Enrollment
892
District of Columbia · 2024-25 NCES data
High school (grades 9-12) · Washington, DC
Dunbar Hs
Federal NCES profile for Dunbar Hs, including enrollment, faculty, free-lunch eligibility, demographics, and resource indicators - Resource Investment Index 33/100.
2024-25 NCES dataHigh school (grades 9-12)NCES 110003000079
👥 S:T ratio 40
📚 AP courses 40
🌟 Gifted program 30
🎓 Counselors 55
📋 Attendance 0
Scored 0–100 from federal NCES and CRDC indicators, resource allocation, not test scores. Full methodology →
The verdict
Dunbar Hs earns 33/100 on the Resource Investment Index, with class sizes larger than 86% of District of Columbia schools. It is also one of the largest schools in District of Columbia.
- #26 of 35
- high schools in Washington · Resource Index
- 33
- Resource Index · Typical
- 14.9:1
- large classes for District of Columbia
- 892
- students enrolled
Dunbar Hs has class sizes larger than 86% of District of Columbia schools. Computed live against every District of Columbia school reporting to NCES.
By Resource Investment Index, Dunbar Hs ranks #26 of 35 high schools in Washington, DC.
School address
NCES ID 110003000079 Verify on NCES CCD record →
Teachers (FTE)
60.0
Federal CCD staff survey
Students per teacher
14.9:1
vs 12.3:1 District of Columbia avg
+21% vs state
Student-teacher ratio in context
How Dunbar Hs compares with District of Columbia and U.S. medians
What stands out at Dunbar Hs
Dunbar Hs is a large high school in Washington, District of Columbia, enrolling 892 students.
Class loads run heavy: 14.9:1 is larger than about 86% of District of Columbia schools and 21% above the 12.3:1 state mean, so each teacher carries more students than is typical.
By headcount it is one of the larger campuses in District of Columbia, bigger than 97% of state schools at 892 students.
Its Resource Investment Index lands in the lower third of 243 scored District of Columbia schools.
Its student body is predominantly African American (88% of enrollment) (diversity index 22/100).
On the academic-pipeline side it reports 8 Advanced Placement courses.
Counselor coverage is strong, about 223 students per counselor, inside the American School Counselor Association's recommended 250:1.
Chronic absenteeism is elevated: 88.5% of students missed 10% or more of school days (2021-22 Civil Rights Data Collection).
Among Washington's high schools, it stands alongside Jackson-Reed Hs (1,855 students): Dunbar Hs is smaller than that campus by headcount and runs heavier classes (14.9:1 vs 14.6:1).
District of Columbia Public Schools also operates Jackson-Reed Hs (1,855 students) and Columbia Heights Education Campus (1,563 students) alongside Dunbar Hs.
Sourced from NCES CCD, CRDC, and F-33 (federal records, not a quality verdict). How we source and compute this.
Source: National Center for Education Statistics Common Core of Data + CRDC + F-33 · 2024-25
How Dunbar Hs compares
Dunbar Hs on the metrics families compare, against District of Columbia and U.S. means.
| Metric | This school | vs District of Columbia | District of Columbia avg | U.S. avg |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Students per teacher | 14.9:1 | ▲ 21% | 12.3:1 | 15.7:1 |
| Enrollment | 892 | top 3% | - | - |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data School-level CCD + state/national means from Public School Universe · 2024-25
14.9:1
Leaner classes than 48% of US schools, a middle-of-the-pack class size.
892
Bigger than 89% of US schools by enrollment, a large campus nationally.
Equity indicators (what these measure)
Staffing depth
14.9:1
students per teacher
- 21% above state mean
Top 86% in District of Columbia - lower ratio than 14% of state schools
Close to the 15:1 benchmark most often cited for individualized attention.
Engagement
88.5%
chronically absent (missed 10%+ of school days)
At or above 20%, the commonly used threshold for "high" chronic absenteeism, signaling significant barriers to regular attendance.
Funding equity
$27,425
per pupil, district-wide
- below District of Columbia avg of $31,650
Well above the U.S. public-school average, reflecting substantially higher local or state investment per enrolled student.
Support staff
Counselors4.0 FTE
Per 223 students, the combined health-and-guidance staffing load for this school.
Discipline context
13
in-school suspensions + 164 out-of-school
Suspension rate: 1.5 per 100 students. Combined in-school and out-of-school rate: 19.8 per 100 students. Reported via the Civil Rights Data Collection.
Overview
- Common Core of Data (June 2026): enrollment, staffing, and the student-teacher ratio above.
- Civil Rights Data Collection: discipline counts and program access (AP, gifted, special education).
- F-33 School District Finance Survey: the district-wide per-pupil spending figures below.
Three separate federal collections, each on its own reporting cadence - which is why this school's numbers line up on a consistent basis against every other school and state on this site, rather than mixing figures pulled from different survey years.
Student demographics
African American 87.9%
Hispanic or Latino 11.2%
White 0.3%
Asian 0.3%
American Indian / Alaska Native 0.1%
Two or More 0.1%
Largest group: African American at 87.9% of enrollment.
Student-body diversity index 21.5/100
Simpson diversity index - at 21.5, Dunbar Hs is less mixed than the District of Columbia school average of 33.3.
Programs
AP courses offered 8
Funding & spending
District-wide per-pupil expenditure for District of Columbia Public Schools, which includes Dunbar Hs.
$27,425
Per student
-13%
vs District of Columbia
Avg $31,650
+65%
vs U.S.
Avg $16,593
Revenue mix
Local 86.2%
Federal 13.8%
Source: NCES F-33 School District Finance Survey District-level finance · FY 2021-22 Per-pupil expenditure reflects the district-wide average. Individual school budgets are not reported at the federal level.
How Dunbar Hs Compares to District-Mates
| School | Enrollment | Economic Profile | Student-Teacher Ratio |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jackson-Reed Hs | Larger | No free-lunch data | Similar S:T ratio |
| Columbia Heights Education Campus | Larger | No free-lunch data | Lower S:T ratio |
| Deal Ms | Larger | No free-lunch data | Lower S:T ratio |
| Coolidge Hs | Similar size | No free-lunch data | Higher S:T ratio |
| Roosevelt Hs | Similar size | No free-lunch data | Lower S:T ratio |
Comparisons are relative to Dunbar Hs's own figures; each column derives from NCES Common Core of Data.
Other Schools in This District
- Enrollment
- 1,855
- Students per teacher
- 14.6:1
- Resource Index
- 43/100
- Enrollment
- 1,563
- Students per teacher
- 11.3:1
- Resource Index
- 53/100
- Enrollment
- 1,462
- Students per teacher
- 13.3:1
- Resource Index
- 34/100
- Enrollment
- 1,029
- Students per teacher
- 17.7:1
- Resource Index
- 27/100
- Enrollment
- 943
- Students per teacher
- 11.5:1
- Resource Index
- 37/100
Similar high schools in Washington
6 comparable high schools (grades 9-12) serving the same city.
Jackson-Reed Hs
Standard public school
1,855 students 14.6:1 students per teacher
Coolidge Hs
Standard public school
1,029 students 17.7:1 students per teacher
Roosevelt Hs
Standard public school
943 students 11.5:1 students per teacher
Eastern Hs
Standard public school
909 students 14.2:1 students per teacher
Friendship Pcs - Collegiate Academy
Standard public school
745 students 11.6:1 students per teacher
Mckinley Technology Hs
Standard public school
723 students 15.4:1 students per teacher
Similar high schools statewide
Matched by enrollment size and by staffing ratio across all of District of Columbia, not just this city - a different peer set than the local comparisons above.
Similar enrollment (~892 students)
Next steps
Verify locally before acting on Dunbar Hs's federal record.
- Compare Dunbar Hs against another school. Compare schools
- District of Columbia Public Schools's spending and staffing shape this school. District profile
- Confirm current enrollment and boundaries with the school. Choosing guide
Federal record (CCD 2024-25, CRDC 2021-22) - PlainSchools assigns no subjective rating; the composite quality score is a transparent, reproducible index computed from this cited federal data.
Frequently asked questions about Dunbar Hs
How many students attend Dunbar Hs?
Dunbar Hs has 892 students enrolled. It is a high school in Washington, DC.
What is the student-teacher ratio at Dunbar Hs?
The student-teacher ratio at Dunbar Hs is 14.9:1, which is 21% higher than the District of Columbia average of 12.3:1 and 5% lower than the national average of 15.7:1.
What is the racial and ethnic makeup of Dunbar Hs?
The largest demographic group at Dunbar Hs is African American at 87.9% of enrollment, in Washington, DC.
What is the Resource Investment Index for Dunbar Hs?
Dunbar Hs has a Resource Investment Index of 33/100 (typical reported resources relative to schools nationally) based on 5 factors: student-teacher ratio, AP course offerings, counselor availability, attendance rates. Not a test-score or academic measure (national median ~41/100, see methodology).
How does Dunbar Hs rank among high schools in Washington?
By Resource Investment Index, Dunbar Hs ranks #26 of 35 high schools in Washington, DC. This compares federal resource and staffing data among local peers; it is not a test-score or academic ranking. See all high schools in Washington on the city page.
Is Dunbar Hs a good school?
Dunbar Hs earns 33/100 on the Resource Investment Index, with class sizes larger than 86% of District of Columbia schools. It is also one of the largest schools in District of Columbia. This is a resource snapshot, not an academic rating; see the Resource Investment Index question above for what the number does and doesn't measure.
What other schools are in District of Columbia Public Schools?
Besides Dunbar Hs, District of Columbia Public Schools also operates Jackson-Reed Hs (1,855 students), Columbia Heights Education Campus (1,563 students), and Deal Ms (1,462 students). See the District of Columbia Public Schools district page for the complete list.
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Every figure on PlainSchools is rendered directly from the source NCES, CRDC and F-33 federal records, no number is typed in by an editor. Each school's figures reflect its most recent NCES/CRDC submission on file. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error. Data current as of June 2026.