Report · October 2026
DC Bold Performance Schools Report 2026
21 elementary and middle schools where students from priority groups beat expectations by more than 10 points, and the ten practices of Bold Schools from ten years of interviews.
EmpowerK12 research
Reports, briefs and evaluations since 2018. Every report is readable here, with its key findings up top, the PDF beside it, and links to the research it builds on.
Report · October 2026
21 elementary and middle schools where students from priority groups beat expectations by more than 10 points, and the ten practices of Bold Schools from ten years of interviews.
Report · October 2025
16 DC schools recognized as Bold Performance Schools, with proficiency rates about 19.5 points above schools serving similar students, and the educators leading them.
Brief · November 2024
12 DC schools with proficiency rates about 13.5 points above similar-serving schools, and the educators leading them.
Report · October 2023
The DC schools that support at-risk students, students with disabilities and students of color to reach proficiency, and the five strategies their leadership teams share.
Report · October 2022
Bold Schools averaged 9.1 points above other Bold-eligible schools on 2022 PARCC proficiency, and 2.6 points above pre-pandemic averages for similar demographics.
Report · July 2019
13 schools serving many priority students whose growth beat non-at-risk peers at the lowest-poverty schools, and the three commitments they share.
Report · July 2018
10 high-poverty, rapidly improving DC public schools and the practices that could be scaled across the District.
Ten years of Bold Schools
Ten years of interviews with the leadership teams of DC's Bold Performance Schools, distilled into the ten things they do. The biggest takeaway of the 2026 report.
Read the ten practicesEvergreen pieces that answer a question in plain words, with the research linked.
Why the amount of instructional time mattersWhy collaboration is key in education2026 DC CAPE results, a deep diveThe dashboards every report draws on, updated as DC releases results.
DC CAPE dashboardAll public dashboardsdcboldschools.orgOne note when a report or brief is published. Nothing else.