Summary:
Washington Leadership Academy PCS is the only school in this data set, a public charter high school in Washington, DC, serving grades 9 through 12 with 386 students. Because the school operates as its own single-school district, its school-level and district-level results are nearly identical, so the most meaningful benchmarks are the DC state averages and the school's own year-over-year trends.
This school stands out for its strong graduation rate of 91.9%, well above the DC state average of 78.7%. However, academic proficiency on state assessments tells a different story: only 19.2% of students are proficient in ELA and just 12.0% in math, compared with state averages of 39.6% and 28.2%. The school spends a remarkable $33,946 per student and maintains an excellent 8:1 student-teacher ratio, yet these investments are not reflected in test scores. It currently holds a 3-star rating and ranks 20th out of 46 DC schools, placing it in the 57th percentile. Its ranking has been volatile, moving from the 53rd percentile in 2023–2024, down to the 37th in 2024–2025, and back to the 50th in 2025–2026.
Perhaps the most striking finding is the disconnect between graduation success and test performance, suggesting the school may excel at helping students complete high school through credit recovery or strong supports, while academic rigor remains a concern. Math is the biggest area for improvement, with proficiency stuck in the low teens and Algebra I falling from above the state average to 10.1%, below the state rate. English I proficiency also dropped sharply from 25.0% to 14.8% in one year. For parents, this is a well-funded, small-class environment with impressive graduation outcomes, but the low test proficiency and ranking volatility are important factors to weigh carefully.
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