Shepherd ES vs DC Bilingual PCS

DC Bilingual PCS holds a 0.5-point overall rating advantage over Shepherd ES — 9.7/10 versus 9.2/10 — and that gap maps directly onto state rank. DC Bilingual PCS sits at #1 of 240 schools in the District of Columbia while Shepherd ES ranks #7, a six-position difference that still places both schools in the city's top 3% of elementary programs and makes this a comparison between two genuinely elite options.

On academics, the schools are nearly level: Shepherd ES scores 9.4/10 and DC Bilingual PCS scores 9.3/10, a 0.1-point edge for Shepherd ES that carries little practical weight. The growth score tells the more decisive story. DC Bilingual PCS earns a 9.9/10 growth rating versus Shepherd ES's 9.0/10 — a 0.9-point gap indicating DC Bilingual PCS is meaningfully accelerating student progress year over year, not just sustaining a high baseline.

The two schools diverge sharply in size and staffing. Shepherd ES enrolls 363 students while DC Bilingual PCS serves 579 — 60% more students — yet DC Bilingual PCS delivers a considerably lower student-teacher ratio: 8.4:1 versus Shepherd ES's 12.1:1. That 3.7-student-per-teacher advantage at the larger school points to deeper instructional staffing and more individual adult attention per child.

Both schools serve grades PK–05 and sit 2.5 miles apart in Washington, DC, so geography is a manageable variable rather than a deciding factor. The most structural distinction is school type: Shepherd ES is a regular DCPS public school with neighborhood enrollment, while DC Bilingual PCS is a public charter school, meaning families must apply through the lottery process and seat availability is not guaranteed.