WASHINGTON - The District of Columbia spends the second-highest amount of money per student in the country, but its schools only ranked 28th this year, putting it in the bottom half of school systems nationwide, according to a new report by WalletHub.
The personal-finance website released its 2024 report on the best and worst school systems across the U.S. this week.
The report compared the 50 states and the District of Columbia across 32 key measures of quality and safety, including pupil-teacher ratio, dropout rate, and median standardized-test scores.
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The study also showed that the graduation rate for low-income students is a concern, ranking 50th nationally. Both math (Rank 50) and reading scores (Rank 49) are areas where improvement is needed.
The District performs well in terms of safety, with low incidence rates of violence and threats, according to the report. However, the percentage of students with access to illegal drugs (Rank 37) is a concern.
While not the highest in the report, the number of school shootings remains a critical issue (Rank 23).
D.C. does excel in ACT performance (Rank 3) and maintains a favorable pupil-teacher ratio (Rank 2). They are also projected to have significant growth in high school graduation rates over the next decade, ranking first in Projected High School Graduation Rate Increase Between 2023-2024 and 2034-2035 School Years. The District of Columbia also has the lowest share of high school students who were bullied.
FULL REPORT: States with the Best & Worst School Systems (2024)
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