Summary:
Paul PCS is a public charter school district in Washington, DC, consisting of two schools serving 767 students across grades 5 through 12. The system includes Paul PCS – International High School (grades 9–12, 439 students) and Paul PCS – Middle School (grades 5–8, 328 students), both located on the same campus and sharing a district ranking of 22 of 46 DC schools (52nd percentile, 3 stars).
The middle school is the stronger academic performer. In 2025-2026, it posted 37.0% ELA proficiency and 15.3% math proficiency, both above the district averages of 33.5% and 10.8%, respectively. The high school, by contrast, managed only 28.7% ELA and 2.8% math proficiency. The high school’s graduation rate is a bright spot at 93.7% — far above the DC state average of 78.7% — but its math scores are alarming, with just 2.1% proficient in Algebra I and 3.8% in Geometry. The high school has also declined in state rankings, falling from the 71st percentile in 2023-2024 to the 44th percentile in 2025-2026, while the middle school has held steady in the mid-50s.
Within the middle school, ELA proficiency improves from 32.7% in 6th grade to 43.7% in 8th grade, while math proficiency declines from 18.9% to 12.4% over the same period. Both schools spend $32,812 per student, yet the high school maintains a lower student-teacher ratio (9.1 vs. 11.1) despite serving more students. The combination of a 93.7% graduation rate and 2.8% math proficiency suggests a disconnect between graduation requirements and state academic benchmarks. No free/reduced lunch data was reported, so socioeconomic comparisons were not possible for the Paul PCS district, making it difficult to determine whether these performance gaps are linked to student poverty levels or other factors.
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