The D.C. government lived most every student’s dream — a postponement on its report card — but the grades will be out soon anyway.
When Mayor Vincent Gray rolled out grade.dc.gov in June, he said the inaugural scores of five agencies would be available by July 11.
But when Mother Nature ruined the region’s weekend plans with a June 29 derecho, she also wreaked havoc on the city’s timeline, pushing the release of the first grades back to Wednesday so city officials could review the sudden data influx.
“It gave us a lot of feedback,” mayoral spokesman Pedro Ribeiro said. “There was an increase.”
The technology, which District-based newBrandAnalytics developed at a cost of about $500,000 over three years, harvests feedback from Facebook, Twitter, text messages and the website. The reviews, which numbered more than 1,300 on Friday, are used to generate letter grades for District departments.
Since the city debuted its system, the first of its kind in the United States, officials have been logging feedback about the Consumer and Regulatory Affairs, Motor Vehicles, Parks and Recreation, Public Works, and Transportation departments.
Ribeiro said the derecho helped create a shift in which agencies were receiving reviews.
“Most of the reviews had been going to the Department of Motor Vehicles and the Department of Transportation,” Ribeiro said. “After the storm, we saw a spike in Public Works’ numbers.”
That department had an especially large role in cleaning up in the aftermath of the derecho, which downed trees and power lines throughout Washington.
“DPW employees worked very hard to remove the storm debris as soon as possible, and we appreciate that the public recognizes our effort,” said William Howland, director of the Department of Public Works.
Though only five agencies took part in the trial run, Gray said plans call for all D.C. offices to participate by the end of the year.
“After we see how this operates with five agencies and work out any imperfections that exist, we’ll expand it,” Gray said.
Gray’s office will not be exempt from grading, and the mayor has predicted District residents will offer feedback for him that is “all over the park.”
Ribeiro declined to say how early scores were faring, but he said District residents might be surprised.
“They’re not quite as bad as folks might anticipate they will be,” he said. “It’s not about where the grade is today. It’s where the trajectory is going.”
