Beta You're viewing our redesigned school page. Prefer the classic layout?

Columbia Elementary

Public Grades K-6
5421st
SchoolDigger Rank ?
of 5,804 California Elementary Schools
Better than 7% of California elementary schools
Summary

Columbia Elementary serves 620 students in kindergarten through sixth grade in Lancaster, California, within the Eastside Union Elementary district. In 2025–26, its all-grades proficiency was below California’s in English language arts (ELA), math, and science. The most important concern is science: proficiency fell from 16% in 2024–25 to 5% in 2025–26, the lowest result among nearby schools reporting fifth-grade science scores.

Math is Columbia’s strongest subject compared with its district, but its results remain well below the state’s. In 2025–26, 18% of Columbia students were proficient in math, about 1 percentage point above the district and 21 points below California; the two nearby K–6 schools, Tierra Bonita Elementary and Enterprise Elementary, averaged 20%. ELA proficiency was 20%, 4 points below the district and 29 below the state, compared with a 23% average at those same-span schools. Science was 5%, versus 10% in the district, 36% statewide, and a 17% average at the nearby K–6 schools. A bright spot by grade: Columbia’s sixth-grade math proficiency was 19%, above the district’s 17% and the nearby schools reporting results.

Over time, ELA has stayed essentially flat, while math improved by about 1 percentage point from 2022–23 to 2025–26; both subjects lost ground relative to the state. Chronic absenteeism improved from 49% in 2021–22 to 37% in 2025–26, but remained about twice the state rate. SchoolDigger ranked Columbia at the 7th percentile statewide with 0 stars in 2025–26. Its 2024–25 student–teacher ratio was 22.1, and 88.6% of students were free/reduced lunch eligible that year. A notable historical subgroup result: SchoolDigger’s statewide effectiveness ranking for English Language Learner Students reached the 69th percentile in 2023–24, compared with the school’s overall 8th percentile. For Special Education Students, its ranking fell from the 19th percentile in 2023–24 to the 5th percentile in 2025–26, while the overall ranking was at the 7th percentile.

620
Students ?
22.1
Student/teacher ratio ?
$22,299
Per pupil spending ?
88.5%
Free/reduced lunch eligible (2024-25) ?
All students in California receive free school meals.
 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%
more
 See top rated California elementary schools

 Compare Columbia Elementary to nearby elementary schools!
At a glance
▬ Ranking trend: Holding steady — 5th percentile in 2015 → 7th in 2026
Worth a look
!Test scores below the California average (17% vs 42% meeting standards)
!In the lower quartile statewide (7th percentile)
!High chronic absenteeism (37% vs 18% California)
Students meeting standards (2025-2026) ?
This school17%
District avg19%
California avg42%
5,421st of 5,804
California public elementary schools ?
Bottom 7%▲ up 1 pts since 2016
See the entire ranking list of California Elementary Schools →
★★★★★
SchoolDigger rating ?
4th of 4Elementary Schools in the Eastside Union Elementary
920th of 968Eastside 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

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankCalifornia percentileRating
202612.55421 of 58046.6%☆☆☆☆☆
202514.75290 of 58579.7%☆☆☆☆☆
202413.75420 of 58697.7%☆☆☆☆☆
202314.95324 of 58599.1%☆☆☆☆☆
202217.55104 of 588313.2%★☆☆☆☆
201911.05506 of 57894.9%☆☆☆☆☆
20189.65460 of 56623.6%☆☆☆☆☆
201711.05438 of 56924.5%☆☆☆☆☆
201611.75326 of 56145.1%☆☆☆☆☆
201512.05353 of 56114.6%☆☆☆☆☆
201316.34974 of 553010.1%★☆☆☆☆
201215.14949 of 53908.2%☆☆☆☆☆
201112.85086 of 53775.4%☆☆☆☆☆
201015.74869 of 53148.4%☆☆☆☆☆
200910.24991 of 51933.9%☆☆☆☆☆
200810.14916 of 51133.9%☆☆☆☆☆
200718.24429 of 511313.4%★☆☆☆☆
200615.74311 of 481810.5%★☆☆☆☆
200516.74199 of 482212.9%★☆☆☆☆
200418.94024 of 480916.3%★☆☆☆☆

African American

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankCalifornia percentileRating
202616.0469 of 5067.3%☆☆☆☆☆
202514.2555 of 5692.5%☆☆☆☆☆
202416.3559 of 5935.7%☆☆☆☆☆
202327.1508 of 66123.1%★☆☆☆☆
202228.1499 of 66324.7%★☆☆☆☆
201918.7677 of 7479.4%☆☆☆☆☆
201818.9644 of 7008.0%☆☆☆☆☆

Disabled

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankCalifornia percentileRating
202216.72210 of 22270.8%☆☆☆☆☆
201925.12056 of 258520.5%★☆☆☆☆
201829.71463 of 212831.3%★★☆☆☆

English Language Learner

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankCalifornia percentileRating
202453.9979 of 316269.0%★★★☆☆
202345.11477 of 324554.5%★★★☆☆
202238.11949 of 331141.1%★★☆☆☆
201936.72003 of 327538.8%★★☆☆☆
201838.81828 of 324643.7%★★☆☆☆

Female

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankCalifornia percentileRating
202611.35324 of 55694.4%☆☆☆☆☆
202512.85265 of 55975.9%☆☆☆☆☆
202413.85218 of 56127.0%☆☆☆☆☆
202314.55179 of 56097.7%☆☆☆☆☆
202219.04812 of 563514.6%★☆☆☆☆
201913.55119 of 54926.8%☆☆☆☆☆
20189.25267 of 54132.7%☆☆☆☆☆

Hispanic

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankCalifornia percentileRating
202622.84226 of 508516.9%★☆☆☆☆
202528.83836 of 510724.9%★☆☆☆☆
202427.73900 of 510723.6%★☆☆☆☆
202325.44069 of 508720.0%★☆☆☆☆
202229.83717 of 508426.9%★☆☆☆☆
201919.04436 of 496310.6%★☆☆☆☆
201812.34629 of 48304.2%☆☆☆☆☆

Low Socio Economic Status

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankCalifornia percentileRating
202615.64981 of 54128.0%☆☆☆☆☆
202517.64893 of 546010.4%★☆☆☆☆
202418.74892 of 551711.3%★☆☆☆☆
202319.24766 of 536311.1%★☆☆☆☆
202222.24491 of 526414.7%★☆☆☆☆
201914.24882 of 51735.6%☆☆☆☆☆
201811.14908 of 50843.5%☆☆☆☆☆

Male

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankCalifornia percentileRating
202615.95001 of 559010.5%★☆☆☆☆
202518.74813 of 562814.5%★☆☆☆☆
202415.45131 of 56439.1%☆☆☆☆☆
202316.65020 of 563811.0%★☆☆☆☆
202217.94938 of 566312.8%★☆☆☆☆
201910.95316 of 55103.5%☆☆☆☆☆
201811.85170 of 54314.8%☆☆☆☆☆

Special Education

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankCalifornia percentileRating
202618.02766 of 29205.3%☆☆☆☆☆
202520.22575 of 28479.6%☆☆☆☆☆
202424.72129 of 263519.2%★☆☆☆☆
202317.82339 of 24203.3%☆☆☆☆☆

White

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankCalifornia percentileRating
20185.92649 of 27373.2%☆☆☆☆☆
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 (2026)17th percentile+10 vs school
Male (2026)11th percentile+4 vs school
Low Socio Economic Status (2026)8th percentile~ school
African American (2026)7th percentile~ school
Special Education (2026)5th percentile~ school
Female (2026)4th percentile~ school
White (2018)3rd percentile~ school
Disabled (2022)1st percentile-12 vs school
By subject vs California (2025-2026) ?
English Language Arts/Literacy20%-29 vs state
Mathematics18%-21 vs state
Science5%-31 vs state

★
No ratings yet
Be the first to rate Columbia Elementary and help other families decide.
Rate Columbia Elementary
Have first-hand experience? A quick rating - and a sentence or two about what stands out (teachers, academics, safety, communication) - helps other families know what to expect.
Takes about a minute. We email you a link to verify your review - your address is never shown publicly.
Tap a star to rate
Reviews
No written reviews yet. If you know this school, be the first to share what stands out.



Schools Near Columbia Elementary

Ranking:
Map legend
E Elementary M Middle H High A Alternative P Private






Frequently Asked Questions about Columbia Elementary

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

Students who attend Columbia Elementary usually go on to attend:

Middle : Gifford C. Cole Middle
High : Eastside High

Columbia Elementary ranks in the bottom 6.6% of California elementary schools.

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

Rate Columbia Elementary!



Sign up for updates!

Be the first to know when there is an update for Columbia Elementary!


Latest California data All new data »
2025–26 attendance data, dropout rates & graduation ratesNewOct 15, 2026
2025–26 CAST, CSA Spanish & Smarter Balanced Assessments scoresNewOct 15, 2026
2024–25 school spending dataJul 1, 2026
2024–25 attendance dataMar 13, 2026


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.

Diagnostics