D.C. schools emerging from bottom of nation's heap

D.C. Public Schools students’ reading scores improved slightly on a recent round of nationwide assessments, keeping the District out of last place among the nation’s urban districts.

District fourth-graders ranked 10th among 18 urban districts, while eighth-graders landed at 16th, ahead of only Detroit and Fresno, Calif., on the National Assessment of Educational Progress — also called the Nation’s Report Card.