Best High Schools in District Of Columbia for African American Students

Check out our new feature available only on SchoolDigger: rankings for different groups of students in District Of Columbia!

Every year, the D.C. Office of the State Superintendent of Education shares test results for various student groups in each school. We use these results to find out which schools do best for each group and list them from the best to the worst.

Additionally, we also compare the performance of the subgroup to the performance of the school as a whole. This makes it easy to see if, for example, African American students are overperforming or underperforming their peers in each school.

Year after year, SchoolDigger is always the first to publish District Of Columbia test scores and rankings. Other sites use stale test score data that are several years old! Be in the know with the very latest performance metrics.

The list is updated annually upon the release of the DC Science and DC CAPE test scores by the D.C. Office of the State Superintendent of Education. The most recent update was on Thursday, August 21, 2025.

Be the first to know when we post new test scores and rankings!

School	Students/Teachers	Per Pupil Expenditures (2024)	Ranking (African American vs All Students - 2025)	ID
1	Benjamin Banneker High School	Public	9-12	1600 9th St. NW	Washington	20001	District Of Columbia	District of Columbia Public Schools	No	(n/a)	No	Yes	(202) 671-6320	703	43	16.3	65 (9.2%)	482 (68.6%)	122 (17.4%)	11 (1.6%)	1 (0.1%)	0 (0.0%)	22 (3.1%)	$21,072	$4,233	$16,838	96.9%	91.4%	5.45%	110003000153
2	Washington Latin PCS - Upper School	Public, Charter	9-12	5200 2nd Street NW	Washington	20011	District Of Columbia	Washington Latin PCS	Yes	(n/a)	No	No	(202) 223-1111	357	43	8.2	157 (44.0%)	109 (30.5%)	51 (14.3%)	9 (2.5%)	0 (0.0%)	1 (0.3%)	30 (8.4%)	$23,849	$838	$23,011	93.8%	88.6%	5.18%	110001900423
3	McKinley Technology High School	Public	9-12	151 T St. NE	Washington	20002	District Of Columbia	District of Columbia Public Schools	No	(n/a)	No	Yes	(202) 281-3950	723	50	14.3	33 (4.6%)	583 (80.6%)	91 (12.6%)	3 (0.4%)	1 (0.1%)	0 (0.0%)	11 (1.5%)	$30,238	$4,500	$25,738	90.6%	82.9%	7.77%	110003000267
4	Jackson-Reed High School	Public	9-12	3950 Chesapeake St. NW	Washington	20016	District Of Columbia	District of Columbia Public Schools	No	(n/a)	No	No	(202) 282-0120	1,855	136	13.6	672 (36.2%)	487 (26.3%)	476 (25.7%)	105 (5.7%)	4 (0.2%)	4 (0.2%)	104 (5.6%)	$26,132	$4,089	$22,043	87.5%	85.7%	1.79%	110003000133
5	Duke Ellington School of the Arts	Public	9-12	3500 R St. NW	Washington	20007	District Of Columbia	District of Columbia Public Schools	No	(n/a)	No	No	(202) 282-0123	589	21	28	82 (13.9%)	389 (66.0%)	80 (13.6%)	8 (1.4%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	25 (4.2%)	$35,010	$4,018	$30,992	84.4%	80.0%	4.38%	110003000016
6	District of Columbia International School	Public, Charter	6-12	1400 Main Drive NW	Washington	20012	District Of Columbia	District of Columbia International School	Yes	(n/a)	No	Yes	(202) 808-9033	1,654	160	10.3	348 (21.0%)	428 (25.9%)	662 (40.0%)	46 (2.8%)	2 (0.1%)	1 (0.1%)	164 (9.9%)	$22,716	$2,330	$20,386	81.3%	77.1%	4.11%	110009700492
7	Columbia Heights Education Campus	Public	6-12	3101 16th St. NW	Washington	20010	District Of Columbia	District of Columbia Public Schools	No	(n/a)	No	Yes	(202) 939-7700	1,563	149	10.4	14 (0.9%)	445 (28.5%)	1,070 (68.5%)	21 (1.3%)	0 (0.0%)	1 (0.1%)	11 (0.7%)	$31,052	$4,969	$26,083	78.1%	51.4%	26.70%	110003000396
8	The Sojourner Truth School PCS	Public, Charter	6-12	1800 Perry Street NE	Washington	20018	District Of Columbia	The Sojourner Truth School PCS	Yes	(n/a)	No	Yes	(202) 747-0904	292	31	9.4	37 (12.7%)	178 (61.0%)	60 (20.5%)	5 (1.7%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	11 (3.8%)	$28,011	$1,383	$26,627	75.0%	74.3%	0.71%	110011100535
9	Phelps Architecture Construction and Engineering High School	Public	9-12	704 26th St. NE	Washington	20002	District Of Columbia	District of Columbia Public Schools	No	(n/a)	No	Yes	(202) 729-4360	350	33	10.6	3 (0.9%)	310 (88.6%)	30 (8.6%)	1 (0.3%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	6 (1.7%)	$31,347	$4,632	$26,715	71.9%	62.9%	9.02%	110003000407
10	Richard Wright PCS for Journalism and Media Arts	Public, Charter	8-12	475 School Street SW	Washington	20024	District Of Columbia	Richard Wright PCS for Journalism and Media Arts	Yes	(n/a)	No	Yes	(202) 388-1011	300	26	11.7	3 (1.0%)	293 (97.7%)	4 (1.3%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	$32,581	$3,041	$29,539	68.8%	65.7%	3.04%	110008200441

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Other SchoolDigger ranking lists for District Of Columbia

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New! SchoolDigger ranking lists for DC student subgroups:

Hispanic Students Low Socio Economic Status Students

About our rankings:

Schooldigger calculates school rankings based on DC CAPE English II, DC CAPE Algebra II, DC CAPE Algebra I, DC CAPE Geometry, DC CAPE English I, DC Science Science test scores released by the D.C. Office of the State Superintendent of Education.
These rankings were last updated on August 21, 2025, and are based on the most recent test scores available. We update rankings as we receive new test scores from the D.C. Office of the State Superintendent of Education, usually on a yearly basis.
Our sources of data include the National Center for Education Statistics, U.S. Department of Education and the D.C. Office of the State Superintendent of Education.
For more information about our ranking process, please see our Ranking FAQ. Details about our methodology are here.

Educational resources:

Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA): Transforming Education in America

Charter Schools vs Regular Public Schools: Understanding the Key Differences

SchoolDigger data sources: National Center for Education Statistics, U.S. Department of Education, the U.S. Census Bureau and the D.C. Office of the State Superintendent of Education.

School														Students/Teachers											Per Pupil Expenditures (2024)							Ranking (African American vs All Students - 2025)					ID
Rank (of 32)	School	Type	Grades	Address	City	Zip	County	District	Is Charter	Is Magnet	Is Virtual	Is Title I	Phone	# Students	Full-time Teachers	Student/ Teacher Ratio	Free/Disc Lunch Recipients	White	Black	Hispanic	Asian	American Indian	Pacific Islander	Two or More Races	Per Pupil Expenditures: Total	Personnel from Federal Funds	Non-Personnel from Federal Funds	Total from Federal Funds	Personnel from State and Local Funds	Non-Personnel from State and Local Funds	Total from State and Local Funds	Statewide Rank Percentile (African American)	Statewide Rank Percentile (All Students)	Rank Percentile Difference from All Students	SchoolDigger Rating (African American)	SchoolDigger Rating (All Students)	ID
1	Benjamin Banneker High School	Public	9-12	1600 9th St. NW	Washington	20001	District Of Columbia	District of Columbia Public Schools	No	(n/a)	No	Yes	(202) 671-6320	703	43	16.3		65 (9.2%)	482 (68.6%)	122 (17.4%)	11 (1.6%)	1 (0.1%)	0 (0.0%)	22 (3.1%)	$21,072			$4,233			$16,838	96.9%	91.4%	5.45%			110003000153
2	Washington Latin PCS - Upper School	Public, Charter	9-12	5200 2nd Street NW	Washington	20011	District Of Columbia	Washington Latin PCS	Yes	(n/a)	No	No	(202) 223-1111	357	43	8.2		157 (44.0%)	109 (30.5%)	51 (14.3%)	9 (2.5%)	0 (0.0%)	1 (0.3%)	30 (8.4%)	$23,849			$838			$23,011	93.8%	88.6%	5.18%			110001900423
3	McKinley Technology High School	Public	9-12	151 T St. NE	Washington	20002	District Of Columbia	District of Columbia Public Schools	No	(n/a)	No	Yes	(202) 281-3950	723	50	14.3		33 (4.6%)	583 (80.6%)	91 (12.6%)	3 (0.4%)	1 (0.1%)	0 (0.0%)	11 (1.5%)	$30,238			$4,500			$25,738	90.6%	82.9%	7.77%			110003000267
4	Jackson-Reed High School	Public	9-12	3950 Chesapeake St. NW	Washington	20016	District Of Columbia	District of Columbia Public Schools	No	(n/a)	No	No	(202) 282-0120	1,855	136	13.6		672 (36.2%)	487 (26.3%)	476 (25.7%)	105 (5.7%)	4 (0.2%)	4 (0.2%)	104 (5.6%)	$26,132			$4,089			$22,043	87.5%	85.7%	1.79%			110003000133
5	Duke Ellington School of the Arts	Public	9-12	3500 R St. NW	Washington	20007	District Of Columbia	District of Columbia Public Schools	No	(n/a)	No	No	(202) 282-0123	589	21	28		82 (13.9%)	389 (66.0%)	80 (13.6%)	8 (1.4%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	25 (4.2%)	$35,010			$4,018			$30,992	84.4%	80.0%	4.38%			110003000016
6	District of Columbia International School	Public, Charter	6-12	1400 Main Drive NW	Washington	20012	District Of Columbia	District of Columbia International School	Yes	(n/a)	No	Yes	(202) 808-9033	1,654	160	10.3		348 (21.0%)	428 (25.9%)	662 (40.0%)	46 (2.8%)	2 (0.1%)	1 (0.1%)	164 (9.9%)	$22,716			$2,330			$20,386	81.3%	77.1%	4.11%			110009700492
7	Columbia Heights Education Campus	Public	6-12	3101 16th St. NW	Washington	20010	District Of Columbia	District of Columbia Public Schools	No	(n/a)	No	Yes	(202) 939-7700	1,563	149	10.4		14 (0.9%)	445 (28.5%)	1,070 (68.5%)	21 (1.3%)	0 (0.0%)	1 (0.1%)	11 (0.7%)	$31,052			$4,969			$26,083	78.1%	51.4%	26.70%			110003000396
8	The Sojourner Truth School PCS	Public, Charter	6-12	1800 Perry Street NE	Washington	20018	District Of Columbia	The Sojourner Truth School PCS	Yes	(n/a)	No	Yes	(202) 747-0904	292	31	9.4		37 (12.7%)	178 (61.0%)	60 (20.5%)	5 (1.7%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	11 (3.8%)	$28,011			$1,383			$26,627	75.0%	74.3%	0.71%			110011100535
9	Phelps Architecture Construction and Engineering High School	Public	9-12	704 26th St. NE	Washington	20002	District Of Columbia	District of Columbia Public Schools	No	(n/a)	No	Yes	(202) 729-4360	350	33	10.6		3 (0.9%)	310 (88.6%)	30 (8.6%)	1 (0.3%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	6 (1.7%)	$31,347			$4,632			$26,715	71.9%	62.9%	9.02%			110003000407
10	Richard Wright PCS for Journalism and Media Arts	Public, Charter	8-12	475 School Street SW	Washington	20024	District Of Columbia	Richard Wright PCS for Journalism and Media Arts	Yes	(n/a)	No	Yes	(202) 388-1011	300	26	11.7		3 (1.0%)	293 (97.7%)	4 (1.3%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	$32,581			$3,041			$29,539	68.8%	65.7%	3.04%			110008200441