Students at 10 Capitol Hill-area Elementary and Middle schools scored above the District average in math and English according to test results from the Partnership for Assessment of Readiness for College and Careers released today.
Students across the District took the PARCC tests to determine how well schools are preparing students for college and careers. Earlier today, Mayor Muriel Bowser released the results of test scores for grades 3-8. On average, 25 percent of students between grades 3 and 8 scored at “On track for college and career readiness” in math and 24 percent were on track in English.
However, multiple elementary and middle schools in the Capitol Hill area scored above the District average. Brent Elementary led area schools in both math and English, with 57 percent of students considered on track in math and 68 percent in English.
The other local schools that exceeded the District average in both math and English are:
- School Within School
- Ludlow-Taylor Elementary School
- Maury Elementary School
- Watkins Elementary School
- Two Rivers Public Charter School
The following schools scored above average in math only:
- Tyler Elementary School
- J.O. Wilson Elementary School
- Chamberlain Middle School (Friendship PCS)
Capitol Hill Montessori School at Logan scored above average in English but not math.
Catharine Bellinger, the Director of the D.C. chapter of Democrats for Education Reform touted Ludlow-Taylor and Tyler elementary schools as schools that performed well despite having a high number of economically disadvantaged students in a statement about the scores.
Bellinger said that students at these schools are “beating the odds” and said DFER “commend the teachers and leaders working every day in these schools to prepare their students to succeed, not just on tests, but as life-long learners and critical thinkers.”
A third of children in Southwest are estimated to live in poverty.
Interactive maps released today by the nonprofit D.C. Action for Children show estimated poverty rates and math and reading proficiency rates for children in neighborhoods across the District.
About 20 percent of children under age 17 in the neighborhood designated as Capitol Hill/Lincoln Park live below the federal poverty line, according to the map made using 2009-2013 Census Bureau data. An estimated 16 percent of youth in the Union Station/Stanton Park/Kingman Park area live in poverty. The youth poverty rate in Near Southeast/Navy Yard was estimated at 8 percent.
The maps also show two “neighborhood child success indicators” — the percentage of students who scored as proficient or above in reading and in math, tabulated according to the neighborhood where they live.
Data provided by the Office of the State Superintendent of Education shows that Southwest had the lowest indicators in Ward 6 for the 2012-2013 school year, with 48 percent of students scoring as proficient in math and 42 percent in reading. Half of students in the Near Southeast area scored as proficient in math, and 36 percent did in reading.
Fifty-four percent of students in the Union Station area scored as proficient or higher in math, and 50 percent did in reading. And the Capitol Hill area scored highest, with 54 percent scoring proficient or better in math, and 59 percent in reading.
The full data visualizations are available on the D.C. Action for Children website.
Image via D.C. Action for Children
