Reading proficiency rose across E.L. Haynes, with some grade levels posting historic gains on the 2026 DC CAPE assessment.
E.L. Haynes students made significant progress in English Language Arts on the 2026 DC CAPE assessment. Schoolwide proficiency increased from 24% to 31%, a 7-percentage-point gain in one year. That exceeded the Districtwide increase of 2 percentage points.
Highlights include:
- Middle School proficiency increased by 12 percentage points, reaching the highest level in school history. Gains extended across student groups, including multilingual learners, students with disabilities, and students designated as economically disadvantaged.
- Grade 8 proficiency increased by 22 percentage points.
- Grade 5 proficiency increased by 15 percentage points
- High School English II proficiency increased by 12 percentage points.
- Elementary and High School proficiency each increased by 4 percentage points.
What Drove the Gains?
These results reflect a deliberate, schoolwide focus on stronger literacy instruction. Through our partnership with Lit, academic leaders and teachers strengthened their use of research-based reading practices. Some literacy teachers also worked with educator and author Zaretta Hammond to deepen student engagement and support rigorous learning.
Strong literacy instruction develops students’ ability to understand complex texts, build knowledge, express their ideas, and engage deeply with what they read. In eighth grade, for example, students explored works such as Animal Farm, 90 Miles from Havana, and Code Talker. Teachers used essential questions and rich discussion to help students analyze each text’s characters, ideas, and themes.
These gains are worth celebrating, and there is more work ahead. This year, we will continue strengthening literacy instruction across every grade while maintaining a clear focus on helping more students reach proficiency.