The top reported proficiency rate is 26% in English language arts. The lowest is 18% in Math.
Original Research by School Decision on Patterson Es
Patterson Elementary School sits on South Capitol Terrace in Southwest Washington, serving pre-kindergarten through fifth grade as part of the District of Columbia Public Schools system. It is a neighborhood elementary school in a part of the city where housing values run well below the DC-wide benchmark and below the national median, with home prices having declined noticeably over the past year. Rents in the surrounding zip code are modest by Washington standards, and renting here costs substantially less per month than carrying a mortgage, which tells you something about the economic pressures in this corner of the city. The area has seen its housing market soften while rents have ticked upward, a pattern that can signal a renter-heavy community where ownership is out of reach for many families.
The student body is small for an elementary school and nearly entirely Black. A handful of students identify as Hispanic or multiracial, and the enrollment is spread fairly evenly across the early grades, with pre-kindergarten making up a meaningful portion. The school does not report free-or-reduced-price lunch counts, IEP rates, or English-learner figures in the data available, so a parent wanting to understand the economic and special-needs profile of the student population would need to ask the school directly. Those gaps are common and do not necessarily indicate a lack of services, only that the figures were not provided in the source records we reviewed.
On state assessments, Patterson's results are low. In the most recent reporting year, the share of students meeting or exceeding expectations in English language arts was modest, and in math it was lower still. Science results from an earlier testing cycle show a very small share of fifth graders reaching proficiency. These figures sit well below state averages and represent the kind of pattern that often prompts questions about what support is in place. The data does not include multi-year trends, so it is hard to say whether performance is moving in any direction. A parent considering this school may want to look into this further with the school, asking about interventions, tutoring, and how the staff approaches reading and math instruction in the early grades.
The broader district context is relevant here. DCPS recently rolled out a district-wide cell phone restriction beginning in the current school year, tied to legislation aimed at reducing classroom distractions. The district is also working through a five-year strategic plan focused on academic success, student connection to school, and preparation for what comes after each grade band. In Southeast Washington specifically, the district opened a new middle school addition at Leckie Education Campus in Ward 8, which could matter to Patterson families thinking ahead to where their children go after fifth grade.
Washington itself is a city shaped by the federal government, which dominates employment and gives the place its identity. The monumental core, the National Mall, the Smithsonian museums, and the lobbying corridors around K Street are the visible face of the city, but they sit at a distance from neighborhoods like the one Patterson serves. The city is divided into quadrants radiating from the Capitol, and the Southwest corridor where the school sits has its own character, distinct from the tourist and government center. For a family at Patterson, the city's cultural and institutional resources are accessible but not necessarily part of daily life in the immediate neighborhood.
What the data does not tell you is substantial. There is no information on staffing ratios, teacher experience, attendance rates, discipline patterns, course offerings, or before- and after-school programs. Title I status was not reported. No neighbor comparison was available to position Patterson against nearby schools. All of these are things a parent would want to ask about when visiting or calling the school. The academic numbers alone give a partial picture, and the missing program and climate data could shape the experience of attending here as much as test scores do.
See more original research from School Decision →