Best Public Schools in Columbia City, IN

Summary:

The city of Columbia City, Indiana, is home to 6 schools, including 4 elementary schools, 1 middle school, and 1 high school. The data reveals a mix of strong and underperforming schools in the area, with notable standouts like Northern Heights Elementary School and Columbia City High School.

Northern Heights Elementary consistently outperforms the district and state averages on ILEARN assessments, with the highest proficiency rates among the elementary schools. In contrast, Mary Raber Elementary lags behind, with only 25% of students proficient or better in English Language Arts and 23.15% in Math. This highlights significant performance gaps within the Whitley County Con Schools district.

The data also reveals that all schools in the district have a chronic absenteeism rate of 17.8%, which is higher than the state average. Spending per student varies widely, from $9,523 at Little Turtle Elementary to $11,540 at Mary Raber Elementary. Additionally, the percentage of students receiving free or reduced-price lunch ranges from 24.96% at Columbia City High School to 50.5% at Coesse School, suggesting significant socioeconomic diversity across the district.

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

School													Students/Teachers											Ranking (2025)				Ranking (2024)				SAT Evidence-based Reading and Writing (2025)	SAT Mathematics (2025)	ILEARN English Language Arts (2025)							ILEARN Math (2025)							ILEARN Science (2025)			ILEARN Social Studies (2025)	ILEARN Biology (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	SAT Evidence-based Reading and Writing 11th Grade	SAT Mathematics 11th Grade	ILEARN English Language Arts 3rd Grade	ILEARN English Language Arts 4th Grade	ILEARN English Language Arts 5th Grade	ILEARN English Language Arts 6th Grade	ILEARN English Language Arts 7th Grade	ILEARN English Language Arts 8th Grade	ILEARN English Language Arts All Grades	ILEARN Math 3rd Grade	ILEARN Math 4th Grade	ILEARN Math 5th Grade	ILEARN Math 6th Grade	ILEARN Math 7th Grade	ILEARN Math 8th Grade	ILEARN Math All Grades	ILEARN Science 4th Grade	ILEARN Science 6th Grade	ILEARN Science All Grades	ILEARN Social Studies 5th Grade	ILEARN Biology End of Course	Per Pupil Expenditures Total	Sub-total from Federal Funds	Sub-total from State/Local Funds
Columbia City High School	Public	9-12	1600 South State Road 9	Columbia City	46725	Whitley County	Whitley County Con Schools	No	No	No	No	(260) 244-6136	1,202	85	14.1	21.9%	1,077 (89.6%)	13 (1.1%)	63 (5.2%)	11 (0.9%)	4 (0.3%)	0 (0.0%)	34 (2.8%)	57.6	156^th of 429 public high schools	63.6%		62.6	120^th of 432 public high schools	72.2%	36	56.7	24.7																			40.1	$11,466	$820	$10,647
Indian Springs Middle School	Public	6-8	1692 S Sr 9	Columbia City	46725	Whitley County	Whitley County Con Schools	No	No	No	No	(260) 244-5148	797	48	16.5	28.7%	720 (90.3%)	4 (0.5%)	36 (4.5%)	6 (0.8%)	5 (0.6%)	0 (0.0%)	26 (3.3%)	61.1	175^th of 480 public middle schools	63.5%		48.2	253^rd of 491 public middle schools	48.5%	78						43.7	42.5	41.5	42.6				36.3	32.0	25.3	31.1		52.4	52.4			$10,174	$533	$9,641
Northern Heights Elementary School	Public	K-5	5209 N Sr 109	Columbia City	46725	Whitley County	Whitley County Con Schools	No	No	No	Yes	(260) 691-2371	504	33	15.1	30.0%	467 (92.7%)	1 (0.2%)	16 (3.2%)	1 (0.2%)	0 (0.0%)	1 (0.2%)	18 (3.6%)	59.2	415^th of 1005 public elementary schools	58.7%		74.9	237^th of 1011 public elementary schools	76.6%	178			40.0	46.5	41.7				42.7	57.8	50.0	46.9				51.5	41.9		41.9	33.3		$9,869	$667	$9,202
Coesse School	Public	K-5	2250 S 500 E	Columbia City	46725	Whitley County	Whitley County Con Schools	No	No	No	No	(260) 244-3351	291	20	14.4	48.5%	266 (91.4%)	0 (0.0%)	17 (5.8%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	8 (2.7%)	46.3	557^th of 1005 public elementary schools	44.6%		47.9	549^th of 1011 public elementary schools	45.7%	8			47.6	36.6	27.7				36.9	59.5	43.9	27.7				43.1	41.5		41.5	25.5		$10,731	$870	$9,860
Mary Raber Elementary School	Public	PK, KG-5	700 E Jackson St	Columbia City	46725	Whitley County	Whitley County Con Schools	No	No	No	Yes	(260) 244-5857	297	19	15.4	32.7%	270 (90.9%)	2 (0.7%)	10 (3.4%)	3 (1.0%)	1 (0.3%)	1 (0.3%)	10 (3.4%)	22.2	797^th of 1005 public elementary schools	20.7%		29.2	737^th of 1011 public elementary schools	27.1%	60			18.8	35.7	25.0				25.0	16.7	46.4	12.5				23.2	35.7		35.7	9.4		$11,540	$1,885	$9,655
Little Turtle Elementary School	Public	K-5	1710 S State Rd 9	Columbia City	46725	Whitley County	Whitley County Con Schools	No	No	No	Yes	(260) 244-3343	583	36	16.1	40.7%	518 (88.9%)	7 (1.2%)	19 (3.3%)	4 (0.7%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	35 (6.0%)	50.9	503^rd of 1005 public elementary schools	50.0%		48.3	544^th of 1011 public elementary schools	46.2%	41			37.9	37.4	41.7				39.0	45.1	42.4	46.3				44.7	41.4		41.4	31.5		$9,523	$925	$8,598

Cities Near Columbia City

City	Distance	# of Schools	Statewide Rank
South Whitley	1.59 mi	3	261^st
Larwill	8.79 mi	1
Churubusco	9.26 mi	2	186^th
Arcola	9.71 mi	1	62^nd
Fort Wayne	9.95 mi	79	300^th

See the top IN Indiana cities

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

Best Public Schools in Columbia City, IN

Indian Springs Middle School

Northern Heights Elementary School

Columbia City High School

Little Turtle Elementary School

Coesse School

Mary Raber Elementary School

Cities Near Columbia City