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D.C.'s Traditional Public Schools Show Achievement Gains

By: Patrick Madden // July 26, 2012
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D.C. Public Schools showed gains on standardized tests in reading after two years of decline.
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D.C. Public Schools showed gains on standardized tests in reading after two years of decline.

The latest standardized test scores for DC public school students show gains across the board. There was growth in three subject areas for students in the city's long-troubled traditional public school system, according to a preview of the overall results obtained by WAMU. 

The D.C. Comprehensive Assessment System, or DC CAS, tests students in third through eighth grades, as well as 10th grade.

Math scores are up almost 3 percent from last year and science scores increased more than 5 percent. Reading also saw a little growth — up half a percentage point — reversing a two-year trend of declining test scores.

The District's charter schools, which now serve more than 40 percent of the student population, did not fare as well. Overall, science and reading scores suffered slight declines while math scores inched up by 1 percent.

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