Columbus Middle School

Columbus Middle School is a public middle school in Columbus, MS, serving 597 students in grades 6–8 as part of the Columbus Municipal School District. The school currently ranks 227th out of 260 Mississippi middle schools, placing it in the 13th percentile with a 1-star rating, and its district ranks 122nd out of 134 districts statewide. Nearly all students (99.7%) qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, reflecting a very high-poverty population.

Test scores at Columbus Middle School lag significantly behind nearby schools in math and science. For example, 7th grade math proficiency is 30.8%, compared with 73.2% at Caledonia Middle School, 63.2% at New Hope Middle School, and 65.4% at Fifth Street School. In 8th grade science, only 37.1% of students are proficient, versus 68.5% at Caledonia Middle School and 55.9% at New Hope Middle School. ELA scores are also weak, with 7th grade proficiency at 22.7%, well below Caledonia Middle School's 47.1%. Even Belle-Shivers Middle School, which serves a similarly high-poverty population, outperforms Columbus Middle School in nearly every subject.

One of the most significant challenges is chronic absenteeism, which rose from 14.5% before the pandemic to 31.2% in 2023–2024, well above the state average of 23.9%. The school also shows limited access to advanced math coursework — unlike Caledonia Middle School and New Hope Middle School, which report strong Algebra I end-of-course results, Columbus Middle School has no comparable Algebra I outcomes. The school does have a favorable student-teacher ratio of 11.6, but despite that, outcomes remain persistently low; the school has never ranked above the 15th percentile in over a decade. The combination of high poverty, high absenteeism, and flat academic performance highlights the challenges facing students and educators at the school.