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Amidon-Bowen Elementary School

Public Grades PK, KG-5
100th
SchoolDigger Rank ?
of 128 District Of Columbia Elementary Schools
Better than 22% of District Of Columbia elementary schools
Summary

Amidon-Bowen Elementary School is a public elementary school serving grades PK-5 in Washington, DC, with an enrollment of 365 students. While the school has access to substantial resources, it faces significant challenges in academic performance, school ranking, and serving certain student populations effectively.

Amidon-Bowen consistently underperforms compared to the District of Columbia Public Schools and the overall District of Columbia on standardized tests, with only 18.9% of its students proficient or better in English Language Arts and 11.5% proficient in math. The school's statewide ranking has fluctuated but has generally been in the bottom half of DC elementary schools, ranking 101 out of 128 in the 2024-2025 school year with a 1-star rating from SchoolDigger. Amidon-Bowen also struggles to serve certain student subgroups effectively, ranking 60 out of 63 DC elementary schools for African American students and 46 out of 55 for low socioeconomic status students.

Interestingly, Amidon-Bowen's performance lags behind many of the nearby elementary schools, such as Brent Elementary, School-Within-School at Goding, and Watkins Elementary, which all rank in the top 50 DC elementary schools and have significantly higher academic proficiency rates. While the high per-student spending and small student-teacher ratio at Amidon-Bowen suggest that resources may not be the primary issue, other factors, such as curriculum, instructional practices, and school leadership, may be contributing to the school's underperformance.

374
Students ?
10.4
Student/teacher ratio ?
$25,727
Per pupil spending ?
100%
Free/discounted lunch ?
 401 I St. SW
       Washington, DC  20024

(202) 724-4867

District: District of Columbia Public Schools


Students who attend Amidon-Bowen Elementary School usually attend:

Middle:    Jefferson Middle School Academy
High:    Eastern High School
Racial breakdown:

African American:
71.7%
White:
12.8%
Hispanic:
10.2%
more
 See top rated District Of Columbia elementary schools

 Compare Amidon-Bowen Elementary School to nearby elementary schools!
At a glance
Ranking trend: Recently slipping — 50th percentile in 2023 → 22nd in 2025
Strengths
Small classes — about 10 students per teacher
Worth a look
!Test scores below the District Of Columbia average (15% vs 31% meeting standards)
!In the lower quartile statewide (22nd percentile)
!Ranking has slipped from its 50th-percentile peak (2023) to 22nd (2025)
Students meeting standards (2024-2025) ?
This school15%
District avg36%
District Of Columbia avg31%
100th of 128
District Of Columbia public elementary schools ?
Bottom 22%▲ up 19 pts since 2015
From bottom 3% (2015) to bottom 22% (2025)
See the entire ranking list of District Of Columbia Elementary Schools →
SchoolDigger rating ?
60th of 76Elementary Schools in the District of Columbia Public Schools
23rd 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

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankDistrict Of Columbia percentileRating
202522.0100 of 12821.9%★☆☆☆☆
202429.884 of 12633.3%★★☆☆☆
202340.164 of 12850.0%★★★☆☆
202232.858 of 9740.2%★★☆☆☆
201928.185 of 12230.3%★★☆☆☆
201819.7104 of 12013.3%★☆☆☆☆
201716.598 of 1089.3%★☆☆☆☆
201621.084 of 9915.2%★☆☆☆☆
201515.994 of 973.1%☆☆☆☆☆
201419.391 of 10916.5%★☆☆☆☆
201214.7104 of 1127.1%☆☆☆☆☆
201113.7107 of 1113.6%☆☆☆☆☆
201024.992 of 11117.1%★☆☆☆☆

African American

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankDistrict Of Columbia percentileRating
202518.696 of 10811.1%★☆☆☆☆
202418.760 of 634.8%☆☆☆☆☆
202317.358 of 603.3%☆☆☆☆☆
201931.273 of 10631.1%★★☆☆☆
201820.591 of 1009.0%☆☆☆☆☆

At Risk

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankDistrict Of Columbia percentileRating
201934.664 of 9129.7%★★☆☆☆
201824.380 of 9011.1%★☆☆☆☆

Female

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankDistrict Of Columbia percentileRating
201931.980 of 11731.6%★★☆☆☆
201816.9100 of 1109.1%☆☆☆☆☆

Low Socio Economic Status

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankDistrict Of Columbia percentileRating
202425.246 of 5516.4%★☆☆☆☆

Male

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankDistrict Of Columbia percentileRating
201925.090 of 11320.4%★☆☆☆☆
201825.090 of 11320.4%★☆☆☆☆

Special Education

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankDistrict Of Columbia percentileRating
201938.225 of 4544.4%★★★☆☆
201827.830 of 3514.3%★☆☆☆☆
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)44th percentile+14 vs school
Female (2019)32nd percentile~ school
At Risk (2019)30th percentile~ school
Male (2019)20th percentile-10 vs school
Low Socio Economic Status (2024)16th percentile-17 vs school
African American (2025)11th percentile-11 vs school
By subject vs District Of Columbia (2024-2025) ?
English Language Arts19%-19 vs state
Mathematics12%-15 vs state
Science10%-10 vs state

4.5
2 ratings · 2 written reviews
51
41
30
20
10
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What people are saying
by a parent
Thursday, February 26, 2015

Open Quote I love the school (mom of a PK-3 boy with an IEP) Close Quote


by a parent on FaceBook
Monday, September 8, 2014

Open Quote This school is one where the teachers genuinely care for the students and there is a real sense of community and support within its walls.

The majority of students come from families where there are no "helicopter" parents around, and a great many students are being reared by grandmothers and aunts. Most of the kids qualify for free lunch and most live in subsidized housing.

This is a school that is improving tremendously. The capitol improvements make it one of the prettiest schools in the city and it has a dance studio, full gym with bleachers and an auditorium. It's half a block from the Waterfront Metro, and the location is indeed a great one.

Principal Miller is one of those educators movies are made about! (Not even kidding) She's the best person to tell her own story, but growing up poor under Communist rule in Poland to learning English and coming to the US determined to show poor children that education can absolutely bring them better lives is the jist.

Anyway, my child has thrived in the school. I wish there were more involved parents. (There are some!) This year has an extended day, and the students are being taught until 4:15. My friends at Yeshiva when I was growing up were the only ones I knew who were in school THAT long!

It needs more parent involvement. It needs some more middle class families. But this school is absolutely one to consider- especially if your child is bright. Close Quote





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Frequently Asked Questions about Amidon-Bowen Elementary School

Students who attend Amidon-Bowen Elementary School usually go on to attend:

Middle : Jefferson Middle School Academy
High : Eastern High School

In the 2024-25 school year, 374 students attended Amidon-Bowen Elementary School.

Amidon-Bowen Elementary School ranks in the bottom 21.9% of District Of Columbia elementary schools.

Students at Amidon-Bowen Elementary School are 72% African American, 13% White, 10% Hispanic, 5% Two or more races.


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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.





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