger Similar economic need Higher S:T ratio

Comparisons are relative to Moore Elementary School's own figures; each column derives from NCES Common Core of Data.

Other Schools in This District

Des Moines Independent Comm School District · 5 sibling schools

View district profile

Similar elementary schools in Des Moines

6 comparable elementary schools (grades K-5) serving the same city.

Similar elementary schools statewide

Matched by enrollment size and by staffing ratio across all of Iowa, not just this city - a different peer set than the local comparisons above.

Next steps

Verify locally before acting on Moore Elementary School's federal record.

Federal record (CCD 2024-25, CRDC 2021-22) - PlainSchools assigns no subjective rating; the composite quality score is a transparent, reproducible index computed from this cited federal data.

Frequently asked questions about Moore Elementary School

How many students attend Moore Elementary School?

Moore Elementary School has 285 students enrolled. It is an elementary school in Des Moines, IA.

What is the student-teacher ratio at Moore Elementary School?

The student-teacher ratio at Moore Elementary School is 11.4:1, which is 23% lower than the Iowa average of 14.8:1 and 27% lower than the national average of 15.7:1. Lower ratios generally mean more individual attention per student.

What percentage of students receive free lunch at Moore Elementary School?

63.9% of students at Moore Elementary School are eligible for free lunch, compared to the Iowa average of 36.4%.

What is the racial and ethnic makeup of Moore Elementary School?

The largest demographic group at Moore Elementary School is White at 35.4% of enrollment, in Des Moines, IA. Its student body is more racially and ethnically mixed than most US schools, with a diversity index of 76.3/100.

What is the Resource Investment Index for Moore Elementary School?

Moore Elementary School has a Resource Investment Index of 49/100 (higher reported resources relative to schools nationally) based on 4 factors: student-teacher ratio, counselor availability, attendance rates. Not a test-score or academic measure (national median ~41/100, see methodology).

How does Moore Elementary School rank among elementary schools in Des Moines?

By Resource Investment Index, Moore Elementary School ranks #6 of 34 elementary schools in Des Moines, IA. This compares federal resource and staffing data among local peers; it is not a test-score or academic ranking. See all elementary schools in Des Moines on the city page.

Is Moore Elementary School a good school?

Moore Elementary School earns 49/100 on the Resource Investment Index, with class sizes smaller than 84% of Iowa schools. It is also more racially and ethnically mixed than most Iowa schools. This is a resource snapshot, not an academic rating; see the Resource Investment Index question above for what the number does and doesn't measure.

What other schools are in Des Moines Independent Comm School District?

Besides Moore Elementary School, Des Moines Independent Comm School District also operates Lincoln High School (2,364 students), Roosevelt High School (2,051 students), and East High School (1,952 students). See the Des Moines Independent Comm School District district page for the complete list.

Source: National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) CCD + Public School Universe (2024-25), CRDC (2021-22), F-33 District Finance Survey (FY 2021-22) · 2024-25 Data as of the 2024-25 school year. Coverage from U.S. Department of Education NCES Common Core of Data. Varies by entity type; administrative districts and certain charter networks may report only a subset of fields.

All federal data sources used on this page

Full source list and how we compute each figure: methodology page.

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Every figure on PlainSchools is rendered directly from the source NCES, CRDC and F-33 federal records, no number is typed in by an editor. Each school's figures reflect its most recent NCES/CRDC submission on file. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error. Data current as of June 2026.