Columbia School District

Columbia School District is a small, four-school district in Columbia, Mississippi, serving approximately 1,639 students across grades PK–12. The district is rated 4 stars and ranks 31st out of 134 Mississippi districts, with a predominantly low-income student population (roughly 70–74% eligible for free/reduced-price lunch at the Primary, Elementary, and Middle schools) and favorable student-teacher ratios between 12.0 and 13.7.

Among the four schools, Columbia High School is the biggest standout for improvement, jumping from the 39th percentile to the 76th percentile in state ranking over two years, now exceeding state proficiency in Algebra I, Biology, and English II, and posting a 92.7% graduation rate. Columbia Elementary School provides a strong academic foundation, surpassing state proficiency in most 3rd–5th grade subjects, particularly 3rd grade math (65.0% vs. 48.8% state) and 5th grade science (74.3% vs. 71.5% state). Columbia Primary School excels in attendance with a 10.9% chronic absenteeism rate despite high poverty, while Jefferson Middle School is the district's biggest concern, with a 42.0% chronic absenteeism rate and most test scores below state averages, especially in 6th grade math and ELA.

Chronic absenteeism rises sharply with grade level, from around 10% at the elementary schools to 42.0% at the middle school and 35.0% at the high school, suggesting a transition problem rather than a district-wide weakness. The elementary-to-middle pipeline shows clear drop-offs in math and science performance, while Columbia High School improves despite its high absenteeism. The most glaring content-area gap is U.S. History at the high school (55.3% vs. 69.7% state, a 14.4-point deficit), even as other End-of-Course subjects beat the state. Year-over-year gains in 5th grade science and 8th grade math show real progress, but declines in 6th grade ELA and 7th grade math indicate uneven improvement. Overall, the district's 4-star rating masks large internal disparities, with the middle school representing the clearest opportunity for targeted support in both attendance and academics.