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Test scores delayed: 2026 rankings for Georgia do not yet include English Language Arts scores, which will not be released by the Georgia Department of Education until winter 2026.

Mary A Buckner Academy

Public Grades PK, KG-5

1206^th

SchoolDigger Rank ?

of 1,222 Georgia Elementary Schools

Better than 1% of Georgia elementary schools

Summary

Mary A Buckner Academy is a large elementary school in Columbus, GA, serving 789 students in grades PK through 5 within the Muscogee County School District, where 100% of students qualify for free or reduced lunch.

The most significant challenge facing the school is chronic absenteeism. At 36.1%, the rate is nearly double the district average (19.5%) and more than triple that of nearby Georgetown Elementary (10.3%) and Martin Luther King- Junior Elementary School (10.6%). This means more than one in three students misses substantial instructional time, making academic progress extremely difficult. In math, proficiency rates are very low: only 8.7% of 3rd graders, 13.6% of 4th graders, and 11.3% of 5th graders are proficient. By comparison, Dimon Elementary, just over a mile away, has 44.7% of 4th graders proficient in math—a gap of more than 31 percentage points. Science proficiency (16.1% in 5th grade) is a relative bright spot, though still well below state averages.

The school also operates with the highest student-teacher ratio in the area (19.7:1) and the lowest per-student spending ($12,289), compared to nearby schools that spend between $14,349 and $20,971 per student. For example, Brewer Elementary spends $20,971 per student with a ratio of 10.2:1. This combination of high absenteeism, large class sizes, and limited resources creates compounding challenges. While the school's overall state ranking places it in the bottom 1% of Georgia elementary schools, the data suggests that tackling chronic absenteeism and addressing resource disparities would be critical first steps toward improvement.

789

Students ?

19.7

Student/teacher ratio ?

$12,289

Per pupil spending ?

100%

Free/discounted lunch ?

5151 Kennedy Street
Columbus, GA 31907

(762) 332-4360

District: Muscogee County

Racial breakdown:

African American:

84.2%

Two or more races:

6.3%

Hispanic:

6.1%

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At a glance

Worth a look

!Test scores below the Georgia average (12% vs 47% meeting standards)

!In the lower quartile statewide (1st percentile)

!High chronic absenteeism (36% vs 18% Georgia)

Students meeting standards (2025-2026) ?

This school12%

District avg32%

Georgia avg47%

1,206^th of 1,222

Georgia public elementary schools ?

Bottom 1%

See the entire ranking list of Georgia Elementary Schools →

★★★★★

SchoolDigger rating ?

29^th of 30Elementary Schools in the Muscogee County

149^th of 202Muscogee County among Georgia 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	Georgia percentile	Rating
2026	5.9	1206 of 1222	1.3%	☆☆☆☆☆

African American

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Georgia percentile	Rating
2026	10.6	804 of 829	3.0%	☆☆☆☆☆
2025	12.7	859 of 892	3.7%	☆☆☆☆☆

Female

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Georgia percentile	Rating
2026	11.6	1114 of 1189	6.3%	☆☆☆☆☆
2025	14.7	1102 of 1224	10.0%	★☆☆☆☆

Male

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Georgia percentile	Rating
2026	3.7	1178 of 1186	0.7%	☆☆☆☆☆
2025	6.2	1213 of 1225	1.0%	☆☆☆☆☆

Special Education

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Georgia percentile	Rating
2026	8.0	462 of 466	0.9%	☆☆☆☆☆
2025	15.2	529 of 565	6.4%	☆☆☆☆☆

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)

Female (2026)6th percentile+5 vs school

African American (2026)3rd percentile~ school

Special Education (2026)1st percentile~ school

Male (2026)1st percentile~ school

By subject vs Georgia (2025-2026) ?

Science16%-28 vs state

Mathematics11%-36 vs state

★

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Schools Near Mary A Buckner Academy

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Ranking:

E Elementary M Middle H High A Alternative P Private

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

School													Students/Teachers											Ranking (2026)				Ranking (2025)				Milestones Assessment Mathematics (2026)			Milestones Assessment Science (2026)	Per Pupil Expenditures (2025)
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 (2025)	White	Black	Hispanic	Asian	American Indian	Pacific Islander	Two or More Races	Average Standard Score (2026)	Statewide Rank (2026)	State Percentile (2026)	SchoolDigger Rating (2026)	Average Standard Score (2025)	Statewide Rank (2025)	State Percentile (2025)	Rank Change from Previous Year	Milestones Assessment Mathematics 3rd Grade	Milestones Assessment Mathematics 4th Grade	Milestones Assessment Mathematics 5th Grade	Milestones Assessment Science 5th Grade	Per Pupil Expenditures Total	Sub-total from Federal Funds	Sub-total from State/Local Funds
Mary A Buckner Academy	Public	PK, KG-5	5151 Kennedy Street	Columbus	31907	Muscogee County	Muscogee County	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(762) 332-4360	789	40	19.7	100.0%	24 (3.0%)	664 (84.2%)	48 (6.1%)	1 (0.1%)	2 (0.3%)	0 (0.0%)	50 (6.3%)	5.9	1206^th of 1222 public elementary schools	1.3%					(n/a)	8.7	13.6	11.3	16.1	$12,289	$771	$11,518
Dimon Elementary	Public, Magnet	K-5	480 Dogwood Dr	Columbus	31907	Muscogee County	Muscogee County	No	Yes	No	Yes	(706) 683-8772	358	29	12.3	100.0%	10 (2.8%)	270 (75.4%)	42 (11.7%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	36 (10.1%)	28.7	851^st of 1222 public elementary schools	30.4%		20.8	985^th of 1238 public elementary schools	20.4%	134	34.5	44.7	17.0	32.1	$16,235	$1,513	$14,722
Georgetown Elementary School	Public	PK, KG-5	954 High Ln	Columbus	31907	Muscogee County	Muscogee County	No	No	No	Yes	(706) 565-2980	394	28	14.3	100.0%	14 (3.6%)	329 (83.5%)	29 (7.4%)	0 (0.0%)	3 (0.8%)	0 (0.0%)	19 (4.8%)	16.1	1059^th of 1222 public elementary schools	13.3%		9.2	1195^th of 1238 public elementary schools	3.5%	136	15.4	20.0	12.1	39.7	$14,605	$1,735	$12,869
Lonnie Jackson Academy	Public	PK, KG-5	4601 Buena Vista Rd	Columbus	31907	Muscogee County	Muscogee County	No	No	No	Yes	(706) 565-3039	395	27	14.9	100.0%	15 (3.8%)	325 (82.3%)	25 (6.3%)	0 (0.0%)	2 (0.5%)	2 (0.5%)	26 (6.6%)	17.8	1033^rd of 1222 public elementary schools	15.5%		18.5	1021^st of 1238 public elementary schools	17.5%	12	1.4	25.4	11.1	41.7	$16,274	$1,663	$14,611
Wesley Heights Elementary School	Public	PK, KG-5	1801 Amber Dr	Columbus	31907	Muscogee County	Muscogee County	No	No	No	Yes	(706) 569-3733	349	27	13.1	100.0%	5 (1.4%)	302 (86.5%)	19 (5.4%)	1 (0.3%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	22 (6.3%)	19.1	1009^th of 1222 public elementary schools	17.4%		14.9	1093^rd of 1238 public elementary schools	11.7%	84	27.4	40.0	20.5	20.5	$15,729	$1,770	$13,960
Martin Luther King- Junior Elementary School	Public	PK, KG-5	350 30th Ave	Columbus	31903	Muscogee County	Muscogee County	No	No	No	Yes	(706) 683-8815	487	33	14.7	100.0%	14 (2.9%)	338 (69.4%)	123 (25.3%)	1 (0.2%)	0 (0.0%)	1 (0.2%)	10 (2.1%)	3.8	1215^th of 1222 public elementary schools	0.6%		4.7	1235^th of 1238 public elementary schools	0.2%	20	6.4	10.6	1.2	14.3	$14,349	$1,302	$13,047
Dorothy Height Elementary School	Public	PK, KG-5	1458 Benning Dr	Columbus	31903	Muscogee County	Muscogee County	No	No	No	Yes	(706) 683-8871	419	38	11.1	100.0%	14 (3.3%)	348 (83.1%)	28 (6.7%)	5 (1.2%)	1 (0.2%)	0 (0.0%)	23 (5.5%)	12.1	1124^th of 1222 public elementary schools	8.0%		6.8	1219^th of 1238 public elementary schools	1.5%	95	27.1	21.7	16.7	18.6	$17,814	$1,613	$16,201
Brewer Elementary School	Public	PK, KG-2	2951 Martin Luther King	Columbus	31906	Muscogee County	Muscogee County	No	No	No	Yes	(706) 748-2479	367	36	10.2	100.0%	10 (2.7%)	231 (62.9%)	103 (28.1%)	0 (0.0%)	4 (1.1%)	0 (0.0%)	19 (5.2%)								(n/a)					$20,971	$1,840	$19,131
Rigdon Road Elementary School	Public	PK, KG-5	1320 Rigdon Rd	Columbus	31906	Muscogee County	Muscogee County	No	No	No	Yes	(706) 565-2989	437	32	13.8	100.0%	25 (5.7%)	343 (78.5%)	31 (7.1%)	1 (0.2%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	37 (8.5%)	19.8	998^th of 1222 public elementary schools	18.3%		8	1206^th of 1238 public elementary schools	2.6%	208	16.4	14.2	20.0	47.5	$17,132	$2,196	$14,936
South Columbus Elementary School	Public	PK, KG-5	1964 Torch Hill Rd	Columbus	31903	Muscogee County	Muscogee County	No	No	No	Yes	(706) 683-8833	326	20	16.1	100.0%	10 (3.1%)	173 (53.1%)	121 (37.1%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	22 (6.7%)	13.2	1112^th of 1222 public elementary schools	9.0%		14	1111^th of 1238 public elementary schools	10.3%	1	12.8	28.5	9.1	29.6	$15,418	$1,305	$14,112

Frequently Asked Questions about Mary A Buckner Academy

What district is Mary A Buckner Academy in?

Muscogee County

How many students attend Mary A Buckner Academy?

In the 2024-25 school year, 789 students attended Mary A Buckner Academy.

What is the racial makeup of Mary A Buckner Academy?

Students at Mary A Buckner Academy are 84% African American, 6% Two or more races, 6% Hispanic, 3% White.

Is Mary A Buckner Academy a good school?

Mary A Buckner Academy ranks in the bottom 1.3% of Georgia elementary schools.

Rate Mary A Buckner Academy!

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Latest Georgia data All new data »

2025–26 attendance dataAug 6, 2026

2025–26 Milestones Assessment scoresAug 6, 2026

2021–22 through 2024–25 Milestones Assessment scores (updated)Aug 6, 2026

2024–25 dropout ratesFeb 19, 2026

SchoolDigger data sources: National Center for Education Statistics, U.S. Department of Education, the U.S. Census Bureau and the Georgia 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.