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Columbia Academy

Public Grades 6-8

474^th

SchoolDigger Rank ?

of 519 Minnesota Middle Schools

Better than 9% of Minnesota middle schools

Summary

Columbia Academy is a public middle school located in Columbia Heights, Minnesota, serving grades 6-8 with a total enrollment of 715 students. The school is part of the Columbia Heights Public School District, which is ranked 418 out of 446 districts in the state.

Columbia Academy has consistently ranked in the bottom half of Minnesota middle schools, with a ranking between 433-493 over the past 10 years and a 0-1 star rating from SchoolDigger. In the 2024-2025 school year, the school's proficiency rates in Math (13.13%) and Reading (21.36%) are significantly lower than the state averages (45.21% and 49.59%, respectively). Compared to nearby schools, such as Highview Middle School in the Mounds View Public School District, which had Math and Reading proficiency rates of 44.59% and 52.25% in the 2023-2024 school year, Columbia Academy's academic performance is generally lower.

The school has a diverse student population, with significant percentages of African American (24.9%), Hispanic (27.3%), and White (31.2%) students. While White students perform relatively better, ranking in the top 200 middle schools in Minnesota for Math and Reading, Hispanic and African American students rank in the bottom 25% of middle schools. Additionally, the school has a high percentage of students from low socioeconomic backgrounds, with 81.26% of students qualifying for free or reduced-price lunch in the 2023-2024 school year. The school's student-teacher ratio of 19.7 is also higher than nearby schools, such as Prodeo Columbia Heights Middle (10.5).

719

Students ?

17.2

Student/teacher ratio ?

$12,741

Per pupil spending ?

78.7%

Free/discounted lunch ?

900 49th Ave NE
Columbia Heights, MN 55421-1710

(763) 528-4701

District: Columbia Heights Public School District

Students who attend Columbia Academy usually attend:

High:

Columbia Heights Senior High

Feeder schools for Columbia Academy:

Elementary:	Highland Elementary
	North Park School for Innovation
	Valley View Elementary

Racial breakdown:

Hispanic:

54.9%

African American:

24.6%

White:

11.5%

See top rated Minnesota middle schools

Compare Columbia Academy to nearby middle schools!

At a glance

▼ Ranking trend: Declining — 17th percentile in 2015 → 9th in 2025

Worth a look

!Test scores below the Minnesota average (17% vs 47% meeting standards)

!In the lower quartile statewide (9th percentile)

!Ranking has slipped — down 8 percentile points since 2015

Students meeting standards (2024-2025) ?

This school17%

District avg18%

Minnesota avg47%

474^th of 519

Minnesota public middle schools ?

Bottom 9%▼ down 9 pts since 2015

From bottom 17% (2015) to bottom 9% (2025)

See the entire ranking list of Minnesota Middle Schools →

★★★★★

SchoolDigger rating ?

418^th of 446Columbia Heights Public School District among Minnesota 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	Minnesota percentile	Rating
2025	11.6	474 of 519	8.7%	☆☆☆☆☆
2024	12.1	493 of 545	9.5%	☆☆☆☆☆
2023	10.7	482 of 529	8.9%	☆☆☆☆☆
2022	15.1	459 of 520	11.7%	★☆☆☆☆
2021	10.8	474 of 521	9.0%	☆☆☆☆☆
2019	17.9	452 of 533	15.2%	★☆☆☆☆
2018	20.5	433 of 518	16.4%	★☆☆☆☆
2017	20.0	438 of 523	16.3%	★☆☆☆☆
2016	17.1	434 of 508	14.6%	★☆☆☆☆
2015	21.2	426 of 516	17.4%	★☆☆☆☆
2014	17.0	426 of 490	13.1%	★☆☆☆☆
2013	16.7	422 of 488	13.5%	★☆☆☆☆
2012	17.4	410 of 469	12.6%	★☆☆☆☆
2011	14.2	425 of 478	11.1%	★☆☆☆☆
2010	18.2	398 of 454	12.3%	★☆☆☆☆
2009	16.0	209 of 230	9.1%	☆☆☆☆☆
2008	26.1	352 of 409	13.9%	★☆☆☆☆
2007	22.8	353 of 403	12.4%	★☆☆☆☆
2006	28.3	338 of 406	16.7%	★☆☆☆☆
2005	25.1	336 of 396	15.2%	★☆☆☆☆
2004	24.1	326 of 387	15.8%	★☆☆☆☆

African American

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Minnesota percentile	Rating
2025	31.5	121 of 169	28.4%	★☆☆☆☆
2024	31.9	122 of 179	31.8%	★★☆☆☆
2023	23.1	133 of 164	18.9%	★☆☆☆☆
2022	28.2	120 of 162	25.9%	★☆☆☆☆
2021	32.0	105 of 141	25.5%	★☆☆☆☆
2019	38.9	85 of 148	42.6%	★★☆☆☆
2018	40.4	82 of 137	40.1%	★★☆☆☆

Asian

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Minnesota percentile	Rating
2019	29.2	82 of 112	26.8%	★☆☆☆☆

English Language Learner

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Minnesota percentile	Rating
2025	28.1	131 of 153	14.4%	★☆☆☆☆
2024	33.4	115 of 158	27.2%	★☆☆☆☆
2023	34.1	101 of 133	24.1%	★☆☆☆☆
2022	34.2	88 of 130	32.3%	★★☆☆☆
2021	34.9	71 of 102	30.4%	★★☆☆☆
2019	45.4	58 of 120	51.7%	★★★☆☆
2018	42.0	50 of 109	54.1%	★★★☆☆

Female

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Minnesota percentile	Rating
2025	9.3	417 of 450	7.3%	☆☆☆☆☆
2024	9.7	441 of 474	7.0%	☆☆☆☆☆
2023	10.0	419 of 455	7.9%	☆☆☆☆☆
2022	13.8	418 of 467	10.5%	★☆☆☆☆
2021	10.0	413 of 443	6.8%	☆☆☆☆☆
2019	18.6	383 of 439	12.8%	★☆☆☆☆
2018	17.5	390 of 436	10.6%	★☆☆☆☆

Hispanic

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Minnesota percentile	Rating
2025	15.0	163 of 175	6.9%	☆☆☆☆☆
2024	16.9	172 of 186	7.5%	☆☆☆☆☆
2023	17.3	164 of 178	7.9%	☆☆☆☆☆
2022	20.4	170 of 188	9.6%	★☆☆☆☆
2021	15.0	149 of 156	4.5%	☆☆☆☆☆
2019	30.3	127 of 171	25.7%	★☆☆☆☆
2018	40.9	92 of 163	43.6%	★★☆☆☆

Homeless

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Minnesota percentile	Rating
2024	18.6	29 of 30	3.3%	☆☆☆☆☆
2023	39.2	15 of 20	25.0%	★☆☆☆☆
2019	64.8	4 of 19	78.9%	★★★★☆
2018	65.2	9 of 25	64.0%	★★★★☆

Low Socio Economic Status

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Minnesota percentile	Rating
2025	15.0	393 of 432	9.0%	☆☆☆☆☆
2024	17.3	425 of 473	10.1%	★☆☆☆☆
2023	15.1	417 of 459	9.2%	☆☆☆☆☆
2022	24.2	333 of 404	17.6%	★☆☆☆☆
2021	21.2	348 of 399	12.8%	★☆☆☆☆
2019	27.2	328 of 415	21.0%	★☆☆☆☆
2018	29.2	314 of 401	21.7%	★☆☆☆☆

Male

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Minnesota percentile	Rating
2025	11.3	417 of 452	7.7%	☆☆☆☆☆
2024	11.9	436 of 479	9.0%	☆☆☆☆☆
2023	9.9	430 of 464	7.3%	☆☆☆☆☆
2022	14.3	423 of 476	11.1%	★☆☆☆☆
2021	12.2	396 of 437	9.4%	☆☆☆☆☆
2019	14.3	400 of 454	11.9%	★☆☆☆☆
2018	19.2	375 of 438	14.4%	★☆☆☆☆

Multi-racial

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Minnesota percentile	Rating
2025	24.2	99 of 113	12.4%	★☆☆☆☆
2023	6.0	105 of 107	1.9%	☆☆☆☆☆
2022	18.7	117 of 131	10.7%	★☆☆☆☆
2019	13.0	113 of 120	5.8%	☆☆☆☆☆
2018	15.8	103 of 114	9.6%	★☆☆☆☆

Special Education

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Minnesota percentile	Rating
2025	27.9	207 of 265	21.9%	★☆☆☆☆
2024	30.6	231 of 307	24.8%	★☆☆☆☆
2023	43.1	169 of 298	43.3%	★★☆☆☆
2022	33.0	208 of 288	27.8%	★☆☆☆☆
2021	15.5	241 of 260	7.3%	☆☆☆☆☆
2019	37.6	182 of 282	35.5%	★★☆☆☆
2018	21.2	221 of 253	12.6%	★☆☆☆☆

White

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Minnesota percentile	Rating
2025	49.4	200 of 415	51.8%	★★★☆☆
2024	51.3	198 of 440	55.0%	★★★☆☆
2023	41.1	265 of 436	39.2%	★★☆☆☆
2022	39.5	268 of 438	38.8%	★★☆☆☆
2021	23.0	355 of 422	15.9%	★☆☆☆☆
2019	45.4	241 of 428	43.7%	★★☆☆☆
2018	46.1	243 of 428	43.2%	★★☆☆☆

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)

White (2025)52nd percentile+43 vs school

African American (2025)28th percentile+20 vs school

Asian (2019)27th percentile+12 vs school

Special Education (2025)22nd percentile+13 vs school

English Language Learner (2025)14th percentile+6 vs school

Multi-racial (2025)12th percentile+4 vs school

Low Socio Economic Status (2025)9th percentile~ school

Male (2025)8th percentile~ school

Female (2025)7th percentile~ school

Hispanic (2025)7th percentile~ school

Homeless (2024)3rd percentile-6 vs school

By subject vs Minnesota (2024-2025) ?

Reading21%-28 vs state

Math13%-32 vs state

2.5

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What people are saying

by a teacher
Friday, March 24, 2017

I substitute taught here twice. Both times, I endured both verbal abuse from students and written abuse. Ex. While I was redirecting a student, another student wrote on the board in marker next to my name, "ugly fat ass" and scribbled in marker all over the lesson plan directions I wrote on the board. When I called the secretary for behavior support, she sent up a behavior specialist who asked the class to write down the name of the student on a piece of anonymous paper who wrote the negative comments about me. While he waited, I went down to the main office to show the principal what the student wrote about me and asked him to visit the classroom. He escorted me to the classroom. His only words to the class were to ask them to consider if they had done this to a classmate's parent. Then, it turns out it was a girl who wrote the negative comments about me on the board, but neither the behavior specialist or the principal acknowledged this to me, or required the student to apologize to me, which I found very inappropriate. Then, after the behavior specialist left, the class was required to read silently on their Chromebooks. I caught one of the 6th grade students surfing the internet and asked him to leave the classroom and go to the behavior specialist's room. He called me "fat ass" and slammed the door as he left. I will never substitute teach at this school again. It is a terrible school. Close Quote

by a student
Monday, February 2, 2009

central middle school has great teachers that are willing to help those that are in need.They respect all customs,when I first came I thought that my parents were sending me to the worst school ever, But than I met the teachers and they were amazing and all were in their 20's-40's but that didnt stop them from being the amazing teachers that they are now.The classes are great too,this school really inspired me to think more aout my education and now my parents cant even shut me about highschool and college. Close Quote

Schools Near Columbia 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 (2025)				Ranking (2024)				MCA-III Math (2025)					MCA-III Reading (2025)					Per Pupil Expenditures (2019)
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	MCA-III Math 5th Grade	MCA-III Math 6th Grade	MCA-III Math 7th Grade	MCA-III Math 8th Grade	MCA-III Math All Grades	MCA-III Reading 5th Grade	MCA-III Reading 6th Grade	MCA-III Reading 7th Grade	MCA-III Reading 8th Grade	MCA-III Reading All Grades	Total
Columbia Academy	Public	6-8	900 49th Ave NE	Columbia Heights	55421	Anoka County	Columbia Heights Public School District	No	No	No	Yes	(763) 528-4701	719	42	17.2	78.7%	83 (11.5%)	177 (24.6%)	395 (54.9%)	22 (3.1%)	4 (0.6%)	0 (0.0%)	38 (5.3%)	11.6	474^th of 519 public middle schools	8.7%		12.1	493^rd of 545 public middle schools	9.5%	19		8.4	12.9	17.7	13.1		19.7	22.0	22.4	21.4	$12,741
Columbia Academy Anchor Program	Public	6-8	900 49th Ave NE	Columbia Heights	55421	Anoka County	Columbia Heights Public School District	No	No	No	No	(763) 528-4540	6	0	4.0		2 (33.3%)	4 (66.7%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)								(n/a)											$37,560
Prodeo Columbia Heights Middle	Public, Charter	5-8	4141 University Ave NE	Columbia Heights	55421	Anoka County	Prodeo Academy	Yes	No	No	No	(763) 205-9950	291	22	13.2	89.0%	8 (2.7%)	192 (66.0%)	75 (25.8%)	2 (0.7%)	2 (0.7%)	0 (0.0%)	12 (4.1%)	15.1	460^th of 519 public middle schools	11.4%		11.5	497^th of 545 public middle schools	8.8%	37	14.5	18.3	15.7	12.5	15.3	23.2	32.9	18.6	25.0	25.0
Fridley Middle	Public, Magnet	5-8	6100 W Moore Lake Dr	Fridley	55432	Anoka County	Fridley Public School District	No	Yes	No	Yes	(763) 502-5400	694	59	11.7	72.0%	155 (22.3%)	239 (34.4%)	151 (21.8%)	57 (8.2%)	11 (1.6%)	0 (0.0%)	81 (11.7%)	39.1	326^th of 519 public middle schools	37.2%		29.1	411^th of 545 public middle schools	24.6%	85	19.4	23.1	36.9	37.4	29.3	36.4	36.9	38.1	33.0	36.0	$14,203
Fridley Middle Area Learning Center	Public	5-8	6100 W Moore Lake Dr	Fridley	55432	Anoka County	Fridley Public School District	No	No	No	No	(763) 502-5036	24	0	43.3	83.3%	4 (16.7%)	16 (66.7%)	1 (4.2%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	3 (12.5%)								(n/a)											$13,030
Highview Middle School	Public	6-8	2300 - 7th St NW	New Brighton	55112	Ramsey County	Mounds View Public School District	No	No	No	No	(651) 621-6700	823	49	16.7	39.1%	474 (57.6%)	103 (12.5%)	111 (13.5%)	62 (7.5%)	3 (0.4%)	0 (0.0%)	70 (8.5%)	74	114^th of 519 public middle schools	78.0%		67.3	155^th of 545 public middle schools	71.6%	41		47.9	53.5	39.1	47.0		57.2	55.6	51.8	54.9	$12,407
Northeast Middle	Public	6-8	2955 NE Hayes St	Minneapolis	55418	Hennepin County	Minneapolis Public School District	No	No	No	Yes	(612) 668-1500	541	38	14.1	63.6%	149 (27.5%)	159 (29.4%)	105 (19.4%)	28 (5.2%)	40 (7.4%)	1 (0.2%)	59 (10.9%)	18.1	442^nd of 519 public middle schools	14.8%		16.8	471^st of 545 public middle schools	13.6%	29		25.0	15.5	16.2	18.8		29.8	25.7	24.2	26.5	$16,849
St. Anthony Middle	Public	6-8	3303 33rd Ave NE	Saint Anthony	55418	Hennepin County	St. Anthony-New Brighton Schools	No	No	No	No	(612) 706-1031	439	32	13.7	31.0%	280 (63.8%)	47 (10.7%)	44 (10.0%)	25 (5.7%)	3 (0.7%)	2 (0.5%)	38 (8.7%)	78.8	85^th of 519 public middle schools	83.6%		74.9	105^th of 545 public middle schools	80.7%	20		51.8	48.2	41.1	47.0		66.4	52.5	63.7	60.8	$11,431
Olson Middle	Public	6-8	1607 51st Ave N	Minneapolis	55430	Hennepin County	Minneapolis Public School District	No	No	No	Yes	(612) 668-1640	329	42	7.9	76.6%	23 (7.0%)	133 (40.4%)	99 (30.1%)	37 (11.2%)	10 (3.0%)	0 (0.0%)	27 (8.2%)	5.6	505^th of 519 public middle schools	2.7%		5.8	526^th of 545 public middle schools	3.5%	21		4.6	6.1	7.1	6.0		9.1	15.7	17.0	13.8	$16,762
Brooklyn Center Middle School Alternative Learning Center	Public	6-8	6500 Humboldt Ave N	Brooklyn Center	55430	Hennepin County	Brooklyn Center Community Schools	No	No	No	No	(763) 561-2120	0	0	.0		0 ()	0 ()	0 ()	0 ()	0 ()	0 ()	0 ()								(n/a)											$4,488

Frequently Asked Questions about Columbia Academy

How many students attend Columbia Academy?

In the 2024-25 school year, 719 students attended Columbia Academy.

What is the racial makeup of Columbia Academy?

Students at Columbia Academy are 55% Hispanic, 25% African American, 12% White, 5% Two or more races, 3% Asian.

What district is Columbia Academy in?

Columbia Heights Public School District

Is Columbia Academy a good school?

Columbia Academy ranks in the bottom 8.7% of Minnesota middle schools.

What high school do graduates of Columbia Academy attend?

Students who attend Columbia Academy usually go on to attend Columbia Heights Senior High

Rate Columbia Academy!

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Latest Minnesota data All new data »

2024–25 dropout rates & graduation ratesJun 13, 2026

2024–25 MCA-III test scoresAug 29, 2025

2023–24 dropout rates & graduation ratesMay 8, 2025

2022–23 graduation ratesDec 2, 2024

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