Summary:
Appling, Georgia is home to a single elementary school, North Columbia Elementary School, which serves grades PK through 5 and is part of the highly ranked Columbia County School District.
For parents considering this area, North Columbia Elementary stands out as an exceptional school. It has earned a 5-star rating for three consecutive years and consistently ranks in the top 5% of all Georgia elementary schools—currently placing 51st out of 1,219 schools statewide. The school’s greatest academic strength is mathematics, where 3rd and 4th grade proficiency rates exceed 84%, which is roughly 34–36 percentage points above the state average. Even the 5th grade math score of 70.2% outperforms the state by 26 points. Science scores are also impressive, with 5th graders achieving 79.4% proficiency, a substantial 11-point improvement over the previous year. While current-year English Language Arts (ELA) scores are pending release, last year’s data showed strong results, with 4th grade ELA proficiency at 72.6% and 5th grade at 68.1%, both well above state averages.
Beyond test scores, the school benefits from a very favorable learning environment. Its chronic absenteeism rate is just 7.8%, less than half the state average of 17.7%, indicating strong attendance and family engagement. With a student-teacher ratio of 13.6:1 and per-student spending of $15,588, the school is well-resourced for individualized instruction. About 30% of students qualify for free/reduced lunch, and the school still outperforms its already-strong district by significant margins in every subject. One area to watch is 3rd grade ELA, which at 54.8% last year was the school’s lowest relative advantage, though it still exceeded the state by nearly 20 points. Overall, North Columbia Elementary offers a consistently high-quality education with exceptional math and science outcomes, making it an excellent choice for families in Appling.
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