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Columbia High

Public Grades 9-12

215^th

SchoolDigger Rank ?

of 235 South Carolina High Schools

Better than 9% of South Carolina high schools

Summary

Columbia High is a public high school located in Columbia, South Carolina, serving grades 9-12 with a total enrollment of 693 students. The school is part of the Richland 01 school district, which is ranked 52 out of 75 districts in the state and has a 2-star rating from SchoolDigger.

Despite the high per-student spending at Columbia High, the school's academic outcomes remain poor, consistently underperforming compared to the state and district averages on standardized tests. For example, in the 2024-2025 school year, only 60.11% of students were proficient or better in Algebra 1/Mathematics, compared to 69.75% for the Richland 01 district and 73.95% for the state. The school's four-year graduation rate of 85.4% for the 2023-2024 school year is slightly lower than the state average, and its dropout rate of 2.3% for the same year is higher than the state average. Additionally, Columbia High has a very high chronic absenteeism rate, reaching 52.5% in the 2023-2024 school year, which is significantly higher than the state and district averages.

When comparing Columbia High to other nearby schools in the Richland 01 district, such as C.A. Johnson High and Eau Claire High, the performance gaps are evident. These schools also have high percentages of low-income students and underperform compared to the state, but they generally outperform Columbia High on academic measures. Furthermore, high-performing schools like Irmo High (a public magnet school) and Gray Collegiate Academy (a public charter school) significantly outperform Columbia High and the Richland 01 district on academic measures, despite serving a more diverse student population.

681

Students ?

12.6

Student/teacher ratio ?

$21,575

Per pupil spending ?

100%

Free/discounted lunch ?

1701 Westchester Drive
Columbia, SC 29210

(803) 731-8950

District: Richland 01

Feeder schools for Columbia High:

Elementary:	H. B. Rhame Elementary
	Logan Elementary
	Pine Grove Elementary
	Sandel Elementary
Middle:	St. Andrews Middle

Racial breakdown:

African American:

85.0%

Hispanic:

6.6%

Two or more races:

3.4%

See top rated South Carolina high schools

Compare Columbia High to nearby high schools!

At a glance

▬ Ranking trend: Holding steady — 7th percentile in 2015 → 9th in 2025

Worth a look

!Test scores below the South Carolina average (52% vs 71% meeting standards)

!In the lower quartile statewide (9th percentile)

!Graduation rate below the South Carolina average (79% vs 87%)

Students meeting standards (2024-2025) ?

This school52%

District avg61%

South Carolina avg71%

215^th of 235

South Carolina public high schools ?

Bottom 9%▲ up 2 pts since 2015

See the entire ranking list of South Carolina High Schools →

★★★★★

SchoolDigger rating ?

6^th of 7High Schools in the Richland 01

52^nd of 75Richland 01 among South Carolina districts

Statewide rank percentile over time (100 = the top-ranked school in the state; click a legend item to add a student group)

Show full rank history (all student groups)

All Students

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	South Carolina percentile	Rating
2025	12.0	215 of 235	8.5%	☆☆☆☆☆
2024	20.1	194 of 235	17.4%	★☆☆☆☆
2023	15.3	203 of 237	14.3%	★☆☆☆☆
2022	6.4	215 of 226	4.9%	☆☆☆☆☆
2021	6.6	218 of 227	4.0%	☆☆☆☆☆
2019	8.4	209 of 225	7.1%	☆☆☆☆☆
2018	8.4	198 of 216	8.3%	☆☆☆☆☆
2017	9.0	203 of 223	9.0%	☆☆☆☆☆
2016	11.7	209 of 231	9.5%	☆☆☆☆☆
2015	12.6	216 of 232	6.9%	☆☆☆☆☆
2014	21.0	175 of 210	16.7%	★☆☆☆☆
2013	19.4	173 of 203	14.8%	★☆☆☆☆
2012	20.5	172 of 202	14.9%	★☆☆☆☆
2011	20.5	167 of 199	16.1%	★☆☆☆☆
2010	23.9	165 of 199	17.1%	★☆☆☆☆
2009	46.5	125 of 188	33.5%	★★☆☆☆
2008	26.1	154 of 185	16.8%	★☆☆☆☆
2007	45.5	150 of 191	21.5%	★☆☆☆☆
2006	39.0	158 of 191	17.3%	★☆☆☆☆
2005	33.5	156 of 187	16.6%	★☆☆☆☆

African American

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	South Carolina percentile	Rating
2025	31.5	153 of 194	21.1%	★☆☆☆☆
2024	39.3	125 of 194	35.6%	★★☆☆☆
2023	33.7	132 of 199	33.7%	★★☆☆☆
2022	16.7	177 of 190	6.8%	☆☆☆☆☆
2021	22.9	151 of 178	15.2%	★☆☆☆☆
2019	25.6	148 of 184	19.6%	★☆☆☆☆
2018	29.2	130 of 183	29.0%	★☆☆☆☆

Disabled

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	South Carolina percentile	Rating
2025	20.0	121 of 139	12.9%	★☆☆☆☆
2024	32.6	103 of 145	29.0%	★★☆☆☆
2023	28.4	106 of 141	24.8%	★☆☆☆☆
2022	19.4	115 of 139	17.3%	★☆☆☆☆
2019	14.7	132 of 143	7.7%	☆☆☆☆☆
2018	11.7	130 of 137	5.1%	☆☆☆☆☆

Female

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	South Carolina percentile	Rating
2025	16.2	194 of 225	13.8%	★☆☆☆☆
2024	24.6	173 of 225	23.1%	★☆☆☆☆
2023	13.4	198 of 223	11.2%	★☆☆☆☆
2022	8.8	207 of 220	5.9%	☆☆☆☆☆
2021	9.6	197 of 213	7.5%	☆☆☆☆☆
2019	6.2	206 of 213	3.3%	☆☆☆☆☆
2018	11.4	184 of 210	12.4%	★☆☆☆☆

Gifted and Talented

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	South Carolina percentile	Rating
2024	6.2	149 of 157	5.1%	☆☆☆☆☆
2023	27.0	135 of 156	13.5%	★☆☆☆☆

Low Socio Economic Status

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	South Carolina percentile	Rating
2025	16.2	201 of 226	11.1%	★☆☆☆☆
2024	28.7	173 of 229	24.5%	★☆☆☆☆
2023	20.6	187 of 226	17.3%	★☆☆☆☆
2022	9.3	213 of 220	3.2%	☆☆☆☆☆
2021	8.8	206 of 213	3.3%	☆☆☆☆☆
2019	12.3	199 of 217	8.3%	☆☆☆☆☆
2018	15.5	189 of 214	11.7%	★☆☆☆☆

Male

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	South Carolina percentile	Rating
2025	10.3	209 of 224	6.7%	☆☆☆☆☆
2024	14.7	203 of 228	11.0%	★☆☆☆☆
2023	15.8	195 of 229	14.8%	★☆☆☆☆
2022	4.8	218 of 224	2.7%	☆☆☆☆☆
2021	4.6	209 of 215	2.8%	☆☆☆☆☆
2019	10.4	198 of 218	9.2%	☆☆☆☆☆
2018	7.3	202 of 213	5.2%	☆☆☆☆☆

How student groups rank statewide ? (each group's percentile vs the same group at other schools — higher is better; the +/- beside each compares the group with this school's overall percentile)

African American (2025)21st percentile+13 vs school

Female (2025)14th percentile+5 vs school

Disabled (2025)13th percentile+4 vs school

Low Socio Economic Status (2025)11th percentile+3 vs school

Male (2025)7th percentile~ school

Gifted and Talented (2024)5th percentile-12 vs school

By subject vs South Carolina (2024-2025) ?

English 276%-11 vs state

Algebra 1/Mathematics for the Technologies 260%-14 vs state

English 138%-24 vs state

U.S. History and the Constitution32%-30 vs state

2.3

3 ratings · 3 written reviews

5★1

4★0

3★0

2★0

1★2

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What people are saying

by a teacher
Friday, March 6, 2020

Lets GO!!! Close Quote

by a parent
Tuesday, April 10, 2012

My child went from being an A-honor rolled student to a 11th grade flunky in just 2 months. This school defy's the term don't hang with the wrong crowd if the whole school is the crowd. everyday he would come home telling me about who got beat up today and its funny how he knew evey persons name when hes only been there for a week Close Quote

by a parent
Thursday, November 17, 2011

Teacher don't care about your child education just a paycheck. Close Quote

Schools Near Columbia High

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

School													Students/Teachers											Ranking (2025)				Ranking (2024)				SC READY English Language Arts (2025)			SC READY Mathematics (2025)			SC READY Science (2025)	EOCEP Algebra 1/Mathematics for the Technologies 2 (2025)	EOCEP English 1 (2025)	EOCEP U.S. History and the Constitution (2025)	EOCEP English 2 (2025)	Per Pupil Expenditures (2025)
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 (2025)	Statewide Rank (2025)	State Percentile (2025)	SchoolDigger Rating (2025)	Average Standard Score (2024)	Statewide Rank (2024)	State Percentile (2024)	Rank Change from Previous Year	SC READY English Language Arts 6th Grade	SC READY English Language Arts 7th Grade	SC READY English Language Arts 8th Grade	SC READY Mathematics 6th Grade	SC READY Mathematics 7th Grade	SC READY Mathematics 8th Grade	SC READY Science 6th Grade	EOCEP Algebra 1/Mathematics for the Technologies 2 End of Course	EOCEP English 1 End of Course	EOCEP U.S. History and the Constitution End of Course	EOCEP English 2 End of Course	Per Pupil Expenditures: Total	Personnel Spending from Federal Funds	Non-Personnel Spending from Federal Funds	Sub-total from Federal Funds	Personnel Spending from State and Local Funds	Non-Personnel from State and Local Funds	Sub-total Spending from State and Local Funds
Columbia High	Public	9-12	1701 Westchester Drive	Columbia	29210	Richland County	Richland 01	No	No	No	Yes	(803) 731-8950	681	54	12.6		18 (2.6%)	579 (85.0%)	45 (6.6%)	15 (2.2%)	0 (0.0%)	1 (0.1%)	23 (3.4%)	12	215^th of 235 public high schools	8.5%		20.1	194^th of 235 public high schools	17.4%	21								60.1	37.8	31.7	75.7	$21,575	$1,744	$2,088	$3,832	$14,838	$2,905	$17,743
Broad River High	Public	9-12	4460 Broad River Road	Columbia	29210	Richland County	Dept Of Correction N04	No	No	No	No	(803) 896-2714	28	1	28.0		2 (7.1%)	25 (89.3%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	1 (3.6%)	0 (0.0%)								(n/a)
Kirkland High	Public	9-12	4344 Broad River	Columbia	29210	Richland County	Dept Of Correction N04	No	No	No	No	(803) 896-2708	42	1	42.0		6 (14.3%)	34 (81.0%)	2 (4.8%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)								(n/a)
Sara Babb High	Public	9-12	4450 Broad River Road	Columbia	29210	Richland County	Dept Of Correction N04	No	No	No	Yes	(803) 896-2714	8	4	2.0		1 (12.5%)	6 (75.0%)	1 (12.5%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)								(n/a)
Empowerment and Enrichment Academy	Public	5-12	5000 Broad River Road	Columbia	29212	Richland County	Dept of Juvenile Justice	No	No	No	Yes	(803) 896-9114	0	4	.0		0 ()	0 ()	0 ()	0 ()	0 ()	0 ()	0 ()	0.3	235^th of 235 public high schools	0.0%					(n/a)			17.6			0.0		11.1	16.1	0.0	57.1
The Palmetto Empowerment and Enrichment Academy	Public	5-12	5000 Broad River Road	Columbia	29210	Richland County	Dept of Juvenile Justice	No	No	No	Yes	(803) 896-5952	0	7	.0		0 ()	0 ()	0 ()	0 ()	0 ()	0 ()	0 ()								(n/a)
Eau Claire High	Public	9-12	4800 Monticello Road	Columbia	29203	Richland County	Richland 01	No	No	No	Yes	(803) 735-7600	542	47	11.6		7 (1.3%)	438 (80.8%)	72 (13.3%)	3 (0.6%)	0 (0.0%)	1 (0.2%)	21 (3.9%)	6.9	225^th of 235 public high schools	4.3%		6.7	226^th of 235 public high schools	3.8%	1								54.4	26.5	36.6	69.4	$23,182	$2,212	$1,531	$3,742	$16,261	$3,179	$19,440
River Bluff High	Public	9-12	320 Corley Mill Road	Lexington	29072	Lexington County	Lexington 01	No	No	No	No	(803) 821-0700	2,117	131	16.1		1,422 (67.2%)	230 (10.9%)	188 (8.9%)	180 (8.5%)	2 (0.1%)	6 (0.3%)	89 (4.2%)	76.9	33^rd of 235 public high schools	86.0%		80.2	25^th of 235 public high schools	89.4%	8								78.1	72.4	77.3	95.0	$14,256	$557	$367	$924	$11,421	$1,911	$13,332
Gray Collegiate Academy	Public, Charter	6-12	3833 Leaphart Road	West Columbia	29169	Lexington County	Charter Institute at Erskine	Yes	No	No	No	(803) 951-3321	935	38	24.9		667 (71.3%)	153 (16.4%)	62 (6.6%)	5 (0.5%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	48 (5.1%)	93.1	7^th of 235 public high schools	97.0%		88.8	12^th of 235 public high schools	94.9%	5	93.2	89.9	91.2	73.8	69.7	54.9	70.9	99.0	91.0	91.4	98.7	$9,602	$1,106	$181	$1,286	$5,154	$3,162	$8,316
C. A. Johnson High	Public	9-12	2219 Barhamville Road	Columbia	29204	Richland County	Richland 01	No	No	No	Yes	(803) 253-7092	344	38	9.0		2 (0.6%)	319 (92.7%)	12 (3.5%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	11 (3.2%)	26.5	177^th of 235 public high schools	24.7%		9.7	217^th of 235 public high schools	7.7%	40								67.0	45.4	31.2	85.6	$29,536	$1,508	$1,904	$3,412	$21,293	$4,831	$26,124

Frequently Asked Questions about Columbia High

How many students attend Columbia High?

In the 2024-25 school year, 681 students attended Columbia High.

What district is Columbia High in?

Richland 01

Is Columbia High a good school?

Columbia High ranks in the bottom 8.5% of South Carolina high schools.

What schools feed into Columbia High?

Columbia High is fed by the following schools:

Elementary : H. B. Rhame Elementary
Elementary : Logan Elementary
Elementary : Pine Grove Elementary
Elementary : Sandel Elementary
Middle : St. Andrews Middle

What is the racial makeup of Columbia High?

Students at Columbia High are 85% African American, 7% Hispanic, 3% Two or more races, 3% White, 2% Asian.

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