The top reported proficiency rate is 26% in English language arts. The lowest is 25% in Math.
Original Research by School Decision on Dc Scholars Pcs
DC Scholars PCS is a public charter school in Washington, D.C., serving students from prekindergarten through eighth grade. It sits on East Capitol Street in the 20019 ZIP code, an area on the eastern side of the city. As a charter school, it operates independently of the traditional D.C. public school system and accepts students through a lottery-based enrollment process common to charters in the District.
The school enrolls roughly 500 students across its grade bands, with a fairly even distribution from kindergarten through eighth grade and a sizable prekindergarten cohort. The student body is overwhelmingly Black, with only a small handful of students from other racial or ethnic backgrounds. This makes DC Scholars a culturally focused environment where nearly all students share a common identity, which some families see as a strength for community cohesion and others may want to weigh alongside considerations of diversity.
On state assessments, DC Scholars shows room for growth. In the most recent reported year, roughly a quarter of students in grades three through eight met or exceeded expectations in both math and English language arts. These figures sit well below where most D.C. schools aim to be, and a parent considering this school may want to ask leadership directly about their academic improvement plan and what interventions are in place. Science results from an earlier testing cycle were even lower, with proficiency in the near-zero range for both fifth and eighth grade. These are blunt numbers, and they tell a real story about where the school stands academically. At the same time, participation rates on those science assessments were solid, which means the results reflect nearly all eligible students rather than a skewed subset.
Several data points that would help round out the picture are simply absent. Free or reduced-price lunch counts were not reported, so the economic profile of the student body cannot be characterized from what is available. The same is true for special education and English learner populations, staffing levels, attendance patterns, discipline data, and any program offerings or extracurriculars. Without these, it is hard to say much about the school's supports beyond what test scores reveal. The school does not serve high school grades, so there is no graduation rate to report, and that gap reflects the grade band rather than a missing outcome.
The surrounding housing market in the 20019 ZIP code is modest by D.C. standards. Typical home values sit well below the District-wide benchmark and roughly on par with national figures, though the gap has been widening as local values have declined recently while national values held roughly flat. Rents in the area are affordable compared with much of the city, and have edged up only slightly. For families weighing where to live relative to the school, this part of Washington offers a meaningfully cheaper entry point than neighborhoods closer to the city's monumental core.
Washington itself needs little introduction. It is a government-driven city where federal employment anchors the economy, with international organizations, lobbying firms, and associations layered on top. The city's layout follows the L'Enfant Plan, with broad diagonal avenues and a quadrant system radiating from the Capitol. East Capitol Street, where the school sits, runs directly from the Capitol building eastward into Ward 7, placing the school in a residential corridor well east of the monumental core and the commercial density around K Street and downtown.
We searched for recent parent-relevant changes specific to DC Scholars PCS and found little that could be confirmed, so we left that out rather than guess. A family seriously considering this school would do well to visit, ask about academic growth strategies, and press for the kinds of data that were not available here, particularly around student support services and economic demographics.
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