Schools in Zip Code 27925

Zip code 27925 covers Columbia, North Carolina, and is served by all three public schools in the Tyrrell County Schools district: Tyrrell Elementary (PK–6), Columbia Middle (7–8), and Columbia High (9–12), with a combined enrollment of just 462 students.

This small rural district is ranked 187th out of 246 in North Carolina and carries a one-star rating, but each school tells a different story. Tyrrell Elementary is the biggest concern, falling sharply from the 42nd to the 8th state percentile in two years; no tested subject meets the state average, and only 28.6% of 5th graders are proficient in math versus 62.9% statewide. Columbia Middle shows genuine bright spots, with 8th-grade reading proficiency reaching 74.2% against the state's 56.1% and its ranking improving to the 38th percentile. Columbia High is the district's highest-ranked school at the 40th percentile and posts the strongest single result in the district—86.4% proficiency in Math III, well above the state's 68.9%.

Nearly every student in this district is economically disadvantaged, with free/reduced lunch participation ranging from 96.7% to 98.5%. Per-student spending is high—about $13,000 at Columbia Middle up to roughly $17,800 at Columbia High—and student-teacher ratios are low, yet most proficiency rates still trail state averages. Columbia High reports a striking 47% chronic absenteeism rate, nearly double the state's 24.2%, despite maintaining an 88.2% graduation rate. Because each school is the only one in its grade span, school-level scores equal district-level scores, and small cohorts create dramatic year-to-year swings, like the 8th-grade reading jump from 37.1% to 74.2%. Real strengths exist in Math III, 8th-grade reading, and 8th-grade science, but Tyrrell Elementary's sharp decline suggests the early grades need targeted instructional support to reverse the trend.