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Columbia Elementary School

Q: Is Columbia Elementary School a good school?

Columbia Elementary School ranks 78 th of 680 Alabama elementary schools. SchoolDigger rates this school 4 stars out of 5.

Public Grades K-5

78^th

SchoolDigger Rank ?

of 680 Alabama Elementary Schools

Better than 89% of Alabama elementary schools

Summary

Columbia Elementary School is a public elementary school located in Madison, Alabama, serving grades PK-5 with a total enrollment of 776 students. The school is part of the Madison City School District, which is ranked 11th out of 135 districts in Alabama and is rated 5 out of 5 stars by SchoolDigger.

Columbia Elementary School consistently ranks among the top elementary schools in Alabama, with a statewide ranking between 11th and 78th out of 680-692 schools over the past 10 years. The school's students perform exceptionally well on standardized tests, with proficiency rates in Mathematics, Science, and English Language Arts that are significantly higher than the state and district averages. For example, in the 2024-2025 school year, 72.57% of 5th-grade students at Columbia Elementary were proficient or better in Mathematics, compared to 67.04% in the Madison City district and 39.31% statewide.

Columbia Elementary School demonstrates strong performance across various student subgroups, including Female, Male, African American, Hispanic, and Multi-racial students. The school's rankings for these subgroups are consistently in the top quartile of Alabama elementary schools, indicating that the school is effectively serving students from diverse backgrounds. However, the school's performance for Asian students and students from low socioeconomic backgrounds is relatively lower compared to other subgroups. Additionally, Columbia Elementary has experienced a gradual increase in chronic absenteeism rates, from 4.5% in 2020-2021 to 17.9% in 2022-2023, which is an area the school and district should address.

701

Students ?

14.1

Student/teacher ratio ?

$9,802

Per pupil spending ?

25.1%

Free/discounted lunch ?

667 Balch Road
Madison, AL 35758

(256) 430-2751

District: Madison City

Students who attend Columbia Elementary School usually attend:

Middle:	Liberty Middle School
High:	James Clemens High School

Racial breakdown:

White:

54.6%

African American:

16.3%

Asian:

10.4%

See top rated Alabama elementary schools

Compare Columbia Elementary School to nearby elementary schools!

At a glance

▼ Ranking trend: Declining — 96th percentile in 2015 → 89th in 2025

Strengths

✓Test scores above the Alabama average (72% vs 52% meeting standards)

✓Ranks in the top 11% of Alabama elementary schools

Worth a look

!Ranking has slipped — down 7 percentile points since 2015

!Some student groups rank well below the school's overall statewide standing

!Near the bottom of Madison City's ranking

Students meeting standards (2024-2025) ?

This school72%

District avg74%

Alabama avg52%

78^th of 680

Alabama public elementary schools ?

Top 11%▼ down 7 pts since 2015

From top 4% (2015) to top 11% (2025)

See the entire ranking list of Alabama Elementary Schools →

★★★★★

SchoolDigger rating ?

6^th of 7Elementary Schools in the Madison City

11^th of 135Madison City among Alabama 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	Alabama percentile	Rating
2025	86.0	78 of 680	88.5%	★★★★☆
2024	90.1	52 of 684	92.4%	★★★★★
2023	91.4	50 of 680	92.6%	★★★★★
2022	93.1	42 of 687	93.9%	★★★★★
2021	93.3	46 of 692	93.4%	★★★★★
2019	95.0	29 of 681	95.7%	★★★★★
2018	95.4	26 of 680	96.2%	★★★★★
2017	96.5	19 of 688	97.2%	★★★★★
2016	98.0	11 of 691	98.4%	★★★★★
2015	94.8	29 of 691	95.8%	★★★★★
2014	95.8	18 of 695	97.4%	★★★★★
2013	78.1	67 of 696	90.4%	★★★★★
2012	76.5	109 of 696	84.3%	★★★★☆
2011	81.4	59 of 709	91.7%	★★★★★
2010	81.4	58 of 704	91.8%	★★★★★
2009	85.7	34 of 696	95.1%	★★★★★
2008	81.5	64 of 698	90.8%	★★★★★
2007	81.5	73 of 698	89.5%	★★★★☆
2006	88.3	29 of 689	95.8%	★★★★★
2005	89.6	25 of 688	96.4%	★★★★★

African American

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Alabama percentile	Rating
2025	75.7	73 of 427	82.9%	★★★★☆
2024	82.3	42 of 420	90.0%	★★★★★
2023	81.3	39 of 427	90.9%	★★★★★
2022	90.8	23 of 426	94.6%	★★★★★
2021	84.2	32 of 426	92.5%	★★★★★
2019	90.2	22 of 426	94.8%	★★★★★
2018	93.2	17 of 423	96.0%	★★★★★
2017	94.5	11 of 336	96.7%	★★★★★

Asian

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Alabama percentile	Rating
2025	31.2	14 of 18	22.2%	★★☆☆☆
2024	36.0	14 of 19	26.3%	★★☆☆☆
2023	27.5	16 of 19	15.8%	★☆☆☆☆
2022	40.6	13 of 17	23.5%	★★☆☆☆
2021	30.0	14 of 16	12.5%	★☆☆☆☆
2019	65.9	6 of 21	71.4%	★★★★☆
2018	75.6	3 of 18	83.3%	★★★★☆
2017	72.1	3 of 19	84.2%	★★★★☆

English Language Learner

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Alabama percentile	Rating
2025	61.8	39 of 142	72.5%	★★★★☆
2024	67.0	26 of 131	80.2%	★★★★☆
2023	72.7	16 of 123	87.0%	★★★★☆
2022	89.8	5 of 110	95.5%	★★★★★

Female

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Alabama percentile	Rating
2025	87.3	59 of 649	90.9%	★★★★★
2024	89.5	50 of 650	92.3%	★★★★★
2023	92.3	38 of 645	94.1%	★★★★★
2022	92.2	38 of 656	94.2%	★★★★★
2021	91.3	47 of 656	92.8%	★★★★★
2019	93.2	26 of 646	96.0%	★★★★★
2018	93.3	28 of 640	95.6%	★★★★★
2017	95.5	16 of 639	97.5%	★★★★★

Hispanic

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Alabama percentile	Rating
2025	79.0	32 of 206	84.5%	★★★★☆
2024	87.9	18 of 196	90.8%	★★★★★
2023	91.3	14 of 184	92.4%	★★★★★
2021	98.1	1 of 164	99.4%	★★★★★

Low Socio Economic Status

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Alabama percentile	Rating
2025	48.8	351 of 660	46.8%	★★☆☆☆
2024	69.6	165 of 670	75.4%	★★★★☆
2023	81.6	67 of 623	89.2%	★★★★☆
2022	66.7	181 of 651	72.2%	★★★★☆
2021	76.3	102 of 653	84.4%	★★★★☆
2019	82.6	55 of 649	91.5%	★★★★★
2018	88.1	36 of 651	94.5%	★★★★★
2017	81.2	56 of 567	90.1%	★★★★★

Male

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Alabama percentile	Rating
2025	81.5	91 of 651	86.0%	★★★★☆
2024	87.0	61 of 655	90.7%	★★★★★
2023	85.1	71 of 649	89.1%	★★★★☆
2022	92.1	40 of 669	94.0%	★★★★★
2021	92.6	44 of 669	93.4%	★★★★★
2019	94.8	19 of 650	97.1%	★★★★★
2018	96.5	14 of 650	97.8%	★★★★★
2017	95.8	14 of 639	97.8%	★★★★★

Multi-racial

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Alabama percentile	Rating
2025	79.3	18 of 97	81.4%	★★★★☆
2024	74.2	19 of 82	76.8%	★★★★☆
2023	90.2	6 of 70	91.4%	★★★★★
2022	83.4	7 of 64	89.1%	★★★★★
2021	76.0	10 of 54	81.5%	★★★★☆

Special Education

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Alabama percentile	Rating
2025	88.5	29 of 403	92.8%	★★★★★
2024	94.9	13 of 395	96.7%	★★★★★
2023	91.9	17 of 373	95.4%	★★★★★
2022	89.3	18 of 345	94.8%	★★★★★
2021	93.2	16 of 398	96.0%	★★★★★
2019	96.8	7 of 392	98.2%	★★★★★
2018	94.8	9 of 344	97.4%	★★★★★
2017	94.4	5 of 280	98.2%	★★★★★

White

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Alabama percentile	Rating
2025	83.1	69 of 532	87.0%	★★★★☆
2024	89.0	46 of 535	91.4%	★★★★★
2023	88.5	49 of 528	90.7%	★★★★★
2022	89.7	48 of 540	91.1%	★★★★★
2021	92.5	34 of 539	93.7%	★★★★★
2019	93.3	19 of 529	96.4%	★★★★★
2018	95.8	15 of 508	97.0%	★★★★★
2017	94.8	12 of 369	96.7%	★★★★★

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)

Special Education (2025)93rd percentile+4 vs school

Female (2025)91st percentile~ school

White (2025)87th percentile~ school

Male (2025)86th percentile-3 vs school

Hispanic (2025)84th percentile-4 vs school

African American (2025)83rd percentile-6 vs school

Multi-racial (2025)81st percentile-7 vs school

English Language Learner (2025)73rd percentile-16 vs school

Low Socio Economic Status (2025)47th percentile-42 vs school

Asian (2025)22nd percentile-66 vs school

By subject vs Alabama (2024-2025) ?

English80%+15 vs state

Mathematics67%+25 vs state

Science59%+16 vs state

★

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Schools Near Columbia Elementary School

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

School													Students/Teachers											Ranking (2025)				Ranking (2024)				Summative Assessment Mathematics (2025)			Summative Assessment Science (2025)	Summative Assessment English (2025)			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 (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	Summative Assessment Mathematics 3rd Grade	Summative Assessment Mathematics 4th Grade	Summative Assessment Mathematics 5th Grade	Summative Assessment Science 4th Grade	Summative Assessment English 3rd Grade	Summative Assessment English 4th Grade	Summative Assessment English 5th Grade	Per Pupil Expenditures Total	Sub-total from Federal Funds	Sub-total from State/Local Funds
Columbia Elementary School	Public	K-5	667 Balch Road	Madison	35758	Madison County	Madison City	No	No	No	Yes	(256) 430-2751	701	50	14.1	25.1%	383 (54.6%)	114 (16.3%)	68 (9.7%)	73 (10.4%)	0 (0.0%)	1 (0.1%)	62 (8.8%)	86	78^th of 680 public elementary schools	88.5%		90.1	52^nd of 684 public elementary schools	92.4%	26	67.9	61.9	72.6	59.0	81.1	76.5	81.7	$9,802	$675	$9,099
Heritage Elementary School	Public	K-5	11775 County Line Rd	Madison	35758	Madison County	Madison City	No	No	No	No	(256) 772-2075	869	51	17.0	25.5%	454 (52.2%)	165 (19.0%)	72 (8.3%)	109 (12.5%)	3 (0.3%)	4 (0.5%)	62 (7.1%)	94.1	21^st of 680 public elementary schools	96.9%		95.4	19^th of 684 public elementary schools	97.2%	2	69.7	83.7	75.1	77.9	86.9	88.3	91.0	$9,498	$1,114	$8,355
MidTown Elementary School	Public	K-5	140 Coefer Boulevard	Madison	35758	Madison County	Madison City	No	No	No	Yes	(256) 837-1189	1,097	63	17.4	28.9%	556 (50.7%)	276 (25.2%)	97 (8.8%)	76 (6.9%)	1 (0.1%)	1 (0.1%)	90 (8.2%)	85.6	79^th of 680 public elementary schools	88.4%		87.5	71^st of 684 public elementary schools	89.6%	8	63.2	67.4	52.2	67.4	87.1	82.8	77.7	$11,036	$1,104	$9,903
Rainbow Elementary School	Public	K-5	50 Nance Rd	Madison	35758	Madison County	Madison City	No	No	No	No	(256) 824-8106	725	47	15.4	26.2%	432 (59.6%)	119 (16.4%)	73 (10.1%)	46 (6.3%)	1 (0.1%)	1 (0.1%)	53 (7.3%)	87.8	65^th of 680 public elementary schools	90.4%		88.3	66^th of 684 public elementary schools	90.4%	1	68.9	54.8	73.7	62.6	86.4	78.1	87.9	$10,881	$1,430	$9,423
Mill Creek Elementary School	Public	PK, KG-5	847 Mill Road	Madison	35758	Madison County	Madison City	No	No	No	Yes	(256) 774-4690	965	59	16.2	24.6%	522 (54.1%)	171 (17.7%)	97 (10.1%)	90 (9.3%)	1 (0.1%)	3 (0.3%)	81 (8.4%)	87.9	64^th of 680 public elementary schools	90.6%		89.2	62^nd of 684 public elementary schools	90.9%	2	72.7	69.9	58.1	62.9	87.2	76.9	82.2	$9,909	$1,191	$8,688
Madison Elementary School	Public	K-5	17 College St	Madison	35758	Madison County	Madison City	No	No	No	Yes	(256) 772-9255	603	39	15.4	27.4%	305 (50.6%)	114 (18.9%)	51 (8.5%)	64 (10.6%)	1 (0.2%)	0 (0.0%)	68 (11.3%)	87.2	71^st of 680 public elementary schools	89.6%		85.8	78^th of 684 public elementary schools	88.6%	7	64.8	61.4	75.9	61.8	83.0	76.2	86.1	$11,034	$1,173	$9,832
Horizon Elementary School	Public	K-5	7855 Old Madison Pike	Madison	35758	Madison County	Madison City	No	No	No	Yes	(256) 464-3614	567	39	14.7	33.3%	297 (52.4%)	130 (22.9%)	51 (9.0%)	32 (5.6%)	2 (0.4%)	1 (0.2%)	54 (9.5%)	88.8	58^th of 680 public elementary schools	91.5%		90.7	44^th of 684 public elementary schools	93.6%	14	63.9	64.3	68.3	62.2	87.0	83.5	85.6	$10,400	$1,234	$9,137
Endeavor Elementary School	Public	PK, KG-5	1997 Old Railroad Bed Rd	Harvest	35749	Madison County	Madison County	No	No	No	No	(256) 851-4620	760	42	18.3	37.9%	365 (48.0%)	205 (27.0%)	81 (10.7%)	9 (1.2%)	20 (2.6%)	3 (0.4%)	77 (10.1%)	76	147^th of 680 public elementary schools	78.4%		75.6	155^th of 684 public elementary schools	77.3%	8	63.8	49.6	41.3	59.8	85.0	69.2	77.6	$9,408	$631	$8,740
Creekside Elementary School	Public	3-5	15983 Sanderson Rd	Harvest	35749	Limestone County	Limestone County	No	No	No	No	(256) 233-6452	550	33	16.6	39.6%	360 (65.5%)	109 (19.8%)	55 (10.0%)	2 (0.4%)	1 (0.2%)	1 (0.2%)	22 (4.0%)	79	125^th of 680 public elementary schools	81.6%		85.4	83^rd of 684 public elementary schools	87.9%	42	60.8	59.6	49.5	51.1	84.9	74.4	77.8	$8,226	$1,189	$7,022
Creekside Primary School	Public	PK, KG-2	16049 Sanderson Road	Harvest	35749	Limestone County	Limestone County	No	No	No	No	(256) 714-7971	500	39	12.8	43.2%	316 (63.2%)	89 (17.8%)	44 (8.8%)	5 (1.0%)	1 (0.2%)	1 (0.2%)	44 (8.8%)								(n/a)								$7,959	$79	$7,865

Frequently Asked Questions about Columbia Elementary School

What is the racial makeup of Columbia Elementary School?

Students at Columbia Elementary School are 55% White, 16% African American, 10% Asian, 10% Hispanic, 9% Two or more races.

Is Columbia Elementary School a good school?

Columbia Elementary School ranks 78^th of 680 Alabama elementary schools. SchoolDigger rates this school 4 stars out of 5.

What district is Columbia Elementary School in?

Madison City

What schools do graduates of Columbia Elementary School attend?

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

Middle : Liberty Middle School
High : James Clemens High School

How many students attend Columbia Elementary School?

In the 2024-25 school year, 701 students attended Columbia Elementary School.

Rate 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.