The top reported proficiency rate is 13% in English language arts. The lowest is 9% in Math.
Original Research by School Decision on Plummer Es
PlummerElementary School sits on Texas Avenue Southeast in Washington, D.C., part of the District of Columbia Public Schools system. It serves pre-kindergarten through fifth grade in a regular public school setting. The enrollment is small for a DCPS elementary school, with a fairly even distribution across the early grades and a sizable pre-kindergarten cohort, which suggests the school functions as an entry point into formal schooling for many neighborhood families.
The student body is predominantly Black, with a smaller Hispanic enrollment and no reported students identifying as white, Asian, multiracial, or Native. This is a community where nearly all children share a similar racial and ethnic background. Several data points that parents often look for were not available in the records we reviewed, including free-or-reduced-price lunch counts, special education rates, and English learner figures. The absence of these does not mean they do not exist, only that the sources we drew from did not report them for this school.
On state assessments, Plummer's results are low. In the most recent reporting cycle, the share of students meeting or exceeding expectations in math was in the single digits, and in English language arts it was modestly higher but still well below what most D.C. schools post. Science results from the prior testing cycle were similarly low, with a small group of fifth graders tested and no students scoring proficient. Participation in that science assessment was below full enrollment, which can sometimes reflect mobility or absences on testing day. These are not numbers a parent can easily set aside. A family considering Plummer may want to look into what the school is doing instructionally, what support structures are in place, and how leadership plans to move these results. The school's day-to-day classroom experience is not captured in a single proficiency figure, but the pattern across subjects and years is one a parent should engage with directly.
We looked for trend data to see whether results were improving or declining over time and found none available, so we cannot say which direction the school is moving. We also found no data on staffing ratios, attendance, discipline, or course offerings, which limits the picture considerably. Program information was not provided either, so whether Plummer offers arts, music, extended-day programming, or specialized supports is something a family would need to ask the school about directly.
The housing context around Plummer's zip code is one of the more affordable parts of the District. Typical home values sit well below the D.C. citywide benchmark and roughly in line with the national figure, and they have been declining recently. Rents are modest relative to much of the city and have edged up only slightly. For a household weighing renting versus buying, the monthly cost of renting is meaningfully lower than carrying a mortgage at current rates, which is worth noting for families planning a move into the neighborhood. The broader area is Southeast Washington, which has seen public investment in school infrastructure, including a recently opened middle school addition at Leckie Education Campus in Ward 8, indicating the district is directing capital resources to this part of the city. DCPS has also implemented a district-wide cell phone restriction for the current school year, intended to reduce classroom distraction, and is operating under a multi-year strategic plan focused on academic progress, student connection, and post-secondary readiness.
What the public record shows about Plummer is a small, community-rooted elementary school in a Southeast D.C. neighborhood where housing costs are relatively accessible for the District but where academic proficiency results are currently low across tested subjects. The gaps in available data are wide enough that visiting the school, talking with the principal, and observing classrooms would tell a parent things the numbers cannot.
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