The District of Columbia’s public school students continue to post scores below the national average on the Nation’s Report Card– created through the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP). However, recent assessments show long-term progress when compared to earlier decades.
“We are proud that D.C. leads the nation as a model for urban education,” Bowser wrote on X, formerly known as Twitter, on Sept. 4. “Enrollment is up, NAEP results are improving, per-student spending is increasing, and D.C. parent satisfaction is well above the national average.”
In fourth-grade mathematics, D.C. students scored an average of 231 in 2024, six points lower than the national average of 237. Still, the score represents an improvement from 223 in 2022 and from just 192 in 2000. In fourth-grade reading, the average score was 209, compared to 214 nationally, a result that has held steady since 2022 but is well above the city’s 1998 average of 179.
At the eighth-grade level, D.C. students scored 262 in mathematics in 2024, ten points below the national average of 272. While this figure shows little change from 2022, it reflects growth over the city’s 2000 average of 235. In reading, D.C. students scored 251, six points below the national figure of 257, but higher than their 1998 score of 236.
Demographic breakdowns highlight sharp disparities.
Black students made up 78% of those performing below the 25th percentile in math, while just 36% reached the top quartile. White students, by contrast, represented 37% of the city’s highest performers despite accounting for only 10% of total enrollment. Economic status also played a decisive role as two-thirds of students scoring below the 25th percentile were economically disadvantaged.
School climate and absenteeism remain challenges. Nearly half of lower-performing eighth-graders reported missing three or more days of school in the previous month, compared to just 15% of top performers. Confidence in mathematics skills also diverged sharply, with 72% of high performers reporting high confidence versus only 29% of all students.
“The NAEP results tell the story of how D.C. became the fastest improving urban school district in the country, and now, how we are relentless in our work to get students back on track,” Bowser wrote on X in January.
The District of Columbia enrolled nearly 93,000 students in 2023–24. The system has a pupil-to-teacher ratio of 11-to-1 and spends more than $28,000 per student annually—among the highest rates in the nation. “Enrollment in [D.C. Public Schools] and [D.C. Public Charter Schools] is bucking national trends as total student enrollment approaches 100,000,” DC Students Succeed wrote on X. “That’s happening because of confidence created by DC’s sustained investment and policy leadership.”
