Schools and Education
In 2004, the University of Wisconsin compiled a list of America’s Most Literate Cities. Washington, DC was ranked number six. One of the five literacy categories used to evaluate the cities was educational attainment. Over 39% of Washington DC’s residents have attained a bachelor’s degree or higher as illustrated below.
Educational Attainment:
- High school graduates or equivalency: 20.5%
- Some college or Associates degree: 18.2%
- Bachelor’s degree: 18.1%
- Master’s, Professional degree or doctorate: 21.0%
Grades K-12. The public schools system in Washington, D.C is operated by the District of Columbia Public Schools and consists of 170 schools and learning centers. For the 2003-2004 school year, public schools enrolled 65,099 students, employed 4,898 classroom teachers, and had a student-to-teacher ratio of 13.3.
Colleges and universities. The city is home to several noteable colleges and universities. Among them are the University of the District of Columbia, Georgetown University, American Unviersity, John Hopkins University, Catholic University of America, George Washington University, and renowned Gallaudet University (first school for advanced education of the deaf and hard-of-hearing).)
Fast Facts
- 2000 census population: 572,059
- Racial makeup: Black/African American – 60%; White – 30.8%; Hispanic/Latino – 7.9%, and Asian – 2.7%
- Population: Age 18 and over - 79.9%; 65 and over - 12.3%
- Language: residents age 5 and older speaking English in the home - 83.2%; Spanish - 9.2%
- 2000 median household income: $41,000
- Median age: 34.6