The top reported proficiency rate is 35% in English language arts. The lowest is 5% in Science.
Original Research by School Decision on Dc Prep Pcs
DC Prep PCS is a public charter network in the District of Columbia serving prekindergarten through eighth grade across six campuses. The schools are organized into three elementary and three middle school pairs, clustered in the Benning, Edgewood, and Anacostia areas. Each campus feeds students from early childhood through the middle grades, and the network as a whole serves a large student body for a DC charter operator.
The student population is overwhelmingly Black, with a smaller Hispanic presence and a very small share of students identifying as white, Asian, or multiracial. The network does not report free-or-reduced-price lunch figures, special education rates, or English learner counts in the data we received, so we cannot characterize the economic makeup of the families served or the share of students receiving specialized supports. A parent evaluating fit may want to ask the network directly about those populations.
On the most recent DCCAPE state assessments, DC Prep's results tell a mixed but patterned story. In English language arts, proficiency is moderate in the elementary grades and then climbs meaningfully in the middle grades. Sixth, seventh, and eighth grade ELA proficiency reaches its highest levels in the network, with seventh and eighth grade standing out as relative strengths. This suggests that students who stay in the network through the upper grades tend to develop stronger literacy skills, and the middle school ELA program may be doing something worth noting.
Math is more uneven. Third grade proficiency is modest, fourth grade drops to the network's lowest level, and fifth through seventh grade recover to a higher band before falling back in eighth grade. The dip at fourth grade is sharp enough that a parent with a child approaching that year may want to look into this further with the school to understand what is driving it and how the network is responding. The eighth grade decline in math, coming at the same time ELA proficiency holds strong, points to a divergence in how the two subjects are developing as students approach high school transition.
Science results are available only from an earlier testing cycle and use a different assessment. They are very low at both the fifth and eighth grade levels. Because the data comes from an earlier year and a different test framework, comparing it directly to the current ELA and math results would be misleading. Still, the low science proficiency is something a parent might ask about, particularly if hands-on science is a priority for the family.
No trend data was available, so we cannot say whether these results represent improvement, decline, or stability over time. Participation rates for science were high, which at least means nearly all eligible students were tested. Participation rates for the current ELA and math assessments were not reported.
Because DC Prep ends at eighth grade, there is no graduation rate to report, and no high school course offerings such as Advanced Placement or dual credit to describe. The network's academic story is entirely about the pre-K-through-eight pathway it builds. We looked for information about program offerings, extracurriculars, or specialized academic tracks and found none in the data provided. We also searched for recent parent-relevant changes or strategic shifts at the district level and found little of lasting impact in publicly reported sources.
The district brief turned up no material about leadership transitions, facility changes, or policy shifts. The locale, community, and housing context was not available for this entity, so we cannot describe the neighborhoods around each campus, the housing market a family would be entering, or commute and access patterns. DC Prep operates campuses in distinct parts of the District, and the absence of neighborhood context means a parent would need to visit and research each campus area independently.
What the data does show clearly is a network where ELA outcomes strengthen as students progress, particularly in the middle grades, while math performance is patchier and science is a soft spot. The campuses are organized so that children can stay within the same network from prekindergarten through eighth grade, which may appeal to families looking for continuity during the elementary and middle years. The question for any family is whether the network's strengths in upper-grade literacy and its pre-K-through-eight structure outweigh the uneven math results and the thin information available about science, special populations, and the surrounding communities. A visit to the specific campus a child would attend, and a conversation with school staff about math supports and science instruction, would help close the gaps the data leaves open.
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