Beta You're viewing our redesigned school page. Prefer the classic layout?

Centennial Elementary School

Public Grades PK, KG-4
239th
SchoolDigger Rank ?
of 294 Nebraska Elementary Schools
Better than 19% of Nebraska elementary schools
Summary

Centennial Elementary School is a public elementary school serving grades PK-4 in Columbus, Nebraska, with 347 students. The school is part of the Columbus Public Schools district, which is ranked 112 out of 115 districts in the state and has a 0-star rating from SchoolDigger.

Centennial Elementary's academic performance has been mixed, with test scores in English Language Arts and Mathematics fluctuating compared to district and state averages. In 2024-2025, 3rd grade ELA proficiency was 52.24%, while 4th grade ELA proficiency was 50%. In Mathematics, 3rd grade proficiency was 68.66%, but 4th grade proficiency dropped to 51.35%. The school has also seen a concerning increase in chronic absenteeism, rising from 6.8% in 2020-2021 to 19.3% in 2024-2025, significantly higher than the state average.

Interestingly, West Park Elementary, North Park Elementary, and Emerson Elementary, which are also part of the Columbus Public Schools district, have shown slightly better performance on state assessments compared to Centennial Elementary. Despite the higher per-student spending at Centennial Elementary, the school's overall performance and rankings have not kept pace with the increased investment, suggesting that factors beyond just funding may be contributing to the school's challenges.

353
Students ?
14.1
Student/teacher ratio ?
$15,013
Per pupil spending ?
62%
Free/discounted lunch ?
 500 Centennial St
       Columbus, NE  68602-0947

(402) 563-8180

District: Columbus Public Schools


Students who attend Centennial Elementary School usually attend:

Middle:    Columbus Middle School
High:    Columbus High School
Racial breakdown:

Hispanic:
56.4%
White:
39.7%
Two or more races:
2.3%
more
 See top rated Nebraska elementary schools

 Compare Centennial Elementary School to nearby elementary schools!
At a glance
Ranking trend: Declining — 65th percentile in 2015 → 19th in 2025
Worth a look
!In the lower quartile statewide (19th percentile)
!Ranking has slipped — down 46 percentile points since 2015
!Some student groups rank well below the school's overall statewide standing
Students meeting standards (2024-2025) ?
This school55%
District avg44%
Nebraska avg58%
239th of 294
Nebraska public elementary schools ?
Bottom 19%▼ down 47 pts since 2015
From top 35% (2015) to bottom 19% (2025)
See the entire ranking list of Nebraska Elementary Schools →
SchoolDigger rating ?
3rd of 4Elementary Schools in the Columbus Public Schools
114th of 118Columbus Public Schools among Nebraska districts
Statewide rank percentile over time (100 = the top-ranked school in the state; click a legend item to add a student group)
Show full rank history (all student groups)

All Students

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankNebraska percentileRating
202524.9239 of 29418.7%★☆☆☆☆
202431.7321 of 42825.0%★☆☆☆☆
202334.3337 of 45926.6%★☆☆☆☆
202238.3299 of 45734.6%★★☆☆☆
202149.1236 of 44246.6%★★☆☆☆
201971.4108 of 45276.1%★★★★☆
201860.0167 of 45062.9%★★★☆☆
201763.3162 of 45964.7%★★★☆☆
201665.4144 of 48070.0%★★★★☆
201562.9169 of 48865.4%★★★☆☆
201461.7180 of 48362.7%★★★☆☆
201358.1201 of 48558.6%★★★☆☆
201263.4153 of 48068.1%★★★☆☆
201150.1248 of 47347.6%★★☆☆☆
201059.8200 of 50260.2%★★★☆☆
200947.8321 of 47131.8%★★☆☆☆
200826.2441 of 4787.7%☆☆☆☆☆
200719.3390 of 4309.3%☆☆☆☆☆
200646.1264 of 41836.8%★★☆☆☆

English Language Learner

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankNebraska percentileRating
202359.826 of 7665.8%★★★☆☆
201866.716 of 6374.6%★★★★☆

Female

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankNebraska percentileRating
202417.8189 of 2036.9%☆☆☆☆☆
202334.0237 of 34932.1%★★☆☆☆
202222.7273 of 33719.0%★☆☆☆☆
202131.2235 of 31826.1%★☆☆☆☆
201984.041 of 34988.3%★★★★☆
201858.3135 of 34160.4%★★★☆☆

Hispanic

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankNebraska percentileRating
202370.821 of 10880.6%★★★★☆
202267.126 of 8167.9%★★★☆☆
202167.516 of 6876.5%★★★★☆
201872.016 of 8180.2%★★★★☆

Low Socio Economic Status

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankNebraska percentileRating
202442.172 of 11235.7%★★☆☆☆
202339.8207 of 31233.7%★★☆☆☆
202249.6139 of 25946.3%★★☆☆☆
202166.180 of 26469.7%★★★★☆
201982.924 of 29891.9%★★★★★
201874.351 of 28181.9%★★★★☆

Male

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankNebraska percentileRating
202434.1152 of 20325.1%★☆☆☆☆
202333.2265 of 36627.6%★☆☆☆☆
202246.9192 of 35646.1%★★☆☆☆
202156.9130 of 32860.4%★★★☆☆
201959.9139 of 36762.1%★★★☆☆
201856.2141 of 34759.4%★★★☆☆

White

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankNebraska percentileRating
202325.2311 of 38519.2%★☆☆☆☆
202232.0281 of 38827.6%★☆☆☆☆
202152.5156 of 36857.6%★★★☆☆
201982.041 of 39189.5%★★★★☆
201865.1114 of 39170.8%★★★★☆
How student groups rank statewide ? (each group's percentile vs the same group at other schools — higher is better; the +/- beside each compares the group with this school's overall percentile)
Hispanic (2023)81st percentile+54 vs school
English Language Learner (2023)66th percentile+39 vs school
Low Socio Economic Status (2024)36th percentile+11 vs school
Male (2024)25th percentile~ school
White (2023)19th percentile-7 vs school
Female (2024)7th percentile-18 vs school
By subject vs Nebraska (2024-2025) ?
Mathematics60%~ state avg
English Language Arts51%-8 vs state

No ratings yet
Be the first to rate Centennial Elementary School and help other families decide.
Rate Centennial Elementary School
Have first-hand experience? A quick rating - and a sentence or two about what stands out (teachers, academics, safety, communication) - helps other families know what to expect.
Takes about a minute. We email you a link to verify your review - your address is never shown publicly.
Tap a star to rate
Reviews
No written reviews yet. If you know this school, be the first to share what stands out.



Schools Near Centennial Elementary School









Frequently Asked Questions about Centennial Elementary School

Students at Centennial Elementary School are 56% Hispanic, 40% White, 2% Two or more races, 1% African American.

In the 2024-25 school year, 353 students attended Centennial Elementary School.

Centennial Elementary School ranks in the bottom 18.7% of Nebraska elementary schools.

Students who attend Centennial Elementary School usually go on to attend:

Middle : Columbus Middle School
High : Columbus High School


Rate Centennial Elementary School!



Sign up for updates!

Be the first to know when there is an update for Centennial Elementary School!




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





Diagnostics

None retrieved from Database in 1013 milliseconds.