Best High Schools in District of Columbia (2025-26)

Ranked high schools

Listed, not ranked

Every ranked high school in District of Columbia, ordered by SchoolGrade. A grade rewards actual test performance against the projection for each school's student context, so a B in a high-poverty school can outrank an A- elsewhere on impact. Click a column heading to sort, or filter by school, city or district.

District of Columbia rankings: High Schools · Middle Schools · Elementary Schools

District of Columbia high schools ranked

Rank	Grade	School	City	District	Actual	Projected	Impact	Students
#1	A+	School Without Walls HS	Washington	District of Columbia Public Schools	82%	71%	Greatly Exceeds Expectations	602
#2	A+	Benjamin Banneker HS	Washington	District of Columbia Public Schools	62%	53%	Greatly Exceeds Expectations	579
#3	A+	Digital Pioneers Academy (Charter)	Washington	Digital Pioneers Academy PCS	16%	24%	Doesn't Meet Expectations	201
#4	A	Washington Latin Pcs Upper School (Charter)	Washington	Washington Latin PCS	56%	48%	Greatly Exceeds Expectations	377
#5	A	Jackson Reed HS	Washington	District of Columbia Public Schools	45%	63%	Doesn't Meet Expectations	2,153
#6	A	Mckinley Technology HS	Washington	District of Columbia Public Schools	39%	40%	Exceeds Expectations	696
#7	A	The Sojourner Truth School (Charter)	Washington	The Sojourner Truth School PCS	27%	32%	Doesn't Meet Expectations	212
#8	A-	District Of Columbia International School (Charter)	Washington	District of Columbia International School	35%	32%	Greatly Exceeds Expectations	1,590
#9	A-	Duke Ellington School Of The Arts	Washington	District of Columbia Public Schools	27%	47%	Doesn't Meet Expectations	564
#10	A-	Bard HS Early College Dc Bard Dc	Washington	District of Columbia Public Schools	18%	24%	Meets Expectations	424
#11	B+	Phelps Architecture Construction And Engineering HS	Washington	District of Columbia Public Schools	17%	18%	Exceeds Expectations	317
#12	B+	Richard Wright Pcs For Journalism And Media Arts (Charter)	Washington	Richard Wright PCS for Journalism and Media Arts	16%	29%	Meets Expectations	300
#13	B+	Columbia Heights Education Campus	Washington	District of Columbia Public Schools	15%	37%	Doesn't Meet Expectations	1,567
#14	B	El Haynes Pcs HS (Charter)	Washington	E.L. Haynes PCS	15%	27%	Meets Expectations	457
#15	B	Friendship Pcs Technology Preparatory HS (Charter)	Washington	Friendship PCS	15%	17%	Exceeds Expectations	357
#16	B	Paul Pcs International HS (Charter)	Washington	Paul PCS	15%	19%	Exceeds Expectations	419
#17	B-	Kipp Dc College Preparatory (Charter)	Washington	Kipp Dc Pcs	14%	26%	Meets Expectations	769
#18	B-	Coolidge HS	Washington	District of Columbia Public Schools	12%	18%	Meets Expectations	1,015
#19	B-	Washington Leadership Academy (Charter)	Washington	Washington Leadership Academy PCS	12%	22%	Meets Expectations	377
#20	C+	Eastern HS	Washington	District of Columbia Public Schools	11%	20%	Meets Expectations	865
#21	C+	Friendship Pcs Collegiate Academy (Charter)	Washington	Friendship PCS	11%	16%	Exceeds Expectations	661
#22	C+	Ron Brown College Preparatory HS	Washington	District of Columbia Public Schools	11%	14%	Exceeds Expectations	169
#23	C	Cesar Chavez Public Charter Schools For Public Policy (Charter)	Washington	Cesar Chavez PCS for Public Policy	10%	16%	Meets Expectations	401
#24	C	Hd Woodson HS	Washington	District of Columbia Public Schools	10%	18%	Meets Expectations	543
#25	C	Thurgood Marshall Academy (Charter)	Washington	Thurgood Marshall Academy PCS	10%	17%	Meets Expectations	318
#26	C-	Idea (Charter)	Washington	Idea Pcs	10%	14%	Exceeds Expectations	307
#27	C-	Roosevelt HS	Washington	District of Columbia Public Schools	9%	19%	Meets Expectations	913
#28	D+	Kipp Dc Pcs Legacy College Preparatory (Charter)	Washington	Kipp Dc Pcs	7%	16%	Meets Expectations	382
#29	D+	Capital City Pcs HS (Charter)	Washington	Capital City PCS	6%	19%	Meets Expectations	342
#30	D+	Cardozo Education Campus	Washington	District of Columbia Public Schools	6%	19%	Meets Expectations	639
#31	D	Dunbar HS	Washington	District of Columbia Public Schools	6%	19%	Doesn't Meet Expectations	868
#32	D	Ballou HS	Washington	District of Columbia Public Schools	5%	20%	Doesn't Meet Expectations	657
#33	D-	Goodwill Excel Center Pcs (Charter)	Washington		5%	33%	Underperforms Expectations	405
#34	D-	The Seed Pcs Of Washington Dc (Charter)	Washington	Seed Pcs	5%	16%	Meets Expectations	248
#35	F	Girls Global Academy (Charter)	Washington	Girls Global Academy PCS	10%	17%	Doesn't Meet Expectations	163
#36	F	Anacostia HS	Washington	District of Columbia Public Schools	3%	17%	Doesn't Meet Expectations	287
#37	F	Kingsman Academy (Charter)	Washington	Kingsman Academy PCS	3%	18%	Doesn't Meet Expectations	315

How District of Columbia's high schools compare

A: 10B: 9C: 8D: 7F: 3

51% of the 37 ranked high schools in District of Columbia earn an A or B (10 A grades, 9 B, 8 C, 7 D, 3 F), against 50% of high schools nationwide. 26 schools meet or beat the proficiency projected from their student context (70% here, 74% nationally), and 11 exceed it. On average 18% of tested students meet the state bar against a projected 26% (national averages: 44% actual, 41% projected).

The biggest overperformers, by actual proficiency above projection: School Without Walls HS (82% against 71%, A+).

Districts with the most schools in the top quarter (the top 10): District of Columbia Public Schools (6).

Cities with the most ranked high schools: Washington (37, 19 at A or B).

The largest ranked high schools: Jackson Reed HS (2,153 students, A, #5), District Of Columbia International School (1,590 students, A-, #8), Columbia Heights Education Campus (1,567 students, B+, #13).

Of the top 25, 0 are magnet schools and 13 are charters. Selective and specialised schools tend to post high actual scores; the projection column is the fairer comparison for a neighborhood school.

High schools in District of Columbia that are not ranked

6 graded high schools are listed here rather than ranked, each for the reason given. Every one has its own page with its full SchoolGrade report.

Special-purpose schools (5)

Alternative, special-education and vocational schools serve a different mission and a different student body, so they are graded but not ranked against regular schools.

D- Ballou Stay HS, Washington
D- Luke C Moore HS, Washington
F Maya Angelou Pcs HS, Washington
C- Roosevelt Stay HS, Washington
A+ St Coletta Special Education, Washington

Not yet graded (1)

Our source data has no school-level proficiency results for these schools, so they carry no SchoolGrade yet.

Maya Angelou Pcs - Academy At Dc Jail, Washington

About this ranking

Scope: every public high school in District of Columbia.
Order: SchoolGrade, then actual proficiency, then name; schools with the same grade and score share a rank.
Ranked: regular public schools that NCES lists as open, not fully online, with at least 30 students. Others are listed with the reason.
Tags: Magnet and Charter from the NCES school directory; K-12 marks schools serving every grade that are ranked with the high schools.
Grades are the 2025-26 SchoolGrade model. How SchoolGrade works

Questions about high schools in District of Columbia

What is the best high school in District of Columbia?

School Without Walls HS in Washington ranks first among the 37 ranked high schools in District of Columbia with a SchoolGrade of A+, 82% of tested students meeting the state bar against a projected 71%.

How are high schools in District of Columbia ranked?

By SchoolGrade, the 2025-26 model that scores each school's actual test proficiency against the level projected for its student context, then by actual proficiency to break ties. Regular public schools that are open, not fully online and have at least 30 students are ranked; the rest are listed below the table with the reason.

How many high schools does District of Columbia have?

SchoolGrade grades 43 public high schools in District of Columbia; 37 are ranked here and 6 are listed as not ranked.