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Watkins Elementary School (Capitol Hill Cluster)

Q: Is Watkins Elementary School (Capitol Hill Cluster) a good school?

Watkins Elementary School (Capitol Hill Cluster) ranks 33 rd of 128 District Of Columbia elementary schools. SchoolDigger rates this school 4 stars out of 5.

Public Grades 1-5

33^rd

SchoolDigger Rank ?

of 128 District Of Columbia Elementary Schools

Better than 74% of District Of Columbia elementary schools

Summary

Watkins Elementary School (Capitol Hill Cluster) is a public elementary school in Washington, DC, serving 397 students in grades 1-5. The school is part of the District of Columbia Public Schools (DCPS) district and has consistently performed well, ranking in the top 30 elementary schools in DC for the past several years.

Watkins Elementary has maintained a strong 4-star rating from SchoolDigger, indicating its academic performance is significantly above the district and state averages. The school outperforms DCPS and DC-wide averages in both English Language Arts (ELA) and Mathematics proficiency across all grade levels. In 2024-2025, 37.3% of Watkins students were proficient or better in ELA, compared to 42.5% for DCPS and 37.6% for DC overall. In Mathematics, 42.4% of Watkins students were proficient or better, much higher than the DCPS (30.8%) and DC (26.4%) averages.

When compared to nearby schools, Maury Elementary and Brent Elementary are the highest-performing, with over 70% of their students meeting or exceeding standards in both ELA and Mathematics. Other nearby schools, such as Van Ness Elementary and Miner Elementary, lag behind Watkins in academic performance. The charter schools in the area, like Center City PCS - Capitol Hill and Friendship PCS - Chamberlain Elementary, have mixed results compared to Watkins.

415

Students ?

13.8

Student/teacher ratio ?

$22,162

Per pupil spending ?

33.5%

Free/discounted lunch ?

420 12th St. SE
Washington, DC 20003

(202) 698-3355

District: District of Columbia Public Schools

Students who attend Watkins Elementary School (Capitol Hill Cluster) usually attend:

Middle:	Stuart-Hobson Middle School (Capitol Hill Cluster)
High:	Eastern High School

Racial breakdown:

African American:

65.8%

White:

22.7%

Hispanic:

5.3%

See top rated District Of Columbia elementary schools

Compare Watkins Elementary School (Capitol Hill Cluster) to nearby elementary schools!

At a glance

▬ Ranking trend: Holding steady — 72nd percentile in 2014 → 74th in 2025

Strengths

✓Test scores above the District Of Columbia average (38% vs 31% meeting standards)

✓Above the District Of Columbia median (74th percentile)

Worth a look

!Some student groups rank well below the school's overall statewide standing

Students meeting standards (2024-2025) ?

This school38%

District avg36%

District Of Columbia avg31%

33^rd of 128

District Of Columbia public elementary schools ?

Top 26%▼ down 4 pts since 2015

From top 22% (2015) to top 26% (2025)

See the entire ranking list of District Of Columbia Elementary Schools →

★★★★★

SchoolDigger rating ?

27^th of 76Elementary Schools in the District of Columbia Public Schools

23^rd of 46District of Columbia Public Schools among District Of Columbia districts

Statewide rank percentile over time (100 = the top-ranked school in the state; click a legend item to add a student group)

Show full rank history (all student groups)

All Students

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	District Of Columbia percentile	Rating
2025	61.2	33 of 128	74.2%	★★★★☆
2024	65.2	30 of 126	76.2%	★★★★☆
2023	68.4	29 of 128	77.3%	★★★★☆
2022	63.2	24 of 97	75.3%	★★★★☆
2019	70.7	25 of 122	79.5%	★★★★☆
2018	78.5	23 of 120	80.8%	★★★★☆
2017	74.0	24 of 108	77.8%	★★★★☆
2016	60.9	29 of 99	70.7%	★★★★☆
2015	68.1	21 of 97	78.4%	★★★★☆
2014	70.1	31 of 109	71.6%	★★★★☆
2012	79.5	22 of 112	80.4%	★★★★☆
2011	83.8	20 of 111	82.0%	★★★★☆
2010	80.7	24 of 111	78.4%	★★★★☆

African American

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	District Of Columbia percentile	Rating
2025	52.6	42 of 108	61.1%	★★★☆☆
2024	39.6	37 of 63	41.3%	★★☆☆☆
2023	52.9	23 of 60	61.7%	★★★☆☆
2022	51.8	15 of 35	57.1%	★★★☆☆
2019	65.7	32 of 106	69.8%	★★★★☆
2018	67.2	28 of 100	72.0%	★★★★☆

At Risk

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	District Of Columbia percentile	Rating
2019	65.7	22 of 91	75.8%	★★★★☆
2018	45.8	42 of 90	53.3%	★★★☆☆

Female

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	District Of Columbia percentile	Rating
2019	70.2	26 of 117	77.8%	★★★★☆
2018	80.3	22 of 110	80.0%	★★★★☆

Low Socio Economic Status

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	District Of Columbia percentile	Rating
2025	53.2	37 of 92	59.8%	★★★☆☆
2024	42.9	27 of 55	50.9%	★★★☆☆
2023	42.6	30 of 53	43.4%	★★☆☆☆

Male

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	District Of Columbia percentile	Rating
2019	68.8	27 of 113	76.1%	★★★★☆
2018	73.3	25 of 113	77.9%	★★★★☆

Special Education

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	District Of Columbia percentile	Rating
2019	42.6	20 of 45	55.6%	★★★☆☆

White

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	District Of Columbia percentile	Rating
2025	61.1	11 of 23	52.2%	★★★☆☆
2024	55.4	16 of 26	38.5%	★★☆☆☆
2023	64.3	10 of 25	60.0%	★★★☆☆
2019	40.0	16 of 21	23.8%	★☆☆☆☆
2018	59.3	11 of 19	42.1%	★★☆☆☆

How student groups rank statewide ? (each group's percentile vs the same group at other schools — higher is better; the +/- beside each compares the group with this school's overall percentile)

Female (2019)78th percentile~ school

Male (2019)76th percentile-3 vs school

At Risk (2019)76th percentile-4 vs school

African American (2025)61st percentile-13 vs school

Low Socio Economic Status (2025)60th percentile-14 vs school

Special Education (2019)56th percentile-24 vs school

White (2025)52nd percentile-22 vs school

By subject vs District Of Columbia (2024-2025) ?

Mathematics42%+16 vs state

English Language Arts37%~ state avg

Science25%+5 vs state

★

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Schools Near Watkins Elementary School (Capitol Hill Cluster)

Choose columns to see: Summary School Students/Teachers Ranking Test Scores Finance All

School													Students/Teachers											Ranking (2025)				Ranking (2024)				DC Science Science (2025)	DC CAPE English Language Arts (2025)							DC CAPE Mathematics (2025)						Per Pupil Expenditures (2024)
Name	Type	Grades	Address	City	Zip	County	District	Is Charter	Is Magnet	Is Virtual	Is Title I	Phone	Enrollment	Full-time Teachers	Student/ Teacher Ratio	Free/Discounted Lunch Recipients	White	Black	Hispanic	Asian	American Indian	Pacific Islander	Two or More Races	Average Standard Score (2025)	Statewide Rank (2025)	State Percentile (2025)	SchoolDigger Rating (2025)	Average Standard Score (2024)	Statewide Rank (2024)	State Percentile (2024)	Rank Change from Previous Year	DC Science Science 5th Grade	DC CAPE English Language Arts 3rd Grade	DC CAPE English Language Arts 4th Grade	DC CAPE English Language Arts 5th Grade	DC CAPE English Language Arts 6th Grade	DC CAPE English Language Arts 7th Grade	DC CAPE English Language Arts 8th Grade	DC CAPE English Language Arts All Grades	DC CAPE Mathematics 3rd Grade	DC CAPE Mathematics 4th Grade	DC CAPE Mathematics 5th Grade	DC CAPE Mathematics 7th Grade	DC CAPE Mathematics 8th Grade	DC CAPE Mathematics All Grades	Per Pupil Expenditures Total	Sub-total from Federal Funds	Sub-total from State/Local Funds
Watkins Elementary School (Capitol Hill Cluster)	Public	1-5	420 12th St. SE	Washington	20003	District Of Columbia	District of Columbia Public Schools	No	(n/a)	No	No	(202) 698-3355	415	30	13.8		94 (22.7%)	273 (65.8%)	22 (5.3%)	6 (1.4%)	3 (0.7%)	1 (0.2%)	16 (3.9%)	61.2	33^rd of 128 public elementary schools	74.2%		65.2	30^th of 126 public elementary schools	76.2%	3	25.0	33.0	39.6	40.0				37.3	40.9	52.2	31.3			42.4	$22,162	$4,326	$17,836
Shirley Chisholm Elementary School	Public	PK, KG-5	1001 G St. SE	Washington	20003	District Of Columbia	District of Columbia Public Schools	No	(n/a)	No	Yes	(202) 939-4810	542	46	11.7		122 (22.5%)	298 (55.0%)	86 (15.9%)	5 (0.9%)	2 (0.4%)	0 (0.0%)	29 (5.4%)	68.1	28^th of 128 public elementary schools	78.1%		60.3	35^th of 126 public elementary schools	72.2%	7	17.5	54.3	48.4	48.3				50.5	45.7	41.3	36.2			41.4	$23,960	$4,186	$19,774
Payne Elementary School	Public	PK, KG-5	1445 C St. SE	Washington	20003	District Of Columbia	District of Columbia Public Schools	No	(n/a)	No	Yes	(202) 698-3262	398	33	12.0		143 (35.9%)	205 (51.5%)	23 (5.8%)	2 (0.5%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	24 (6.0%)	68.5	27^th of 128 public elementary schools	78.9%		78.3	21^st of 126 public elementary schools	83.3%	6	20.0	38.1	57.1	45.8				47.0	52.4	50.0	35.4			45.5	$26,338	$4,363	$21,975
Friendship PCS - Chamberlain Elementary	Public, Charter	PK, KG-3	1345 Potomac Avenue SE	Washington	20003	District Of Columbia	Friendship PCS	Yes	(n/a)	No	Yes	(202) 547-5800	256	26	9.7		1 (0.4%)	246 (96.1%)	9 (3.5%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)								(n/a)		55.1						55.1	44.9					44.9	$32,715	$4,887	$27,828
Center City PCS - Capitol Hill	Public, Charter	PK, KG-8	1503 East Capitol Street SE	Washington	20003	District Of Columbia	Center City PCS	Yes	(n/a)	No	Yes	(202) 547-7556	257	25	10.2		0 (0.0%)	231 (89.9%)	7 (2.7%)	0 (0.0%)	1 (0.4%)	0 (0.0%)	18 (7.0%)	22	101^st of 128 public elementary schools	21.1%		29.7	85^th of 126 public elementary schools	32.5%	16		8.7	28.6	8.0	14.8	24.0	12.5	15.9	9.1	28.6		21.7	20.8	13.5	$28,984	$4,846	$24,138
Maury Elementary School	Public	PK, KG-5	1250 Constitution Ave. NE	Washington	20002	District Of Columbia	District of Columbia Public Schools	No	(n/a)	No	No	(202) 698-3838	559	38	14.7		332 (59.4%)	113 (20.2%)	51 (9.1%)	18 (3.2%)	0 (0.0%)	1 (0.2%)	44 (7.9%)	92.3	15^th of 128 public elementary schools	88.3%		95.7	11^th of 126 public elementary schools	91.3%	4	30.0	64.8	87.5	58.1				73.3	78.9	68.2	55.8			69.3	$20,859	$3,899	$16,960
Brent Elementary School	Public	PK, KG-5	301 North Carolina Ave. SE	Washington	20003	District Of Columbia	District of Columbia Public Schools	No	(n/a)	No	No	(202) 698-3363	421	33	12.9		280 (66.5%)	48 (11.4%)	37 (8.8%)	15 (3.6%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	40 (9.5%)	97.7	5^th of 128 public elementary schools	96.1%		96.3	10^th of 126 public elementary schools	92.1%	5	53.9	73.6	85.5	61.5				76.1	79.2	87.0	80.8			82.7	$23,091	$3,856	$19,235
Van Ness Elementary School	Public	PK, KG-5	1150 5th St SE	Washington	20003	District Of Columbia	District of Columbia Public Schools	No	(n/a)	No	Yes	(202) 727-4314	404	31	13.0		71 (17.6%)	274 (67.8%)	21 (5.2%)	5 (1.2%)	2 (0.5%)	0 (0.0%)	31 (7.7%)	34.1	75^th of 128 public elementary schools	41.4%		38.1	66^th of 126 public elementary schools	47.6%	9	19.2	31.6	24.4	24.5				27.1	24.6	15.2	16.3			19.1	$22,839	$4,977	$17,863
Peabody Elementary School (Capitol Hill Cluster)	Public	PK-K	425 C St. NE	Washington	20002	District Of Columbia	District of Columbia Public Schools	No	(n/a)	No	Yes	(202) 698-3277	209	17	12.6		125 (59.8%)	56 (26.8%)	13 (6.2%)	6 (2.9%)	1 (0.5%)	0 (0.0%)	8 (3.8%)								(n/a)															$23,701	$4,145	$19,556
Miner Elementary School	Public	PK, KG-5	601 15th St. NE	Washington	20002	District Of Columbia	District of Columbia Public Schools	No	(n/a)	No	Yes	(202) 397-3960	433	39	11.2		58 (13.4%)	345 (79.7%)	20 (4.6%)	1 (0.2%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	9 (2.1%)	12.9	126^th of 128 public elementary schools	1.6%		18.9	121^st of 126 public elementary schools	4.0%	5	6.1			6.1				3.3	5.5		8.2			5.4	$40,196	$5,040	$35,156

Frequently Asked Questions about Watkins Elementary School (Capitol Hill Cluster)

Is Watkins Elementary School (Capitol Hill Cluster) a good school?

Watkins Elementary School (Capitol Hill Cluster) ranks 33^rd of 128 District Of Columbia elementary schools. SchoolDigger rates this school 4 stars out of 5.

What is the racial makeup of Watkins Elementary School (Capitol Hill Cluster)?

Students at Watkins Elementary School (Capitol Hill Cluster) are 66% African American, 23% White, 5% Hispanic, 4% Two or more races, 1% Asian.

What district is Watkins Elementary School (Capitol Hill Cluster) in?

District of Columbia Public Schools

What schools do graduates of Watkins Elementary School (Capitol Hill Cluster) attend?

Students who attend Watkins Elementary School (Capitol Hill Cluster) usually go on to attend:

Middle : Stuart-Hobson Middle School (Capitol Hill Cluster)
High : Eastern High School

How many students attend Watkins Elementary School (Capitol Hill Cluster)?

In the 2024-25 school year, 415 students attended Watkins Elementary School (Capitol Hill Cluster).

Rate Watkins Elementary School (Capitol Hill Cluster)!

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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.

IMPORTANT DISCLAIMERS: Not all boundaries are included. We make every effort to ensure that boundaries are up-to-date. But it's important to note that these are approximations and are for general informational purposes only. To verify legal descriptions of boundaries or school locations, contact your local tax assessor's office and/or school district.