Washington, D.C., students posted the largest year-over-year gains in both English and math since the pandemic — but 40% of students are still chronically absent, a stubborn problem that threatens to cap the progress.
What happened
The Office of the State Superintendent of Education released 2025 statewide assessment results showing a 3.6 percentage point increase in both ELA and math proficiency across DC public and charter schools. In ELA, 37.6% of students now meet or exceed grade-level expectations — the highest rate ever recorded. In math, proficiency rose to 26.4%, still four points below pre-pandemic 2019 levels but the largest single-year gain on record.
Gains were broad-based: more than 40% of DC schools saw proficiency jumps of at least 5 percentage points in either subject. Both DCPS and public charter schools improved, as did nearly every student subgroup. Fewer students scored at the lowest performance level than in 2024.
“Rarely do you ever see year-over-year gains in this capacity,” DCPS Chancellor Lewis D. Ferebee said.
Enrollment also rose for the third straight year, up 1% to 91,337 students. Teacher retention climbed to 84%, and the four-year graduation rate hit 79% — the highest in more than a decade.
Why it matters
DC has branded itself the “fastest-improving urban school district in the country,” and this data backs that claim. But the absenteeism numbers tell a parallel story of fragility. Chronic absenteeism — missing at least 10% of the school year — held flat at 40%, with 58% of high schoolers chronically absent. The crisis deepens sharply in ninth grade, where absenteeism jumps by roughly 21 percentage points from eighth grade.
For the DMV’s 6.4 million residents, the education picture is directly tied to the region’s economic competitiveness. The District has set a goal to cut chronic absenteeism to 24% by the 2027-28 school year — an ambitious target that will require interventions far beyond the classroom.
Black students, economically disadvantaged students, and students with disabilities remain disproportionately affected by both lower proficiency rates and higher absenteeism.
What’s next
OSSE is expanding high-impact tutoring programs and math bootcamps for teachers heading into the new school year. Individual student reports will be distributed to families in September, with student growth metrics published on the DC School Report Card in December.
State Superintendent Antoinette Mitchell said schools are increasing career and technical education pathways to make high school more relevant for students at risk of disengagement. The question is whether that strategy — combined with sustained funding — can close the absenteeism gap before it erodes the academic gains
