School grade configurations are not standardized in Washington, DC. In SY2023-24, there were 35 different school grade configurations across all DCPS and public charter schools. DCPS typically offers elementary schools with grades PK3 to 5, middle schools with 6 to 8, or high schools with 9 to 12. In some instances, DCPS also offers education campuses with multiple grade bands such as PK-8 or 6-12. Public charter schools offer a wider variety of grade configurations. In some cases, this variety reflects that the public charter school has not reached its maximum intended grade. Public charter schools often add a grade each year in order to reach their full grade span, as described in their charter authorized by DC PCSB.
The following dashboard shows both the number of schools and number of students enrolled by each of the different available grade configurations. For instance, the most frequent grade configuration is PK3-5 with 79 schools and 28,945 students enrolled.
Grade Configurations and Enrollment of Public Schools, SY2013-14 to SY2023-24
Source: OSSE Audited Enrollment, SY13-14 to SY23-24
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