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If you could change one rule at Waddell Elementary School, what would it be?
Community prompt from u/allk12. Replies below.
Enrollment
520
Elementary
DISTRICT 446 · STATE 605
SCHOOL COMMUNITY·MUSCOGEE COUNTY·NCES 130387001434
Waddell Elementary School
6101 Miller Rd, Columbus, GA 31907 · (706) 569-3722 · Muscogee County
GRADES PK–05ELEMENTARY12-CITYTITLE IREGULAR SCHOOL520 STUDENTS
D
allk12 Grade
Scored higher than 11% of Georgia public elementary schools
- DTest scores Share of students meeting the state standard in reading, math, and other tested subjects, 2023-24 and 2024-25.
- CBeats expectations How far test scores land above or below what the share of low-income students predicts for a school in this state.
- C-Three-year trend Change in reading and math proficiency over the last three test years.
Grades compare a school only with schools in the same state, because every state gives its own test. How grades work · Top-graded Georgia public elementary schools
Student : Teacher
16.5:1
32 FTE teachers
DISTRICT 14.4:1 · STATE 13.3:1
Free / Reduced Lunch
100%
520 students
DISTRICT 89% · STATE 74%
Community
6
0 members
Enrollment and student:teacher ratio compared against other elementary schools. Free/Reduced Lunch and demographics compared against all schools.
Enrollment by grade, 2024-25
| Grade | Students | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Pre-K | 39 | 8% |
| Kindergarten | 84 | 16% |
| Grade 1 | 70 | 13% |
| Grade 2 | 80 | 15% |
| Grade 3 | 87 | 17% |
| Grade 4 | 84 | 16% |
| Grade 5 | 76 | 15% |
This year's kindergarten class (84) is 11% larger than its 5th grade class (76).
Student demographics
39%Diversity index
The chance that two students picked at random belong to different racial or ethnic groups.
DISTRICT 61% · STATE 71% · 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
Georgia Milestones 2024-25 . % Proficient or DistinguishedEnglish Language Arts
21.4%
GA avg 40.1% . -9.6pp since 2021
Math
21.0%
GA avg 44.6% . +1.2pp since 2021
What this means: On the Georgia Milestones, Georgia's statewide test, about 21 of every 100 students at this school read and write at grade level and about 21 of 100 do math at grade level. Across all Georgia schools, those numbers are about 40 and 45. Reading and writing scores are down about 10 points since 2021, while math scores are up about 1 points.
Georgia Milestones results by year
| School year | English Language Arts | Math |
|---|---|---|
| 2024-25 | 21.4% | 21.0% |
| 2023-24 | 25.7% | 11.4% |
| 2022-23 | 23.1% | 19.0% |
| 2021-22 | 31.0% | 19.8% |
% Proficient or Distinguished, all students and all tested grades.
Source: Georgia Milestones. All students, all grades. See all years and grades →
BeatsExpectations
Demographically-adjusted score · methodologyTier
AS EXPECTED
Performing as predicted given the school's student profile
Actual proficiency
20.9%
composite math + reading, all grades
Predicted
25.7%
based on GA schools with similar FRL share
Beats by
-4.8pp
below demographic expectation
What this means: About 21% of students here test proficient in math and reading, compared with the roughly 26% typical for Georgia schools with a similar share of low-income students. BeatsExpectations measures results against demographically similar schools rather than by raw scores, and this school falls within the typical range, neither among Georgia's top nor bottom 10%.
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 Waddell Elementary School
Waddell Elementary School's state test result (20.9% proficient) is higher than 2 of the 5 schools below with a result.
| School | Students | Low-income | Proficient |
|---|---|---|---|
| Waddell Elementary School this school | 520 | 100.0% | 20.9% |
| Dorothy Hains Elementary School Augusta | 479 | 100.0% | 16.1% |
| Hillcrest Elementary Dublin | 546 | 100.0% | 31.8% |
| Kay R Pace Elementary School of the Arts Jonesboro | 518 | 100.0% | 39.7% |
| Diamond Lakes Elementary School Hephzibah | 579 | 100.0% | 13.3% |
| Sumter County Elementary School Americus | 539 | 100.0% | 21.2% |
Matched among Georgia elementary 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 Waddell Elementary School ranks
Among elementary schools| Measure | This school | In Georgia | In Muscogee County |
|---|---|---|---|
| State test proficiency ranked highest first | 20.9% | #1,026 of 1,208 | #16 of 32 |
| Math proficiency ranked highest first | 21.0% | #1,046 of 1,215 ▲ 137 | #13 of 32 ▲ 13 |
| Reading proficiency ranked highest first | 21.4% | #971 of 1,215 ▼ 69 | #15 of 32 ▼ 1 |
| 3-year test score change ranked biggest drop first | -4.2pp | #171 of 1,183 | #5 of 28 |
| Enrollment ranked largest first | 520 | #813 of 1,324 | #8 of 33 |
| Students per teacher ranked fewest first | 16.5:1 | #1,260 of 1,301 | #28 of 33 |
| Diversity index ranked most diverse first | 38.6% | #974 of 1,301 | #21 of 33 |
| Free and reduced lunch ranked highest share first | 100% | #321 of 1,312 | #10 of 33 |
| Enrollment change since 2017-18 ranked fastest growth first | +12.6% | #156 of 386 | #4 of 8 |
Ranked against other public elementary 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
520
+81 (+18%) vs 2020
-26% since 1990-91, when it was 698
Student : Teacher
16.5:1
was 15.7:1
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 | 520 | 31.5 | 16.5:1 | 100% (520) |
| 2023-24 | 482 | 28.4 | 17.0:1 | 100% (482) |
| 2022-23 | 473 | 28.5 | 16.6:1 | 97% (457) |
| 2020-21 | 439 | 28 | 15.7:1 | 97% (424) |
| 2017-18 | 462 | 28.5 | 16.2:1 | 94% (436) |
| 2015-16 | 525 | 30 | 17.5:1 | 82% (428) |
| 2010-11 | 576 | 33 | 17.4:1 | 72% (415) |
| 2000-01 | 595 | 28 | 21.3:1 | 55% (327) |
| 1990-91 | 698 | 31 | 22.5:1 | N/A |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data. Rows are the federal collections on file for Waddell Elementary School.
Since 2017-18: students up 13% (462 to 520); teachers up 11% (28.5 to 31.5).
About Waddell Elementary School
Waddell Elementary School is a medium-sized elementary school for students in Columbus, Georgia. The latest federal count shows 520 students in pre-K through 5.
Muscogee County has 54 schools; together they serve 30,091 students.
Black students make up a majority at Waddell Elementary School, at 77%. Other students are 8% White, 7% Hispanic, and 6% multiracial. That is higher than the 47% Black share among all Muscogee County residents. The school's diversity index is 39%, meaning two students picked at random have a 39% chance of belonging to different racial or ethnic groups.
Waddell Elementary School employs 31.5 full-time-equivalent teachers. That gives a ratio of about 16.5:1. This ratio sits 3.2 above the 13.3:1 average for elementary schools in Georgia. Free or reduced-price lunch eligibility was 100% in 2024-25. That is 14 points above the 86% average for public schools in Muscogee County.
allk12 grades Waddell Elementary School a D. The grade compares the school only with Georgia public elementary schools, because each state gives its own test.
On BeatsExpectations, Waddell Elementary School is 4.8 points below its prediction, a result in the middle 80% of Georgia schools.
Federal survey data for Muscogee County show that the median household income is $58,073, a bachelor's degree or higher is held by about 31% of adults, and the poverty rate is about 15%. Muscogee County is home to 57 public schools and about 30,110 public school students.
Aaron Cohn Regional Youth Detention Center is the nearest neighboring public school, about 1.9 miles away. Within five miles of Waddell Elementary School, there are at least 8 other public schools. Of 8 schools in the immediate area with test results, Waddell Elementary School ranks 6th on average proficiency.
In the federal locale system, Waddell Elementary School is coded City: Mid-size, for schools inside a principal city with a population between 100,000 and 250,000.
Compared with 2020-21, the school had 81 more students in 2024-25.
Conversations here can range across enrollment questions, class placement, and PTA news. Reviews and ratings from people who know the school are welcome.
Muscogee County at a glance
View full county profilePopulation
203,711
Census ACS
Median income
$58,073
Household, ACS
Bachelor's+
31%
Adults 25+
Poverty rate
15%
Below federal line
Schools in county
57
30,110 students
Quick facts
Related schools
Other schools in Muscogee County
- Northside High SchoolHigh · 1,405 students
- Shaw High SchoolHigh · 1,162 students
- Columbus High SchoolHigh · 1,161 students
- Hardaway High SchoolHigh · 1,067 students
- Jordan Vocational High SchoolHigh · 1,040 students
- Spencer High SchoolHigh · 1,016 students
Other schools in Columbus
- Northside High SchoolHigh · 1,405 students
- Shaw High SchoolHigh · 1,162 students
- Columbus High SchoolHigh · 1,161 students
- Hardaway High SchoolHigh · 1,067 students
- Jordan Vocational High SchoolHigh · 1,040 students
- Spencer High SchoolHigh · 1,016 students
Nearby schools
- Aaron Cohn Regional Youth Detention Center1.9 mi · 19
- Blackmon Road Middle School2.0 mi · 478
- Reese Road Leadership Academy2.0 mi · 387
- Forrest Road Elementary School2.3 mi · 278
- Fort Middle School2.4 mi · 440
- Midland Middle School2.5 mi · 455
Frequently asked questions
About Waddell Elementary SchoolWhat is the total enrollment at Waddell Elementary School?
Waddell Elementary School enrolls approximately 520 students in grades PK-05.
What age range does Waddell Elementary School serve?
Waddell Elementary School serves students from grade PK through grade 05.
What is the student-teacher ratio at Waddell Elementary School?
The student-to-teacher ratio at Waddell Elementary School is approximately 16.5:1 (32 FTE teachers).
What is the racial breakdown of students at Waddell Elementary School?
At Waddell Elementary School, the student body is approximately 8% White, 7% Hispanic, 77% Black, 1% Asian, 6% Two or more.
Is Waddell Elementary School public or private?
Waddell Elementary School is a public K-12 school, overseen by Muscogee County.
Data sourceSchool profile facts are sourced from the NCES. Community content is posted by allk12 members.