Summary:
In Washington, DC's Capital City PCS district, there is just one high school, Capital City PCS - High School, serving grades 9 through 12 with 348 students, and it ranks in the lower third of DC high schools despite some notable strengths.
For parents considering this school, the most important thing to know is that it graduates students at a high rate—86.2% last year, above both the district average of 85.6% and the state average of 78.7%. However, academic proficiency in core subjects is a serious concern. Only 13.5% of students are proficient in English Language Arts and just 6.8% in math, compared to state averages of 39.6% and 28.2%. Mathematics is the weakest area: Algebra I proficiency is 4.4%, and Geometry is 8.7%, both far below state levels. The school spends a substantial $32,709 per student and has a low student-teacher ratio of 8.2, suggesting small classes and ample resources, yet test scores have not caught up to state benchmarks.
Compared to the rest of the Capital City PCS district, this high school’s end-of-course results are actually in line with or slightly above district averages in English, Algebra, and Geometry, which shows it is performing consistently with its own district even as both lag the state. The school’s state ranking has been volatile, swinging from 24th to 34th to 26th in recent years, though it has recovered to the 28th percentile. Notably, math proficiency did improve from 3.8% to 6.8% in one year, and ELA improved slightly. For a school with only 348 students, small changes can cause big rank swings. The bottom line: a strong graduation rate and low class sizes are undermined by very low test proficiency, especially in math—something parents should investigate when considering this school.
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