DC BOLD SCHOOLS RETURNS THIS OCTOBER!
What are Bold Schools?
EmpowerK12 believes that the District of Columbia can be the first urban city to close performance gaps this decade when schools take bold action to serve their students furthest from opportunity. Bold Performance Schools returns this fall and will celebrate 14 DC schools that support high at-risk student populations and are exceeding expectations, closing performance gaps even during a pandemic.
What are Bold Performance Schools?
Bold Performance Schools serve a high at-risk student population and have combined math and English language arts proficiency rates dramatically higher than schools with similar demographics. Citywide, only 25 percent of DC students met or exceeded expectations in math and English language arts this past spring 2022. For at-risk students, those numbers are just 11 percent. Track DC’s education recovery using the EK12 dashboard. Bold Schools serve at least 30% students who are designated as at-risk and have proficiency rates exceeding pre-pandemic expectations for similar students.
How are Bold Performance Schools selected?
Schools are determined using the 2022 Partnership for Assessment of Readiness for College and Careers (PARCC) data and their Percent Proficient Above Expected (PPAE) calculations (using four sophisticated mathematical models) that project what percentage of students are expected to be proficient given a school’s demographics. Bold Performance Schools have proficiency rates for students at least 5.5 percentage points higher than how schools with similar demographics achieved pre-pandemic.
DC Bold Schools is an initiative of EmpowerK12.
EmpowerK12 analyzes data utilizing rigorous scientific methodologies to help policymakers, advocates, school leaders, and community members understand how our schools are performing on a variety of metrics, including how well schools serve at-risk students, which is central to the organization’s mission. Learn more about EmpowerK12’s mission and work with schools and systems to support data needs, including strategic data planning, continuous improvement practices, and research and evaluation.
