Summary:
Mary McLeod Bethune Day Academy PCS is the only school in its district, a public charter elementary school serving grades PK through 8 with 310 students, located at 1404 Jackson Street NE in Washington, DC. Because the charter operates as its own LEA, the district (also called Mary McLeod Bethune Day Academy PCS) is the same entity as the school, so district-level rankings reflect just this one campus.
The school struggles relative to DC averages in both tested subjects. In 2025-26, only 20.0% of students scored proficient in English Language Arts compared to 39.6% statewide, and 14.0% scored proficient in math compared to 28.2% statewide. Its 2025-26 school ranking of 90th out of 124 DC schools (27th percentile, 1 star) is a sharp drop from the prior year when it placed 60th out of 128 (53rd percentile, 3 stars). The charter LEA ranks 42nd out of 46 DC LEAs. Notably, the school spends $34,581 per student and has a 6.7:1 student-teacher ratio, yet these resources have not produced strong test outcomes.
Grade-level data reveals a severe math collapse after 3rd grade: 3rd-grade math proficiency (36.1%) is close to the state average of 40.5%, but falls to 6.0% in 4th grade and stays below 8% in later grades. Eighth-grade ELA is just 8.3%, a 37-point gap from the state average of 45.4%. The school's ranking has been volatile over three years, moving from the 19th percentile in 2023-24 to the 53rd percentile in 2024-25, then back to the 27th percentile in 2025-26. Parents should weigh the small class sizes and high per-student spending against the persistent academic deficits, especially in upper-elementary and middle-school math, as well as 8th-grade literacy.
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