Summary:
The Center City PCS district in Washington, DC operates 6 elementary schools serving grades PK through 8th grade, with a combined enrollment of 1,446 students across campuses in several DC neighborhoods. The district ranks 30th out of 46 DC districts (35th percentile, 2 stars), and while schools are similar in size — ranging from 202 to 269 students — they differ enormously in academic performance, spending, and student-teacher ratios.
Two schools are clear standouts. Center City PCS - Congress Heights is the network's top performer, with 54.3% ELA and 36.2% math proficiency in 2025-26 — both well above state averages — and a solid 4-star rating. Center City PCS - Brightwood is nearly as strong, posting 43.0% ELA and 38.0% math proficiency, including an exceptional 82.6% proficiency in 7th-grade ELA. At the opposite end, Center City PCS - Capitol Hill and Center City PCS - Shaw are severe outliers with 0-star ratings, ranking at the 6th and 7th percentiles respectively. Their ELA proficiency sits at just 13.0% and 11.5%, and math proficiency is around 10-11%. Meanwhile, Center City PCS - Petworth and Center City PCS - Trinidad fall in the middle with 2-star ratings.
Notably, spending and class size do not predict success. Trinidad spends the most at $32,380 per student yet has some of the lowest scores, while Brightwood spends the least ($27,658) and performs among the best. Shaw has the lowest student-teacher ratio (8.2) but remains one of the weakest schools, while Congress Heights has the highest ratio (12.4) and is the top performer. Struggling schools show severe gaps as early as 3rd grade — Capitol Hill's 3rd-grade ELA proficiency is just 4.4% and Shaw's is 6.2% — suggesting early intervention is critical. Bright spots do exist in middle school, with strong 7th and 8th-grade results at several campuses, and science proficiency is a network-wide concern, with only Congress Heights approaching the state average.
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