Columbia Middle

Columbia Middle is a very small public school in rural Columbia, North Carolina, serving 90 students in grades 7–8 as part of Tyrrell County Schools.

The school has shown meaningful momentum in the most recent school year, lifting its statewide ranking to the 38th percentile (2 stars) from the 27th percentile the year before. Nearly all students (96–97%) qualify for free or reduced lunch, yet the school's low-income students performed in the 45th percentile statewide — slightly better than the school as a whole. With a low student-teacher ratio of about 10:1 and roughly $13,000 in per-pupil spending, the school invests heavily in its small population. Given its size and rural location, direct comparisons to nearby middle schools aren't available, so the most useful benchmarks are state averages and the district's own results.

Academically, the standout achievement is 8th grade reading, where 74.2% of students scored proficient in the most recent year — well above the state average of 56.1%. Science scores have also held close to state levels. Subgroup results were notably uneven in the latest year: African American students ranked in the 87th percentile statewide, while White students' results were much weaker. Because each grade has only about 45 students, year-to-year swings can be dramatic — reading proficiency jumped by 37 percentage points in a single year — so these results often reflect the particular group of students as much as consistent school-wide trends.

The clearest area of concern is 7th grade math, where only about 1 in 5 students reached proficiency in the latest year, compared with roughly 56% statewide. Chronic absenteeism has also remained above the state average, although it has improved steadily from 46.4% in 2021–2022 to 29.4% most recently. Overall, Columbia Middle offers a mixed but improving picture — impressive reading outcomes and recent state-ranking gains alongside persistent math challenges that families will want to watch closely.