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Jefferson-Houston Pk-8 School

Public Grades PK, KG-8
985th
SchoolDigger Rank ?
of 1,110 Virginia Elementary Schools
Better than 11% of Virginia elementary schools
Summary

Jefferson-Houston Pk-8 School is a public elementary and middle school in Alexandria, Virginia, serving 587 students in grades PK-8. Despite its relatively high per-student spending and low student-teacher ratios, the school consistently ranks in the bottom 10-15% of Virginia elementary schools, with a 0-star rating from SchoolDigger, indicating very low performance compared to other schools in the state.

The school's academic struggles are particularly pronounced for certain student subgroups, such as African American and low-income students, who perform in the bottom 10-15% of schools statewide. This suggests significant achievement gaps, even as the school's white students perform relatively well, ranking in the top 1/3 of Virginia elementary schools. Additionally, Naomi L. Brooks Elementary and Lyles-Crouch Elementary, two nearby schools in the Alexandria City Public Schools district, significantly outperform Jefferson-Houston Pk-8 School across multiple metrics.

Despite the school's relatively high per-student spending and low student-teacher ratios, it has struggled to close these achievement gaps. Exploring the underlying causes of these performance issues, as well as learning from the practices of the higher-performing nearby schools, could be valuable in developing strategies to improve outcomes for the students at Jefferson-Houston Pk-8 School.

506
Students ?
10.4
Student/teacher ratio ?
$17,844
Per pupil spending ?
85%
Free/discounted lunch ?
 1501 Cameron St
       Alexandria, VA  22314

(703) 706-4400

District: Alexandria City Public Schools


Students who attend Jefferson-Houston Pk-8 School usually attend:

High:    Alexandria City High
Racial breakdown:

African American:
47.0%
White:
25.1%
Hispanic:
20.0%
more
 See top rated Virginia elementary schools

 Compare Jefferson-Houston Pk-8 School to nearby elementary schools!
At a glance
Ranking trend: Improving — 4th percentile in 2015 → 11th in 2025
Strengths
Ranking is trending up — up 7 percentile points since 2015
Small classes — about 10 students per teacher
Worth a look
!Test scores below the Virginia average (51% vs 70% meeting standards)
!In the lower quartile statewide (11th percentile)
!VA Studies scores 29 pts below the Virginia average
Students meeting standards (2024-2025) ?
This school51%
District avg57%
Virginia avg70%
Elementary school
985th of 1,110
Virginia public elementary schools ?
Bottom 11%▲ up 7 pts since 2015
From bottom 4% (2015) to bottom 11% (2025)
See the entire ranking list of Virginia Elementary Schools →
SchoolDigger rating ?
Middle school
362nd of 419
Virginia public middle schools ?
Bottom 14%▲ up 5 pts since 2015
From bottom 8% (2015) to bottom 14% (2025)
See the entire ranking list of Virginia Middle Schools →
SchoolDigger rating ?
12th of 14Elementary Schools in the Alexandria City Public Schools
107th of 129Alexandria City Public Schools among Virginia districts
Statewide rank percentile over time (100 = the top-ranked school in the state; click a legend item to add a student group)
Elementary school ranking
Show full rank history (all student groups)

All Students

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankVirginia percentileRating
202514.5985 of 111011.3%★☆☆☆☆
202411.41010 of 11149.3%☆☆☆☆☆
20237.21055 of 11145.3%☆☆☆☆☆
20227.01057 of 11094.7%☆☆☆☆☆
202110.01012 of 11038.3%☆☆☆☆☆
201911.91036 of 11056.2%☆☆☆☆☆
201815.31002 of 10978.7%☆☆☆☆☆
20175.51070 of 10992.6%☆☆☆☆☆
20169.31049 of 10964.3%☆☆☆☆☆
20159.71057 of 11003.9%☆☆☆☆☆
20144.31094 of 11101.4%☆☆☆☆☆
20137.71093 of 11202.4%☆☆☆☆☆
20120.91117 of 11170.0%☆☆☆☆☆
20110.51115 of 11170.2%☆☆☆☆☆
201011.11081 of 11132.9%☆☆☆☆☆
20097.11066 of 10821.5%☆☆☆☆☆
200811.01050 of 10812.9%☆☆☆☆☆
20071.11080 of 10830.3%☆☆☆☆☆
200611.71040 of 10712.9%☆☆☆☆☆
20053.11057 of 10620.5%☆☆☆☆☆

African American

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankVirginia percentileRating
202511.7547 of 5795.5%☆☆☆☆☆
20245.4580 of 5881.4%☆☆☆☆☆
20237.1563 of 5792.8%☆☆☆☆☆

Female

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankVirginia percentileRating
202516.3959 of 109612.5%★☆☆☆☆
202410.61018 of 10987.3%☆☆☆☆☆
20239.31031 of 11006.3%☆☆☆☆☆

Low Socio Economic Status

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankVirginia percentileRating
20259.61009 of 10463.5%☆☆☆☆☆
20245.51020 of 10361.5%☆☆☆☆☆

Male

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankVirginia percentileRating
202515.1976 of 109310.7%★☆☆☆☆
202420.9931 of 110115.4%★☆☆☆☆
20237.01046 of 10934.3%☆☆☆☆☆

White

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankVirginia percentileRating
202563.7367 of 97362.3%★★★☆☆
202471.6244 of 97975.1%★★★★☆
202346.7583 of 98440.8%★★☆☆☆
Middle school ranking
Show full rank history (all student groups)

All Students

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankVirginia percentileRating
202521.9362 of 41913.6%★☆☆☆☆
20249.7393 of 4175.8%☆☆☆☆☆
202310.3397 of 4225.9%☆☆☆☆☆
20227.0393 of 4155.3%☆☆☆☆☆
20218.4403 of 4193.8%☆☆☆☆☆
201920.8373 of 42412.0%★☆☆☆☆
201817.5386 of 4136.5%☆☆☆☆☆
201728.6333 of 41519.8%★☆☆☆☆
201614.7377 of 4097.8%☆☆☆☆☆
201514.2378 of 4128.3%☆☆☆☆☆
20147.3401 of 4163.6%☆☆☆☆☆
201314.3387 of 4167.0%☆☆☆☆☆
20125.9407 of 4131.5%☆☆☆☆☆
20115.2412 of 4130.2%☆☆☆☆☆

African American

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankVirginia percentileRating
202523.8247 of 29716.8%★☆☆☆☆
202412.8281 of 2996.0%☆☆☆☆☆
202318.3265 of 29811.1%★☆☆☆☆

Female

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankVirginia percentileRating
202537.0278 of 40331.0%★★☆☆☆
202416.3366 of 40710.1%★☆☆☆☆
202314.0379 of 4117.8%☆☆☆☆☆

Hispanic

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankVirginia percentileRating
202566.184 of 27969.9%★★★★☆
202333.7189 of 27531.3%★★☆☆☆

Low Socio Economic Status

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankVirginia percentileRating
202523.9334 of 40317.1%★☆☆☆☆
202411.7383 of 4024.7%☆☆☆☆☆

Male

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankVirginia percentileRating
202519.0358 of 40411.4%★☆☆☆☆
20247.9389 of 4074.4%☆☆☆☆☆
202315.5367 of 40910.3%★☆☆☆☆
How student groups rank statewide ? (each group's percentile vs the same group at other schools — higher is better; the +/- beside each compares the group with this school's overall percentile)
Elementary school
White (2025)62nd percentile+51 vs school
Female (2025)12th percentile~ school
Male (2025)11th percentile~ school
African American (2025)6th percentile-6 vs school
Low Socio Economic Status (2025)4th percentile-8 vs school
Middle school
Hispanic (2025)70th percentile+56 vs school
Female (2025)31st percentile+17 vs school
Low Socio Economic Status (2025)17th percentile+4 vs school
African American (2025)17th percentile+3 vs school
Male (2025)11th percentile~ school
By subject vs Virginia (2024-2025) ?
Algebra I100%+8 vs state
Civics and Economics73%~ state avg
English Reading56%-16 vs state
Science46%-22 vs state
Mathematics44%-22 vs state
VA Studies40%-29 vs state

5.0
3 ratings · 3 written reviews
53
40
30
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10
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What people are saying
by a parent
Thursday, January 7, 2021

Open Quote This is my family's fifth year at Jefferson Houston, and we are very happy. The teachers are kind and encouraging. The parent community is positive and supportive. We are doing virtual learning right now because of the pandemic, and the energy and effort from my children's teachers is remarkable! Don't discount this school because of bad computer algorithms that rank it poorly. Visit the school -- a beautiful new building constructed a few years ago with natural light, a fun playground, and large classrooms -- and talk to parents. Close Quote


by a parent
Friday, January 27, 2017

Open Quote J-H has an enthusiastic community of students, teachers, administrators, staff, and parents. It also has fantastic facilities: a new building and K-8 means elementary students have resources not available elsewhere. Test scores are improving as investment in the school has turned the corner and the broader community is supportive. I encourage everyone to visit the school and be impressed by the level of learning taking place. Close Quote


by a parent
Monday, June 27, 2011

Open Quote This is a great school. We are having a wonderful experience with small class sizes and individualized attention for kids at ALL levels. Close Quote





Schools Near Jefferson-Houston Pk-8 School









Frequently Asked Questions about Jefferson-Houston Pk-8 School

Students who attend Jefferson-Houston Pk-8 School usually go on to attend:

High : Alexandria City High

Students at Jefferson-Houston Pk-8 School are 47% African American, 25% White, 20% Hispanic, 5% Two or more races, 2% Asian.

In the 2024-25 school year, 506 students attended Jefferson-Houston Pk-8 School.

Jefferson-Houston Pk-8 School ranks in the bottom 11.3% of Virginia elementary schools.


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SchoolDigger data sources: National Center for Education Statistics, U.S. Department of Education, the U.S. Census Bureau and the Virginia Department of Education.

IMPORTANT DISCLAIMERS: Not all boundaries are included. We make every effort to ensure that boundaries are up-to-date. But it's important to note that these are approximations and are for general informational purposes only. To verify legal descriptions of boundaries or school locations, contact your local tax assessor's office and/or school district.





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