Best Public Schools in Columbus, NC

Summary:

The city of Columbus, North Carolina is home to two high schools: Polk County High School and Polk County Early College. While both schools serve the Polk County Schools district, Polk County Early College stands out as the top-performing institution, consistently ranking among the best high schools in the state.

Polk County Early College has maintained a 4-5 star rating from School Digger and outperforms Polk County High School and the overall Polk County Schools district on end-of-course exams. In the most recent school year, Polk County Early College had a 93.3% proficiency rate in Biology EOC, compared to 43.9% at Polk County High School and 48% for the district. Additionally, Polk County Early College has a lower percentage of students receiving free or reduced-price lunch, suggesting it may be attracting a more economically advantaged student population.

Despite Polk County High School spending nearly $2,600 more per student than Polk County Early College, the significant performance gap between the two schools suggests that the early college model may be more effective in this context. Polk County Early College's smaller enrollment and higher student-teacher ratio may also contribute to its academic success, providing a more personalized learning environment for students.

Choose columns to see: Summary School Students/Teachers Ranking Test Scores Finance All

School													Students/Teachers											Ranking (2024)				Ranking (2023)				EOC Biology (2024)	EOC English II (2024)	EOC Math I (2024)	EOC Math III (2024)	Per Pupil Expenditures (2019)
Name	Type	Grades	Address	City	Zip	County	District	Is Charter	Is Magnet	Is Virtual	Is Title I	Phone	Enrollment	Full-time Teachers	Student/ Teacher Ratio	Free/Discounted Lunch Recipients	White	Black	Hispanic	Asian	American Indian	Pacific Islander	Two or More Races	Average Standard Score (2024)	Statewide Rank (2024)	State Percentile (2024)	SchoolDigger Rating (2024)	Average Standard Score (2023)	Statewide Rank (2023)	State Percentile (2023)	Rank Change from Previous Year	EOC Biology End of Course	EOC English II End of Course	EOC Math I End of Course	EOC Math III End of Course	Per Pupil Expenditures Total	Sub-total from Federal Funds	Sub-total from State/Local Funds
Polk County High School	Public	9-12	1681 East NC 108 Hwy	Columbus	28722	Polk County	Polk County Schools	No	No	No	No	(828) 894-2525	593	42	14.0	99.5%	441 (74.4%)	33 (5.6%)	91 (15.3%)	1 (0.2%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	27 (4.6%)	50.8	292^nd of 640 public high schools	54.4%		60.8	220^th of 626 public high schools	64.9%	72	43.9	60.1	50.4	71.8	$12,130	$897	$11,232
Polk County Early College	Public	9-12	1545 East NC 108 Hwy	Columbus	28722	Polk County	Polk County Schools	No	No	No	No	(828) 894-2698	55	4	13.0	94.5%	45 (81.8%)	0 (0.0%)	6 (10.9%)	2 (3.6%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	2 (3.6%)	94.8	29^th of 640 public high schools	95.5%		85.2	104^th of 626 public high schools	83.4%	75	93.3	94.1	100.0	92.9	$9,557	$127	$9,430

Cities Near Columbus

City	Distance	# of Schools	Statewide Rank
Tryon	3.56 mi	1	50^th
Mill Spring	3.98 mi	3	93^rd
Saluda	8.7 mi	1	6^th
Lake Lure	11.44 mi	1
Flat Rock	12.06 mi	3	305^th

See the top NC North Carolina cities

SchoolDigger data sources: National Center for Education Statistics, U.S. Department of Education, the U.S. Census Bureau and the North Carolina Dept of Public Instruction.

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.