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C.W. Harris Elementary School

Public Grades PK, KG-5
116th
SchoolDigger Rank ?
of 124 District Of Columbia Elementary Schools
Better than 6% of District Of Columbia elementary schools
Summary

C.W. Harris Elementary School is a District of Columbia Public Schools (DCPS) elementary school serving 251 students in pre-kindergarten through 5th grade in Washington, DC's Ward 7. In 2025-2026, it ranked 116th out of 124 DC elementary schools, placing it in the 6th percentile with 0 stars. This continues a long pattern of bottom-quartile performance: its best recent year was 2024-2025, when it ranked 92nd of 128 (28th percentile) with 1 star, but it fell back sharply the following year.

The school's most defining feature is its low test performance, especially in English Language Arts. In 2025-2026, only 8.4% of students were proficient in ELA, compared to 44.1% district-wide and 39.6% statewide; math proficiency was 13.8%, compared to 33.3% district-wide and 28.2% statewide. Notably, math proficiency is higher than ELA proficiency at C.W. Harris — a pattern reversed at most neighboring schools like Plummer Elementary School, Smothers Elementary School, and Drew Elementary School, which all have stronger ELA than math. Just 0.3 miles away, Nalle Elementary School posted 23.0% ELA proficiency in 2025-2026 — nearly triple C.W. Harris's rate — while spending about $2,000 less per student.

C.W. Harris receives substantial funding — $30,497 per student in 2023-2024 — and has a low student-teacher ratio of 8.5. Yet nearby charter schools such as Elsie Whitlow Stokes Community Freedom PCS - East End (ELA 28.2%, math 30.3%), KIPP DC - Promise Academy PCS (ELA 22.9%, math 36.3%), and DC Scholars PCS (ELA 24.1%, math 20.5%) produce proficiency rates two to four times higher while spending less. Subgroup performance is weak across the board: low socioeconomic status students ranked in the 9th percentile in 2025-2026, special education students in the bottom 5% in 2024-2025, and science proficiency was just 5.6%. The combination of high spending, small classes, and persistently low outcomes raises serious questions about how resources are used; the 2025-2026 data shows that the promise of 2024-2025 has not yet become sustained progress.

251
Students ?
8.5
Student/teacher ratio ?
$35,480
Per pupil spending ?
79.3%
Directly certified for free meals (2024-25) ?
 301 53rd St. SE
       Washington, DC  20019

(202) 645-3188

District: District of Columbia Public Schools


Students who attend C.W. Harris Elementary School usually attend:

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

African American:
91.6%
Hispanic:
6.0%
Two or more races:
1.6%
more
 See top rated District Of Columbia elementary schools

 Compare C.W. Harris Elementary School to nearby elementary schools!
At a glance
▲ Ranking trend: Improving — <1st percentile in 2014 → 6th in 2026
Strengths
✓Ranking is trending up — up 6 percentile points since 2014
✓Small classes — about 8 students per teacher
Worth a look
!Test scores below the District Of Columbia average (11% vs 34% meeting standards)
!In the lower quartile statewide (6th percentile)
!Some student groups rank well below the school's overall statewide standing
Students meeting standards (2025-2026) ?
This school11%
District avg39%
District Of Columbia avg34%
116th of 124
District Of Columbia public elementary schools ?
Bottom 6%▼ down 5 pts since 2016
From bottom 11% (2016) to bottom 6% (2026)
See the entire ranking list of District Of Columbia Elementary Schools →
★★★★★
SchoolDigger rating ?
68th of 74Elementary Schools in the District of Columbia Public Schools
19th 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
202614.7116 of 1246.5%☆☆☆☆☆
202525.492 of 12828.1%★☆☆☆☆
202421.9112 of 12611.1%★☆☆☆☆
202320.4117 of 1288.6%☆☆☆☆☆
201914.7115 of 1225.7%☆☆☆☆☆
201812.9115 of 1204.2%☆☆☆☆☆
201714.4105 of 1082.8%☆☆☆☆☆
201616.788 of 9911.1%★☆☆☆☆
201512.997 of 970.0%☆☆☆☆☆
20146.3109 of 1090.0%☆☆☆☆☆
201213.5107 of 1124.5%☆☆☆☆☆
201112.0108 of 1112.7%☆☆☆☆☆
201017.0103 of 1117.2%☆☆☆☆☆

African American

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankDistrict Of Columbia percentileRating
202624.580 of 9616.7%★☆☆☆☆
202529.180 of 10825.9%★☆☆☆☆
202424.052 of 6317.5%★☆☆☆☆
202325.646 of 6023.3%★☆☆☆☆
201917.3101 of 1064.7%☆☆☆☆☆
201813.397 of 1003.0%☆☆☆☆☆

At Risk

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankDistrict Of Columbia percentileRating
201922.380 of 9112.1%★☆☆☆☆
201822.283 of 907.8%☆☆☆☆☆

Female

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankDistrict Of Columbia percentileRating
201917.4107 of 1178.5%☆☆☆☆☆
201816.2102 of 1107.3%☆☆☆☆☆

Low Socio Economic Status

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankDistrict Of Columbia percentileRating
202621.973 of 808.8%☆☆☆☆☆
202545.352 of 9243.5%★★☆☆☆

Male

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankDistrict Of Columbia percentileRating
201915.1110 of 1132.7%☆☆☆☆☆
201814.0110 of 1132.7%☆☆☆☆☆

Special Education

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankDistrict Of Columbia percentileRating
202521.620 of 214.8%☆☆☆☆☆
201831.126 of 3525.7%★★☆☆☆
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)
African American (2026)17th percentile+10 vs school
At Risk (2019)12th percentile+6 vs school
Low Socio Economic Status (2026)9th percentile~ school
Female (2019)9th percentile+3 vs school
Special Education (2025)5th percentile-23 vs school
Male (2019)3rd percentile-3 vs school
By subject vs District Of Columbia (2025-2026) ?
Mathematics14%-14 vs state
English Language Arts8%-31 vs state

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Frequently Asked Questions about C.W. Harris Elementary School

Students who attend C.W. Harris Elementary School usually go on to attend:

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

Students at C.W. Harris Elementary School are 92% African American, 6% Hispanic, 2% Two or more races.

C.W. Harris Elementary School ranks in the bottom 6.5% of District Of Columbia elementary schools.

In the 2024-25 school year, 251 students attended C.W. Harris Elementary 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.

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