The top reported proficiency rate is 45% in English language arts. The lowest is 12% in Science.
Original Research by School Decision on Powell Es
Powell Elementary School sits on Upshur Street in Northwest Washington, serving pre-kindergarten through fifth grade as part of District of Columbia Public Schools. The enrollment is moderate for a DCPS elementary school, with fairly even distribution across the grade levels, and pre-kindergarten makes up a solid share of the student body. The school's racial and ethnic composition is predominantly Hispanic, with smaller Black and white populations and a handful of students identifying as Asian or multiracial. Information on free or reduced-price lunch eligibility, individualized education programs, and English-learner status was not available in the data provided, so a parent would want to ask the school directly about how it serves economically disadvantaged students, students with disabilities, and multilingual learners.
On the most recent state assessments for grades three through eight, Powell's English language arts proficiency sits in a middling range, with roughly half of tested students meeting or exceeding expectations. Math proficiency is lower, with about a third of students reaching that bar. Fifth-grade science results from an earlier testing cycle were quite low, with only a small fraction of tested students demonstrating proficiency. The science figure comes from a different school year than the math and ELA numbers, and trend data was not available, so it is hard to say whether these results represent a steady pattern or a point in time. A parent considering Powell may want to look into the school's current science instruction and how it connects to the math and literacy work happening in the building.
The school sits in a zip code where home values are above the District of Columbia median and well above national levels, reflecting the broader housing market of Northwest Washington. Rents in the area are also elevated. For families renting in the neighborhood, the cost burden is real, and for those looking to buy, the price-to-income ratio is steep. This is a relatively affluent part of the city by national standards, though whether that translates into additional school resources depends on factors the available data does not capture. The school's Title I status was not reported, and no information on staffing ratios, course offerings, or extracurricular programs was available.
DCPS as a whole is in the midst of a five-year strategic plan called A Capital Commitment, running through 2028, which focuses on academic success, student connection to school, and post-secondary preparation. Beginning in the current school year, the district also implemented a system-wide cell phone restriction tied to city legislation aimed at reducing classroom distraction. These are district-level initiatives that apply to Powell along with every other DCPS school.
The neighborhood around Powell is part of Washington's larger urban fabric, a city built on a baroque plan of diagonal avenues and traffic circles radiating from the Capitol. Washington is a government-driven city, with the federal workforce as its dominant employer, alongside embassies, international organizations, think tanks, and lobbying firms. The city's quadrant system creates distinct neighborhood identities, and Powell's location in Northwest places it in one of the more established residential sections. Public transit through WMATA's Metrorail and Metrobus systems connects neighborhoods across the District and into Maryland and Virginia.
What the data does not tell you is substantial. There is no information on discipline, attendance, staffing, course access, or specialized programs at Powell. No comparison set against neighboring schools was provided. The gaps in free-or-reduced lunch, special education, and English-learner data mean a family cannot fully assess how the school serves its most vulnerable students from the available record alone. What is visible is a school with a strong Hispanic majority, moderate academic results in literacy, weaker results in math and science, and a home in a relatively high-cost part of the city. Families weighing Powell should visit the building, ask about the supports behind those proficiency numbers, and get a sense of how the school communicates with its predominantly Latino families.
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