English learners and Latino students’ outcomes have declined, signaling a need for additional focus and support for these students

On February, 18, 2026, Senior Education Research Analyst, Hannah Mason testified before the D.C. Council Committee of the Whole at the District of Columbia Public Schools (DCPS) and D.C. Public Charter School Board (PCSB) performance oversight hearing. Her testimony focused on the decline in outcomes for English learners and Latino students and provided evidence-based recommendations for supporting these group of students. Read the complete testimony below or download the PDF version.

In school year 2024-25, all students improved 4 percentage points on the English Language Arts (ELA) CAPE exam, with 38 percent meeting or exceeding expectations. English learners, on the other hand, declined by 1 percentage point, with 22 percent meeting or exceeding expectations. In math, 26 percent of students met or exceeded expectations, an improvement of 3 percentage points, while English learners had a smaller improvement at 1 percentage point (18 percent meeting or exceeding expectations).¹

Graduation rates are the highest they have been in a decade, but English learners and Latino students experienced declines. In school year 2024-25, 79 percent of the high school cohort graduated in four years, a 3-percentage point improvement from the previous year. Graduation rates declined for Latino students by 4 percentage and declined by 3 percentage points for English Learners.² Graduation rates for both groups are below the overall average. In addition, postsecondary enrollment six months after graduating showed a sharp decline of 9 percentage points for ELs; while this figure for all students declined only by 2 percentage points.

Chronic absenteeism rates show a similar, with no changes for all students but increases for English Learners and Latino students in school year 2024-25. English Learners’ chronic absenteeism rates increased 2 percentage points (to 33 percent), and Latino students’ absenteeism increased 1 percentage point (36 percent). While data for attendance data for school year 2025-26 isn’t available yet, through interviews and ethnographic observations, there is reason to believe there could be an uptick in absenteeism given the federal administration’s aggressive increased immigration enforcement.^{3 4}

The District can and should improve outcomes for these groups of students. English learners’ performance has usually been on trend with the D.C. average, but in the previous school year something has occurred to disrupt these outcomes signaling a need for additional support and monitoring. Determining which schools are struggling the most is key to providing the necessary resources to elevate outcomes for these students, and assessing best practices from other schools could be a useful step forward. Other promising practices for engaging Latino students and English learners include authentically engaging families, offering additional learning time, increasing diversity and multilingualism in the educator workforce, and providing a welcoming environment for all students.⁵

1. Office of the State Superintendent of Education (OSSE). 2025. “DC School Report Card Data.” OSSE. Retrieved from https://osse.dc.gov/page/data-and-reports-0 
2. The latest national data show that in school year 2021-22, the adjusted cohort graduation rate (ACGR) for ELs was 72 percent, below the U.S. average of 87 percent. See https://nces.ed.gov/programs/coe/indicator/COI#suggested-citation for more.
3. Martinez-Aranda, A. 2023. The Impact of Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Surveillance Technology on the Well-being of the children of immigrants. Sage Journals. Retrieved from https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/00027642231216538 
4. Rodriguez, S. 2025. What harsh immigration policies mean for students, families, and schools. Brookings Institute. Retrieved from https://www.brookings.edu/articles/what-harsh-immigration-policies-mean-for-students-families-and-schools/  
5. UnidosUS. 2023. Accelerating Latino students recovery: An agenda to strengthen our schools and help all students succeed. UnidosUS. Retrieved from https://unidosus.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/10/unidosus_acceleratinglatinostudentrecovery.pdf