Amplifying What Works: DC's Bright Spots
In their book Switch: How to Change Things When Change Is Hard, authors Chip and Dan Heath ask the critical question, "What's working, and how can we do more of it?" Throughout the text they argue that too often, change managers look for what's broken and try to fix it, rather than focusing on what's working and how to replicate it.
They tell people to look for the bright spots.
Well DC, we have lot of bright spots to celebrate!
The National Assessment of Education Progress (NAEP) results released by the U.S. Department of Education in early 2024 - often called "The Nation's Report Card" - provides a unique nationwide benchmark for student achievement across all demographics. Building on this data, Harvard's Center for Education Policy Research recently released their “Education Recovery Scorecard," which analyzes both NAEP and state assessment data to evaluate district-level academic recovery post-pandemic.
Against a backdrop of nationwide recovery challenges, Washington, DC emerges as a bright spot, demonstrating marked academic gains since 2022. The findings include:
DC achieved the top ranking among all states for recovery in both math and reading between 2022-2024.
Average scores for 4th and 8th grade math and reading in DC rose by 3.5 points.
DC's performance has narrowed the gap with national averages closer than ever before.
If this growth remains on track, projections suggest DC will outperform average large city scores by 2026 and potentially reach national averages by 2028.
Combined with powerful interventions such as high-impact tutoring and deep investments in literacy training, DC has also focused on increasing access to cohort-based leadership development at multiple levels of the pipeline. This comprehensive approach has undoubtedly contributed to the D.C. Policy Center's findings in the Annual State of D.C. Schools Report: "In school year 2023-24, D.C. showed strong system health with increased public school enrollment and improvement in educator retention." Principals cited supportive managers and teams and increased access to coaches as key factors in what’s making it easier for them to stay in schools. Said one principal in the report “DC has a pipeline into leadership. That’s why I stay.”
A few educator retention bright spots:
The share of teachers who remained in the same role at the same school increased to 74 percent (up 4 percentage points)
9 percent of teachers moved to another public school in D.C., indicating that 83 percent of teachers stayed in D.C. (up 3 percentage points)
83% of principals were retained in DC public schools, up four points from last school year
As we at School Leader Lab say, people don't leave bad jobs, they leave bad bosses. The more we focus on leader development, the more we will see teacher retention increase. School Leader Lab continues to provide and advocate for leadership development opportunities so that our children have leaders who drive growth and change. We are proud of these incredible gains but know we still have far to go. One in three students in DC still cannot read on grade level and one in five still cannot do grade level math. Despite strong overall gains, gaps in achievement based on race and income level persist. Average scores for Black students grew by only 0.85 points, compared to 3.5 points for all DC students. Conversely, DC's Hispanic/Latino students grew faster than the same sub-group in other states.
For change to truly transform our schools, we need visionary leaders who commit for the long haul. These bright spots aren't just statistics—they're proof that collective efforts are working. Now is the time to double down on what has been effective, amplify these successes, and ensure every child in DC benefits from the leadership stability, and excellence that drives lasting improvement. Our students deserve nothing less.
