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Columbus (Christopher) High

Public Grades 9-12

2001^st

SchoolDigger Rank ?

of 2,162 California High Schools

Better than 7% of California high schools

Summary

Columbus (Christopher) High is a small public high school serving about 370 students in grades 9-12 within the Downey Unified School District, notable for its very high graduation rate despite facing significant academic and attendance challenges.

The school's academic performance, particularly in mathematics and English, is significantly lower than other comprehensive high schools in the district, such as Warren (Earl) High and Downey High, with proficiency gaps of 35 to 60 percentage points. A major concern is chronic absenteeism, affecting about 3 in 5 students, which is roughly three times the rate of other district high schools. Interestingly, Columbus receives more funding per student than its higher-performing district peers and maintains a much smaller student body, which allows for a lower student-teacher ratio and more individualized attention.

This creates a complex picture: the school graduates over 95% of its students, which is above the state average, even though standardized test scores are very low. This pattern, along with its small size and high funding, suggests Columbus may serve a specialized role or student population within the district. Its profile is similar to other small alternative schools in the area, like Somerset High in the Bellflower Unified district, which also has high absenteeism and low academic rankings despite even greater per-student spending.

368

Students ?

16.2

Student/teacher ratio ?

$21,048

Per pupil spending ?

89.9%

Free/discounted lunch ?

12330 Woodruff Ave.
Downey, CA 90241-5610

(562) 904-3552

District: Downey Unified

Racial breakdown:

Hispanic:

91.0%

White:

4.3%

African American:

2.4%

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Compare Columbus (Christopher) High to nearby high schools!

At a glance

▼ Ranking trend: Declining — 17th percentile in 2013 → 7th in 2025

Strengths

✓95% graduate in 4 years — above the California average (88%)

Worth a look

!Test scores below the California average (33% vs 41% meeting standards)

!In the lower quartile statewide (7th percentile)

!High chronic absenteeism (60% vs 19% California)

Students meeting standards (2024-2025) ?

This school33%

District avg45%

California avg41%

2,001^st of 2,162

California public high schools ?

Bottom 7%▼ down 7 pts since 2015

From bottom 14% (2015) to bottom 7% (2025)

See the entire ranking list of California High Schools →

★★★★★

SchoolDigger rating ?

3^rd of 3High Schools in the Downey Unified

510^th of 1,543Downey Unified among California 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	California percentile	Rating
2025	10.4	2001 of 2162	7.4%	☆☆☆☆☆
2024	11.9	1955 of 2159	9.4%	☆☆☆☆☆
2023	16.4	1795 of 2170	17.3%	★☆☆☆☆
2022	16.0	1766 of 2123	16.8%	★☆☆☆☆
2019	12.4	1901 of 2133	10.9%	★☆☆☆☆
2018	10.5	1813 of 2017	10.1%	★☆☆☆☆
2017	9.8	1859 of 2021	8.0%	☆☆☆☆☆
2016	14.4	1635 of 2039	19.8%	★☆☆☆☆
2015	11.8	1706 of 1994	14.4%	★☆☆☆☆
2013	11.8	2022 of 2426	16.7%	★☆☆☆☆
2012	20.6	1598 of 2354	32.1%	★★☆☆☆
2011	15.1	1846 of 2367	22.0%	★☆☆☆☆
2010	20.4	1601 of 2281	29.8%	★☆☆☆☆
2009	24.7	1644 of 2238	26.5%	★☆☆☆☆
2008	23.5	1382 of 2117	34.7%	★★☆☆☆
2007	17.3	1630 of 2063	21.0%	★☆☆☆☆
2006	17.5	1537 of 1968	21.9%	★☆☆☆☆
2005	18.0	1466 of 1901	22.9%	★☆☆☆☆
2004	20.4	1260 of 1653	23.8%	★☆☆☆☆

English Language Learner

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2024	25.9	1020 of 1085	6.0%	☆☆☆☆☆
2023	35.4	676 of 1064	36.5%	★★☆☆☆
2022	29.4	840 of 1044	19.5%	★☆☆☆☆
2019	28.6	805 of 941	14.5%	★☆☆☆☆
2018	25.4	739 of 938	21.2%	★☆☆☆☆

Female

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2025	9.3	1773 of 1906	7.0%	☆☆☆☆☆
2024	10.7	1753 of 1915	8.5%	☆☆☆☆☆
2023	11.3	1749 of 1915	8.7%	☆☆☆☆☆
2022	12.5	1663 of 1858	10.5%	★☆☆☆☆
2019	9.7	1704 of 1833	7.0%	☆☆☆☆☆
2018	7.8	1657 of 1760	5.9%	☆☆☆☆☆

Hispanic

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2025	10.8	1740 of 1900	8.4%	☆☆☆☆☆
2024	12.4	1705 of 1902	10.4%	★☆☆☆☆
2023	18.7	1551 of 1917	19.1%	★☆☆☆☆
2022	18.4	1521 of 1861	18.3%	★☆☆☆☆
2019	13.0	1587 of 1814	12.5%	★☆☆☆☆
2018	10.4	1541 of 1742	11.5%	★☆☆☆☆

Low Socio Economic Status

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2025	10.2	1869 of 2013	7.2%	☆☆☆☆☆
2024	13.2	1798 of 2026	11.3%	★☆☆☆☆
2023	18.4	1641 of 2030	19.2%	★☆☆☆☆
2022	19.6	1566 of 1943	19.4%	★☆☆☆☆
2019	12.6	1734 of 1937	10.5%	★☆☆☆☆
2018	11.1	1647 of 1862	11.5%	★☆☆☆☆

Male

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2025	9.9	1782 of 1942	8.2%	☆☆☆☆☆
2024	11.8	1754 of 1948	10.0%	★☆☆☆☆
2023	17.4	1598 of 1963	18.6%	★☆☆☆☆
2022	16.7	1588 of 1916	17.1%	★☆☆☆☆
2019	12.2	1659 of 1880	11.8%	★☆☆☆☆
2018	10.7	1636 of 1834	10.8%	★☆☆☆☆

Special Education

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2025	18.9	1147 of 1252	8.4%	☆☆☆☆☆
2024	30.5	811 of 1216	33.3%	★★☆☆☆
2023	18.9	1146 of 1197	4.3%	☆☆☆☆☆

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)

Hispanic (2025)8th percentile~ school

Special Education (2025)8th percentile~ school

Male (2025)8th percentile~ school

Low Socio Economic Status (2025)7th percentile~ school

Female (2025)7th percentile~ school

English Language Learner (2024)6th percentile-3 vs school

By subject vs California (2024-2025) ?

Mathematics81%+44 vs state

English Language Arts/Literacy15%-33 vs state

Science5%-28 vs state

★

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Schools Near Columbus (Christopher) High

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

School													Students/Teachers											Ranking (2025)				Ranking (2024)				CAST Science (2025)					Smarter Balanced Assessments English Language Arts/Literacy (2025)				Smarter Balanced Assessments Mathematics (2025)				Per Pupil Expenditures (2024)
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	CAST Science 8th Grade	CAST Science 10th Grade	CAST Science 11th Grade	CAST Science 12th Grade	CAST Science All Grades	Smarter Balanced Assessments English Language Arts/Literacy 7th Grade	Smarter Balanced Assessments English Language Arts/Literacy 8th Grade	Smarter Balanced Assessments English Language Arts/Literacy 11th Grade	Smarter Balanced Assessments English Language Arts/Literacy All Grades	Smarter Balanced Assessments Mathematics 7th Grade	Smarter Balanced Assessments Mathematics 8th Grade	Smarter Balanced Assessments Mathematics 11th Grade	Smarter Balanced Assessments Mathematics All Grades	Per Pupil Expenditures Total	Sub-total from Federal Funds	Sub-total from State/Local Funds
Columbus (Christopher) High	Public	9-12	12330 Woodruff Ave.	Downey	90241	Los Angeles County	Downey Unified	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(562) 904-3552	368	23	16.2	89.9%	16 (4.3%)	9 (2.4%)	335 (91.0%)	4 (1.1%)	0 (0.0%)	2 (0.5%)	2 (0.5%)	10.4	2001^st of 2162 public high schools	7.4%		11.9	1955^th of 2159 public high schools	9.4%	46			3.3		4.6			15.5	15.5			0.8	0.8	$21,048	$5,991	$15,057
Woodruff Academy	Public	7-12	12330 Woodruff Ave.	Downey	90241	Los Angeles County	Downey Unified	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(562) 904-3552	14	2	7.8	78.6%	1 (7.1%)	1 (7.1%)	12 (85.7%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)								(n/a)					0.0									$21,048	$5,991	$15,057
Los Angeles County Regional Occupational Program	Public	9-12	9300 Imperial Hwy. Clark Bldg.	Downey	90242	Los Angeles County	Los Angeles County Regional Occupational Program	No	(n/a)	(n/a)	(n/a)	(562) 922-6850	0				0 ()	0 ()	0 ()	0 ()	0 ()	0 ()	0 ()								(n/a)
Downey High	Public	9-12	11040 Brookshire Ave.	Downey	90241	Los Angeles County	Downey Unified	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(562) 869-7301	4,051	170	23.8	79.2%	183 (4.5%)	113 (2.8%)	3,589 (88.6%)	123 (3.0%)	2 (0.0%)	14 (0.3%)	26 (0.6%)	67.3	650^th of 2162 public high schools	69.9%		64.3	670^th of 2159 public high schools	69.0%	20		25.8	36.4	6.1	30.6			64.8	64.8			38.4	38.4	$18,307	$2,603	$15,704
Norwalk High	Public	9-12	11356 East Leffingwell Rd.	Norwalk	90650	Los Angeles County	Norwalk-La Mirada Unified	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(562) 210-3830	2,075	87	23.8	77.9%	50 (2.4%)	40 (1.9%)	1,835 (88.4%)	99 (4.8%)	8 (0.4%)	6 (0.3%)	37 (1.8%)	62.2	759^th of 2162 public high schools	64.9%		64.2	671^st of 2159 public high schools	68.9%	88			33.2		32.7			61.6	61.6			25.6	25.6	$18,431	$2,193	$16,238
Bellflower High	Public	7-12	15301 South McNab Ave.	Bellflower	90706	Los Angeles County	Bellflower Unified	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(562) 920-1801	1,997	100	19.9	84.2%	59 (3.0%)	225 (11.3%)	1,530 (76.6%)	129 (6.5%)	7 (0.4%)	12 (0.6%)	35 (1.8%)	52.5	981^st of 2162 public high schools	54.6%		53	931^st of 2159 public high schools	56.9%	50	14.2		24.3		18.9	37.5	37.4	65.7	47.0	19.4	14.0	17.6	17.0	$21,816	$2,458	$19,358
Warren (Earl) High	Public	9-12	8141 De Palma St.	Downey	90241	Los Angeles County	Downey Unified	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(562) 869-7306	3,609	148	24.3	79.8%	140 (3.9%)	148 (4.1%)	3,212 (89.0%)	68 (1.9%)	2 (0.1%)	9 (0.2%)	26 (0.7%)	70.8	582^nd of 2162 public high schools	73.1%		66.8	619^th of 2159 public high schools	71.3%	37		30.0	35.1	11.8	32.3			72.7	72.7			36.3	36.3	$18,317	$1,892	$16,425
Santa Fe High	Public	9-12	10400 South Orr and Day Rd.	Santa Fe Springs	90670	Los Angeles County	Whittier Union High	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(562) 698-8121	1,865	77	24.1	77.6%	95 (5.1%)	16 (0.9%)	1,699 (91.1%)	42 (2.3%)	2 (0.1%)	4 (0.2%)	4 (0.2%)	79.4	421^st of 2162 public high schools	80.5%		77	456^th of 2159 public high schools	78.9%	35			37.6	9.5	36.4			68.9	68.9			49.3	49.3	$21,684	$502	$21,182
Paramount High	Public	9-12	14429 South Downey Ave.	Paramount	90723	Los Angeles County	Paramount Unified	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(562) 602-6067	3,400	176	19.2	96.7%	28 (0.8%)	192 (5.6%)	3,087 (90.8%)	45 (1.3%)	3 (0.1%)	9 (0.3%)	30 (0.9%)	45.7	1125^th of 2162 public high schools	48.0%		36.5	1327^th of 2159 public high schools	38.5%	202			20.4	15.8	20.3			55.9	55.9			18.3	18.3	$21,421	$2,791	$18,630
CA Advancing Pathways for Students in Los Angeles County	Public	9-12	16703 South Clark Ave.	Bellflower	90706	Los Angeles County	California Advancing Pathways Students in LA County Regiona	No	(n/a)	(n/a)	(n/a)	(562) 866-9011	0				0 ()	0 ()	0 ()	0 ()	0 ()	0 ()	0 ()								(n/a)

Frequently Asked Questions about Columbus (Christopher) High

How many students attend Columbus (Christopher) High?

In the 2024-25 school year, 368 students attended Columbus (Christopher) High.

What district is Columbus (Christopher) High in?

Downey Unified

Is Columbus (Christopher) High a good school?

Columbus (Christopher) High ranks in the bottom 7.4% of California high schools.

What is the racial makeup of Columbus (Christopher) High?

Students at Columbus (Christopher) High are 91% Hispanic, 4% White, 2% African American, 1% 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 California 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.