Education

Education has been famously called "the great equalizer," but in DC outcomes vary dramatically for children depending on their neighborhood. DC KIDS COUNT tracks key indicators to help ensure that all children and youth in the District are on the path to succeed in school and life.

Third Grade Proficiency in DC: Little Progress (2007–2011)

Reading and math proficiency by the end of third grade can be a make-or-break benchmark in a child’s educational development. Not being proficient can have long-term consequences of lowering earnings potential and productivity, both of which can limit a city’s prosperity and dim its future.

To keep DC moving forward, we must ensure that our children are learning skills for success. This means teaching our children the fundamental early skills they need to learn and thrive, especially math and reading.

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Improving Quality Child Care Options for All DC Children

Our city’s prosperity will be determined by how we support the education and well-being of our youngest citizens. The first five years of life, particularly the first three, are a time of critical human development, when the foundation for lifelong learning and success is built to last through adulthood. Nearly 33,000 children under the age of five live in the District. Approximately 19,000 DC children are birth to age three, and nearly one-quarter (26 percent) of them live in poverty.

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DC’s Achievement Gap

In DC the confluence of race, place and neighborhood income may have more of an influence on achievement than any one of those factors alone. 

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2010-2011 DC CAS

Over the past five years, both DC Public Schools (DCPS) and public charter schools (PCS) have seen significant growth in secondary reading and math scores on the DC CAS. However, scores have not improved as much at the elementary level.  

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Blogs and Testimony

Good News for District's Young Children

This week, more information on the President’s early learning initiative was announced in his budget proposal and it was all great news...

Data Update: Recent Years Show a Rising Share of Students with IEPs

As part of our DC KIDS COUNT project, we make periodic updates to our...

Dear Washington Post: Why Do You Ignore the Futures of Children in Your Own Back Yard?

As the KIDS COUNT organization for DC, we read last week’s Washington Post special section, “Unlocking Our Kids’ Future,” with great...

5 Minutes for DC KIDS COUNT: Please Take Our Survey and Help Us Improve Our Work

Do you have five minutes for our city’s children, youth and families? By now you should have received an email with a link to a survey...

Testimony of Bonnie O’Keefe, OSSE Performance Oversight Hearing, FY 2012-13

Testimony of Bonnie O’Keefe, Public Policy Analyst
DC Action for Children

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What is DC’s Return on Investment in Early Care and Education?

Recently I had the chance to attend the Washington Post’s Children and Families Summit, which featured U.S. Secretary of...

Research and Resources

DC Student Test Scores Show Uneven Progress
DC’s Achievement Gap: Why Place Matters
NAEP DC Profile

Compare DC to other states and national averages on the National...

Washington Post Education Coverage

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