DC Elementary School Performance

While researching elementary schools for my daughter,  it occurred to me that it would be useful to have a visual tool by which to compare schools based on test scores.  On its website, DC Public Schools publishes standardized test score metrics for each school. I extracted and averaged the 2009 and 2010 scores from grades 3-5, and mapped the school's performance for math and reading. Click on the shaded polygons for more information.

See the map full-screen »

See the map full-screen »

Per the website, the DC Comprehensive Assessment System (DC CAS) measures students knowledge and skills in reading and math. The values are reported as percent of students meeting or exceeding math and reading standards (grade level proficiency). Test scores do not measure everything,  for sure, but they are one of the few means of comparison available. What I don't know is how the "standard" is defined. Is it a local or national average, or an expert derived value?

Based on what I know about DC's socioeconomic landscape, it is clear that a correlation exists between neighborhood socioeconomics and performance levels. However, there are some interesting anomalies at Barnard, Cleveland, J.O. Wilson, and Langdon.