Is Columbia Middle School a good school?

Columbia Middle School ranks 143 rd of 1363 Illinois middle schools. SchoolDigger rates this school 4 stars out of 5.

How many students attend Columbia Middle School?

In the 2023-24 school year, 613 students attended Columbia Middle School.

What is the racial makeup of Columbia Middle School?

Students at Columbia Middle School are 91% White, 4% Hispanic, 3% Two or more races, 1% Asian.

What high school do graduates of Columbia Middle School attend?

Students who attend Columbia Middle School usually go on to attend Columbia High School

Columbia Middle School

Summary:

Columbia Middle School is a public middle school serving 608 students in grades 5-8 in Columbia, Illinois. It is part of the Columbia CUSD 4 district, which is ranked 67 out of 813 districts in Illinois and has a 5-star rating from SchoolDigger. Columbia Middle School has consistently been ranked in the top 25% of Illinois middle schools over the past decade, with a current ranking of 143 out of 1,363 middle schools in the state.

Columbia Middle School stands out for its exceptional academic performance, consistently outperforming the state average in proficiency across all grade levels and subjects. In the 2023-2024 school year, 64.1% of students were proficient or better in English Language Arts, compared to the state average of 41.2%, and 51.1% were proficient or better in Mathematics, compared to the state average of 28.4%. The school's performance in Science is also impressive, with 74.7% of students proficient or better, compared to the state average of 53.2%. Additionally, the school performs exceptionally well across different student subgroups, with male students and students from low socioeconomic backgrounds ranking in the top 10% and top 15% of Illinois middle schools, respectively.

While Columbia Middle School's overall performance is outstanding, there are a few areas for improvement. The school's chronic absenteeism rates, although lower than the state average, have been increasing in recent years, from 0.9% in 2019-2020 to 7.0% in 2022-2023. Additionally, the school's performance for special education students and students with disabilities has been relatively lower, ranking in the bottom 25% of Illinois middle schools in these categories. However, when compared to nearby middle schools, such as Waterloo Junior High School, which also performs well, Columbia Middle School stands out as a regional leader in academic achievement.

Detail:

Public 5-8

100 Eagle Dr
Columbia, IL 62236-1154

(618) 281-4993

District: Columbia CUSD 4

SchoolDigger Rank:
143^rd of 1,363 Illinois Middle Schools

Per Pupil Expenditures: $11,360

Students who attend Columbia Middle School usually attend:

High:

Columbia High School

Feeder schools for Columbia Middle School:

Elementary:	Eagleview Elementary School
	Parkview Elementary School

Student/teacher ratio: 16.2

Number of students: 613

Racial breakdown:

White:

91.4%

Hispanic:

3.8%

Two or more races:

2.6%

Free/discounted lunch recipients: 15.5%

See top rated Illinois middle schools

Compare Columbia Middle School to nearby middle schools!

Performance Trends

Compare Details Columbia Middle School ranks better than 89.5% of middle schools in Illinois. (See more...)

Compare Details In 2024 the calculated Average Standard Score was 87.02. (See more...)

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

Compare Details Racial makeup is: White (91.4%), Hispanic (3.8%), two or more races (2.6%). (See more...)

Compare Details 15.5% of students are receiving a free or discounted lunch. (See more...)

Teachers

Compare Details The student/teacher ratio at Columbia Middle School is 16.2. (See more...)

Compare Columbia Middle School employs 37.7 full-time teachers.

Finance

Compare Details The average total spent per student at Columbia Middle School is $11,360.

Schooldigger 2024 Rankings:

Columbia Middle School:

SchoolDigger ranks Columbia Middle School 143^rd of 1363 Illinois public middle schools. (See Columbia Middle School in the ranking list.)

Middle School Test Score Ratings by Student Subgroup:

Special Education students:

Low Socio Economic Status students:

Female students:

Disabled students:

Male students:

White students:

Columbia CUSD 4:

SchoolDigger ranks Columbia CUSD 4 67^th of 813 Illinois school districts. (See district ranking list.)

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Rank History for Columbia Middle School

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Rank History for all students at Columbia Middle School

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Middle Schools	IL State Percentile
2003	80.05	223^rd	1185	81.2%
2004	71.51	363^rd	1204	69.9%
2005	65.23	498^th	1209	58.8%
2006	75.44	293^rd	1272	77.0%
2007	78.14	232^nd	1287	82.0%
2008	77.38	254^th	1293	80.4%
2009	83.09	135^th	1318	89.8%
2010	81.47	166^th	1327	87.5%
2011	82.71	139^th	1344	89.7%
2012	84.23	121^st	1365	91.1%
2013	84.01	173^rd	1367	87.3%
2014	78.00	254^th	1322	80.8%
2015	81.88	198^th	1302	84.8%
2016	77.73	239^th	1294	81.5%
2017	84.00	174^th	1293	86.5%
2018	80.46	210^th	1293	83.8%
2019	82.73	199^th	1356	85.3%
2021	73.13	263^rd	1241	78.8%
2022	71.82	316^th	1369	76.9%
2023	77.54	243^rd	1367	82.2%
2024	87.02	143^rd	1363	89.5%

See the entire list of Illinois Middle School Rankings!

Rank History for Special Education students at Columbia Middle School

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Middle Schools	IL State Percentile
2018	25.00	478^th	602	20.6%
2019	49.69	274^th	792	65.4%
2021	42.91	250^th	548	54.4%
2022	26.86	654^th	781	16.3%
2023	30.23	545^th	805	32.3%
2024	47.36	315^th	802	60.7%

See the entire list of Best Illinois Middle Schools for Special Education Students!

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

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Middle Schools	IL State Percentile
2018	66.13	286^th	1161	75.4%
2019	71.10	236^th	1217	80.6%
2021	62.52	246^th	1019	75.9%
2022	48.78	535^th	1221	56.2%
2023	62.77	331^st	1234	73.2%
2024	83.82	100^th	1219	91.8%

See the entire list of Best Illinois Middle Schools for Low Socio Economic Status Students!

Rank History for Female students at Columbia Middle School

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Middle Schools	IL State Percentile
2018	82.76	174^th	1226	85.8%
2019	82.50	178^th	1276	86.1%
2021	71.36	244^th	1017	76.0%
2022	70.79	297^th	1286	76.9%
2023	79.61	209^th	1275	83.6%
2024	83.60	162^nd	1251	87.1%

See the entire list of Best Illinois Middle Schools for Female Students!

Rank History for Disabled students at Columbia Middle School

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Middle Schools	IL State Percentile	SchoolDigger Rating
2023	38.84	363^rd	674	46.1%
2024	66.71	124^th	639	80.6%

See the entire list of Best Illinois Middle Schools for Disabled Students!

Rank History for Male students at Columbia Middle School

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Middle Schools	IL State Percentile
2018	74.18	252^nd	1223	79.4%
2019	81.72	192^nd	1296	85.2%
2021	68.72	250^th	1048	76.1%
2022	70.28	292^nd	1286	77.3%
2023	72.79	266^th	1292	79.4%
2024	88.52	117^th	1264	90.7%

See the entire list of Best Illinois Middle Schools for Male Students!

Rank History for White students at Columbia Middle School

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Middle Schools	IL State Percentile
2018	66.50	265^th	889	70.2%
2019	70.75	225^th	905	75.1%
2021	59.78	281^st	813	65.4%
2022	56.15	357^th	898	60.2%
2023	61.21	288^th	895	67.8%
2024	75.88	159^th	875	81.8%

See the entire list of Best Illinois Middle Schools for White Students!

Data source: test scores: Illinois State Board 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.

Data source: Illinois State Board of Education

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Enrollment information for Columbia Middle School

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Year	White	African American	Asian	Hispanic	American Indian	Pacific Islander	Two or More Races	Not Specified	Total
1989	136	n/a	n/a	n/a	n/a	n/a	n/a	0	136
1990	193	n/a	1	n/a	n/a	n/a	n/a	0	194
1991	199	0	0	0	0	n/a	n/a	0	199
1992	250	0	0	0	0	n/a	n/a	0	250
1993	276	1	1	0	0	n/a	n/a	0	278
1994	307	1	2	0	0	n/a	n/a	0	310
1995	304	0	2	0	0	n/a	n/a	0	306
1996	304	0	2	0	0	n/a	n/a	0	306
1997	297	0	2	0	0	n/a	n/a	0	299
1998	349	1	4	0	0	n/a	n/a	0	354
1999	372	1	4	0	0	n/a	n/a	0	377
2000	472	2	4	3	0	n/a	n/a	0	481
2001	474	2	1	2	0	n/a	n/a	0	479
2002	473	2	4	3	0	n/a	n/a	0	482
2003	473	2	4	3	0	n/a	n/a	0	482
2004	482	2	3	3	2	n/a	n/a	0	492
2005	492	3	4	5	3	n/a	n/a	0	507
2006	516	3	1	4	1	n/a	n/a	3	528
2007	522	4	1	4	0	n/a	n/a	3	534
2008	535	4	2	7	0	n/a	n/a	3	551
2009	548	5	3	9	0	n/a	n/a	4	569
2010	552	3	4	10	0	n/a	n/a	2	571
2011	582	4	3	18	2	0	8	0	617
2012	607	5	3	15	3	0	9	0	642
2013	605	4	3	12	3	0	9	0	636
2014	638	5	4	17	1	0	6	0	671
2015	569	4	8	16	1	0	6	0	604
2016	559	3	5	14	0	0	16	0	597
2017	554	3	6	13	0	0	20	0	596
2018	555	1	3	14	1	0	24	0	598
2019	563	2	5	14	1	2	17	0	604
2020	528	3	7	12	1	1	14	0	566
2021	525	5	6	15	1	0	11	0	563
2022	534	5	4	15	0	0	11	0	569
2023	560	6	6	20	0	0	16	0	608
2024	560	5	9	23	0	0	16	0	613

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 Middle School

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Year	# Students	Full-time Teachers	Student/Teacher ratio	% Free/Discounted Lunch
1989	136	6.0	22.6	n/a
1990	194	8.0	24.2	n/a
1991	199	9.0	22.1	n/a
1992	250	15.0	16.6	n/a
1993	278	16.0	17.4	n/a
1994	310	16.0	19.4	n/a
1995	306	16.0	19.1	n/a
1996	306	16.0	19.1	n/a
1997	299	17.0	17.6	n/a
1998	354	18.2	19.5	n/a
1999	377	21.0	18.0	n/a
2000	481	30.0	16.0	n/a
2001	479	30.6	15.7	n/a
2002	482	31.0	15.5	4.4
2003	482	31.0	15.5	4.4
2004	492	32.0	15.4	6.7
2005	507	33.1	15.3	7.1
2006	528	32.1	16.4	7.6
2007	534	29.0	18.4	6.2
2008	551	26.0	21.2	6.8
2009	569	31.0	18.4	9.2
2010	571	33.0	17.3	11.6
2011	617	32.0	19.2	11.8
2012	642	33.0	19.4	10.4
2013	636	33.8	18.7	11.6
2014	671	30.3	22.0	9.8
2015	604	31.0	19.4	12.3
2016	597	31.0	19.2	13.4
2017	596	31.9	18.6	13.1
2018	598	32.3	18.4	14.9
2019	604	33.1	18.2	14.4
2020	566	32.3	17.5	12.4
2021	563	n/a	n/a	n/a
2022	569	35.2	16.1	11.8
2023	608	36.9	16.4	16.6
2024	613	37.7	16.2	15.5

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 Middle School

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Year	# Students	Full-time Teachers	Student/Teacher ratio	% Free/Discounted Lunch
1989	136	6.0	22.6	n/a
1990	194	8.0	24.2	n/a
1991	199	9.0	22.1	n/a
1992	250	15.0	16.6	n/a
1993	278	16.0	17.4	n/a
1994	310	16.0	19.4	n/a
1995	306	16.0	19.1	n/a
1996	306	16.0	19.1	n/a
1997	299	17.0	17.6	n/a
1998	354	18.2	19.5	n/a
1999	377	21.0	18.0	n/a
2000	481	30.0	16.0	n/a
2001	479	30.6	15.7	n/a
2002	482	31.0	15.5	4.4
2003	482	31.0	15.5	4.4
2004	492	32.0	15.4	6.7
2005	507	33.1	15.3	7.1
2006	528	32.1	16.4	7.6
2007	534	29.0	18.4	6.2
2008	551	26.0	21.2	6.8
2009	569	31.0	18.4	9.2
2010	571	33.0	17.3	11.6
2011	617	32.0	19.2	11.8
2012	642	33.0	19.4	10.4
2013	636	33.8	18.7	11.6
2014	671	30.3	22.0	9.8
2015	604	31.0	19.4	12.3
2016	597	31.0	19.2	13.4
2017	596	31.9	18.6	13.1
2018	598	32.3	18.4	14.9
2019	604	33.1	18.2	14.4
2020	566	32.3	17.5	12.4
2021	563	n/a	n/a	n/a
2022	569	35.2	16.1	11.8
2023	608	36.9	16.4	16.6
2024	613	37.7	16.2	15.5

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.

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