Columbia Elementary School

Summary:

Columbia Elementary School is a public elementary school located in Madison, Alabama, serving grades PK-5 with a total enrollment of 784 students. The school is part of the Madison City School District, which is ranked 11th out of 137 districts in Alabama and is rated 5 stars out of 5 by SchoolDigger.

Columbia Elementary School consistently ranks among the top elementary schools in Alabama, ranking 52nd out of 684 schools in the 2023-2024 school year and receiving a 5-star rating from SchoolDigger. The school's academic performance is significantly above the state average across various subjects and grade levels, outperforming the Madison City School District average in most academic areas. Columbia Elementary School also has a diverse student population, with a racial makeup that is more diverse than the state average and several nearby schools, such as Horizon Elementary School and Endeavor Elementary School.

The school's exceptional performance extends to various student subgroups, including female students, African American students, Hispanic students, and students with special needs. Additionally, Columbia Elementary School has a relatively low percentage of students receiving free or reduced-price lunch, which is lower than the state average and several nearby schools, such as Creekside Elementary School and Creekside Primary School. These factors, combined with the school's consistent high performance and diverse student population, make Columbia Elementary School a standout educational institution in the Madison City and Madison County areas.


Detail:

Public PK, KG-5

 667 Balch Road
       Madison, AL  35758


(256) 430-2751

District: Madison City

SchoolDigger Rank:
52nd of 684 Alabama Elementary Schools

Per Pupil Expenditures:  $9,802 Help


Students who attend Columbia Elementary School usually attend:

Middle:    Liberty Middle School
High:    James Clemens High School

Student/teacher ratio:  16.1 Help
Number of students:  776

Racial breakdown:

White:
53.7%
African American:
17.5%
Asian:
11.5%
more

Free/discounted lunch recipients:  28.2% Help


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 Compare Columbia Elementary School to nearby elementary schools!

Performance Trends
Help
Compare Details Columbia Elementary School ranks better than 92.4% of elementary schools in Alabama. It also ranks 3rd among 7 ranked elementary schools in the Madison City School District. (See more...)
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Compare Details In 2024 the calculated Average Standard Score was 90.1. (See more...)
Help
Chronic absenteeism in a school refers to a situation where students repeatedly miss school, with the threshold often defined as missing 10% or more of school days for any reason, excused or unexcused.
Student Body
Help
Compare Details Racial makeup is: White (53.7%), African American (17.5%), Asian (11.5%). (See more...)
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Compare Details 28.2% of students are receiving a free or discounted lunch. (See more...)
Teachers
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Compare Details The student/teacher ratio at Columbia Elementary School is 16.1. 3 elementary schools in the Madison City School District have better student/teacher ratios. (See more...)
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Compare Columbia Elementary School employs 48 full-time teachers.
Finance
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Compare Details The average total spent per student at Columbia Elementary School is $9,802. 5 elementary schools in the Madison City School District spend more per student.
Schooldigger 2024 Rankings:

Columbia Elementary School:

SchoolDigger ranks Columbia Elementary School 52nd of 684 Alabama public elementary schools. (See Columbia Elementary School in the ranking list.)

Elementary School Test Score Ratings by Student Subgroup:


Multi-racial students:
English Language Learner students:
Special Education students:
Low Socio Economic Status students:
Female students:
Male students:
Asian students:
African American students:
Hispanic students:
White students:


Madison City:

SchoolDigger ranks Madison City 11th of 137 Alabama school districts. (See district ranking list.)


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Rank History for Columbia Elementary School

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Rank History for all students at Columbia Elementary School

Year Avg Standard Score Statewide Rank Total # Ranked Elementary Schools AL State Percentile SchoolDigger Rating
2005 89.56 25th 688 96.4%
2006 88.25 29th 689 95.8%
2007 81.49 73rd 698 89.5%
2008 81.46 64th 698 90.8%
2009 85.73 34th 696 95.1%
2010 81.39 58th 704 91.8%
2011 81.37 59th 709 91.7%
2012 76.49 109th 696 84.3%
2013 78.07 67th 696 90.4%
2014 95.83 18th 695 97.4%
2015 94.77 29th 691 95.8%
2016 98.04 11th 691 98.4%
2017 96.51 19th 688 97.2%
2018 95.44 26th 680 96.2%
2019 95.01 29th 681 95.7%
2021 93.29 46th 692 93.4%
2022 93.13 42nd 687 93.9%
2023 91.43 50th 680 92.6%
2024 90.10 52nd 684 92.4%
See the entire list of Alabama Elementary School Rankings!

Rank History for Multi-racial students at Columbia Elementary School

Year Avg Standard Score Statewide Rank Total # Ranked Elementary Schools AL State Percentile SchoolDigger Rating
2021 75.98 10th 54 81.5%
2022 83.39 7th 64 89.1%
2023 90.21 6th 70 91.4%
2024 74.22 19th 82 76.8%
See the entire list of Best Alabama Elementary Schools for Multi-racial Students!

Rank History for English Language Learner students at Columbia Elementary School

Year Avg Standard Score Statewide Rank Total # Ranked Elementary Schools AL State Percentile SchoolDigger Rating
2022 89.82 5th 110 95.5%
2023 72.71 16th 123 87.0%
2024 66.95 26th 131 80.2%
See the entire list of Best Alabama Elementary Schools for English Language Learner Students!

Rank History for Special Education students at Columbia Elementary School

Year Avg Standard Score Statewide Rank Total # Ranked Elementary Schools AL State Percentile SchoolDigger Rating
2017 94.38 5th 280 98.2%
2018 94.75 9th 344 97.4%
2019 96.83 7th 392 98.2%
2021 93.22 16th 398 96.0%
2022 89.31 18th 345 94.8%
2023 91.94 17th 373 95.4%
2024 94.93 13th 395 96.7%
See the entire list of Best Alabama Elementary Schools for Special Education Students!

Rank History for Low Socio Economic Status students at Columbia Elementary School

Year Avg Standard Score Statewide Rank Total # Ranked Elementary Schools AL State Percentile SchoolDigger Rating
2017 81.17 56th 567 90.1%
2018 88.09 36th 651 94.5%
2019 82.59 55th 649 91.5%
2021 76.35 102nd 653 84.4%
2022 66.74 181st 651 72.2%
2023 81.64 67th 623 89.2%
2024 69.60 165th 670 75.4%
See the entire list of Best Alabama Elementary Schools for Low Socio Economic Status Students!

Rank History for Female students at Columbia Elementary School

Year Avg Standard Score Statewide Rank Total # Ranked Elementary Schools AL State Percentile SchoolDigger Rating
2017 95.51 16th 639 97.5%
2018 93.29 28th 640 95.6%
2019 93.20 26th 646 96.0%
2021 91.28 47th 656 92.8%
2022 92.25 38th 656 94.2%
2023 92.28 38th 645 94.1%
2024 89.52 50th 650 92.3%
See the entire list of Best Alabama Elementary Schools for Female Students!

Rank History for Male students at Columbia Elementary School

Year Avg Standard Score Statewide Rank Total # Ranked Elementary Schools AL State Percentile SchoolDigger Rating
2017 95.82 14th 639 97.8%
2018 96.53 14th 650 97.8%
2019 94.75 19th 650 97.1%
2021 92.61 44th 669 93.4%
2022 92.15 40th 669 94.0%
2023 85.05 71st 649 89.1%
2024 86.98 61st 655 90.7%
See the entire list of Best Alabama Elementary Schools for Male Students!

Rank History for Asian students at Columbia Elementary School

Year Avg Standard Score Statewide Rank Total # Ranked Elementary Schools AL State Percentile SchoolDigger Rating
2017 72.05 3rd 19 84.2%
2018 75.55 3rd 18 83.3%
2019 65.91 6th 21 71.4%
2021 30.05 14th 16 12.5%
2022 40.60 13th 17 23.5%
2023 27.50 16th 19 15.8%
2024 35.99 14th 19 26.3%
See the entire list of Best Alabama Elementary Schools for Asian Students!

Rank History for African American students at Columbia Elementary School

Year Avg Standard Score Statewide Rank Total # Ranked Elementary Schools AL State Percentile SchoolDigger Rating
2017 94.47 11th 336 96.7%
2018 93.19 17th 423 96.0%
2019 90.20 22nd 426 94.8%
2021 84.23 32nd 426 92.5%
2022 90.78 23rd 426 94.6%
2023 81.32 39th 427 90.9%
2024 82.30 42nd 420 90.0%
See the entire list of Best Alabama Elementary Schools for African American Students!

Rank History for Hispanic students at Columbia Elementary School

Year Avg Standard Score Statewide Rank Total # Ranked Elementary Schools AL State Percentile SchoolDigger Rating
2021 98.09 1st 164 99.4%
2023 91.31 14th 184 92.4%
2024 87.85 18th 196 90.8%
See the entire list of Best Alabama Elementary Schools for Hispanic Students!

Rank History for White students at Columbia Elementary School

Year Avg Standard Score Statewide Rank Total # Ranked Elementary Schools AL State Percentile SchoolDigger Rating
2017 94.81 12th 369 96.7%
2018 95.84 15th 508 97.0%
2019 93.33 19th 529 96.4%
2021 92.51 34th 539 93.7%
2022 89.75 48th 540 91.1%
2023 88.47 49th 528 90.7%
2024 89.01 46th 535 91.4%
See the entire list of Best Alabama Elementary Schools for White Students!

Data source: test scores: Alabama State Department of Education, rankings: SchoolDigger.com

As you review the school rankings data, please be aware that some of the information from certain demographics is missing. The reason for this omission is that the data has been redacted from the source data itself due to low population samples in these specific demographic groups.

Redacting data from low population samples is a necessary step to ensure the reliability and accuracy of the results, as small sample sizes may not be representative of the broader population. Additionally, this measure helps protect the privacy of individuals belonging to these demographic groups.

Columbia Elementary School Test Scores
Tests: 
  
Grades: 
  
Years: 
  
Group by: 
District Scores:
State Scores:    
  
Subgroup: 





Data source: Alabama State Department of Education

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Enrollment information for Columbia Elementary School

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Year White African American Asian Hispanic American Indian Pacific Islander Two or More Races Not Specified Total
2005 546 148 47 6 1 n/a n/a 0 748
2006 591 142 55 8 2 n/a n/a 9 807
2007 606 146 56 8 1 n/a n/a 17 834
2008 623 146 87 19 1 n/a n/a 0 876
2009 644 147 88 26 4 n/a n/a 0 909
2010 471 133 85 35 3 n/a n/a 30 757
2011 475 135 83 37 1 0 0 0 731
2012 500 147 90 55 3 1 12 0 808
2013 496 173 87 54 2 1 18 0 831
2014 427 150 84 34 3 2 20 0 720
2015 444 171 86 35 2 1 32 0 771
2016 451 171 98 29 4 1 47 0 801
2017 451 174 100 41 6 1 41 0 814
2018 482 191 96 37 5 3 51 0 865
2019 413 163 91 53 4 2 49 0 775
2020 442 165 86 49 4 1 50 0 797
2021 435 182 104 61 3 0 59 0 844
2022 451 112 105 64 0 0 53 0 785
2023 428 125 99 76 0 0 56 0 784
2024 417 136 89 73 0 0 61 0 776

Data source: National Center for Education Statistics, U.S. Dept of Education.

About Enrollment/Ethnicity

For more information about how the Department of Education defines ethnicity, see Defining Race and Ethnicity Data, National Center for Education Statistics

Students eligible for free or discounted lunch at Columbia Elementary School

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Compare
Year # Students Full-time Teachers Student/Teacher ratio % Free/Discounted Lunch
2005 748 44.9 16.7 11
2006 807 47.0 17.0 12.9
2007 834 54.0 15.4 11.8
2008 876 56.0 15.6 11.1
2009 909 60.5 14.9 12
2010 757 41.3 18.3 19.1
2011 731 50.8 14.3 18.2
2012 808 45.3 17.8 19.8
2013 831 50.5 16.4 21.9
2014 720 39.2 18.3 21.7
2015 771 40.0 19.2 20.9
2016 801 43.0 18.6 19.7
2017 814 45.8 17.7 19
2018 865 47.8 18.0 20
2019 775 46.3 16.7 21
2020 797 48.0 16.6 18.7
2021 844 50.0 16.8 13
2022 785 43.0 18.2 11.5
2023 784 46.5 16.8 23.3
2024 776 48.0 16.1 28.2

Data source: National Center for Education Statistics, U.S. Dept of Education.

About Students eligible for discounted/free lunch:

The National School Lunch Program (NSLP) provides low-cost or free meals to students in U.S. public and nonprofit private schools based on household income. Those with incomes below 130% of the poverty line receive free lunch, while those between 130% and 185% qualify for reduced-price lunch. The percentage of students receiving free or reduced-price lunch serves as a marker for poverty, as it reflects the socioeconomic status of families in a given school or district. A higher FRPL rate typically indicates a higher concentration of low-income families, suggesting that the school or district may face additional challenges in providing adequate resources and support for student success.

Student/Teacher Ratio Columbia Elementary School

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Compare
Year # Students Full-time Teachers Student/Teacher ratio % Free/Discounted Lunch
2005 748 44.9 16.7 11
2006 807 47.0 17.0 12.9
2007 834 54.0 15.4 11.8
2008 876 56.0 15.6 11.1
2009 909 60.5 14.9 12
2010 757 41.3 18.3 19.1
2011 731 50.8 14.3 18.2
2012 808 45.3 17.8 19.8
2013 831 50.5 16.4 21.9
2014 720 39.2 18.3 21.7
2015 771 40.0 19.2 20.9
2016 801 43.0 18.6 19.7
2017 814 45.8 17.7 19
2018 865 47.8 18.0 20
2019 775 46.3 16.7 21
2020 797 48.0 16.6 18.7
2021 844 50.0 16.8 13
2022 785 43.0 18.2 11.5
2023 784 46.5 16.8 23.3
2024 776 48.0 16.1 28.2

Data source: National Center for Education Statistics, U.S. Dept of Education.

About Student-Teacher Ratio

Student/teacher ratio is calculated by dividing the total number of students by the total number of full-time equivalent teachers. Please note that a smaller student/teacher ratio does not necessarily translate to smaller class size. In some instances, schools hire teachers part time, and some teachers are hired for specialized instruction with very small class sizes. These and other factors contribute to the student/teacher ratio. Note: For private schools, Student/teacher ratio may not include Pre-Kindergarten.
Finances

Per Pupil Expenditures for Columbia Elementary School

Help

YearExpenditures from Federal FundsExpenditures from State and Local FundsTotal Expenditures Per Pupil (All Funds)
2019 $675 (6.9%) $9,099 (92.8%) $9,802

Data source: Alabama Department of Education
Pre and Post Pandemic Data

Impact of COVID-19 on Columbia Elementary School

The coronavirus has had a profound impact on education in America. Learning shifted online overnight, attendance numbers dwindled, and enrollment decreased. SchoolDigger.com is making it easier for you to better assess how COVID-19 has impacted your school. Through the collection of pre-pandemic (2019) and current data, SchoolDigger.com is sharing test scores, enrollment numbers and school demographics from schools across the country – and we make it easy to see how impacted schools compare locally and statewide.

Rankings

Rank
Pre-pandemic (2018-2019)
Rank
Post pandemic (2022-2023)
Change (%)
Ranks 29th of 681 Elementary schoolsRanks 50th of 680 Elementary schools
 3.1%

Test Scores

% proficient
Pre-pandemic (2018-2019)
% proficient
Post pandemic (2022-2023)
Change (%)
3rd Grade Mathematics (Columbia Elementary School)75.767.3
 8.4%
   3rd Grade Mathematics (Madison City)7972.1
 6.9%
   3rd Grade Mathematics (Alabama)57.543.6
 13.9%
4th Grade Mathematics (Columbia Elementary School)75.467.7
 7.7%
   4th Grade Mathematics (Madison City)77.860.3
 17.5%
   4th Grade Mathematics (Alabama)47.334.9
 12.4%
5th Grade Mathematics (Columbia Elementary School)77.364.4
 12.8%
   5th Grade Mathematics (Madison City)76.666.2
 10.3%
   5th Grade Mathematics (Alabama)44.933.9
 10.9%

Student Body

Number of students
Pre-pandemic (2018-2019)
Number of students
Post pandemic (2022-2023)
Change (%)
Total Students775784
 1.2%
African American163125
 23.3%
American Indian40
 100%
Asian9199
 8.8%
Hispanic5376
 43.4%
Pacific Islander20
 100%
White413428
 3.6%
Two or More Races4956
 14.3%
% Free/Discounted Lunch Recipients21%23.3%
 2.3%


Schools Near Columbia Elementary School









Frequently Asked Questions about Columbia Elementary School

Students at Columbia Elementary School are 54% White, 18% African American, 11% Asian, 9% Hispanic, 8% Two or more races.

Yes. Columbia Elementary School ranks in the top 7.6% of Alabama elementary schools.

Students who attend Columbia Elementary School usually go on to attend:

Middle : Liberty Middle School
High : James Clemens High School

In the 2023-24 school year, 776 students attended Columbia Elementary School.


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SchoolDigger data sources: National Center for Education Statistics, U.S. Department of Education, the U.S. Census Bureau and the Alabama State Department of Education.

IMPORTANT DISCLAIMERS: Not all boundaries are included. We make every effort to ensure that boundaries are up-to-date. But it's important to note that these are approximations and are for general informational purposes only. To verify legal descriptions of boundaries or school locations, contact your local tax assessor's office and/or school district.





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