Schools · Columbia

Columbia, MO schools

Columbia’s public schools score below Missouri’s averages: 43% of students are proficient in reading against 45.3% statewide, and 90% of high schoolers graduate on time against 90.6%. Kids attend one of 19 elementary schools through grade 5, then one of 20 elementary schools, one of 7 middle schools and David H. Hickman High or Rock Bridge SR. High or Muriel Battle High School.

Grades, test scores, graduation, spending and every school, from U.S. Department of Education data.

C+School Grade #146Best schools in MO (of 226)#154Highest graduation rate in MO (of 212)

TownTapestry School GradeNew

C⁺

Columbia’s School Grade: C+

The public schools Columbia’s kids attend, from kindergarten through graduation, trail 58% of Missouri’s districts on state tests and graduation. Among towns with similar incomes, they rank near the bottom.

C+Test scoresCGraduation

Missouri school districts we grade (538)Better than 42%

Lower resultsHigher results

Missouri towns with similar household incomes (571)Better than 32%

High confidence. Built on 8,646 tested students and a graduating class of 1,316; ordinary year-to-year swings are unlikely to change the grade.

How the School Grade works

Results, not inputs. Math and reading proficiency on Missouri’s state tests, each against the state average, plus the four-year graduation rate. Spending and class size are shown below but don’t count toward the grade. Tests: 2020–21; graduation: class of 2020.
The whole path. A town’s grade follows its kids: every district that serves it, weighted by the number of students tested in each. Tests count 60% and graduation 40%.
Graded within the state. Each state writes its own tests, so districts are lined up against the rest of Missouri only. A+ top 5%A next 10%A- next 10%B B+ to B−, next 30%C C+ to C−, next 30%D D and D−, bottom 15%
Individual schools are graded the same way on their own test results, against every public school in Missouri with 25+ students. Private schools aren’t graded: they don’t take the state tests.
What a grade can’t tell you. Test results track family income closely, so a high grade partly reflects who lives in a town. That’s why we also compare towns with similar incomes. Visit, ask other parents, and read neighbor reviews. It’s our own summary of U.S. Department of Education data, not an official rating.

School path

Where Columbia kids go to school

Grades PK–5

19 elementary schoolsDepends on your address · see the list Columbia 93 School District

Grades 5

20 elementary schoolsDepends on your address · see the list Columbia 93 School District

Grades 6–8

7 middle schoolsDepends on your address · see the list Columbia 93 School District

Grades 9–12

B-David H. Hickman High or A-Rock Bridge SR. High or C-Muriel Battle High School Depends on your address Columbia 93 School District

Based on district boundaries from the U.S. Department of Education. Check with the district before you enroll.

Test scores · 2020–21

Below the state in reading

Reading (grades PK–12, Columbia 93)43%

State average 45.3%

Math (grades PK–12, Columbia 93)30%

State average 35.3%

Graduation · class of 2020

90% graduate on time

Graduation rate

90%

MO: 90.6%

Graduating class

1,316

students

The share of students who started ninth grade together and earned a regular diploma within four years. #154 of 212 MO towns →

Districts

The district serving Columbia

Columbia 93 School DistrictGrades PK–12 · 36 schools · 18,640 students

$14,650 per studentMO $14,569C+

Each district’s own page has its spending, test scores, enrollment and every school.

Every school

All 52 schools in Columbia

Level

All 52 Preschool 1 Elementary 32 Middle 7 High 6 Other 6

Type

All 52 Public 37 Private 15

Showing 1–30 of 52 schools

Beulah Ralph ElementaryElementary · Grades K–5 · 656 students

Mary Paxton Keeley Elem.Elementary · Grades PK–5 · 619 students

Mill Creek Elem.Elementary · Grades PK–5 · 583 students

Rock Bridge Elem.Elementary · Grades PK–5 · 556 students

Shepard BLVD. Elem.Elementary · Grades PK–5 · 538 students

Russell BLVD. Elem.Elementary · Grades PK–5 · 500 students

Fairview Elem.Elementary · Grades PK–5 · 471 students

Alpha Hart LewisElementary · Grades PK–5 · 468 students

Blue Ridge Elem.Elementary · Grades PK–5 · 453 students

Cedar Ridge Elem.Elementary · Grades PK–5 · 453 students

Parkade Elem.Elementary · Grades PK–5 · 359 students

Eliot Battle ElementaryElementary · Grades K–5 · 344 students

West BLVD. Elem.Elementary · Grades PK–5 · 327 students

Derby Ridge Elem.Elementary · Grades PK–5 · 323 students

Ulysses S. Grant Elem.Elementary · Grades PK–5 · 296 students

Locust St Expressive Arts ElemElementary · Grades PK–5 · 283 students

New Haven Elem.Elementary · Grades PK–5 · 248 students

Thomas Benton Elem.Elementary · Grades PK–5 · 232 students

John Ridgeway Elem.Elementary · Grades K–5 · 227 students

Eugene Field CenterElementary · Grades 1–5

Our Lady of Lourdes Interparish SchoolElementary · Grades K–8 · 628 students

Christian Chapel AcademyElementary · Grades PK–8 · 264 students

City Garden SchoolElementary · Grades K–7 · 80 students

City Garden SchoolElementary · Grades K–7 · 77 students

Islamic School of Columbia-MissouriElementary · Grades PK–5 · 71 students

Columbia Academy for Learning and EnrichmentElementary · Grades PK–8 · 68 students

La Petite EcoleElementary · Grades PK–5 · 64 students

Columbia Montessori SchoolElementary · Grades PK–K · 61 students

College Park Christian AcademyElementary · Grades K–8 · 58 students

The Children's School at Stephens CElementary · Grades PK–5 · 53 students

School data from the U.S. Department of Education (NCES). Ratings are from neighbors on TownTapestry.