publications | Education

State of D.C. Schools 2023-24: Report preview

February 28, 2025
  • Chelsea Coffin
  • Hannah Mason
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In D.C., school year 2023-24 showed some signs of strong system health, with rising public school enrollment and improving educator retention. However, recovery for student outcomes has been slow, with modest improvements to learning outcomes and chronic absenteeism, which both have yet to rebound to pre-pandemic levels. Following national trends, these metrics indicate that the pandemic’s effects on education are enduring and will require years to reverse—in D.C. and nationally.

State of D.C. Schools is an annual systemwide overview of public education in the District of Columbia. In preparation for the release of the complete report, the authors have compiled a summary of key results. View the summary below or download a PDF version in English or en español.

Register here to attend the report release event on March 4th.

Summary of key results

Authors

Chelsea Coffin

Director of the Education Policy Initiative
D.C. Policy Center

Chelsea Coffin joined the D.C. Policy Center in September 2017 as the Director of the Education Policy Initiative. Her research focuses on how schools connect to broader dynamics in the District of Columbia. She has authored reports on diversity in D.C.’s schools, the D.C. schools with the best improvement for at-risk students, and the transition after high school in D.C. Chelsea has also conducted planning analysis at the D.C. Public Charter School Board, carried out research at the World Bank, and taught English in a secondary school with the Peace Corps in Mozambique.

Chelsea holds a Bachelor of Arts from Middlebury College and a Master of Arts from Johns Hopkins University (SAIS) in International Economics and Development.

You can reach Chelsea at chelsea@dcpolicycenter.org.

Hannah Mason

Senior Education Research Analyst
D.C. Policy Center

Hannah Mason is the Senior Education Research Analyst at the D.C. Policy Center. 

Prior to joining the Policy Center in 2023, Hannah served as Emergent Bilingual Coordinator and Instructional Coach at Nashville, Tennessee. She was most proud of her abilities to build community amongst her students, drive language acquisition success, and advocate tirelessly for equity in and outside of the classroom for her students. In addition, she began her teaching career in Houston, Texas where her love of literacy and language blossomed.

Hannah is originally from Dublin, Georgia. She holds a Bachelor’s in religion and teaching English to speakers of other languages from The University of Georgia. Hannah graduated from Vanderbilt University with an Master’s in Public Policy concentrating in K-12 Education Policy.

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