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What's one community event at Columbia High School more people should show up to?
Community prompt from u/allk12. Replies below.
Enrollment
916
High
DISTRICT 1,112 · STATE 682
SCHOOL COMMUNITY·HUNTSVILLE CITY·NCES 010180001651
Columbia High School
300 Explorer Boulevard, Huntsville, AL 35806 · (256) 428-7576 · Madison County
GRADES 09–12HIGH12-CITYTITLE IREGULAR SCHOOL916 STUDENTS
F
allk12 Grade
Scored higher than 2% of Alabama public high schools
- DTest scores Share of students meeting the state standard in reading, math, and other tested subjects, 2023-24 and 2024-25.
- FBeats expectations How far test scores land above or below what the share of low-income students predicts for a school in this state.
- ·Three-year trend Not available for this school, so the grade uses the other parts.
Grades compare a school only with schools in the same state, because every state gives its own test. How grades work · Top-graded Alabama public high schools
Student : Teacher
17.0:1
54 FTE teachers
DISTRICT 17.4:1 · STATE 17.2:1
Free / Reduced Lunch
58%
527 students
DISTRICT 50% · STATE 58%
Community
6
0 members
Enrollment and student:teacher ratio compared against other high schools. Free/Reduced Lunch and demographics compared against all schools.
Enrollment by grade, 2024-25
| Grade | Students | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Grade 9 | 261 | 28% |
| Grade 10 | 250 | 27% |
| Grade 11 | 225 | 25% |
| Grade 12 | 180 | 20% |
Student demographics
64%Diversity index
The chance that two students picked at random belong to different racial or ethnic groups.
DISTRICT 69% · STATE 63% · US 70%
Student head counts by race/ethnicity from federal NCES enrollment data. District, state, and US figures are each group's share of all public school students in that area (US excludes territories). Very small groups may be suppressed in the source, so categories do not always sum exactly to total enrollment.
Gender split
Test scores
ACAP 2024-25 . % ProficientEnglish Language Arts
11.3%
AL avg 52.7%
Math
5.5%
AL avg 31.8%
What this means: On the ACAP, Alabama's statewide test, about 11 of every 100 students at this school read and write at grade level and about 6 of 100 do math at grade level. Across all Alabama schools, those numbers are about 53 and 32.
Source: ACAP. All students, all grades. See all years and grades →
BeatsExpectations
Demographically-adjusted score · methodologyTier
UNDERPERFORMING
Bottom 10% of AL schools after controlling for student poverty
Actual proficiency
10.6%
composite math + reading, all grades
Predicted
42.2%
based on AL schools with similar FRL share
Beats by
-31.6pp
below demographic expectation
What this means: About 11% of students here test proficient in math and reading, below the roughly 42% typical for Alabama schools with a similar share of low-income students. BeatsExpectations compares each school with others at the same poverty level, not by raw scores, so a school lands here when its results trail those comparable schools, which is not the same as having low scores. A higher-scoring school can still fall in this tier if similar schools score higher still.
BeatsExpectations runs a per-state regression of proficiency on free/reduced-lunch share, then scores each school by residual. How this is calculated →
Schools most like Columbia High School
Columbia High School's state test result (10.6% proficient) is higher than 2 of the 5 schools below with a result.
| School | Students | Low-income | Proficient |
|---|---|---|---|
| Columbia High School this school | 916 | 57.5% | 10.6% |
| Shades Valley High School Irondale | 1,094 | 54.7% | 29.5% |
| Austin High School Decatur | 999 | 56.6% | 32.9% |
| Pinson Valley High School Pinson | 1,025 | 66.5% | 7.6% |
| McAdory High School McCalla | 1,259 | 52.7% | 6.9% |
| Lee High School Huntsville | 877 | 59.7% | 20.9% |
Matched among Alabama high schools on enrollment, the share of students from low-income families (eligible for free or reduced-price lunch), and racial and ethnic makeup. Proficient is the average share of students meeting the state standard across all of the school's state tests in 2023-24 and 2024-25, the same combined score our test-score rankings use. Online schools and schools serving specialized populations are not matched.
Where Columbia High School ranks
Among high schools| Measure | This school | In Alabama | In Madison County |
|---|---|---|---|
| State test proficiency ranked highest first | 10.6% | #263 of 305 | #11 of 12 |
| Math proficiency ranked highest first | 5.5% | #255 of 305 | #11 of 12 |
| Reading proficiency ranked highest first | 11.3% | #266 of 305 | #11 of 12 |
| Enrollment ranked largest first | 916 | #75 of 319 | #7 of 13 |
| Students per teacher ranked fewest first | 17.0:1 | #140 of 307 | #3 of 13 |
| Diversity index ranked most diverse first | 63.6% | #33 of 307 | #6 of 13 |
| Free and reduced lunch ranked highest share first | 57.5% | #140 of 317 | #3 of 13 |
| Enrollment change since 2017-18 ranked fastest growth first | +0.2% | #130 of 130 | #8 of 8 |
Ranked against other public high schools. Online schools are left out of every list, and test-score lists leave out schools that serve specialized populations. Each rank links to the full list. Arrows under a test-score rank show places moved since the prior test year, among schools tested both years.
4-year change
SY 2020-21 vs SY 2024-25Enrollment
916
+18 (+2%) vs 2020
+28% since 2010-11, when it was 718
Student : Teacher
17.0:1
was 16.3:1
Source: NCES Common Core of Data
Enrollment and staffing by year
| School year | Students | Teachers (FTE) | Students per teacher | Free and reduced lunch |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024-25 | 916 | 54 | 17.0:1 | 58% (527) |
| 2023-24 | 940 | 56.2 | 16.7:1 | 50% (469) |
| 2022-23 | 954 | 54 | 17.7:1 | 50% (476) |
| 2020-21 | 898 | 55 | 16.3:1 | 50% (448) |
| 2017-18 | 914 | 59.3 | 15.4:1 | 50% (456) |
| 2015-16 | 993 | 60 | 16.6:1 | 35% (348) |
| 2010-11 | 718 | 43 | 16.7:1 | 43% (308) |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data. Rows are the federal collections on file for Columbia High School.
Since 2017-18: students unchanged (914 to 916); teachers down 9% (59.3 to 54).
About Columbia High School
Columbia High School is a medium-sized high school located in Huntsville, Alabama. It covers grades 9 through 12, with a total enrollment of 916 students. Enrollment is 34% higher than the average for high schools in Alabama, which is about 682.
Columbia High School is part of Huntsville City, where 44 schools serve 24,222 students.
Black students account for 51% of enrollment at Columbia High School. Other groups make up 29% Hispanic, 13% White, and 5% multiracial. Madison County as a whole is about 24% Black, so the school's share is higher. The chance that two students picked at random at Columbia High School belong to different racial or ethnic groups, known as the diversity index, is 64%.
With 54 full-time-equivalent teachers in 2024-25, the ratio at Columbia High School was 17.0:1. High schools in Alabama average about 17.2:1, a similar figure. Columbia High School's free or reduced-price lunch eligibility rate is 58%. It compares with 41% for public schools in Madison County.
The allk12 Grade for Columbia High School is F. Compared with Alabama public high schools, the school scored higher than 2% on a mix of test scores, poverty-adjusted results, and recent trend.
Columbia High School is a bottom-10% school in Alabama on BeatsExpectations, with an actual average proficiency rate on state tests of 10.6% against a predicted 42.2%.
In the county around the school, Madison County, median household income is about $86,499, a bachelor's degree or higher is held by about 46% of adults, and the share of residents below the poverty line is 7%. A total of 89 public schools operate in Madison County, serving about 55,800 students.
Horizon Elementary School is the closest public school, about 1.5 miles away in a straight line. Columbia High School is one of several public schools in the area, with at least 8 others within five miles. The school's 10.6% average proficiency ranks 8th among 8 nearby schools.
The school's setting, by NCES definition, is City: Mid-size: inside a principal city with a population between 100,000 and 250,000.
Compared with 2020-21, when it had 898 students, enrollment in 2024-25 was about the same at 916.
Posts about sports tryouts, band and choir, and theater are welcome on this page. Reviews and ratings from people who know the school are welcome.
Madison County at a glance
View full county profilePopulation
405,718
Census ACS
Median income
$86,499
Household, ACS
Bachelor's+
46%
Adults 25+
Poverty rate
7%
Below federal line
Schools in county
89
55,800 students
Quick facts
Related schools
Other schools in Huntsville City
- Virgil Grissom High SchoolHigh · 1,847 students
- Huntsville High SchoolHigh · 1,807 students
- Providence ElementaryElementary · 1,152 students
- GoldsmithSchiffman ElementaryElementary · 935 students
- Lee High SchoolHigh · 877 students
- Jemison High SchoolHigh · 858 students
Other schools in Huntsville
- Virgil Grissom High SchoolHigh · 1,847 students
- Huntsville High SchoolHigh · 1,807 students
- Providence ElementaryElementary · 1,152 students
- Monrovia Middle SchoolMiddle · 988 students
- Lee High SchoolHigh · 877 students
- Riverton Intermediate SchoolMiddle · 872 students
Other Columbia High schools
14 other US public schools in 14 states are named Columbia High. Columbia High School is the 5th largest of the 15.
- Columbia High SchoolMAPLEWOOD, NJ · 1,985 students
- COLUMBIA HIGH SCHOOLLAKE CITY, FL · 1,711 students
- COLUMBIA HIGH SCHOOLEAST GREENBUSH, NY · 1,272 students
- COLUMBIA HIGH SCHOOLNAMPA, ID · 1,165 students
- Columbia High SchoolWEST COLUMBIA, TX · 885 students
Nearby schools
- Horizon Elementary School1.5 mi · 567
- Bob Jones High School2.5 mi · 2,048
- Providence Elementary2.6 mi · 1,152
- Rainbow Elementary School2.7 mi · 725
- Discovery Middle School2.7 mi · 1,054
- Madison City School PreK Center2.9 mi · 252
Frequently asked questions
About Columbia High SchoolHow large is Columbia High School?
Columbia High School enrolls approximately 916 students in grades 09-12.
Is Columbia High School an elementary, middle, or high school?
Columbia High School is a high school covering grades 09-12.
How many teachers does Columbia High School have?
Columbia High School employs 54 FTE teachers, for a student-to-teacher ratio of 17.0:1.
What is the racial breakdown of students at Columbia High School?
At Columbia High School, the student body is approximately 13% White, 29% Hispanic, 51% Black, 1% Asian, 5% Two or more.
What district is Columbia High School in?
Columbia High School is part of Huntsville City.
Data sourceSchool profile facts are sourced from the NCES. Community content is posted by allk12 members.