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Columbia Elementary

Public Grades K-6

5290^th

SchoolDigger Rank ?

of 5,857 California Elementary Schools

Better than 10% of California elementary schools

Summary

Columbia Elementary is a K-6 public school serving 620 students in Lancaster, CA, operating within the Eastside Union Elementary district, which faces significant academic challenges across the region.

While the school's overall academic ranking is low compared to the state, it shows important strengths when compared to its local peers, particularly in mathematics and science. Columbia outperforms its district average in these subjects and is more effective than many nearby schools, such as Enterprise Elementary and Joshua Elementary, in English Language Arts. A notable area of success is its program for English Language Learners, which has performed well above the state average. However, the school struggles with a high rate of chronic student absenteeism, which is higher than at schools like Linda Verde Elementary (14.3%) and Discovery (23.5%).

Comparing Columbia to the most similar nearby school, Tierra Bonita Elementary, reveals that both serve similar communities but Tierra Bonita has better attendance and slightly stronger academic results, suggesting room for improvement. Columbia's performance dips in upper-grade mathematics, indicating a potential focus area. The school's recent slight improvement in ranking coincided with a decrease in absenteeism, highlighting the critical link between regular attendance and academic progress.

620

Students ?

22.1

Student/teacher ratio ?

$20,040

Per pupil spending ?

88.5%

Free/discounted lunch ?

2640 East Avenue J-4
Lancaster, CA 93535-2882

(661) 946-5656

District: Eastside Union Elementary

Students who attend Columbia Elementary usually attend:

Middle:	Gifford C. Cole Middle
High:	Eastside High

Racial breakdown:

Hispanic:

66.8%

African American:

24.2%

White:

4.4%

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At a glance

▬ Ranking trend: Holding steady — 10th percentile in 2013 → 10th in 2025

Worth a look

!Test scores below the California average (19% vs 41% meeting standards)

!In the lower quartile statewide (10th percentile)

!High chronic absenteeism (40% vs 19% California)

Students meeting standards (2024-2025) ?

This school19%

District avg18%

California avg41%

5,290^th of 5,857

California public elementary schools ?

Bottom 10%▲ up 5 pts since 2015

From bottom 5% (2015) to bottom 10% (2025)

See the entire ranking list of California Elementary Schools →

★★★★★

SchoolDigger rating ?

3^rd of 4Elementary Schools in the Eastside Union Elementary

1468^th of 1,543Eastside Union Elementary 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	14.7	5290 of 5857	9.7%	☆☆☆☆☆
2024	13.7	5420 of 5869	7.7%	☆☆☆☆☆
2023	14.9	5324 of 5859	9.1%	☆☆☆☆☆
2022	17.5	5104 of 5883	13.2%	★☆☆☆☆
2019	11.0	5506 of 5789	4.9%	☆☆☆☆☆
2018	9.6	5460 of 5662	3.6%	☆☆☆☆☆
2017	11.0	5438 of 5692	4.5%	☆☆☆☆☆
2016	11.7	5326 of 5614	5.1%	☆☆☆☆☆
2015	12.0	5353 of 5611	4.6%	☆☆☆☆☆
2013	16.3	4974 of 5530	10.1%	★☆☆☆☆
2012	15.1	4949 of 5390	8.2%	☆☆☆☆☆
2011	12.8	5086 of 5377	5.4%	☆☆☆☆☆
2010	15.7	4869 of 5314	8.4%	☆☆☆☆☆
2009	10.2	4991 of 5193	3.9%	☆☆☆☆☆
2008	10.1	4916 of 5113	3.9%	☆☆☆☆☆
2007	18.2	4429 of 5113	13.4%	★☆☆☆☆
2006	15.7	4311 of 4818	10.5%	★☆☆☆☆
2005	16.7	4199 of 4822	12.9%	★☆☆☆☆
2004	18.9	4024 of 4809	16.3%	★☆☆☆☆

African American

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2025	14.2	555 of 569	2.5%	☆☆☆☆☆
2024	16.3	559 of 593	5.7%	☆☆☆☆☆
2023	27.1	508 of 661	23.1%	★☆☆☆☆
2022	28.1	499 of 663	24.7%	★☆☆☆☆
2019	18.7	677 of 747	9.4%	☆☆☆☆☆
2018	18.9	644 of 700	8.0%	☆☆☆☆☆

Disabled

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2022	16.7	2210 of 2227	0.8%	☆☆☆☆☆
2019	25.1	2056 of 2585	20.5%	★☆☆☆☆
2018	29.7	1463 of 2128	31.3%	★★☆☆☆

English Language Learner

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2024	53.9	979 of 3162	69.0%	★★★☆☆
2023	45.1	1477 of 3245	54.5%	★★★☆☆
2022	38.1	1949 of 3311	41.1%	★★☆☆☆
2019	36.7	2003 of 3275	38.8%	★★☆☆☆
2018	38.8	1828 of 3246	43.7%	★★☆☆☆

Female

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2025	12.8	5265 of 5597	5.9%	☆☆☆☆☆
2024	13.8	5218 of 5612	7.0%	☆☆☆☆☆
2023	14.5	5179 of 5609	7.7%	☆☆☆☆☆
2022	19.0	4812 of 5635	14.6%	★☆☆☆☆
2019	13.5	5119 of 5492	6.8%	☆☆☆☆☆
2018	9.2	5267 of 5413	2.7%	☆☆☆☆☆

Hispanic

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2025	28.8	3836 of 5107	24.9%	★☆☆☆☆
2024	27.7	3900 of 5107	23.6%	★☆☆☆☆
2023	25.4	4069 of 5087	20.0%	★☆☆☆☆
2022	29.8	3717 of 5084	26.9%	★☆☆☆☆
2019	19.0	4436 of 4963	10.6%	★☆☆☆☆
2018	12.3	4629 of 4830	4.2%	☆☆☆☆☆

Low Socio Economic Status

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2025	17.6	4893 of 5460	10.4%	★☆☆☆☆
2024	18.7	4892 of 5517	11.3%	★☆☆☆☆
2023	19.2	4766 of 5363	11.1%	★☆☆☆☆
2022	22.2	4491 of 5264	14.7%	★☆☆☆☆
2019	14.2	4882 of 5173	5.6%	☆☆☆☆☆
2018	11.1	4908 of 5084	3.5%	☆☆☆☆☆

Male

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2025	18.7	4813 of 5628	14.5%	★☆☆☆☆
2024	15.4	5131 of 5643	9.1%	☆☆☆☆☆
2023	16.6	5020 of 5638	11.0%	★☆☆☆☆
2022	17.9	4938 of 5663	12.8%	★☆☆☆☆
2019	10.9	5316 of 5510	3.5%	☆☆☆☆☆
2018	11.8	5170 of 5431	4.8%	☆☆☆☆☆

Special Education

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2025	20.2	2575 of 2847	9.6%	☆☆☆☆☆
2024	24.7	2129 of 2635	19.2%	★☆☆☆☆
2023	17.8	2339 of 2420	3.3%	☆☆☆☆☆

White

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2018	5.9	2649 of 2737	3.2%	☆☆☆☆☆

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)

English Language Learner (2024)69th percentile+61 vs school

Hispanic (2025)25th percentile+15 vs school

Male (2025)14th percentile+5 vs school

Low Socio Economic Status (2025)10th percentile~ school

Special Education (2025)10th percentile~ school

Female (2025)6th percentile-4 vs school

White (2018)3rd percentile~ school

African American (2025)2nd percentile-7 vs school

Disabled (2022)1st percentile-12 vs school

By subject vs California (2024-2025) ?

English Language Arts/Literacy21%-28 vs state

Mathematics17%-20 vs state

Science16%-16 vs state

★

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Schools Near Columbia Elementary

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

School													Students/Teachers											Ranking (2025)				Ranking (2024)				CSA Spanish Overall (2025)							CSA Spanish Listening (2025)							CSA Spanish Writing (2025)							CSA Spanish Reading (2025)							CAST Science (2025)			Smarter Balanced Assessments English Language Arts/Literacy (2025)							Smarter Balanced Assessments Mathematics (2025)							% Completely Immunized (2022)	% Polio (2022)	% Hepatitis B (2022)	% Varicella (2022)	% DTP (2022)	% MMR (2022)	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	CSA Spanish Overall 3rd Grade	CSA Spanish Overall 4th Grade	CSA Spanish Overall 5th Grade	CSA Spanish Overall 6th Grade	CSA Spanish Overall 7th Grade	CSA Spanish Overall 8th Grade	CSA Spanish Overall All Grades	CSA Spanish Listening 3rd Grade	CSA Spanish Listening 4th Grade	CSA Spanish Listening 5th Grade	CSA Spanish Listening 6th Grade	CSA Spanish Listening 7th Grade	CSA Spanish Listening 8th Grade	CSA Spanish Listening All Grades	CSA Spanish Writing 3rd Grade	CSA Spanish Writing 4th Grade	CSA Spanish Writing 5th Grade	CSA Spanish Writing 6th Grade	CSA Spanish Writing 7th Grade	CSA Spanish Writing 8th Grade	CSA Spanish Writing All Grades	CSA Spanish Reading 3rd Grade	CSA Spanish Reading 4th Grade	CSA Spanish Reading 5th Grade	CSA Spanish Reading 6th Grade	CSA Spanish Reading 7th Grade	CSA Spanish Reading 8th Grade	CSA Spanish Reading All Grades	CAST Science 5th Grade	CAST Science 8th Grade	CAST Science All Grades	Smarter Balanced Assessments English Language Arts/Literacy 3rd Grade	Smarter Balanced Assessments English Language Arts/Literacy 4th Grade	Smarter Balanced Assessments English Language Arts/Literacy 5th Grade	Smarter Balanced Assessments English Language Arts/Literacy 6th Grade	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 All Grades	Smarter Balanced Assessments Mathematics 3rd Grade	Smarter Balanced Assessments Mathematics 4th Grade	Smarter Balanced Assessments Mathematics 5th Grade	Smarter Balanced Assessments Mathematics 6th Grade	Smarter Balanced Assessments Mathematics 7th Grade	Smarter Balanced Assessments Mathematics 8th Grade	Smarter Balanced Assessments Mathematics All Grades	% Completely Immunized KG	% Polio KG	% Hepatitis B KG	% Varicella KG	% DTP KG	% MMR KG	Per Pupil Expenditures Total	Sub-total from Federal Funds	Sub-total from State/Local Funds
Columbia Elementary	Public	K-6	2640 East Avenue J-4	Lancaster	93535	Los Angeles County	Eastside Union Elementary	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(661) 946-5656	620	28	22.1	88.5%	27 (4.4%)	150 (24.2%)	414 (66.8%)	3 (0.5%)	6 (1.0%)	1 (0.2%)	19 (3.1%)	14.7	5290^th of 5857 public elementary schools	9.7%		13.7	5420^th of 5869 public elementary schools	7.7%	130																													16.5		16.5	16.2	21.9	25.6	19.8			21.1	29.0	16.7	11.0	14.9			17.3	93.5	96.7			93.5		$20,040	$3,943	$16,097
Tierra Bonita Elementary	Public	K-6	44820 North 27th St. East	Lancaster	93535	Los Angeles County	Eastside Union Elementary	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(661) 946-3038	636	28	22.7	86.0%	20 (3.1%)	136 (21.4%)	446 (70.1%)	13 (2.0%)	1 (0.2%)	3 (0.5%)	17 (2.7%)	18.5	4969^th of 5857 public elementary schools	15.2%		18	5032^nd of 5869 public elementary schools	14.3%	63																													19.2		19.2	18.5	18.5	35.1	28.9			25.4	25.0	13.0	19.2	18.1			18.6	93.8	96.9	96.9	96.9	93.8		$20,449	$3,945	$16,504
Eastside Academy/Transitional Learning Center	Public	K-8	45006 North 30th St. East	Lancaster	93535	Los Angeles County	Eastside Union Elementary	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(661) 952-1200	10	1	10.9	90.0%	0 (0.0%)	6 (60.0%)	3 (30.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	1 (10.0%)								(n/a)																																																				$17,292	$3,860	$13,432
Enterprise Elementary	Public	K-6	3730 East Ave. J-4	Lancaster	93535	Los Angeles County	Eastside Union Elementary	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(661) 946-6277	646	29	22.6	84.4%	18 (2.8%)	187 (28.9%)	401 (62.1%)	6 (0.9%)	5 (0.8%)	2 (0.3%)	26 (4.0%)	11.3	5554^th of 5857 public elementary schools	5.2%		10.6	5657^th of 5869 public elementary schools	3.6%	103																													10.1		10.1	16.8	15.1	19.0	15.4			16.6	27.7	15.1	10.1	5.2			16.1	96.4	96.4	97.8	96.4	96.4	97.1	$20,182	$3,968	$16,214
Lincoln Elementary	Public	K-5	44021 15th St. East	Lancaster	93535	Los Angeles County	Lancaster Elementary	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(661) 726-9913	738	27	27.3	93.1%	25 (3.4%)	265 (35.9%)	420 (56.9%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	2 (0.3%)	26 (3.5%)	16.8	5115^th of 5857 public elementary schools	12.7%		17.4	5083^rd of 5869 public elementary schools	13.4%	32																													13.6		13.6	25.0	24.6	24.6				24.7	25.0	20.9	15.5				20.5	95.8		96.8				$22,575	$2,990	$19,585
Discovery	Public	K-5	44910 17th St. East	Lancaster	93535	Los Angeles County	Lancaster Elementary	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(661) 949-3175	662	27	24.5	90.5%	27 (4.1%)	115 (17.4%)	498 (75.2%)	2 (0.3%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	20 (3.0%)	19.2	4902^nd of 5857 public elementary schools	16.3%		19.9	4875^th of 5869 public elementary schools	16.9%	27																													13.8		13.8	24.6	33.6	23.6				27.3	20.7	30.9	10.9				20.9	94.9		97.4		98.3		$20,485	$2,783	$17,702
Promise Academy	Public	K-8	1331 East Ave. J-8	Lancaster	93535	Los Angeles County	Lancaster Elementary	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(661) 940-6678	45	7	6.3	82.2%	10 (22.2%)	12 (26.7%)	21 (46.7%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	2 (4.4%)								(n/a)																																																				$97,686	$3,162	$94,524
Jack Northrop Elementary	Public	K-5	835 East Avenue K-4	Lancaster	93535	Los Angeles County	Lancaster Elementary	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(661) 949-0435	645	26	24.8	89.3%	37 (5.7%)	166 (25.7%)	391 (60.6%)	8 (1.2%)	3 (0.5%)	1 (0.2%)	39 (6.0%)	13.1	5416^th of 5857 public elementary schools	7.5%		14.4	5364^th of 5869 public elementary schools	8.6%	52																													12.2		12.2	24.4	20.8	25.0				23.5	25.6	10.0	6.4				13.2	97.7	97.7	98.5	98.5	97.7	98.5	$21,087	$2,885	$18,202
Linda Verde Elementary	Public	K-8	44924 North Fifth St. East	Lancaster	93535	Los Angeles County	Lancaster Elementary	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(661) 942-0431	680	31	21.9	88.5%	12 (1.8%)	42 (6.2%)	621 (91.3%)	0 (0.0%)	1 (0.1%)	0 (0.0%)	4 (0.6%)	12	5509^th of 5857 public elementary schools	5.9%		12.5	5519^th of 5869 public elementary schools	6.0%	10	2.7	5.4	1.5	4.2	7.4	2.1	3.8	17.3	12.2	27.5	4.2	14.8	12.8	15.5	4.0	12.2	1.5	4.2	11.1	6.4	6.5	2.7	5.4	1.5	4.2	3.7	4.3	3.5	18.6	8.5	14.5	8.1	8.2	30.3	13.0	30.9	34.9	19.5	14.7	10.8	18.6	10.9	14.3	2.1	12.5							$23,788	$4,246	$19,542
El Dorado Elementary	Public	K-5	361 East Pondera	Lancaster	93535	Los Angeles County	Lancaster Elementary	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(661) 942-8487	766	29	26.4	95.0%	26 (3.4%)	261 (34.1%)	430 (56.1%)	8 (1.0%)	5 (0.7%)	2 (0.3%)	33 (4.3%)	12.4	5477^th of 5857 public elementary schools	6.5%		12.2	5542^nd of 5869 public elementary schools	5.6%	65																													11.7		11.7	15.1	13.4	20.9				16.5	26.6	12.2	15.9				18.4	98.5						$20,761	$2,845	$17,916

Frequently Asked Questions about Columbia Elementary

Is Columbia Elementary a good school?

Columbia Elementary ranks in the bottom 9.7% of California elementary schools.

What schools do graduates of Columbia Elementary attend?

Students who attend Columbia Elementary usually go on to attend:

Middle : Gifford C. Cole Middle
High : Eastside High

How many students attend Columbia Elementary?

In the 2024-25 school year, 620 students attended Columbia Elementary.

What district is Columbia Elementary in?

Eastside Union Elementary

What is the racial makeup of Columbia Elementary?

Students at Columbia Elementary are 67% Hispanic, 24% African American, 4% White, 3% Two or more races.

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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.