Anonymous
Post 08/23/2025 00:10     Subject: DC CAPE SCORES
Has anyone done the analysis of percentages of 5s? I'm going to be honest and say that I am confident my UMC white kid with most statistical advantages you can name (parental education, married parents, etc) would get 4s anywhere, but a 5 might depend on the school/teaching. It's also a good way of judging schools that have a sizeable advanced cohort. Lots of the schools we are considering have kids peel off in 5th grade for charters, so I'd be particularly interested in how non-economically disadvantaged (white if it's the only proxy) 3rd and 4th or, if that's too complicated, just 4th graders do. But I'd also happily take any data related to 5s if anyone has pulled out the data.
Anonymous
Post 08/22/2025 23:21     Subject: DC CAPE SCORES
Anonymous wrote:in confused. its in the spring at all schools. basis doesnt have any middle schoolers take the cape algebra test. they take the standard no algebra math 7 and 8 test.


But Basis kids don’t take 7th grade math in 7th grade. They take Geometry. So they’ve finished 7th grade math well before they take the CAPE that spring.
Anonymous
Post 08/22/2025 23:19     Subject: DC CAPE SCORES
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:Anyone have any other observations from the data about other schools?


Some schools (a mix of DCPS and charters--Whittier, Payne, some of the Friendship and Center City schools, etc.) are far outperforming their high at-risk populations.
Some schools (mostly charters like Shining Stars and Breakthrough) are far underperforming considering their low at-risk populations.

Montessori and high standardized test scores don't fit together in DC. Bilingual education sometimes does, but it varies across schools and demographic groups.

Of the schools with few at-risk kids, some are better at serving them than others.

In most of the schools with many at-risk kids, the kids who aren't at risk (current proxy: white, since we don't have non-at-risk data) are doing pretty well, but there is considerable variation.

Schools that are near each other can have big variations in test scores. Some of this is self-reinforcing as families move to the boundary with the higher-performing school, some is likely due to having self-contained special ed classes clustered at certain schools, some might actually be about better teaching or administration at a given school. It's hard to tell.

If your goal is to find an elementary school with a decent peer group of kids scoring 4+ in both ELA and math (what you consider decent could vary, but let's say a majority of kids on both tests) there are more options than you might think. For elementary, in addition to the JR and McArthur feeders there's Brent, Maury, SWS, Ludlow-Taylor, Ross, Yu Ying, and MV Calle Ocho.
And if you go down to 45% scoring 4+ in each, you add Whittier, LAMB, ITDS, Stokes, Friendship Chamberlain, Payne, and Garrison.
Others that are close include Burroughs, Chisholm, and Marie Reed.


MV Calle Ocho is a gem. Lots of dedicated and caring teachers. Spanish is strong and is true immersion.

I would note that at all the immersion charters above, the kids are getting a lot less ELA time due to it being replaced by learning another language and yet, they still rock in ELA!
Anonymous
Post 08/22/2025 22:40     Subject: DC CAPE SCORES
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:Anyone have any other observations from the data about other schools?


Some schools (a mix of DCPS and charters--Whittier, Payne, some of the Friendship and Center City schools, etc.) are far outperforming their high at-risk populations.
Some schools (mostly charters like Shining Stars and Breakthrough) are far underperforming considering their low at-risk populations.

Montessori and high standardized test scores don't fit together in DC. Bilingual education sometimes does, but it varies across schools and demographic groups.

Of the schools with few at-risk kids, some are better at serving them than others.

In most of the schools with many at-risk kids, the kids who aren't at risk (current proxy: white, since we don't have non-at-risk data) are doing pretty well, but there is considerable variation.

Schools that are near each other can have big variations in test scores. Some of this is self-reinforcing as families move to the boundary with the higher-performing school, some is likely due to having self-contained special ed classes clustered at certain schools, some might actually be about better teaching or administration at a given school. It's hard to tell.

If your goal is to find an elementary school with a decent peer group of kids scoring 4+ in both ELA and math (what you consider decent could vary, but let's say a majority of kids on both tests) there are more options than you might think. For elementary, in addition to the JR and McArthur feeders there's Brent, Maury, SWS, Ludlow-Taylor, Ross, Yu Ying, and MV Calle Ocho.
And if you go down to 45% scoring 4+ in each, you add Whittier, LAMB, ITDS, Stokes, Friendship Chamberlain, Payne, and Garrison.
Others that are close include Burroughs, Chisholm, and Marie Reed.


I'm not fan of Shining Stars, but apparently it has 53% low income and a stunning 23% homeless.

https://schoolreportcard.dc.gov/lea/166/school/3066/report#measure-107


Shining Stars and Whittier have the same at-risk percentage: 43%. At SS, 34% of kids scored a 3+ in math; at Whittier it was 81%. Chisholm, Sela, Burroughs, and Center City Congress Heights all do significantly better than SS with very similar percentages at-risk.

Other notable underperformers in math considering at risk rate include Stokes (only 6% at risk--less than Mann, Brent, Hearst, SWS, Stoddert, or Oyster!), Lee Montessori (they have 15% at risk--similar to Hyde-Addison and Maury but with far lower scores), Breakthrough (and it's not Montessori to blame here--CHML has the same at-risk percentage but the 3+ rate is 13 percentage points higher), and Lee Montessori EE (Lewis has the same at-risk percentage but 3+ proficiency is 55 percentage points higher!), Miner, and Ketcham.

For ELA, leaving out the bilingual schools, I noticed both campuses of Lee, Learn DC, Two Rivers Young, Amidon-Bowen, Langley, Miner, Ketcham, and some of the Rocketship campuses all did worse than schools with similar at-risk populations.

The outliers look different when you look at 4+. And not all at-risk kids are the same. And there's more to schools than test scores. And a school that does great with at-risk kids might not be the right fit for a kid with a different life. But it is interesting.
Anonymous
Post 08/22/2025 21:00     Subject: DC CAPE SCORES
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:Anyone have any other observations from the data about other schools?


Some schools (a mix of DCPS and charters--Whittier, Payne, some of the Friendship and Center City schools, etc.) are far outperforming their high at-risk populations.
Some schools (mostly charters like Shining Stars and Breakthrough) are far underperforming considering their low at-risk populations.

Montessori and high standardized test scores don't fit together in DC. Bilingual education sometimes does, but it varies across schools and demographic groups.

Of the schools with few at-risk kids, some are better at serving them than others.

In most of the schools with many at-risk kids, the kids who aren't at risk (current proxy: white, since we don't have non-at-risk data) are doing pretty well, but there is considerable variation.

Schools that are near each other can have big variations in test scores. Some of this is self-reinforcing as families move to the boundary with the higher-performing school, some is likely due to having self-contained special ed classes clustered at certain schools, some might actually be about better teaching or administration at a given school. It's hard to tell.

If your goal is to find an elementary school with a decent peer group of kids scoring 4+ in both ELA and math (what you consider decent could vary, but let's say a majority of kids on both tests) there are more options than you might think. For elementary, in addition to the JR and McArthur feeders there's Brent, Maury, SWS, Ludlow-Taylor, Ross, Yu Ying, and MV Calle Ocho.
And if you go down to 45% scoring 4+ in each, you add Whittier, LAMB, ITDS, Stokes, Friendship Chamberlain, Payne, and Garrison.
Others that are close include Burroughs, Chisholm, and Marie Reed.


I'm not fan of Shining Stars, but apparently it has 53% low income and a stunning 23% homeless.

https://schoolreportcard.dc.gov/lea/166/school/3066/report#measure-107
Anonymous
Post 08/22/2025 20:27     Subject: DC CAPE SCORES
ive noticed the school snapshot profiles produced by myschool no longer have bar charts with test scores on them. i think that is a positive step.
Anonymous
Post 08/22/2025 20:12     Subject: DC CAPE SCORES
in confused. its in the spring at all schools. basis doesnt have any middle schoolers take the cape algebra test. they take the standard no algebra math 7 and 8 test.
Anonymous
Post 08/22/2025 19:41     Subject: DC CAPE SCORES
Anonymous wrote:which is pretty close to the end of the school year. in other words, its not a fall of 5th grade placement test. i think you would want to know how well students are learning algebra and geometry but maybe the school nist really doesnt care about cape testing.


That is 6 or 7 weeks before the end of the school year. An advisory is 9 weeks. So a lot can be learned in that time. And the curriculum is written to be a full year. So when Basis has Algebra I kids take the exam, they had a full year of the course. DCPS kids do not.
Anonymous
Post 08/22/2025 19:38     Subject: Re:DC CAPE SCORES
That’s for that analysis PP. As a Whittier parent I will say the scores do not surprise me. The school is fantastic, has clear goals and a plan to move kids each year. They invest in strategic support staff and elective teachers to help kids with reading and math. The principal should train other principals. She’s amazing.
Anonymous
Post 08/22/2025 19:03     Subject: DC CAPE SCORES
Anonymous wrote:Anyone have any other observations from the data about other schools?


Some schools (a mix of DCPS and charters--Whittier, Payne, some of the Friendship and Center City schools, etc.) are far outperforming their high at-risk populations.
Some schools (mostly charters like Shining Stars and Breakthrough) are far underperforming considering their low at-risk populations.

Montessori and high standardized test scores don't fit together in DC. Bilingual education sometimes does, but it varies across schools and demographic groups.

Of the schools with few at-risk kids, some are better at serving them than others.

In most of the schools with many at-risk kids, the kids who aren't at risk (current proxy: white, since we don't have non-at-risk data) are doing pretty well, but there is considerable variation.

Schools that are near each other can have big variations in test scores. Some of this is self-reinforcing as families move to the boundary with the higher-performing school, some is likely due to having self-contained special ed classes clustered at certain schools, some might actually be about better teaching or administration at a given school. It's hard to tell.

If your goal is to find an elementary school with a decent peer group of kids scoring 4+ in both ELA and math (what you consider decent could vary, but let's say a majority of kids on both tests) there are more options than you might think. For elementary, in addition to the JR and McArthur feeders there's Brent, Maury, SWS, Ludlow-Taylor, Ross, Yu Ying, and MV Calle Ocho.
And if you go down to 45% scoring 4+ in each, you add Whittier, LAMB, ITDS, Stokes, Friendship Chamberlain, Payne, and Garrison.
Others that are close include Burroughs, Chisholm, and Marie Reed.
Anonymous
Post 08/22/2025 18:40     Subject: DC CAPE SCORES
Anonymous wrote:the big one is dcps elementary schools appear to be pretty significantly outperforming most of the popular charter elementary schools


Incorrect.
Anonymous
Post 08/22/2025 18:28     Subject: DC CAPE SCORES
Washington Latins scores look pretty look
Anonymous
Post 08/22/2025 18:27     Subject: DC CAPE SCORES
the big one is dcps elementary schools appear to be pretty significantly outperforming most of the popular charter elementary schools
Anonymous
Post 08/22/2025 18:18     Subject: DC CAPE SCORES
Anyone have any other observations from the data about other schools?
Anonymous
Post 08/22/2025 18:12     Subject: DC CAPE SCORES
which is pretty close to the end of the school year. in other words, its not a fall of 5th grade placement test. i think you would want to know how well students are learning algebra and geometry but maybe the school nist really doesnt care about cape testing.