America’s fastest-improving school system still falls short

Washington D.C. Schools Skyrocket in Growth, But Proficiency Gap Remains Stark

In a surprising twist for the nation's education landscape, the Washington D.C. school system is being hailed as the fastest-improving in the country. A sweeping new analysis of student performance, drawing on data from over 5,000 school districts across 38 states, reveals remarkable gains in both math and reading within the District.

This surge in progress comes as much of the nation grapples with a persistent "reading recession," a decade-long slump in academic achievement that predates the recent global health crisis. The data, compiled by researchers from prestigious institutions like Stanford, Harvard, and Dartmouth, paints a concerning picture for many areas, with only a handful of states and the District of Columbia showing meaningful forward movement in reading scores between 2022 and 2025.

A Tale of Two Metrics: Growth vs. Attainment

The new analysis, dubbed the Education Scorecard, highlights a critical debate within the education community: how should we measure the success of our schools? Should the focus be on the absolute level of student proficiency, or on the rate at which students are learning and improving year over year?

Washington D.C. stands as a compelling case study in this ongoing discussion. Students in both public and charter schools within the District demonstrated impressive learning trajectories. Over the analyzed period, they collectively gained approximately two-thirds of a grade level in mathematics and about one-third of a grade level in reading.

This means that, on average, an eighth grader in 2025 had mastered the equivalent of six months more material in math than their counterpart in 2022. Such growth is a significant achievement, especially when contrasted with the national trend of stagnation or decline.

The Uncomfortable Reality: Proficiency Lags Behind Progress

However, these celebrated gains in growth do little to mask a more sobering reality. Despite the rapid improvement, a substantial majority of Washington's students are still not meeting grade-level standards. A separate report from the D.C. Policy Center, an independent local think tank, indicates that in 2025, only 26 percent of students achieved proficiency in math, and a mere 38 percent reached proficiency in reading.

The situation is even more stark for older students. Just 16 percent of high school juniors and seniors were deemed college or career ready. This data point underscores a fundamental tension: a school system can be the nation's fastest-improving and still leave the majority of its students academically behind.

This contradiction is fueling a politically charged debate. Critics argue that focusing solely on growth can obscure the fundamental need for students to reach essential academic benchmarks. They contend that celebrating improvement is hollow when most students are not functioning at the expected level for their grade.

Voices from the Field: A Divide on Progress

Steven Wilson, a former education policymaker and charter school leader, voices a common concern among those who prioritize proficiency. "Gains of any magnitude are a good thing, but when most students — roughly two-thirds to three-quarters in the case of D.C. — are not functioning at grade level, this is nothing to applaud," Wilson stated.

He believes that the current system is failing a significant portion of its students. Wilson, author of a critical examination of recent school reform efforts, worries that highlighting systems with low overall proficiency, even with strong growth, can mislead the public and lead to misguided policy decisions.

Conversely, education leaders in Washington are eager to showcase the demonstrable progress. Paul Kihn, the deputy mayor for education, has publicly celebrated the schools' performance, noting a 3.6 percent improvement in reading and math scores on recent annual tests, mirroring the growth figures calculated by the Education Scorecard team.

Tom Kane, a Harvard economist and a lead author of the Education Scorecard report, explained that the research team intentionally focused on growth to counter what they perceive as an overly negative narrative surrounding public education. "We're trying to highlight that something good is happening in some of these places," Kane remarked. "And hopefully, if we can, rebuild the public sense of agency with respect to public education."

Beyond the Capital: Districts on the Rise

The research team also identified 108 "districts on the rise" nationwide – school districts that exhibited math and reading gains surpassing those of similar districts within their respective states. While Washington D.C. was not formally included in this list due to the absence of comparable districts within the city, its growth trajectory is on par with many on the list.

Crucially, like Washington D.C., most of these "districts on the rise" still contend with a significant proportion of students performing below grade level. The theoretical promise is that consistent, outsized annual growth will eventually lead to students catching up and reaching grade-level proficiency.

However, critics like Wilson argue that even incremental annual improvements, if they remain below a certain threshold, could take decades to elevate the majority of students to an adequate educational standard. He emphasizes that students currently within the system cannot afford to wait for such long-term progress.

The Influence of Socioeconomic Factors

The debate over how to measure school success is deeply intertwined with socioeconomic factors. When the primary metric is proficiency, school systems in affluent suburban areas often dominate the rankings. This success is frequently attributed not to superior educational methods, but to the fact that students from wealthier backgrounds often enter the education system with significant academic advantages.

This concern has driven a growing emphasis on growth-based measures of school performance over the past two decades. A notable example comes from research by Sean Reardon, a Stanford sociologist and co-author of the current report. A decade ago, his work identified Chicago as having the most effective schools in the country based on student growth, despite many students being below grade level.

While Illinois was not part of the latest analysis due to changes in its state assessment, the principle remains relevant: growth can indicate effectiveness even when proficiency is low.

Parental Perspectives and Future Directions

For many parents, the immediate appeal of a school system where most students are on grade level, even with modest annual improvements, might outweigh the allure of a system showing rapid growth but with a low overall proficiency rate. This sentiment highlights the complex decision-making process for families navigating the education system.

Kane acknowledges the importance of moving more students toward proficiency. He revealed that for the next iteration of the Education Scorecard, researchers plan to incorporate a new data point that compares the share of students achieving proficiency against that of other districts with similar demographic profiles. This addition aims to provide a more nuanced understanding of school performance.

The persistent disagreement stems from the fact that growth and proficiency answer fundamentally different questions. Growth measures whether students are learning more than they did previously, while proficiency assesses whether they have acquired the necessary knowledge and skills. Washington D.C.'s educational journey, with its remarkable growth alongside persistent proficiency gaps, serves as a potent illustration of this complex challenge. It demonstrates how a school system can achieve national recognition for its progress while still falling short of the most basic measure of success: ensuring that the majority of its students are equipped with grade-level academic competencies.