(Washington, DC) – Today, Mayor Muriel Bowser and the Office of the State Superintendent of Education (OSSE) released results from the District’s annual statewide assessments in English language arts/literacy (ELA) and math taken by students in grades 3–8 and high school in spring 2026. Districtwide, ELA proficiency is up 2 percentage points over last year, at 39.6%, and math proficiency is up 2.1 percentage points over last year, at 28.5%. This is the fourth consecutive year that the District has seen increases in proficiency rates.
“Earlier this year, we got good news about our education system: DC students have led the nation in post-pandemic academic recovery in both reading and math. Now, with this data, we have an even better sense of how we can continue to build on that progress,” said Mayor Bowser. “I’m grateful for the educators across all eight wards who go above and beyond to support our students. On Monday, we begin another school year of opportunity and possibilities for our students – let’s start the year strong and make every day count.”
OSSE ensures the secure and reliable administration of statewide assessments each spring, and participation remained strong this year with 95.5% of students participating in ELA and 94.9% participating in math. The DC CAPE assessment sets a high bar for proficiency, and it has five performance levels; levels 4 and 5 indicate a student is proficient in the subject area and level 3 indicates a student is approaching grade-level expectations. Students performing at level 3 still demonstrate much of the knowledge and skills necessary to succeed in later grade levels and postsecondary pathways.
Since 2022, the first year of testing after students returned to in-person learning, ELA proficiency has increased by 8.8 percentage points and math proficiency has increased by 9.1 percentage points.
This year, gains were driven largely by math improvements at the elementary level and by ELA improvements in the middle grades. At the high school level, citywide proficiency in math remained mostly flat and decreased slightly in ELA, compared to last year. Overall, across grade levels, ELA proficiency rates are higher today than before the pandemic, and the highest on record since 2015 (the year the District moved from the DC CAS to the PARCC assessment).
Grade Band Performance
In English Language Arts (ELA):
- Grades 3-8: 40.1% of elementary and middle school students met or exceeded expectations, up from 37.4% the prior year (+2.7)
- Grades 9-12: 37.5% of high school students met or exceeded expectations, down from 38.5% in the prior year (-1)
In Math:
- Grades 3-8: 31.8% of elementary and middle school students met or exceeded expectations, up from 29.1% the prior year (+2.7)
- Grades 9-12: 14.8% of high school students met or exceeded expectations, down from 15% the prior year (-0.2)
The 2026 results also show more students overall are approaching proficiency. In ELA, 60.3% of students performed at levels 3, 4, or 5, up from 57.9% last year, meaning they were approaching, meeting, or exceeding grade-level expectations. In math, 50.7% of students performed at levels 3, 4, or 5, up from 47.5% last year. Also, in both ELA and math, fewer students scored in the lowest performance level than in 2025, indicating that students continue to improve even if they did not reach proficiency.
While significant gaps remain among student race/ethnicity and different student groups, students across subgroups are showing solid progress. Every student group, including economically disadvantaged students, students with disabilities, and English learners, increased in ELA and math proficiency from 2025.
Strategies such as high-impact tutoring continue to demonstrate promising improvements. An OSSE analysis found that participation in at least 20 hours of high-impact tutoring is associated with more favorable assessment score changes across grade bands.
“Today’s results show steady, citywide progress—especially in the early grades where strong foundations are built,” said State Superintendent Dr. Antoinette S. Mitchell. “I’m proud of our students and grateful to educators across DC who are raising expectations and supporting learners to meet them.”
“Building on last year’s historic gains, DC Public Schools students have raised the bar yet again,” said DC Public Schools (DCPS) Interim Chancellor, Dr. Kim Jackson. “These 2026 results show that DCPS has fully recovered from the pandemic in both ELA and math, reflecting the dedication of our educators and students. I am excited to be leading DCPS in this moment as our students carry this momentum forward with even greater achievement.”
“As we celebrate 30 years of public charter education in DC, these results show a sector that continues to learn, improve, and make meaningful academic progress for students,” said DC Public Charter School Board Executive Director Dr. Michelle Walker-Davis. “We see schools across the city making gains by strengthening instruction, using data to respond to student needs, and providing targeted support. Our work now is to build on that momentum while remaining focused on the students and schools where more progress is needed.”
Schools will receive individual student reports in September and distribute them to families. OSSE has posted assessment resources on its website to help schools, parents, and teachers understand the assessment and results. Data from the 2026 DC CAPE, including student growth metrics, will be included on the DC School Report Card in December.
The 2025–26 school year marked the third and final year of DC CAPE. Beginning in 2026–27, DC will transition to an updated assessment, DC CAPE Next, which will be computer adaptive and give teachers more resources throughout the year to evaluate student progress.
For more information on the DC CAPE annual statewide assessments in ELA and math, visit the assessment results page on OSSE’s website.
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