Summary:
Zip code 06237, covering Columbia, Connecticut, is home to exactly one public elementary school: Horace W. Porter School, a pre-K through 8th grade school serving 440 students in the Columbia School District.
Because there is only one school in this area, the focus is on how Horace W. Porter School compares to the rest of the state. The school stands out with a very low student-teacher ratio of 9.8:1, a chronic absenteeism rate of just 7.5% (far below the state's 16.4%), and a per-student spending of $21,347. Academically, its biggest strengths are in early-grade math, with 3rd-grade math proficiency at 71.7% compared to the state average of 52.2%, and 5th-grade science proficiency at 69% versus 52.9% statewide. The school also earns a 3-star rating in the 2025-2026 SchoolDigger ranking, improving from 2 stars the previous year.
While early grades show strong foundations, upper-grade math is an area of concern. Both 5th-grade (41.9%) and 8th-grade (40.7%) math proficiency fall slightly below the Connecticut state averages. However, the school showed notable year-over-year gains in several areas, including 3rd-grade ELA (rising 12.3 points to 62.3%), 6th-grade ELA (rising 10.5 points to 58.2%), and 7th-grade math (rising 12.2 points to 60.4%), while 8th-grade math dropped sharply from 51.0% to 40.7%. The school's state rank improved from 258th to 219th, moving from the 48th to 55th percentile, indicating an overall upward trajectory. With small class sizes, low absenteeism, and strong early-grade results, Horace W. Porter School is a competitive mid-to-upper tier school whose main challenge is sustaining its early-grade math success into the later grades.
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