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Test scores delayed: 2025-2026 science scores will be released by the DC Office of the State Superintendent of Education in October, at which point rankings will be updated.

Dunbar High School

Q: Is Dunbar High School a good school?

Dunbar High School ranks in the bottom 0.0% of District Of Columbia high schools.

Q: How many students attend Dunbar High School?

In the 2024-25 school year, 892 students attended Dunbar High School.

Q: What is the racial makeup of Dunbar High School?

Students at Dunbar High School are 88% African American, 11% Hispanic.

Q: What schools feed into Dunbar High School?

Dunbar High School is fed by the following schools: Elementary : Bunker Hill Elementary School Elementary : Burroughs Elementary School Elementary : Langdon Elementary School Elementary : Langley Elementary School Elementary : Noyes Elementary School Elementary : Walker-Jones Education Campus Elementary : Wheatley Education Campus Middle : Brookland Middle School Middle : McKinley Middle School

Public Grades 9-12

37^th

SchoolDigger Rank ?

of 37 District Of Columbia High Schools

Better than 0% of District Of Columbia high schools

Summary

Dunbar High School, located at 101 N St. NW in Washington, DC, serves 892 students in grades 9–12 and is part of the District of Columbia Public Schools. Dunbar has experienced a steep decline in recent years: it is currently ranked 36th of 36 DC high schools for the 2025–2026 school year, placing it at the very bottom of the city with 0 stars and a 0th percentile ranking. This continues a downward trend from the 2022–2023 school year, when the school ranked 23rd of 34 and earned 2 stars.

The school's academic proficiency rates are among the lowest in the district. In the 2025–2026 DC CAPE assessments, just 10.7% of Dunbar students were proficient in English Language Arts, compared with the district average of 44.1%, and only 2.3% were proficient in mathematics, versus 33.3% districtwide. End-of-course results were similarly severe: Algebra I proficiency was 2.6% and Geometry was 2.0%. The contrast with nearby schools is striking, as McKinley Technology High School (75.2% ELA, 30.5% math) and Benjamin Banneker High School (85.6% ELA, 64.4% math) are both within a mile of Dunbar and rank 3rd and 2nd in the city, respectively. Even nearby Cardozo Education Campus outperforms Dunbar in ELA (19.2% vs. 10.7%).

What makes Dunbar's situation particularly notable is that its resources do not explain its outcomes. The school spent $26,283 per student in 2023–2024 and maintains a favorable student-teacher ratio of 10.2:1, lower than both Banneker (16.3:1) and McKinley (14.3:1). Despite these advantages, and a graduation rate of 81.9% that exceeds the district average of 77.6%, proficiency rates remain extremely low. This disconnect suggests that many students are being graduated without meeting basic academic benchmarks. For parents considering Dunbar, the school's most urgent challenges are academic achievement and a ranking that has slid steadily to the bottom of DC's high school landscape, even though resources and staffing are comparable to, or better than, some of the city's top-performing schools.

892

Students ?

10.2

Student/teacher ratio ?

$29,670

Per pupil spending ?

63.2%

Directly certified for free meals (2024-25) ?

101 N St. NW
Washington, DC 20001

(202) 698-3762

District: District of Columbia Public Schools

Feeder schools for Dunbar High School:

Elementary:	Bunker Hill Elementary School
	Burroughs Elementary School
	Langdon Elementary School
	Langley Elementary School
	More...
	Noyes Elementary School
	Walker-Jones Education Campus
	Wheatley Education Campus
Middle:	Brookland Middle School
	McKinley Middle School

Racial breakdown:

African American:

87.6%

Hispanic:

11.2%

White:

0.3%

See top rated District Of Columbia high schools

Compare Dunbar High School to nearby high schools!

At a glance

▼ Ranking trend: Declining — 21st percentile in 2015 → <1st in 2026

Strengths

✓82% graduate in 4 years — above the District Of Columbia average (79%)

✓Small classes — about 10 students per teacher

Worth a look

!Test scores below the District Of Columbia average (6% vs 28% meeting standards)

!In the lower quartile statewide (<1st percentile)

!Ranking has slipped — down 21 percentile points since 2015

Students meeting standards (2025-2026) ?

This school6%

District avg32%

District Of Columbia avg28%

37^th of 37

District Of Columbia public high schools ?

Bottom 1%▼ down 23 pts since 2016

From bottom 23% (2016) to bottom 1% (2026)

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

★★★★★

SchoolDigger rating ?

18^th of 18High Schools in the District of Columbia Public Schools

19^th 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
2026	22.0	37 of 37	0.0%	☆☆☆☆☆
2025	18.4	33 of 35	5.7%	☆☆☆☆☆
2024	22.1	30 of 34	11.8%	★☆☆☆☆
2023	28.4	23 of 34	32.4%	★★☆☆☆
2022	24.8	26 of 30	13.3%	★☆☆☆☆
2019	28.9	24 of 34	29.4%	★★☆☆☆
2018	26.6	27 of 34	20.6%	★☆☆☆☆
2017	24.8	28 of 34	17.6%	★☆☆☆☆
2016	25.1	24 of 31	22.6%	★☆☆☆☆
2015	28.8	23 of 29	20.7%	★☆☆☆☆
2014	33.2	23 of 35	34.3%	★★☆☆☆
2012	23.4	22 of 31	29.0%	★★☆☆☆
2011	20.3	22 of 31	29.0%	★★☆☆☆
2010	31.3	18 of 30	40.0%	★★☆☆☆

African American

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	District Of Columbia percentile	Rating
2026	21.9	35 of 35	0.0%	☆☆☆☆☆
2025	17.6	32 of 32	0.0%	☆☆☆☆☆
2024	21.0	27 of 28	3.6%	☆☆☆☆☆
2023	27.3	20 of 27	25.9%	★★☆☆☆
2019	29.5	26 of 33	21.2%	★☆☆☆☆
2018	27.3	27 of 34	20.6%	★☆☆☆☆

At Risk

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	District Of Columbia percentile	Rating
2022	29.4	14 of 19	26.3%	★★☆☆☆
2019	30.4	25 of 31	19.4%	★☆☆☆☆
2018	32.5	23 of 33	30.3%	★★☆☆☆

Female

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	District Of Columbia percentile	Rating
2019	26.1	25 of 31	19.4%	★☆☆☆☆
2018	28.1	23 of 32	28.1%	★★☆☆☆

Low Socio Economic Status

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	District Of Columbia percentile	Rating
2026	14.5	33 of 33	0.0%	☆☆☆☆☆
2025	17.8	32 of 32	0.0%	☆☆☆☆☆
2024	26.3	23 of 28	17.9%	★☆☆☆☆
2023	34.1	17 of 30	43.3%	★★☆☆☆

Male

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	District Of Columbia percentile	Rating
2019	28.8	24 of 32	25.0%	★☆☆☆☆
2018	25.5	29 of 33	12.1%	★☆☆☆☆

Special Education

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	District Of Columbia percentile	Rating
2019	35.2	10 of 25	60.0%	★★★☆☆
2018	34.8	20 of 26	23.1%	★★☆☆☆

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)

Special Education (2019)60th percentile+31 vs school

At Risk (2022)26th percentile+13 vs school

Male (2019)25th percentile-4 vs school

Female (2019)19th percentile-10 vs school

Low Socio Economic Status (2026)<1st percentile~ school

African American (2026)<1st percentile~ school

By subject vs District Of Columbia (2025-2026) ?

English II11%-27 vs state

English Language Arts11%-29 vs state

English I10%-27 vs state

Algebra I3%-9 vs state

Mathematics2%-26 vs state

Geometry2%-13 vs state

★

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Schools Near Dunbar High School

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Ranking:

E Elementary M Middle H High A Alternative P Private

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

School													Students/Teachers											Ranking (2026)				Ranking (2025)				DC CAPE English Language Arts (2026)					DC CAPE Mathematics (2026)					DC CAPE English II (2026)	DC CAPE Algebra II (2026)	DC CAPE Algebra I (2026)	DC CAPE Geometry (2026)	DC CAPE English I (2026)	Per Pupil Expenditures (2025)
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	Directly certified (2024-25)	White	Black	Hispanic	Asian	American Indian	Pacific Islander	Two or More Races	Average Standard Score (2026)	Statewide Rank (2026)	State Percentile (2026)	SchoolDigger Rating (2026)	Average Standard Score (2025)	Statewide Rank (2025)	State Percentile (2025)	Rank Change from Previous Year	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 5th Grade	DC CAPE Mathematics 6th Grade	DC CAPE Mathematics 7th Grade	DC CAPE Mathematics 8th Grade	DC CAPE Mathematics All Grades	DC CAPE English II End of Course	DC CAPE Algebra II End of Course	DC CAPE Algebra I End of Course	DC CAPE Geometry End of Course	DC CAPE English I End of Course	Per Pupil Expenditures Total	Sub-total from Federal Funds	Sub-total from State/Local Funds
Dunbar High School	Public	9-12	101 N St. NW	Washington	20001	District Of Columbia	District of Columbia Public Schools	No	(n/a)	No	Yes	(202) 698-3762	892	87	10.2	63.2%	3 (0.3%)	781 (87.6%)	100 (11.2%)	3 (0.3%)	1 (0.1%)	0 (0.0%)	1 (0.1%)	22	37^th of 37 public high schools	0.0%		18.4	33^rd of 35 public high schools	5.7%	4					10.7					2.3	11.2		2.6	2.0	10.2	$29,670	$3,041	$26,629
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	29.0%	33 (4.6%)	583 (80.6%)	91 (12.6%)	3 (0.4%)	1 (0.1%)	0 (0.0%)	11 (1.5%)	92.2	3^rd of 37 public high schools	91.9%		74.9	6^th of 35 public high schools	82.9%	3					75.2					30.5	75.4			29.3	75.0	$28,423	$2,384	$26,039
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	21.3%	65 (9.2%)	482 (68.6%)	122 (17.4%)	11 (1.6%)	1 (0.1%)	0 (0.0%)	22 (3.1%)	98.9	2^nd of 37 public high schools	94.6%		93.4	3^rd of 35 public high schools	91.4%	1					85.6					64.4	89.9		67.1	61.1	81.9	$21,827	$2,084	$19,743
Girls Global Academy PCS	Public, Charter	9-12	733 8th Street NW	Washington	20001	District Of Columbia	Girls Global Academy PCS	Yes	(n/a)	No	Yes	(202) 600-4822	183	26	7.1	62.3%	1 (0.5%)	153 (83.6%)	23 (12.6%)	1 (0.5%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	5 (2.7%)	28.2	28^th of 37 public high schools	24.3%		35.3	19^th of 35 public high schools	45.7%	9					20.1					1.2	28.5			2.7	12.5	$35,496	$2,537	$32,958
Garnet-Patterson STAY High School	Public	9-12	2001 10th St NW	Washington	20001	District Of Columbia	District of Columbia Public Schools	No	(n/a)	No	No	(202) 576-8399	432	51	8.4	—	1 (0.2%)	261 (60.4%)	164 (38.0%)	2 (0.5%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	2 (0.5%)								(n/a)					4.8											$26,005	$2,131	$23,874
KIPP DC - College Preparatory PCS	Public, Charter	9-12	1405 Brentwood Parkway NE	Washington	20002	District Of Columbia	KIPP Dc Pcs	Yes	(n/a)	No	Yes	(202) 678-2527	643	52	12.2	55.7%	2 (0.3%)	620 (96.4%)	19 (3.0%)	0 (0.0%)	1 (0.2%)	1 (0.2%)	0 (0.0%)	40.6	17^th of 37 public high schools	54.1%		34.3	21^st of 35 public high schools	40.0%	4					31.9					5.8	37.6		3.8	7.4	27.4	$33,842	$3,447	$30,395
Basis Dc Pcs	Public, Charter	5-12	410 8th Street NW	Washington	20004	District Of Columbia	Basis Dc Pcs	Yes	(n/a)	No	No	(202) 804-6390	692	50	13.8	4.8%	337 (48.7%)	120 (17.3%)	74 (10.7%)	50 (7.2%)	2 (0.3%)	0 (0.0%)	105 (15.2%)	99.1	1^st of 37 public high schools	97.3%		98.8	2^nd of 35 public high schools	94.3%	1	68.4	67.2	82.9	90.5	78.6	61.8	62.2	84.8	82.1	70.8	89.1		87.2		90.9	$17,745	$360	$17,385
Cardozo Education Campus	Public	7-12	1200 Clifton St. NW	Washington	20009	District Of Columbia	District of Columbia Public Schools	No	(n/a)	No	Yes	(202) 673-7385	710	78	9.0	54.5%	6 (0.8%)	334 (47.0%)	356 (50.1%)	10 (1.4%)	1 (0.1%)	0 (0.0%)	3 (0.4%)	27.8	29^th of 37 public high schools	21.6%		20.7	31^st of 35 public high schools	11.4%	2				24.0	19.2			3.9	2.0	3.4	16.7		4.2	3.4	19.7	$34,825	$2,658	$32,167
Maya Angelou Academy at Youth Services Center	Public	7-12	1000 Mount Olivet Road NE	Washington	20002	District Of Columbia	Dyrs	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(202) 202-7007	84	10	8.4	79.8%	0 (0.0%)	80 (95.2%)	3 (3.6%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	1 (1.2%)								(n/a)
Washington Leadership Academy PCS	Public, Charter	9-12	3015 4th Street NE	Washington	20017	District Of Columbia	Washington Leadership Academy PCS	Yes	(n/a)	No	Yes	(240) 580-3371	386	48	8.0	47.2%	5 (1.3%)	312 (80.8%)	61 (15.8%)	2 (0.5%)	1 (0.3%)	0 (0.0%)	5 (1.3%)	38	19^th of 37 public high schools	48.6%		33.5	22^nd of 35 public high schools	37.1%	3					19.2					12.0	23.5		10.1	13.6	14.8	$35,535	$2,872	$32,663

Frequently Asked Questions about Dunbar High School

What district is Dunbar High School in?

District of Columbia Public Schools

What is the racial makeup of Dunbar High School?

Students at Dunbar High School are 88% African American, 11% Hispanic.

How many students attend Dunbar High School?

In the 2024-25 school year, 892 students attended Dunbar High School.

Is Dunbar High School a good school?

Dunbar High School ranks in the bottom 0.0% of District Of Columbia high schools.

What schools feed into Dunbar High School?

Dunbar High School is fed by the following schools:

Elementary : Bunker Hill Elementary School
Elementary : Burroughs Elementary School
Elementary : Langdon Elementary School
Elementary : Langley Elementary School
Elementary : Noyes Elementary School
Elementary : Walker-Jones Education Campus
Elementary : Wheatley Education Campus
Middle : Brookland Middle School
Middle : McKinley Middle School

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Latest District Of Columbia data All new data »

2024–25 school spending dataSep 2, 2026

2025–26 DC CAPE test scoresAug 20, 2026

2024–25 DC Science test scoresDec 5, 2025

2024–25 graduation ratesDec 4, 2025

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.