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DC’s Path
to Progress

DC Has rewritten

the story of public education in America.

Once known as one of the nation’s lowest-performing systems, DC is once again recognized as the fastest-improving public school system in the country.

Through bold investments and innovation, DC built a public education system grounded in public school choice, high standards, and support for every learner. Families can choose from a diverse mix of DC Public Schools (DCPS) and public charter schools, and both sectors have been essential to driving citywide improvement.

Pre-COVID-19 Pandemic

Nearly 20 years of year-over-year gains

District students made gains on the National Assessment of Education Progress - called the “Nation’s Report Card” - nearly every year between 2003 and 2019. The only exception occurred in 2017, when the average composite score on Math and Reading among District 4th and 8th graders remained unchanged. Until the COVID-19 pandemic the District had not seen a drop in academic achievement in nearly two decades.

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DC’s Path to Progress

the covid-19 pandemic

an unexpected challenge

The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on student learning was felt across the country and across DC, but was greatest for students from economically disadvantaged backgrounds, English learners, and students with disabilities.

Data from the 2022 Comprehensive Assessment of Progress in Education (CAPE), the first exam administered after the onset of the pandemic, showed significant declines in the percentage of DC students meeting the “career-ready” standard (called CAPE 3+) in both English Language Arts and Math.  Though, the declines were steepest in Math.

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DC’s Path to PRogress

The Comeback

DC is a national outlier for post-pandemic gains

Recent data, however, confirm what many in our schools already know: DC is once again leading the nation in educational recovery and growth. The latest DC CAPE results show the largest year-over-year gains in English and math proficiency since before the pandemic. 

Nearly 58% of students in ELA and 48% in math are approaching, meeting, or exceeding expectations, and proficiency rose across every ward and most student groups.

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DC’s Path to Progress

Enrollment Growth

Families are again choosing DC schools

The COVID-19 pandemic resulted in the first decline in enrollment in DC’s public schools in over a decade. Nonetheless, by 2023, enrollment had recovered and each year for the last three years has seen increasing numbers of families enrolling their students in either DC Public Schools or a DC Charter School. Today, nearly 100,000 students attend public schools in DC. 

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DC’s Path to Progress

The Path Forward

Doubling Down on Evidenced-Based Strategies

Young girl sitting at a desk smiling, holding a pencil, with classroom background and green overlay text about evidence-based instruction and interventions.
Three happy children with different brown skin tones, smiling and raising their hands, with a bright yellow background and a white smiley face graphic. Overlaid text reads: 'Support the whole child, meeting academic, social, and emotional needs.'
An adult man in a blue suit and a young boy with a helmet walking together, carrying backpacks, on an orange background with white text promoting strengthening public school choice and quality.
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DC has shown what’s possible when a city stays the course, when leaders, educators, and communities commit to progress for every student.

But the work isn’t done. To sustain and accelerate DC’s growth, we must continue to strengthen school choice, implement evidence-based instruction, support the whole child and expand career and postsecondary options.

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DC’s Path to Progress

Opportunity for all

Every Student in every dc school

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DC’s remarkable improvement in student achievement is no accident.  It is owed to resilience and resolve. Our students are learning more, our teachers are staying longer, and our schools are stronger than ever.

With continued investment, innovation, and collaboration, DC can become the first city in the nation where every student has access to the opportunities they deserve.

Digital map of South America made of red dots on a black background.

DC’s Path to Progress