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Smothers Elementary School

Public Grades PK, KG-5

118^th

SchoolDigger Rank ?

of 128 District Of Columbia Elementary Schools

Better than 8% of District Of Columbia elementary schools

Summary

Smothers Elementary School is a public elementary school in Washington, DC, serving 232 students in grades PK-5. Despite being part of the District of Columbia Public Schools (DCPS) district, which is ranked 22 out of 46 districts in the city, Smothers Elementary has consistently ranked in the bottom quarter of DC elementary schools over the past decade, with a 0 or 1 star rating from SchoolDigger.

Smothers Elementary significantly underperforms compared to the DCPS district and the overall District of Columbia in both English Language Arts (ELA) and Mathematics proficiency. For the 2024-2025 school year, only 14.3% of Smothers students were proficient or better in ELA, compared to 42.5% for DCPS and 37.6% for the district overall. In Mathematics, Smothers had only 5.9% proficient or better, compared to 30.8% for DCPS and 26.4% for the district. The school's poor performance extends across various student subgroups, including female, male, African American, and "At Risk" students.

Despite the relatively high spending of $31,179 per student at Smothers Elementary, the school's academic outcomes remain significantly below the district and state averages. Nearby schools, such as KIPP DC - Promise Academy PCS and DC Prep PCS - Benning Elementary School, generally outperform Smothers Elementary in academic proficiency, suggesting that there may be opportunities to learn from the practices and strategies of higher-performing schools in the area.

250

Students ?

8.6

Student/teacher ratio ?

$31,179

Per pupil spending ?

100%

Free/discounted lunch ?

4400 Brooks St. NE
Washington, DC 20019

(202) 939-3600

District: District of Columbia Public Schools

Students who attend Smothers Elementary School usually attend:

Middle:	Kelly Miller Middle School
High:	H.D. Woodson High School

Racial breakdown:

African American:

87.6%

Hispanic:

12.0%

White:

0.4%

See top rated District Of Columbia elementary schools

Compare Smothers Elementary School to nearby elementary schools!

At a glance

▼ Ranking trend: Declining — 21st percentile in 2012 → 8th in 2025

Strengths

✓Small classes — about 9 students per teacher

Worth a look

!Test scores below the District Of Columbia average (10% vs 32% meeting standards)

!In the lower quartile statewide (8th percentile)

!Ranking has slipped — down 13 percentile points since 2012

Students meeting standards (2024-2025) ?

This school10%

District avg37%

District Of Columbia avg32%

118^th of 128

District Of Columbia public elementary schools ?

Bottom 8%▼ down 12 pts since 2015

From bottom 20% (2015) to bottom 8% (2025)

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

★★★★★

SchoolDigger rating ?

72^nd 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	16.5	118 of 128	7.8%	☆☆☆☆☆
2024	24.0	104 of 126	17.5%	★☆☆☆☆
2023	26.8	98 of 128	23.4%	★☆☆☆☆
2019	12.8	117 of 122	4.1%	☆☆☆☆☆
2018	12.3	118 of 120	1.7%	☆☆☆☆☆
2017	10.1	108 of 108	0.0%	☆☆☆☆☆
2016	16.4	90 of 99	9.1%	★☆☆☆☆
2015	23.0	78 of 97	19.6%	★☆☆☆☆
2014	18.2	92 of 109	15.6%	★☆☆☆☆
2012	24.8	88 of 112	21.4%	★☆☆☆☆
2011	29.9	82 of 111	26.1%	★☆☆☆☆
2010	31.9	80 of 111	27.9%	★☆☆☆☆

African American

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	District Of Columbia percentile	Rating
2019	15.1	102 of 106	3.8%	☆☆☆☆☆
2018	12.8	98 of 100	2.0%	☆☆☆☆☆

At Risk

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	District Of Columbia percentile	Rating
2019	16.8	86 of 91	5.5%	☆☆☆☆☆
2018	11.9	89 of 90	1.1%	☆☆☆☆☆

Female

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	District Of Columbia percentile	Rating
2019	12.0	113 of 117	3.4%	☆☆☆☆☆
2018	10.5	108 of 110	1.8%	☆☆☆☆☆

Low Socio Economic Status

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	District Of Columbia percentile	Rating
2025	28.6	74 of 92	19.6%	★☆☆☆☆

Male

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	District Of Columbia percentile	Rating
2019	17.9	104 of 113	8.0%	☆☆☆☆☆
2018	18.1	104 of 113	8.0%	☆☆☆☆☆

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)

Low Socio Economic Status (2025)20th percentile+12 vs school

Male (2019)8th percentile+4 vs school

At Risk (2019)5th percentile~ school

African American (2019)4th percentile~ school

Female (2019)3rd percentile~ school

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

English Language Arts14%-23 vs state

Mathematics6%-20 vs state

★

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Schools Near Smothers Elementary School

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

School													Students/Teachers											Ranking (2025)				Ranking (2024)				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 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 All Grades	DC CAPE Mathematics 3rd Grade	DC CAPE Mathematics 4th Grade	DC CAPE Mathematics 5th Grade	DC CAPE Mathematics All Grades	Per Pupil Expenditures Total	Sub-total from Federal Funds	Sub-total from State/Local Funds
Smothers Elementary School	Public	PK, KG-5	4400 Brooks St. NE	Washington	20019	District Of Columbia	District of Columbia Public Schools	No	(n/a)	No	Yes	(202) 939-3600	250	29	8.6		1 (0.4%)	219 (87.6%)	30 (12.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	16.5	118^th of 128 public elementary schools	7.8%		24	104^th of 126 public elementary schools	17.5%	14	10.0	19.4	12.0	14.3		9.1		5.9	$31,179	$4,602	$26,577
Lorraine H. Whitlock Elementary School	Public	PK, KG-5	533 48th Pl NE	Washington	20019	District Of Columbia	District of Columbia Public Schools	No	(n/a)	No	Yes	(202) 671-6060	162	19	8.7		0 (0.0%)	144 (88.9%)	16 (9.9%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	1 (0.6%)	1 (0.6%)	31.8	81^st of 128 public elementary schools	36.7%		34.5	73^rd of 126 public elementary schools	42.1%	8	12.5	40.7	11.1	23.2	20.8	18.5		16.2	$39,570	$5,570	$34,000
DC Prep PCS - Benning Elementary School	Public, Charter	PK, KG-3	100 41st Street NE	Washington	20019	District Of Columbia	DC Prep PCS	Yes	(n/a)	No	Yes	(202) 398-2838	430	32	13.4		0 (0.0%)	388 (90.2%)	24 (5.6%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	1 (0.2%)	17 (4.0%)								(n/a)	39.0			39.0	31.2			31.2	$28,769	$4,559	$24,210
Plummer Elementary School	Public	PK, KG-5	4601 Texas Ave. SE	Washington	20019	District Of Columbia	District of Columbia Public Schools	No	(n/a)	No	Yes	(202) 939-4360	233	31	7.5		0 (0.0%)	183 (78.5%)	49 (21.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	1 (0.4%)	17.3	116^th of 128 public elementary schools	9.4%		21.3	115^th of 126 public elementary schools	8.7%	1	15.4	8.3	15.0	12.9	12.0			8.8	$30,408	$4,723	$25,686
Global Citizens PCS	Public, Charter	PK, KG-2	4095 Minnesota Avenue NE	Washington	20019	District Of Columbia	Global Citizens PCS	Yes	(n/a)	No	No	(202) 221-6400	198	19	10.4		7 (3.5%)	157 (79.3%)	18 (9.1%)	6 (3.0%)	1 (0.5%)	0 (0.0%)	9 (4.5%)								(n/a)									$27,486	$1,517	$25,969
Nalle Elementary School	Public	PK, KG-5	219 50th St. SE	Washington	20019	District Of Columbia	District of Columbia Public Schools	No	(n/a)	No	Yes	(202) 671-6280	287	34	8.5		6 (2.1%)	226 (78.7%)	51 (17.8%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	3 (1.0%)	25.7	91^st of 128 public elementary schools	28.9%		26.9	98^th of 126 public elementary schools	22.2%	7	15.4	31.4	20.0	22.2	10.3	22.9	8.3	14.3	$28,461	$4,538	$23,923
KIPP DC - Quest Academy PCS	Public, Charter	1-4	5300 Blaine Street NE	Washington	20019	District Of Columbia	KIPP Dc Pcs	Yes	(n/a)	No	Yes	(202) 398-6811	388	27	14.2		0 (0.0%)	375 (96.6%)	10 (2.6%)	1 (0.3%)	2 (0.5%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	17.1	117^th of 128 public elementary schools	8.6%		22.9	106^th of 126 public elementary schools	15.9%	11	12.6	14.3		13.3	13.6	9.0		11.6	$26,514	$4,399	$22,114
KIPP DC - Arts and Technology Academy PCS	Public, Charter	PK-K	5300 Blaine Street NE	Washington	20019	District Of Columbia	KIPP Dc Pcs	Yes	(n/a)	No	Yes	(202) 398-6811	244	18	13.3		0 (0.0%)	238 (97.5%)	5 (2.0%)	1 (0.4%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)								(n/a)									$21,670	$3,168	$18,501
KIPP DC - Promise Academy PCS	Public, Charter	K-4	4801 Benning Road SE	Washington	20019	District Of Columbia	KIPP Dc Pcs	Yes	(n/a)	No	Yes	(202) 582-1390	614	43	14.3		0 (0.0%)	586 (95.4%)	25 (4.1%)	0 (0.0%)	1 (0.2%)	1 (0.2%)	0 (0.0%)	41.7	54^th of 128 public elementary schools	57.8%		45.7	56^th of 126 public elementary schools	55.6%	2	20.9	33.3		27.0	26.1	33.3		29.6	$26,266	$3,493	$22,773
Burrville Elementary School	Public	PK, KG-5	801 Division Ave. NE	Washington	20019	District Of Columbia	District of Columbia Public Schools	No	(n/a)	No	Yes	(202) 671-6020	232	20	11.6		2 (0.9%)	217 (93.5%)	13 (5.6%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	31.3	82^nd of 128 public elementary schools	35.9%		21.8	113^th of 126 public elementary schools	10.3%	31		16.7	31.8	16.3	17.9		9.1	9.6	$29,860	$4,777	$25,084

Frequently Asked Questions about Smothers Elementary School

What schools do graduates of Smothers Elementary School attend?

Students who attend Smothers Elementary School usually go on to attend:

Middle : Kelly Miller Middle School
High : H.D. Woodson High School

Is Smothers Elementary School a good school?

Smothers Elementary School ranks in the bottom 7.8% of District Of Columbia elementary schools.

How many students attend Smothers Elementary School?

In the 2024-25 school year, 250 students attended Smothers Elementary School.

What district is Smothers Elementary School in?

District of Columbia Public Schools

What is the racial makeup of Smothers Elementary School?

Students at Smothers Elementary School are 88% African American, 12% Hispanic.

Rate Smothers Elementary School!

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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.