The top reported proficiency rate is 34% in English language arts. The lowest is 4% in Science.
Original Research by School Decision on Friendship Pcs
Friendship PCS is a public charter school district in Washington, DC, serving students from prekindergarten through twelfth grade across fifteen campuses. The schools are organized as elementary, middle, and high school programs spread across the district, including an online academy and a technology-focused high school. This is a network built for families looking for a charter alternative to DC's traditional public schools, with a continuous pre-K-through-12 pathway under a single charter operator.
The student body is overwhelmingly Black, with small numbers of Hispanic students and very few students from other racial or ethnic backgrounds. The district enrolls a substantial population for a DC charter network, and enrollment is relatively even across the early and middle grades, thinning somewhat in the upper high school years. Information on free or reduced-price lunch eligibility, special education rates, and English learner status was not available, so it is not possible from this data to characterize the share of students receiving economic support or specialized services. A parent may want to ask the district directly for those figures.
On DC's state assessments in math, Friendship's results are low across grades three through eight. Proficiency sits in the lower portion of the range in every tested grade, with no grade reaching even the middle of the scale. The strongest math result comes in grade six, but even that remains modest. A parent considering these schools for elementary or middle school math instruction may want to look into how the district is addressing this pattern and what supports are in place.
English language arts results tell a different story. Elementary grade proficiency is modest, but it climbs steadily as students move into middle school. By grades seven and eight, nearly half of tested students meet or exceed proficiency. That upward trajectory suggests the network's literacy instruction gains traction in the later grades, and the middle school ELA results are a genuine strength relative to the network's other numbers.
Science results, drawn from the prior available testing cycle, are very low. Grade five proficiency is near the bottom of the range, and grade eight proficiency is effectively zero. These are difficult numbers to encounter, and they point to an area where a family would want clear answers from the district about curriculum, staffing, and any improvement plans underway. Science assessment data for the most recent year was not available, so these older results are what the record shows.
The district brief provides useful context on the network's stability and structure. The DC Public Charter School Board voted unanimously to continue Friendship's charter following its mandatory review, and a new amended charter agreement was executed, giving families confidence that the network will keep operating across its campuses for the next charter term. The district also acquired a former Hope Community PCS campus and folded those students into its Ideal Elementary campus, expanding its footprint. A middle school campus, Technology Preparatory Middle, was closed and its students consolidated into other campuses, a lasting structural change that affects which buildings are available to middle school families.
Several categories of information that parents often rely on were not available in this data. No graduation rate was provided, though the district does serve high school grades. No housing or community context was included, which is expected for a DC charter network that draws students from across the city rather than from a defined neighborhood. No program offerings, course access, discipline, staffing, or attendance data was available. No comparison against neighboring districts was provided. These gaps mean the picture here is built largely from assessment results and the district's operational history, and a family would want to supplement it with a campus visit and direct conversation with school leadership.
Friendship PCS is a long-running, citywide charter network offering a continuous pre-K-through-12 pathway with stable governance and a strong middle school literacy record. Its math and science results are the area where a family should press hardest for answers before committing.
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