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C+

Capital School District

Public school districtGrades PK–12Regional · 5 towns

Serves Dover, Cheswold, Little Creek, Leipsic and Hartly.

Dover’s School Grade C+ better than 38% of Delaware school districts

Students
6,491
Schools
14
Spent per student
$23,521
DE $22,312
Students per teacher
18:1
Debt
$170.2M
fiscal 2024
The gist

What stands out about Capital School District

  • Its letter, C+: results better than 38% of Delaware districts
  • Math proficiency 13 pts below the state
  • Reading proficiency 12 pts below the state
  • Spends 5% more per student than the DE average
  • 18 students per teacher
  • Enrollment up 20.3% since 2020–21
  • Debt of $170.2M, about $26,218 per student
The School Grade

What this district adds to its towns’ grade

C+: better than 38% of the 42 Delaware school districts we grade. Each town’s School Grade weighs its districts by the students they test; spending and class size are shown but don’t count.

Test scoresReading and math well below the state, 2021–22
C
GraduationFour-year graduation close to the state, class of 2023
C
The towns it serves, and their School Grades

How TownRatings grades schools →

Where would my kid go?

The school path for Dover. Grade by grade →

K–46 elementary schoolsThis district
6–82 middle schoolsThis district
9–12Dover High SchoolThis district

Test scores vs. DE

2021–22 · class of 2023
Math proficiency16%
State average 29.2% · 2,988 students tested
Reading / language arts30%
State average 42.2% · 3,037 students tested
Graduation rate (4-year)88%
State average 88.9% · 471 in the class

91% of students in the tested grades sat the 2022 tests.

Reported to the U.S. Department of Education (EDFacts via ED Data Express and the Urban Institute); the newest year for each measure.

Where the money goes

fiscal 2024
$23,521 per student · 5% above DE
Spending
Classroom instruction 55%Support & administration 42%Other 3%
Paid for by
Local (mostly property tax) 24%State 60%Federal 16%

Fiscal 2022–24 includes federal pandemic relief (ESSER).

U.S. Census Bureau, Annual Survey of School System Finances.

Enrollment over time
5,396’20
5,374’21
5,536’22
6,547’23
6,491’24

Up 20.3% since 2020–21.

Students
Black 54%White 20%Hispanic 15%Two or more races 8%Asian 1%American Indian/Alaska Native <1%Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islander <1%

Schools in the district

14 public schools. Each public school’s letter compares its own 2020–21 reading and math results with Delaware’s other public schools.

District facts: U.S. Department of Education (NCES school directory 2024–25 and district boundaries) and the U.S. Census Bureau’s school finance survey. Test scores and graduation: state results reported to the U.S. Department of Education (EDFacts via ED Data Express and the Urban Institute). The letters are our own summary, graded within Delaware.