Dover by the Numbers from AskDover
Most Capital students graduate. About 1 in 4 meet the state reading standard.
In the class of 2025, 88.6% graduated on time. In grades 3 to 8 in spring 2026, 25.5% met the reading standard and 18.6% the math standard.
This is district data, not city data. By land, 80.9% of Dover is in Capital and 19.1% in Caesar Rodney (district map), (city limits). Charter schools are separate (directory).
- 25.5%
- met the reading standard in spring 2026: 689 of 2,698 tested.
- 88.6%
- graduated in 4 years in 2024-25: 444 of 501.
- 26.1%
- chronically absent in 2024-25: 1,995 of 7,635.
2019 is a guide: we could not confirm the test stayed the same. 2019-20 has no results. Last year's rise of 1.0 point is within normal variation.
Source: Delaware Department of Education assessment data. Download the data (CSV).
See the numbers as a table
| School year | Capital reading | State reading | Capital math | State math |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2014-15 | 47.4 | 51.9 | 29.5 | 38.8 |
| 2015-16 | 49.9 | 54.8 | 35.6 | 43.7 |
| 2016-17 | 48.2 | 54.1 | 37.1 | 44.9 |
| 2017-18 | 45.8 | 54.2 | 36.1 | 44.4 |
| 2018-19 | 44.1 | 53.3 | 33.1 | 44.1 |
| 2019-20 | Not reported | Not reported | Not reported | Not reported |
| 2020-21 | 28.1 | 40.7 | 12.2 | 26.2 |
| 2021-22 | 29.5 | 41.7 | 15.7 | 30.2 |
| 2022-23 | 28.6 | 40.3 | 16.8 | 32.1 |
| 2023-24 | 25.2 | 40.3 | 16.9 | 32.6 |
| 2024-25 | 24.5 | 41.2 | 18.1 | 33.8 |
| 2025-26 | 25.5 | 41.8 | 18.6 | 35.0 |
Since 2019, tests fell furthest, absence rose, and graduation did not fall
Graduation rose 3.6 points, but that rise is within normal variation at this class size. So is each test score's change in the last year (tests), (graduation), (absence).
Outlined bar: within normal variation. For absence, longer to the right means more students absent.
Sources: tests, graduation, attendance.
See the numbers as a table
| Measure | Capital, 2019 | Capital, latest | Capital change | State change |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Reading | 44.1 | 25.5 | -18.5 | -11.5 |
| Math | 33.1 | 18.6 | -14.5 | -9.1 |
| Graduation (2024-25) | 85.0 | 88.6 | 3.6 | 3.1 |
| Chronic absence (2024-25) | 18.5 | 26.1 | 7.6 | 2.0 |
The gap to the state widened from 9.2 to 16.3 points in reading
Both changes are larger than chance alone (source). Capital also serves a larger share of low-income students, 42.97% against 27.67% statewide, which does not show the cause (source).
Reading
Math
The data does not say why the gap grew.
Source: assessment data.
See the numbers as a table
| 2018-19 tested | 2018-19 % | 2025-26 tested | 2025-26 % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Capital, reading | 2,923 | 44.1 | 2,698 | 25.5 |
| State, reading | 62,761 | 53.3 | 61,393 | 41.8 |
| Capital, math | 2,928 | 33.1 | 2,693 | 18.6 |
| State, math | 63,008 | 44.1 | 61,400 | 35.0 |
Graduation reached 88.6%, about where it was in 2022-23
That is Capital's highest rate in this file, barely above 2022-23. The latest rise of 4.7 points only just passes our test for a real change (source).
The scale starts at 70%.
Source: graduation data.
See the numbers as a table
| Class | Capital graduates | Capital students | Capital % | State % |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2014-15 | 417 | 500 | 83.4 | 84.3 |
| 2015-16 | 385 | 477 | 80.7 | 84.7 |
| 2016-17 | 406 | 481 | 84.4 | 85.7 |
| 2017-18 | 417 | 541 | 77.1 | 86.7 |
| 2018-19 | 398 | 468 | 85.0 | 88.3 |
| 2019-20 | 451 | 551 | 81.9 | 87.7 |
| 2020-21 | 413 | 495 | 83.4 | 87.0 |
| 2021-22 | 451 | 537 | 84.0 | 87.8 |
| 2022-23 | 415 | 471 | 88.1 | 88.9 |
| 2023-24 | 440 | 524 | 84.0 | 89.0 |
| 2024-25 | 444 | 501 | 88.6 | 91.4 |
Chronic absence is down 13.1 points from its peak, but still above 2019
Capital is 7.6 points above 2018-19, and the state only 2.0 (source).
No 2019-20 figure was reported.
Source: attendance data.
See the numbers as a table
| School year | Capital absent | Capital students | Capital % | State % |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2014-15 | 1,398 | 7,180 | 19.5 | 15.5 |
| 2015-16 | 1,468 | 7,342 | 20.0 | 16.1 |
| 2016-17 | 1,593 | 7,347 | 21.7 | 16.6 |
| 2017-18 | 1,502 | 7,302 | 20.6 | 16.8 |
| 2018-19 | 1,378 | 7,433 | 18.5 | 15.1 |
| 2019-20 | Not reported | Not reported | Not reported | Not reported |
| 2020-21 | 2,689 | 6,850 | 39.3 | 22.1 |
| 2021-22 | 2,661 | 7,140 | 37.3 | 25.7 |
| 2022-23 | 2,151 | 7,034 | 30.6 | 23.4 |
| 2023-24 | 2,082 | 7,229 | 28.8 | 20.5 |
| 2024-25 | 1,995 | 7,635 | 26.1 | 17.1 |
Dover's two districts look different, and so do the students they serve
Reading proficient, 2025-26
Math proficient, 2025-26
Graduated in 4 years, 2024-25
Chronically absent, 2024-25
Low-income students, 2025-26
Reading margins are about 1.6 points for Capital and 1.6 for Caesar Rodney.
Sources: tests, graduation, absence, enrollment.
See the numbers as a table
| Tested in reading | Reading % | Math % | Graduation, 2024-25 % | Chronic absence, 2024-25 % | Low-income, 2025-26 % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Caesar Rodney | 3,919 | 48.0 | 41.2 | 95.2 | 18.0 | 26.19 |
| Capital | 2,698 | 25.5 | 18.6 | 88.6 | 26.1 | 42.97 |
| State | 61,393 | 41.8 | 35.0 | 91.4 | 17.1 | 27.67 |
Within Capital, no group with a reported result reached half
In reading, 30.5% of students who are not low-income met the standard, and 18.9% of low-income students (source). The state hides 12 of 38 results for privacy, and we do not estimate them.
Reading: percent of students who met the standard, spring 2026
Math: percent of students who met the standard, spring 2026
The line shows the likely range. A hollow dot marks under 100 tested.
Hidden by the state. Reading: Hispanic/Latino, Native American, Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islander. Math: Multi-Racial, Native American, Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islander.
Source: assessment data.
See the numbers as a table
| Group | Reading: % proficient, of tested | Math: % proficient, of tested |
|---|---|---|
| African American | 20.7% of 1,462 | 14.3% of 1,457 |
| Asian American | 45.0% of 40 (small group) | 31.0% of 42 (small group) |
| Hispanic/Latino | Hidden by the state | 16.0% of 430 |
| Multi-Racial | 33.3% of 225 | Hidden by the state |
| Native American | Hidden by the state | Hidden by the state |
| Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islander | Hidden by the state | Hidden by the state |
| White | 37.3% of 512 | 31.3% of 514 |
| Low-income | 18.9% of 1,153 | 12.4% of 1,150 |
| Not low-income | 30.5% of 1,545 | 23.2% of 1,543 |
| With disabilities | 5.7% of 473 | 3.9% of 466 |
| Without disabilities | 29.8% of 2,225 | 21.7% of 2,227 |
| English learners | 10.3% of 360 | 8.9% of 369 |
| Not English learners | 27.2% of 2,275 | 19.5% of 2,262 |
Enrollment is steady, and spending per student rose 9.1% in a year
Capital enrolled 6,384 students, 281 fewer than in 2014-15 (source). Operating spending was about $25,495 each, up from $23,372 before inflation, and says nothing alone about results (Table 21, 2024-25), (Table 21, 2023-24).
Questions worth asking
- What is the district doing about the gap to the state?Start with Capital School District.
- How does my own school compare?See the state's school report cards.
- Which district am I in?See the district boundaries. School choice and charters can change a child's school.
- Want to check our work?See our figures and the state's files.
How we did this
- Source: Delaware Department of Education open data, public domain, saved on 2026-11-01 with its web address. We used the rows for whole districts and the state, all students (tests), (participation), (graduation), (attendance), (enrollment).
- Proficient means a student scored at or above the level the state sets as meeting the standard on the Smarter Balanced test. We recomputed each percentage from the state's counts.
- Chronically absent means absent at least 10% of enrolled school days, per the state's file. We report the state's counts and did not re-derive them.
- School years: the state's files label a year by when it ends, so 2026 means 2025-26. We checked this against fall enrollment in the state's finance report.
- Enrollment is the state's fall count. The file repeats some rows (3 here). Repeats were identical, so we counted each once.
- Normal variation: we compare the change with how much it could move by chance, and flag it when it is at least 2 times that size. Students are not a random sample, so this is a rough guide. The 95% margins are read the same way.
- "About 1 in N" is 100 divided by the percentage, rounded to a whole number.
- District share of Dover: we placed 25,596 evenly spaced points inside the Census map of Dover and counted which district map each falls in. This measures land, not people or students.
- Spending: this leaves out the state's own "per pupil expenditure" reports, which use a different method. We could not download those files when this was built.
- Different students: the class of 2025 is not the group taking grades 3 to 8 tests, so the data can't connect the measures.
- Group comparison: students who are not low-income were 11.3 points below the state's figure for all students. That is not like for like, so treat it as a question.
- Spending: current expense, the state's label for operating spending, was $165,490,393 in 2024-25. We divided it by 6,491 students ourselves. Caesar Rodney by the same method was $20,115, and districts have different needs and revenue.
- AI and review: this report is AI-assisted. An AI model wrote the text and code from a computed data file, and a person reviews it before it is published. Every number on the page is checked by script against that file, and the scripts and saved raw data are kept with this report.
What this data can't tell you
- How students who live in Dover are doing. There is no city-level figure, and families can use school choice and charters.
- Why scores or absences changed, or who is responsible. We make no claim about causes, and do not compare schools.
- Whether the 2020-21 drop was all learning loss. Only about half of students tested, and we could not confirm the test stayed the same.
- Whether low-income figures are consistent over time. We have not checked the definition, so we use them only as a snapshot.