Chapter 4 describes the enrollment patterns of students living and going to public school in Washington, DC. In a city with many public school choices and flexible enrollment policies, some students enroll in their neighborhood by-right DCPS schools (in boundary school), another DCPS school (out of boundary school), or they attend a public charter school. At least some students in every neighborhood cluster travel long distances from their home to their school. This chapter probes these varied student enrollment patterns from several different perspectives. Some questions that this chapter helps answer are:
- What are the trends of public school students regarding in boundary, out of boundary, and public charter school enrollment?
- What are the enrollment patterns of public students within and across wards?
- What feeder pathways do students follow from elementary to middle to high school?
Public School Enrollment over Time: Explore the citywide and sector audited enrollment trends over time.
Public School Enrollment by Grade Level: Compare audited enrollment by grade band (PK, K-5, 6-8, and 9-12) over time.
Trends in Enrollment by Sector: Explore the number and share of students who enroll at the various types of DCPS schools (in-boundary, out of boundary, citywide school, application high school) and public charter schools over time, by different geographies, and grade levels.
Trends in Distance to School: View travel distances from home to school for students in Washington DC's public schools. The following pages have been consolidated into a single dashboard on this page: Distance to School by Grade Band and Sector and Trends in Distance to School by Where Student Lives.
Student Enrollment Pathways: View which schools students enroll next school year or where they were enrolled the previous school year by sector, DCPS feeder pattern, and individual school.
Grade Progression Ratio: Explore students’ enrollment patterns as they move from one grade to the next, called the "grade progression ratio". View by citywide, sector, LEA, and individual schools.