The top reported proficiency rate is 82% in English language arts. The lowest is 50% in Science.
Original Research by School Decision on Stoddert Es
Stoddert Elementary School sits on Calvert Street in Northwest Washington, serving pre-kindergarten through fifth grade as part of the District of Columbia Public Schools system. It is a regular public school, neither a charter nor a magnet, drawing from one of the city's more affluent residential corridors.
The school's academic results in math and English language arts are strong. On the most recent DC state assessments, proficiency rates in both subjects land well above what most schools in the district post, with ELA slightly outpacing math. These are grades three through eight results, and for an elementary school that means grades three, four, and five are the tested cohort. Science results tell a different story. The fifth-grade science proficiency rate sits at about half, with participation slightly below full enrollment. A parent may want to look into this further with the school, particularly how science instruction is sequenced across the upper grades and what supports are in place for students who are not yet meeting expectations.
The enrollment is moderate for a DC elementary school, with a fairly even distribution across the early grades. The student body is racially mixed. White students make up the largest share, followed by Hispanic students, students of two or more races, Asian students, and Black students. There are no American Indian or Alaska Native students and no Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander students reported. Economic need data through free or reduced-price lunch counts was not available, nor were individualized education program rates or English learner rates. The absence of these figures makes it harder to assess how the school is serving its most vulnerable populations, and a family with specific questions about special education or language support would need to ask the school directly.
Washington itself is a city built around the federal government. It functions as what some call a company town, with the federal workforce, foreign embassies, international organizations like the World Bank and IMF, and a dense concentration of associations, think tanks, and lobbying firms along K Street. The city's L'Enfant Plan laid out broad diagonal avenues radiating from traffic circles and squares, intersecting a grid. The National Mall serves as a central pedestrian axis connecting monuments and Smithsonian museums. Stoddert's Calvert Street location places it in the Northwest quadrant, a part of the city known for established residential neighborhoods rather than the monumental core.
The housing market around Stoddert is among the more expensive in the District. Typical home values in the school's zip code run well above the DC-wide benchmark and far above national figures. The price-to-income ratio is high, and monthly mortgage costs substantially exceed rental costs, which means buying into this attendance zone requires considerable income or existing equity. Rents are also elevated relative to national norms, though they have eased slightly. For families considering the area, the cost of housing is a defining factor.
Within DCPS, the district has implemented a district-wide cell phone restriction for the current school year, tied to legislation promoting distraction-free learning. The district's strategic plan, A Capital Commitment, runs through the late 2020s and focuses on academic success, student connectedness, and post-secondary readiness across all DCPS schools. A new middle school addition opened at Leckie Education Campus in Ward 8, expanding capacity in Southeast Washington, though that does not directly affect Stoddert's elementary families.
Several data points a parent might expect are absent from what was available. There is no Title I status reported, no staffing or teacher experience data, no attendance or chronic absenteeism figures, no discipline data, and no information on course offerings or extracurricular programs. Trend data comparing this year's proficiency to prior years was not available, so it is not possible to say whether these results represent improvement, stability, or decline. The school does not have a graduation rate, which is expected because it serves only elementary grades.
What the available data does show is a Northwest DC elementary school with solid reading and math outcomes, a science result that bears watching, a diverse student body, and a surrounding neighborhood where housing costs are steep.
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