Schools · Washington
Washington, DC schools
Washington’s public schools score above District of Columbia’s averages: 40% of students are proficient in reading against 37.4% statewide, and 70% of high schoolers graduate on time against 73.3%. Kids attend one of 78 schools through grade 8, then one of 78 middle schools, one of 24 high schools and one of 18 high schools.
Grades, test scores, graduation, spending and every school, from U.S. Department of Education data.
TownTapestry School GradeNew
B+
Washington’s School Grade: B+
The public schools Washington’s kids attend, from kindergarten through graduation, outperform 67% of District of Columbia’s districts on state tests and graduation.
B+Test scoresC-Graduation
District of Columbia school districts we grade (54)Better than 67%
Lower resultsHigher results
High confidence. Built on 20,631 tested students and a graduating class of 3,081; ordinary year-to-year swings are unlikely to change the grade.
How the School Grade works
- Results, not inputs. Math and reading proficiency on District of Columbia’s state tests, each against the state average, plus the four-year graduation rate. Spending and class size are shown below but don’t count toward the grade. Tests: 2018–19; graduation: class of 2020.
- The whole path. A town’s grade follows its kids: every district that serves it, weighted by the number of students tested in each. Tests count 60% and graduation 40%.
- Graded within the state. Each state writes its own tests, so districts are lined up against the rest of District of Columbia only. A+ top 5%A next 10%A- next 10%B B+ to B−, next 30%C C+ to C−, next 30%D D and D−, bottom 15%
- Individual schools are graded the same way on their own test results, against every public school in District of Columbia with 25+ students. Private schools aren’t graded: they don’t take the state tests.
- What a grade can’t tell you. Test results track family income closely, so a high grade partly reflects who lives in a town. That’s why we also compare towns with similar incomes. Visit, ask other parents, and read neighbor reviews. It’s our own summary of U.S. Department of Education data, not an official rating.
School path
Where Washington kids go to school
Grades 9–12
24 high schoolsDepends on your address · see the list District of Columbia Public SchoolsBased on district boundaries from the U.S. Department of Education. Check with the district before you enroll.
Test scores · 2018–19
Above the state in reading
Reading (grades PK–12, District of Columbia)40%
State average 37.4%
Math (grades PK–12, District of Columbia)33%
State average 31.1%
Graduation · class of 2020
70% graduate on time
Graduation rate
70%
DC: 73.3%
Graduating class
3,081
students
The share of students who started ninth grade together and earned a regular diploma within four years.
Districts
The district serving Washington
Each district’s own page has its spending, test scores, enrollment and every school.
Colleges
Washington is home to 17 colleges
George Washington UniversityUniversity or college · Private nonprofit · Washington21,060on campusGeorgetown UniversityUniversity or college · Private nonprofit · Washington17,465on campusHoward UniversityUniversity or college · Private nonprofit · Washington12,280on campusAmerican UniversityUniversity or college · Private nonprofit · Washington11,897on campus
All 17 colleges in Washington →Every school
All 294 schools in Washington
Showing 1–30 of 294 schools
Lafayette ESElementary · Grades PK–5 · 923 students
PublicBancroft ESElementary · Grades PK–5 · 821 students
PublicIngenuity Prep PCSElementary · Grades PK–8 · 797 students
CharterOyster-Adams Bilingual SchoolElementary · Grades PK–8 · 791 students
PublicJanney ESElementary · Grades PK–5 · 717 students
PublicWashington Yu Ying PCSElementary · Grades PK–5 · 701 students
CharterMurch ESElementary · Grades PK–5 · 658 students
PublicBrightwood ESElementary · Grades PK–5 · 646 students
PublicDC Bilingual PCSElementary · Grades PK–5 · 622 students
CharterKIPP DC - Promise Academy PCSElementary · Grades K–4 · 614 students
CharterJohn Francis Education CampusElementary · Grades PK–8 · 583 students
PublicMeridian PCSElementary · Grades PK–8 · 578 students
CharterBarnard ESElementary · Grades PK–5 · 573 students
PublicLatin American Montessori Bilingual PCSElementary · Grades PK–5 · 572 students
CharterMundo Verde Bilingual PCS - J.F. CookElementary · Grades PK–5 · 563 students
CharterMaury ESElementary · Grades PK–5 · 559 students
PublicShirley Chisholm ESElementary · Grades PK–5 · 542 students
PublicCreative Minds International PCSElementary · Grades PK–8 · 530 students
CharterRocketship PCS - Legacy PrepElementary · Grades PK–5 · 530 students
CharterInspired Teaching Demonstration PCSElementary · Grades PK–8 · 522 students
CharterPowell ESElementary · Grades PK–5 · 514 students
PublicJohn Lewis ESElementary · Grades PK–5 · 509 students
PublicMundo Verde Bilingual PCS - Calle OchoElementary · Grades PK–5 · 504 students
CharterCapitol Hill Montessori School at LoganElementary · Grades PK–8 · 503 students
PublicLudlow-Taylor ESElementary · Grades PK–5 · 489 students
PublicTakoma ESElementary · Grades PK–5 · 483 students
PublicDC Scholars PCSElementary · Grades PK–8 · 478 students
CharterJ.O. Wilson ESElementary · Grades PK–5 · 477 students
PublicMarie Reed ESElementary · Grades PK–5 · 461 students
PublicTurner ESElementary · Grades PK–5 · 461 students
PublicSchool data from the U.S. Department of Education (NCES). Ratings are from neighbors on TownTapestry.