In Washington, D.C. public schools, math test scores rose this year, while reading scores remained fundamentally flat, according to officials on Thursday, raising questions about how the city will meet ambitious goals for increasing student achievement over the next five years. Charter schools in the city, which serves 41 percent of the city’s public school students, posted higher overall scores on the 2012 D.C. Comprehensive Assessment System than their counterparts in the traditional school system, but their improvement in math was lower. Their reading proficiency rates fell faintly.
Neval Thomas Elementary School in Ward 7, east of the Anacostia River, recorded double-digit gains in math and reading over the past year. Citywide, 46 percent of D.C.’s 123 traditional public schools scored proficient in math, an increase of roughly 3 percentage points from the previous year. Almost 44 percent scored proficient in reading, an increase of 0.5 points. “I can’t live or die by annual test scores,” said D.C. Schools Chancellor Kaya Henderson. “But I am completely and totally optimistic about results we are seeing.” Mayor Vincent Gray said the improvements are “proof-positive of the impact Pre-K participation is having on education in the District of Columbia.”
