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Columbia Middle School

Public Grades 6-8

382^nd

SchoolDigger Rank ?

of 469 Colorado Middle Schools

Better than 19% of Colorado middle schools

Summary

Columbia Middle School is a public middle school located in Aurora, Colorado, serving grades 6-8 with a total enrollment of 653 students. The school is part of the Aurora Joint District No. 28, which is ranked 103 out of 115 school districts in Colorado and has a 1-star rating from SchoolDigger.

Columbia Middle School consistently ranks in the bottom quartile of Colorado middle schools, with academic performance significantly below state and district averages across all grade levels and subject areas. For example, in 2024-2025, only 15.3% of 8th-grade students were proficient or better in CMAS Science, compared to 15.8% for the district and 36.4% for the state. The school also struggles with high dropout rates, ranging from 1.9% to 2.9% over the past few years, and chronic absenteeism, with rates ranging from 27.7% to 40.1% in recent years, significantly above the state average. These factors likely contribute to the school's overall academic underperformance.

Interestingly, the nearby schools within the same Aurora Joint District No. 28, such as East Middle School and Aurora Hills Middle School, also perform poorly on academic measures and have similar demographic profiles to Columbia Middle School. In contrast, the schools in the neighboring Cherry Creek School District No. 5, such as Infinity Middle School, Thunder Ridge Middle School, and Falcon Creek Middle School, consistently outperform Columbia Middle School and the Aurora district on academic measures, with higher proficiency rates and overall rankings.

636

Students ?

17.6

Student/teacher ratio ?

$19,132

Per pupil spending ?

75.6%

Free/discounted lunch ?

17600 East Columbia Ave
Aurora, CO 80013-4401

(303) 690-6570

District: Aurora Joint District No. 28

Students who attend Columbia Middle School usually attend:

High:

Rangeview High School

Feeder schools for Columbia Middle School:

Elementary:	Dalton Elementary School
	Dartmouth Elementary School
	Yale Elementary School

Racial breakdown:

Hispanic:

48.0%

White:

22.6%

African American:

16.7%

See top rated Colorado middle schools

Compare Columbia Middle School to nearby middle schools!

At a glance

▼ Ranking trend: Declining — 30th percentile in 2015 → 19th in 2025

Strengths

✓Among the top-ranked schools in Aurora Joint District No. 28

Worth a look

!Test scores below the Colorado average (21% vs 40% meeting standards)

!In the lower quartile statewide (19th percentile)

!Ranking has slipped — down 11 percentile points since 2015

Students meeting standards (2024-2025) ?

This school21%

District avg21%

Colorado avg40%

382^nd of 469

Colorado public middle schools ?

Bottom 19%▼ down 11 pts since 2015

From bottom 30% (2015) to bottom 19% (2025)

See the entire ranking list of Colorado Middle Schools →

★★★★★

SchoolDigger rating ?

1^st of 6Middle Schools in the Aurora Joint District No. 28

103^rd of 115Aurora Joint District No. 28 among Colorado 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	Colorado percentile	Rating
2025	18.5	382 of 469	18.6%	★☆☆☆☆
2024	16.2	398 of 485	17.9%	★☆☆☆☆
2023	13.9	416 of 480	13.3%	★☆☆☆☆
2022	17.7	367 of 448	18.1%	★☆☆☆☆
2021	16.3	328 of 369	11.1%	★☆☆☆☆
2019	21.8	353 of 458	22.9%	★☆☆☆☆
2018	23.7	309 of 418	26.1%	★☆☆☆☆
2017	27.5	304 of 424	28.3%	★☆☆☆☆
2016	24.2	308 of 400	23.0%	★☆☆☆☆
2015	29.0	307 of 436	29.6%	★★☆☆☆
2014	38.4	287 of 461	37.7%	★★☆☆☆
2013	38.6	299 of 454	34.1%	★★☆☆☆
2012	30.7	308 of 425	27.5%	★☆☆☆☆
2011	29.8	317 of 422	24.9%	★☆☆☆☆
2010	32.0	300 of 409	26.7%	★☆☆☆☆
2009	35.0	264 of 377	30.0%	★★☆☆☆
2008	29.9	275 of 362	24.0%	★☆☆☆☆
2007	34.1	264 of 360	26.7%	★☆☆☆☆
2006	30.5	258 of 346	25.4%	★☆☆☆☆
2005	26.1	262 of 340	22.9%	★☆☆☆☆
2004	37.8	229 of 336	31.8%	★★☆☆☆

African American

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Colorado percentile	Rating
2025	23.3	24 of 29	17.2%	★☆☆☆☆
2024	27.3	20 of 25	20.0%	★☆☆☆☆
2019	25.9	27 of 33	18.2%	★☆☆☆☆
2018	26.9	15 of 22	31.8%	★★☆☆☆

Female

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Colorado percentile	Rating
2025	13.1	316 of 347	8.9%	☆☆☆☆☆
2024	12.0	314 of 350	10.3%	★☆☆☆☆
2023	12.4	321 of 363	11.6%	★☆☆☆☆
2022	16.5	276 of 326	15.3%	★☆☆☆☆
2021	15.2	237 of 254	6.7%	☆☆☆☆☆
2019	19.2	289 of 352	17.9%	★☆☆☆☆
2018	24.3	237 of 315	24.8%	★☆☆☆☆

Gifted and Talented

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Colorado percentile	Rating
2025	7.2	129 of 132	2.3%	☆☆☆☆☆
2024	9.4	120 of 126	4.8%	☆☆☆☆☆
2023	9.1	121 of 125	3.2%	☆☆☆☆☆
2022	21.0	85 of 93	8.6%	☆☆☆☆☆

Hispanic

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Colorado percentile	Rating
2025	18.0	196 of 218	10.1%	★☆☆☆☆
2024	19.5	168 of 199	15.6%	★☆☆☆☆
2023	19.1	167 of 198	15.7%	★☆☆☆☆
2022	22.1	140 of 169	17.2%	★☆☆☆☆
2019	31.2	153 of 220	30.5%	★★☆☆☆
2018	29.7	115 of 165	30.3%	★★☆☆☆

Low Socio Economic Status

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Colorado percentile	Rating
2025	21.2	210 of 241	12.9%	★☆☆☆☆
2024	20.6	210 of 244	13.9%	★☆☆☆☆
2023	23.3	194 of 241	19.5%	★☆☆☆☆
2022	28.0	144 of 197	26.9%	★☆☆☆☆
2019	28.8	177 of 240	26.3%	★☆☆☆☆
2018	32.6	149 of 222	32.9%	★★☆☆☆

Male

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Colorado percentile	Rating
2025	17.0	291 of 352	17.3%	★☆☆☆☆
2024	15.4	301 of 357	15.7%	★☆☆☆☆
2023	11.4	331 of 356	7.0%	☆☆☆☆☆
2022	20.4	255 of 328	22.3%	★☆☆☆☆
2021	13.0	236 of 249	5.2%	☆☆☆☆☆
2019	21.4	260 of 343	24.2%	★☆☆☆☆
2018	17.9	264 of 317	16.7%	★☆☆☆☆

White

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Colorado percentile	Rating
2025	17.6	233 of 275	15.3%	★☆☆☆☆
2024	12.5	243 of 273	11.0%	★☆☆☆☆
2023	5.8	278 of 286	2.8%	☆☆☆☆☆
2022	17.0	223 of 265	15.8%	★☆☆☆☆
2021	18.9	174 of 203	14.3%	★☆☆☆☆
2019	9.7	266 of 283	6.0%	☆☆☆☆☆
2018	15.2	177 of 199	11.1%	★☆☆☆☆

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)

Male (2025)17th percentile~ school

African American (2025)17th percentile~ school

White (2025)15th percentile-3 vs school

Low Socio Economic Status (2025)13th percentile-6 vs school

Hispanic (2025)10th percentile-8 vs school

Female (2025)9th percentile-10 vs school

Gifted and Talented (2025)2nd percentile-16 vs school

By subject vs Colorado (2024-2025) ?

English Language Arts25%-20 vs state

Math18%-18 vs state

Science15%-21 vs state

1.0

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Schools Near Columbia Middle School

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

School													Students/Teachers											Ranking (2025)				Ranking (2024)				CMAS English Language Arts (2025)				CMAS Math (2025)				CMAS Science (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	CMAS English Language Arts 6th Grade	CMAS English Language Arts 7th Grade	CMAS English Language Arts 8th Grade	CMAS English Language Arts All Grades	CMAS Math 6th Grade	CMAS Math 7th Grade	CMAS Math 8th Grade	CMAS Math All Grades	CMAS Science 8th Grade	Total
Columbia Middle School	Public	6-8	17600 East Columbia Ave	Aurora	80013	Arapahoe County	Aurora Joint District No. 28	No	No	No	No	(303) 690-6570	636	36	17.6	75.6%	144 (22.6%)	106 (16.7%)	305 (48.0%)	28 (4.4%)	3 (0.5%)	5 (0.8%)	45 (7.1%)	18.5	382^nd of 469 public middle schools	18.6%		16.2	398^th of 485 public middle schools	17.9%	16	23.2	23.0	29.4	25.0	15.9	19.0	20.0	18.2	15.3	$19,132
Horizon Middle School	Public	6-8	3981 South Reservoir Road	Aurora	80013	Arapahoe County	Cherry Creek School District No. 5	No	No	No	No	(720) 886-6100	714	49	14.5	59.4%	202 (28.3%)	118 (16.5%)	290 (40.6%)	24 (3.4%)	8 (1.1%)	2 (0.3%)	70 (9.8%)	20.9	355^th of 469 public middle schools	24.3%		18.8	381^st of 485 public middle schools	21.4%	26	24.8	33.0	26.6	28.0	19.4	16.7	14.9	17.2	23.6	$18,248
Mrachek Middle School	Public	6-8	1955 South Telluride St	Aurora	80013	Arapahoe County	Aurora Joint District No. 28	No	No	No	No	(303) 750-2836	811	40	20.2	82.7%	114 (14.1%)	141 (17.4%)	426 (52.5%)	47 (5.8%)	3 (0.4%)	13 (1.6%)	67 (8.3%)	10	443^rd of 469 public middle schools	5.5%		8.2	465^th of 485 public middle schools	4.1%	22	18.3	18.8	20.3	19.1	9.2	8.8	8.8	8.9	8.6	$17,273
Sky Vista Middle School	Public	6-8	4500 S Himalaya Street	Aurora	80015	Arapahoe County	Cherry Creek School District No. 5	No	No	No	No	(720) 886-4711	969	54	17.8	33.5%	433 (44.7%)	139 (14.3%)	206 (21.3%)	87 (9.0%)	5 (0.5%)	4 (0.4%)	95 (9.8%)	55.9	177^th of 469 public middle schools	62.3%		55.8	180^th of 485 public middle schools	62.9%	3	47.3	57.4	46.6	50.2	29.5	34.9	37.2	33.4	44.8	$15,863
Laredo Middle School	Public	6-8	5000 South Laredo Street	Aurora	80015	Arapahoe County	Cherry Creek School District No. 5	No	No	No	No	(720) 886-5000	846	53	15.9	50.4%	334 (39.5%)	124 (14.7%)	246 (29.1%)	54 (6.4%)	3 (0.4%)	5 (0.6%)	80 (9.5%)	37.9	260^th of 469 public middle schools	44.6%		40.2	250^th of 485 public middle schools	48.5%	10	29.2	40.9	42.7	37.0	21.8	25.5	35.1	27.0	36.6	$16,755
Prairie Middle School	Public	6-8	12600 East Jewell Avenue	Aurora	80012	Arapahoe County	Cherry Creek School District No. 5	No	No	No	No	(720) 747-3000	1,491	98	15.2	68.3%	250 (16.8%)	305 (20.5%)	705 (47.3%)	86 (5.8%)	8 (0.5%)	6 (0.4%)	129 (8.7%)	11.5	433^rd of 469 public middle schools	7.7%		11.9	439^th of 485 public middle schools	9.5%	6	17.9	26.2	14.2	19.9	10.0	13.5	8.6	10.8	10.1	$16,318
Thunder Ridge Middle School	Public	6-8	5250 South Picadilly Street	Aurora	80015	Arapahoe County	Cherry Creek School District No. 5	No	No	No	No	(720) 886-1500	1,106	71	15.6	37.0%	531 (48.0%)	109 (9.9%)	271 (24.5%)	74 (6.7%)	2 (0.2%)	5 (0.5%)	113 (10.2%)	50.7	197^th of 469 public middle schools	58.0%		42.5	237^th of 485 public middle schools	51.1%	40	37.7	53.8	40.6	44.0	27.3	37.8	34.1	33.0	45.6	$15,466
Falcon Creek Middle School	Public	6-8	6100 South Genoa Street	Aurora	80016	Arapahoe County	Cherry Creek School District No. 5	No	No	No	No	(720) 886-7600	701	49	14.3	36.1%	384 (54.8%)	53 (7.6%)	161 (23.0%)	40 (5.7%)	3 (0.4%)	0 (0.0%)	60 (8.6%)	60.2	157^th of 469 public middle schools	66.5%		59.5	162^nd of 485 public middle schools	66.6%	5	43.9	46.8	58.2	49.1	31.4	41.4	43.9	38.4	49.6	$18,730
Aurora Hills Middle School	Public	6-8	1009 South Uvalda St	Aurora	80012	Arapahoe County	Aurora Joint District No. 28	No	No	No	Yes	(303) 341-7450	821	49	16.6	85.9%	49 (6.0%)	137 (16.7%)	536 (65.3%)	41 (5.0%)	6 (0.7%)	6 (0.7%)	46 (5.6%)	7	458^th of 469 public middle schools	2.3%		7.6	469^th of 485 public middle schools	3.3%	11	11.8	14.3	10.0	12.1	4.7	9.5	7.5	7.3	3.4	$19,078
Infinity Middle School	Public	6-8	25100 E Belleview Avenue	Aurora	80016	Arapahoe County	Cherry Creek School District No. 5	No	No	No	No	(720) 886-6000	1,020	60	16.8	22.9%	516 (50.6%)	99 (9.7%)	183 (17.9%)	94 (9.2%)	1 (0.1%)	0 (0.0%)	127 (12.5%)	69.2	133^rd of 469 public middle schools	71.6%		59.4	163^rd of 485 public middle schools	66.4%	30	46.0	62.2	56.1	54.5	36.4	52.7	43.6	44.1	53.1	$14,602

Frequently Asked Questions about Columbia Middle School

What high school do graduates of Columbia Middle School attend?

Students who attend Columbia Middle School usually go on to attend Rangeview High School

Is Columbia Middle School a good school?

Columbia Middle School ranks in the bottom 18.6% of Colorado middle schools.

What district is Columbia Middle School in?

Aurora Joint District No. 28

How many students attend Columbia Middle School?

In the 2024-25 school year, 636 students attended Columbia Middle School.

What is the racial makeup of Columbia Middle School?

Students at Columbia Middle School are 48% Hispanic, 23% White, 17% African American, 7% Two or more races, 4% 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 Colorado 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.