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Best Public Schools in Columbus, MS

New rankings! Mississippi test scores for the 2025-26 school year were just released — SchoolDigger posted updated rankings this week.

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At a glance

Schools

6,315

Students

Districts

Top rankedNew Hope High School77^th of 224 Mississippi high schools

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Biggest riser

Columbus Middle School up 17 spots statewide this year

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Smallest classes

West Lowndes High School 7.6 students per teacher

SchoolDigger ratings

3★

1★

0★

6 schools without a SchoolDigger rating (too few tested students)

Compare Mississippi cities →See the top-ranked Mississippi schools →

Summary:

Columbus, Mississippi, has 13 schools serving approximately 6,315 students in elementary, middle, and high school grades across the Columbus Municipal School District, the Lowndes County School District, and the Mississippi School for Mathematics and Science. The city is split between two very different educational realities: the New Hope Elementary, New Hope Middle School, and New Hope High School cluster in Lowndes County is solidly mid-pack or better, while Columbus Municipal schools rank near the bottom. The Lowndes County School District ranks 53rd out of 134 districts (3 stars), while the Columbus Municipal School District ranks 122nd (0 stars). Poverty helps explain much of the divide: New Hope schools have free/reduced lunch rates around 62–69%, while nearly every other traditional public school in Columbus is at 98.5% or higher.

The Mississippi School For Math And Science is the crown jewel — ranked #1 in the state with a 5-star rating, 100% proficiency in Algebra I, English II, and Biology, and a 99.1% graduation rate — though it is a selective residential school, not comparable to neighborhood schools. Among traditional public schools, New Hope High School stands out with a 93.2% graduation rate, above the state average of 89.2%, and New Hope Middle School posted extraordinary Algebra I proficiency of 93.4%, far above the state average of 66%. Columbus High School, by contrast, ranks in the 7th percentile with 0 stars, and its 31.1% Algebra I and 23.0% English II proficiency are far below state averages.

Chronic absenteeism is one of the most actionable issues in Columbus. Franklin Academy (44.6%), Columbus High School (40.7%), and West Lowndes High School (39.6%) far exceed the state average of 23.9%, while New Hope Elementary (10.8%) and Sale Elementary School (10.9%) show that strong attendance is achievable. There are also encouraging academic bright spots: Franklin Academy's 5th-grade science proficiency reached 67.5%, above the state average of 66.3%, and Sale Elementary School posted 62.5%. These bright spots suggest that targeted work on attendance, early science instruction, and math acceleration could make a real difference in Columbus.

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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)				MAAP English Language Arts (2026)						MAAP Mathematics (2026)						MAAP Algebra I (2026)	MAAP English II (2026)	MAAP Science (2026)		MAAP Biology (2026)	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 (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	MAAP English Language Arts 3rd Grade	MAAP English Language Arts 4th Grade	MAAP English Language Arts 5th Grade	MAAP English Language Arts 6th Grade	MAAP English Language Arts 7th Grade	MAAP English Language Arts 8th Grade	MAAP Mathematics 3rd Grade	MAAP Mathematics 4th Grade	MAAP Mathematics 5th Grade	MAAP Mathematics 6th Grade	MAAP Mathematics 7th Grade	MAAP Mathematics 8th Grade	MAAP Algebra I End of Course	MAAP English II End of Course	MAAP Science 5th Grade	MAAP Science 8th Grade	MAAP Biology End of Course	Total
Mississippi School For Math And Science	Public, Magnet	11-12	5th Ave South and MSCW Dr	Columbus	39701	Lowndes County	Mississippi School for Mathematics and Science	No	Yes	No	No	(662) 329-7672	240	26	9.2		131 (54.6%)	39 (16.3%)	13 (5.4%)	48 (20.0%)	1 (0.4%)	0 (0.0%)	8 (3.3%)								(n/a)
Stokes Beard Elementary School	Public	PK, KG-5	311 Martin Luther King Dr	Columbus	39701	Lowndes County	Columbus Municipal School District	No	No	No	Yes	(662) 241-7270	369	26	14.4	100.0%	6 (1.6%)	353 (95.7%)	3 (0.8%)	1 (0.3%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	6 (1.6%)	10.9	355^th of 377 public elementary schools	5.8%		17.8	338^th of 383 public elementary schools	11.7%	17	28.8	15.5					25.7	22.4										$11,893
Columbus High School	Public	9-12	215 Hemlock St	Columbus	39702	Lowndes County	Columbus Municipal School District	No	No	No	Yes	(662) 241-7200	865	74	11.6	99.8%	18 (2.1%)	813 (94.0%)	23 (2.7%)	7 (0.8%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	4 (0.5%)	10.8	208^th of 224 public high schools	7.1%		6.2	222^nd of 232 public high schools	4.3%	14													31.1	23.0			47.1	$13,613
Cook Elementary School	Public	PK, KG-5	2217 7th Street N	Columbus	39701	Lowndes County	Columbus Municipal School District	No	No	No	Yes	(662) 241-7180	415	29	14.2	99.8%	18 (4.3%)	358 (86.3%)	25 (6.0%)	6 (1.4%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	8 (1.9%)	16	328^th of 377 public elementary schools	13.0%		23	313^th of 383 public elementary schools	18.3%	15	31.9	32.6					24.5	27.0										$12,452
Fairview Elementary School	Public	PK, KG-5	225 Airline Road	Columbus	39702	Lowndes County	Columbus Municipal School District	No	No	No	Yes	(662) 241-7140	244	16	15.4	99.6%	2 (0.8%)	239 (98.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	3 (1.2%)	13.3	339^th of 377 public elementary schools	10.1%		18.9	332^nd of 383 public elementary schools	13.3%	7	32.4	20.6					27.0	23.5										$12,216
Franklin Academy	Public	PK, KG-5	501 3rd Avenue N	Columbus	39701	Lowndes County	Columbus Municipal School District	No	No	No	Yes	(662) 241-7150	231	17	13.9	100.0%	13 (5.6%)	195 (84.4%)	6 (2.6%)	6 (2.6%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	11 (4.8%)								(n/a)																		$12,114
Sale Elementary School	Public	PK, KG-5	520 Warpath Road	Columbus	39702	Lowndes County	Columbus Municipal School District	No	No	No	Yes	(662) 241-7260	290	18	16.4	100.0%	7 (2.4%)	271 (93.4%)	6 (2.1%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	6 (2.1%)	13.7	335^th of 377 public elementary schools	11.1%		27.6	287^th of 383 public elementary schools	25.1%	48	23.0	17.8					29.2	33.4										$12,394
McKellar Vocational Center	Public	9-12	810 N Browder Street	Columbus	39702	Lowndes County	Columbus Municipal School District	No	No	No	Yes	(662) 241-7290	0	0	.0		0 ()	0 ()	0 ()	0 ()	0 ()	0 ()	0 ()								(n/a)
Cmsd Alternative School	Public, Alternative	K-12	1425 10th Ave North	Columbus	39701	Lowndes County	Columbus Municipal School District	No	No	No	No	(662) 241-7250	0	0	.0		0 ()	0 ()	0 ()	0 ()	0 ()	0 ()	0 ()								(n/a)
Columbus Middle School	Public	6-8	175 Hwy 373	Columbus	39705	Lowndes County	Columbus Municipal School District	No	No	No	Yes	(662) 241-7300	597	51	11.6	99.7%	13 (2.2%)	556 (93.1%)	14 (2.3%)	2 (0.3%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	12 (2.0%)	17.5	227^th of 260 public middle schools	12.7%		12	244^th of 266 public middle schools	8.3%	17					22.7	25.3					30.8	32.7				37.1		$13,549
West Lowndes High School	Public	7-12	644 South Frontage Road	Columbus	39701	Lowndes County	Lowndes County School District	No	No	No	Yes	(662) 244-5070	206	27	7.6	98.5%	6 (2.9%)	196 (95.1%)	2 (1.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	2 (1.0%)	16.8	192^nd of 224 public high schools	14.3%		28.8	159^th of 232 public high schools	31.5%	33					16.2	25.8					37.8	38.8	46.5	23.5		25.9	51.8	$20,230
New Hope Elementary	Public	PK, KG-5	199 Enlow Road	Columbus	39702	Lowndes County	Lowndes County School District	No	No	No	Yes	(662) 244-4760	1,191	85	14.0	66.8%	603 (50.6%)	527 (44.2%)	13 (1.1%)	2 (0.2%)	1 (0.1%)	0 (0.0%)	45 (3.8%)	54.3	168^th of 377 public elementary schools	55.4%		54.4	175^th of 383 public elementary schools	54.3%	7	53.8	52.1	62.0				44.3	50.3	39.2						68.1			$10,482
New Hope High School	Public	9-12	2920 New Hope Road	Columbus	39702	Lowndes County	Lowndes County School District	No	No	No	Yes	(662) 244-4701	787	61	12.8	61.6%	394 (50.1%)	357 (45.4%)	10 (1.3%)	3 (0.4%)	1 (0.1%)	3 (0.4%)	19 (2.4%)	64.5	77^th of 224 public high schools	65.6%		70.3	73^rd of 232 public high schools	68.5%	4													67.3	50.5			75.4	$12,236
New Hope Middle School	Public	6-8	3419 New Hope Rd	Columbus	39702	Lowndes County	Lowndes County School District	No	No	No	Yes	(662) 244-4740	604	46	13.1	68.5%	307 (50.8%)	258 (42.7%)	11 (1.8%)	4 (0.7%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	24 (4.0%)	54.9	115^th of 260 public middle schools	55.8%		56.6	119^th of 266 public middle schools	55.3%	4				53.4	30.7	35.6				53.5	63.2	46.1	93.4			55.9		$11,280
West Lowndes Elementary	Public	PK, KG-6	1000 Gilmer Wilburn Road	Columbus	39701	Lowndes County	Lowndes County School District	No	No	No	Yes	(662) 244-5050	276	25	11.1	98.6%	3 (1.1%)	268 (97.1%)	4 (1.4%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	1 (0.4%)	24.5	302^nd of 377 public elementary schools	19.9%		23.1	312^th of 383 public elementary schools	18.5%	10	32.4	18.9	42.0	26.6			29.7	32.4	54.9	33.3					64.5			$15,813
Lowndes County Alternative School	Public, Alternative	PK, KG-12	3419 New Hope Road	Columbus	39702	Lowndes County	Lowndes County School District	No	No	No	No	(662) 244-5060	0	0	.0		0 ()	0 ()	0 ()	0 ()	0 ()	0 ()	0 ()								(n/a)
Lowndes County Vocational Complex	Public	9-12	1085 Lehmberg Road	Columbus	39702	Lowndes County	Lowndes County School District	No	No	No	Yes	(662) 244-5038	0	0			0 ()	0 ()	0 ()	0 ()	0 ()	0 ()	0 ()								(n/a)

Cities Near Columbus

City	Distance	# of Schools	Statewide Rank
West Point	10.4 mi	15
Caledonia	12.24 mi	3	8^th
Hamilton	14.45 mi	1
Starkville	16.12 mi	16
Crawford	20.21 mi	1

See the top MS Mississippi cities

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