DC schools improve but school choice still way more cost effective, beneficial

After large investments of time and money – and school choice – Washington, D.C.’s school system is beginning to show modest improvement. But experts say expanding school choice is the most promising way forward.

Of the nearly 100,000 public school students in the nation’s capital, 37.6% are now proficient in reading and 26.4% in math – both their best rates since the COVID-19 pandemic, when students nationwide experienced steep learning loss due to school closures.

The city is rebounding, and school choice is part of the equation.

D.C. has a universal school choice lottery system, and the vast majority of families receive their preferred school placement, including both district public schools and charter schools.

The city also operates a small private school choice program serving about 1,300 students from low- and middle-income families – with more than 900 on the waitlist. Participants receive only about half of the $28,000 the city spends per public school student. 

Money, money and more money 

Writing in The 74, Deputy Mayor for Education Paul Kihn and D.C. Superintendent Antoinette Mitchell credited new programs, stronger data systems and higher teacher pay for the recent progress. The city also benefited from a large influx of federal funds – about $6,800 per student, nearly double the national average of $3,700.

D.C. has invested heavily in summer learning, targeted tutoring and teacher pay, with the average teacher salary now reaching $109,000 – among the highest in the country. Those efforts have helped reduce chronic absenteeism, but Kihn and Mitchell say challenges remain. 

Enrollment also has increased by about 5,000 students since the pandemic – the opposite of the trend in many large districts – but the fact that nearly 1,000 families are waiting to access private school choice shows demand for alternatives remains strong, said Corey DeAngelis, a leading school choice advocate nationally. 

DeAngelis: School choice should be open to all 

D.C.’s private school choice program has realized “improvements in safety, satisfaction and graduation at a fraction of the cost of the public school system,” DeAngelis told The Lion in an email, citing recent evaluations. 

“D.C. politicians need to stop picking winners and losers. They should eliminate the waitlist and make all families eligible to access school choice, regardless of income. Students shouldn’t lose more than half of their education dollars when they need an escape valve.”

Congress could triple the number of scholarships by shifting a small amount of money from the public schools to the program, writes the Cato Institute’s Coleen Hroncich, adding it “would be transformational.” 

DeAngelis argues universal school choice is the best policy. 

“The nation’s capital should allow all families to take their children’s education dollars to schools that align with their values and best meet their needs. Their parents know their needs better than bureaucrats who don’t even know their names.” 

Similar arguments are playing out in Mississippi, where public school reading scores have improved, and in Alabama, where state test scores are up even as the new school choice program drew nearly 37,000 applications this year. Mississippi’s Republican leaders are looking to pass a school choice program in 2026. 

DeAngelis said states don’t have to choose between higher test scores and educational freedom. 

“School choice is a rising tide that lifts all boats,” he said, noting “27 of 30 studies on the topic find that school choice competition improves outcomes in public schools.”