Education

District of Columbia’s State Highlights

January 03, 2006 2 min read
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Vital Statistics
Public schools 206
Public school teachers 5,676
Pre-K-12 students 78,057
Annual pre-K-12 expenditures $0.9 billion
Minority students 0%
Children in poverty 18%
Students with disabilities 17%
English-language learners 7.3%

Summary of Grades

The District of Columbia scores below average for three of the four graded policy categories in Quality Counts. It did not receive a grade for the fourth category, resource equity.

In standards and accountability, the District performs slightly below average. It receives relatively low marks on indicators related to both assessments and school accountability measures. It lags behind in assessment largely because it does not have tests aligned to its academic standards in science or social studies.

The District of Columbia scores well below the national average in teacher quality, in part, because it does not require all aspiring high school and middle school teachers to have a college major or a minor in the subjects they will teach. The District also provides little professional support for new or veteran teachers and has enacted few measures related to accountability for teacher quality.

The District scores below average on school climate indicators, struggling in the areas of school safety and parent involvement. However, the District fares much better on measures of school size, with a far higher percentage of its students attending smaller schools compared with the nation as a whole.

Because the District of Columbia does not have a state revenue source, it did not receive a grade for resource equity. It is a single-district jurisdiction.

State Policy Report Card
District of Columbia Avg. State Score
Standards and accountability C+ B-
Efforts to improve teacher quality D C+
School climate C- C+
Resource equity NA* C
Overall Grade C- C+
Quality Counts Grading Breakdown
Standards and accountability Points awardedPoints possible
Standards 35.83 40
Assessment 19.77 30
School accountability 21 30
77 100
Efforts to improve teacher quality Points awardedPoints possible
Teacher education and qualifications 26.25 35
Teacher assessment 21.3 30
Professional support and training 10.7 20
Accountability for teacher quality 7.5 15
66 100
School climate Points awardedPoints possible
Engagement 7.5 15
School safety 13.33 20
Parent involvement 8.25 15
Choice and autonomy 15 20
Class size 6.41 10
School size 9.5 10
School facilities 10 10
70 100
Resource equity Points awardedPoints possible
Wealth-neutrality score -- 33.3
McLoone Index -- 33.3
Coefficient of variation -- 33.3
-- 100

*District of Columbia does not have a state revenue source, so it did not receive a grade for resource equity.
Note: Details may not sum to totals due to rounding.

Grading Curve A (93-100), A- (90-92), B+ (87-89), B (83-86), B- (80-82), C+ (77-79), C (73-76), C- (70-72), D+ (67-69), D (63-66), D- (60-62), F (0-59)

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