Summary:
In Washington, DC's 20011 zip code, 7 middle schools serve 2,337 students in grades 4–8, offering a mix of traditional District of Columbia Public Schools and public charter school options. Overall, these schools are slightly above the state average in ELA proficiency (~43.3% vs. 39.6%) but below in math (~24.5% vs. 28.2%), making mathematics the area's biggest academic challenge.
Families have clear standout choices. Washington Latin PCS - Middle School leads the zip code by a wide margin, ranked #5 in the state with 69.6% ELA and 53.2% math proficiency, and it does so with the lowest per-student spending and highest student-teacher ratio among the seven schools. Friendship PCS - Ideal Middle is a rising star, jumping to #13 overall; its 7th- and 8th-grade ELA scores are exceptional (83.9% and 79.2%), though its school-wide average is dragged down by lower scores in earlier grades. MacFarland Middle School is the strongest DCPS option, improving from #37 to #21 and posting math scores at the state average.
At the other end, Social Justice PCS is a major concern: ranked #53, with just 4.6% math proficiency, despite spending the most per student and having the smallest classes. The data across all schools show that spending and class size do not predict success; other factors like instruction and culture matter more. Math proficiency is very low at Capital City PCS - Middle School (12.8%), Paul PCS - Middle School (15.3%), and Ida B. Wells Middle School (16.8%). Families should also note that grade spans differ: DCPS middle schools serve only grades 6–8, while some charters start in grade 4 or 5, making direct comparisons imperfect.
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