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District of Columbia International School

Washington · DC · District of Columbia International School · Public charter · K-12 combined

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📋 At a glance

Programs & features
  • 📚 1 AP courses offered — Moderate
Academic signals
  • 🎓 AP rigor: Bottom 40% of US high schools
  • 📝 SAT/ACT participation: Bottom 47% by test-taker volume
  • 🎓 4-yr grad rate: 87% (Bottom 39% of US high schools by 4-yr grad rate)

Composed from federal CRDC offerings, EDFacts ACGR, and other public data. Full breakdowns below.

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How District of Columbia International School compares for families

Solid mid-tier academic profile.

  • LocallyDC trails the US average on NAEP 8th-grade math (−12 points). Stronger local schools matter even more.
  • vs Similar SchoolsThe closest comparables nearby: Coolidge HS, Paul PCS - International HS, St Johns College High School and 5 more. See the sidebar to compare side-by-side.
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🎓 Academic rigor

AP + advanced-course offerings

Moderate — some AP / advanced course access

Bottom 40% of US high schools

50th 90th ↑ this school
Less rigorMore rigorMost rigor
AP courses offered
1
Subject breadth not reported
Advanced math classes
15
0 calculus · 15 advanced
Lab science classes
12
2 physics · 10 chemistry
Other rigor signals
No dual-enrollment or gifted program reported

Source: federal Civil Rights Data Collection (CRDC 2020-21). CRDC reports what's offered + enrolled — it doesn't collect AP exam pass rates (College Board owns that data and doesn't release it school-level).

SAT / ACT participation

CRDC federal data · 2020-21

Bottom 47% by test-taker volume

50th 90th
SAT/ACT test-takers
61
11th-12th graders who took 1+ college admissions test
Test-taking intensity
7.0
takers per 100 students in grades 9-12
Compared against
18,426
US high schools reporting SAT/ACT participation

Source: federal Civil Rights Data Collection (CRDC 2020-21). Volume — not score — is what's reported here. A higher count means more students at this school are entering the college admissions pipeline. Note: 2020-21 was COVID-disrupted; some districts (especially those that stayed remote longer) report unusually low or zero takers.

🎓 4-year graduation rate · federal EDFacts

What % of students graduate on time?

Bottom 39% of US high schools by 4-yr grad rate

50th 90th
4-year graduation rate
87%
Range: 85–89%
4-year cohort size
73
Students in the 9th-grade entry class tracked over 4 years
Compared against
17,988
US high schools reporting 4-year ACGR

Source: federal EDFacts ACGR (Adjusted Cohort Graduation Rate), 2019 vintage via Urban Institute. EDFacts publishes a range (low-high) to preserve privacy on small cohorts; we display the midpoint.

👩‍🏫 Teacher workforce · federal CRDC

Teacher experience & reliability

% inexperienced teachers (1st-2nd yr)
1.6%
Strong: experienced corps. New teachers rotate through but most have ≥3 years in.
% chronic teacher absence (≥10 days/yr)
12.7%
Elevated. Teacher absence directly affects classroom continuity and student outcomes.

Source: federal Civil Rights Data Collection (CRDC 2017-18 — the most recent vintage that publishes per-school teacher quality fields; the 2020-21 sweep had them suppressed). "Inexperienced" = teachers in their first or second year. "Chronic absence" = teachers absent 10+ days/year.

Chronic absenteeism

Share of students absent 15+ days
2.8%
Below 10% — strong attendance culture. Chronic absence is a leading indicator of dropout and disengagement; a low rate signals families staying connected to the school.
Students absent 15+ days
47
Federal definition: absent (excused or unexcused) for at least 15 of ~180 school days — about 10% of the school year.

Why this matters to enrollment: A low chronic-absence rate is the cleanest school-level signal of strong family connection, classroom culture, and student engagement — all upstream drivers of enrollment stability. For school leaders: an Enrollment Trend Audit traces this dynamic forward →

Source: U.S. Department of Education, Civil Rights Data Collection 2020–2021. Rate = students chronically absent ÷ 2024 total enrollment.

Counselor capacity

Student : Counselor
207:1
Below the ASCA 250:1 recommendation — strong capacity for college planning, course selection, and student supports.
Counselor FTE
8.0
Full-time-equivalent school counselors on staff.
Teacher FTE
136
Full-time-equivalent classroom teachers.

Source: U.S. Department of Education, Civil Rights Data Collection 2020-2021. Counselor ratio = the school's most recent total enrollment ÷ counselor FTE. The American School Counselor Association (ASCA) recommends a 250:1 maximum; the US national median across schools with on-staff counselors is roughly 430:1.

Enrollment trend & projection

Grade 12 went from 144 in 2021 to 205 in 2024 — over 3 years.
+42.4%

Total enrollment + grade 12, NCES Common Core of Data (2021–2024).

If the recent trend holds…

At its recent rate of +2.8%/year, projecting from 2024's 1,654 students:

2025
1,700
2027
1,796
2029
1,898

An extrapolation of the recent trajectory, not a forecast of the school's plans; ignores one-off shocks.

Revenue upside

At $26,279 per student in district revenue, the 244 students projected to be gained by 2029 represent ≈ $6,412,076/year in additional funding.

District total revenue ÷ enrollment, NCES F-33. Public funding largely follows enrollment, so a shrinking class is a recurring budget hit.

Nearby high schools — the local competition

The closest high schools families here also consider, and where their enrollment is heading.

SchoolTypeMilesHS enrollmentTrend
Coolidge HS
Washington
Public 0.9 1,029 +39.1%
Paul PCS - International HS
Washington
Public · charter 0.9 439 +3.8%
St Johns College High School
Washington
Private 1.3 1,279 +9.3%
Capital City PCS - HS
Washington
Public · charter 1.4 348 +0.3%
Washington Latin PCS - Upper School
Washington
Public · charter 1.7 357 -5.1%
E.L. Haynes PCS - HS
Washington
Public · charter 2.0 446 +0.7%
Roosevelt HS
Washington
Public 2.1 943 +18.3%
Edmund Burke School
Washington
Private 2.6 333 +9.5%

Researching colleges for your kid at District of Columbia International School?

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