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What's the biggest difference between Northern Heights Elementary School and what you expected?
Community prompt from u/allk12. Replies below.
Enrollment
504
Elementary
DISTRICT 419 · STATE 436
SCHOOL COMMUNITY·WHITLEY COUNTY CON SCHOOLS·NCES 180228001185
Northern Heights Elementary School
5209 N SR 109, Columbia City, IN 46725 · (260) 691-2371 · Whitley County
GRADES KG–05ELEMENTARY42-RURALREGULAR SCHOOL504 STUDENTS
C
allk12 Grade
Scored higher than 34% of Indiana public elementary schools
- BTest scores Share of students meeting the state standard in reading, math, and other tested subjects, 2023-24 and 2024-25.
- DBeats 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 Indiana public elementary schools
Student : Teacher
15.2:1
33 FTE teachers
DISTRICT 15.3:1 · STATE 15.5:1
Free / Reduced Lunch
30%
151 students
DISTRICT 32% · STATE 50%
Community
5
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Kindergarten | 68 | 13% |
| Grade 1 | 80 | 16% |
| Grade 2 | 82 | 16% |
| Grade 3 | 92 | 18% |
| Grade 4 | 89 | 18% |
| Grade 5 | 93 | 18% |
This year's kindergarten class (68) is 27% smaller than its 5th grade class (93).
Student demographics
14%Diversity index
The chance that two students picked at random belong to different racial or ethnic groups.
DISTRICT 18% · STATE 57% · 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
School pathway
Students here typically continue to
Based on grade levels within Whitley County Con Schools. Attendance zones can vary; confirm enrollment with the district.
Test scores
ILEARN 2024-25 . % At or Above ProficiencyEnglish Language Arts
42.6%
IN avg 39.2%
Math
51.5%
IN avg 41.1%
What this means: On the ILEARN, Indiana's statewide test, about 43 of every 100 students at this school read and write at grade level and about 51 of 100 do math at grade level. Across all Indiana schools, those numbers are about 39 and 41.
Source: ILEARN. 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
44.0%
composite math + reading, all grades
Predicted
54.3%
based on IN schools with similar FRL share
Beats by
-10.4pp
below demographic expectation
What this means: About 44% of students here test proficient in math and reading, compared with the roughly 54% typical for Indiana 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 Indiana'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 Northern Heights Elementary School
Northern Heights Elementary School's state test result (44.0% proficient) is higher than 1 of the 4 schools below with a result.
| School | Students | Low-income | Proficient |
|---|---|---|---|
| Northern Heights Elementary School this school | 504 | 30.0% | 44.0% |
| Batesville Primary School Batesville | 542 | 30.4% | N/A |
| Batesville Intermediate School Batesville | 490 | 31.0% | 47.0% |
| Barr Reeve Elementary School Montgomery | 507 | 31.4% | 58.7% |
| Rossville Elementary School Rossville | 440 | 29.5% | 54.5% |
| Avilla Elementary School Avilla | 422 | 29.6% | 42.0% |
Matched among Indiana 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 Northern Heights Elementary School ranks
Among elementary schools| Measure | This school | In Indiana | In Whitley County |
|---|---|---|---|
| State test proficiency ranked highest first | 44.0% | #437 of 983 | #2 of 6 |
| Math proficiency ranked highest first | 51.5% | #385 of 986 | #1 of 6 |
| Reading proficiency ranked highest first | 42.6% | #386 of 986 | #2 of 6 |
| Enrollment ranked largest first | 504 | #368 of 1,079 | #2 of 6 |
| Students per teacher ranked fewest first | 15.2:1 | #522 of 991 | #3 of 6 |
| Diversity index ranked most diverse first | 13.9% | #866 of 996 | #6 of 6 |
| Free and reduced lunch ranked highest share first | 30.0% | #913 of 1,058 | #6 of 6 |
| Enrollment change since 2017-18 ranked steepest decline first | -2.1% | #546 of 597 | N/A |
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
504
+16 (+3%) vs 2020
+7% since 2000-01, when it was 472
Student : Teacher
15.2:1
was 14.8:1
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 | 504 | 33.2 | 15.2:1 | 30% (151) |
| 2023-24 | 519 | 33.2 | 15.7:1 | 31% (161) |
| 2022-23 | 510 | 28 | 18.2:1 | 34% (171) |
| 2020-21 | 488 | 33 | 14.8:1 | 27% (134) |
| 2017-18 | 515 | 27 | 19.1:1 | 36% (187) |
| 2015-16 | 477 | 26 | 18.4:1 | 31% (148) |
| 2010-11 | 495 | 28 | 17.7:1 | 32% (160) |
| 2000-01 | 472 | 25 | 18.9:1 | 12% (55) |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data. Rows are the federal collections on file for Northern Heights Elementary School.
About Northern Heights Elementary School
Northern Heights Elementary School is a medium-sized elementary school in Columbia City, Indiana. Its 504 students are spread across kindergarten through 5.
Whitley County Con Schools is made up of 7 schools with 3,686 students in all.
The large majority of students at Northern Heights Elementary School, 93%, are White. The rest of enrollment is 4% multiracial and 3% Hispanic. That is close to the 93% White share among all Whitley County residents. By the diversity index, Northern Heights Elementary School comes in at 14%.
Northern Heights Elementary School employs 33.2 full-time-equivalent teachers. That gives a ratio of about 15.2:1. Elementary schools in Indiana have a similar average ratio of 15.5:1. Northern Heights Elementary School's free or reduced-price lunch eligibility rate is 30%. That is close to the 33% average for public schools in Whitley County.
allk12 grades Northern Heights Elementary School a C. The grade compares the school only with Indiana public elementary schools, because each state gives its own test.
On a poverty-adjusted basis, Northern Heights Elementary School falls in the middle 80% of Indiana schools: 44.0% actual against 54.3% predicted.
Northern Heights Elementary School is located in Whitley County, where median household income is about $78,083, the share of adults with a bachelor's degree or higher is 24%, and about 8% of people live in poverty. Northern Heights Elementary School is one of 12 public schools in Whitley County, which together enroll about 5,594 students.
Of nearby public schools, Eagleview Online is the closest, at about 5.6 miles. The count of other public schools within ten miles is at least 8. Its average proficiency rate of 44.0% is above the 36.5% average for nearby schools.
Under the NCES locale system, Northern Heights Elementary School is Rural: Distant.
Federal counts put enrollment at 488 in 2020-21 and 504 in 2024-25, a 3% gain.
Threads on this page can be about enrollment questions, class placement, and PTA news. Alumni can share how the school prepared them.
Whitley County at a glance
View full county profilePopulation
34,618
Census ACS
Median income
$78,083
Household, ACS
Bachelor's+
24%
Adults 25+
Poverty rate
8%
Below federal line
Schools in county
12
5,594 students
Quick facts
Related schools
Other schools in Whitley County Con Schools
- Columbia City High SchoolHigh · 1,202 students
- Indian Springs Middle SchoolMiddle · 797 students
- Little Turtle Elementary SchoolElementary · 583 students
- Mary Raber Elementary SchoolElementary · 297 students
- Coesse SchoolElementary · 291 students
- Eagleview OnlineCombined · 12 students
Other schools in Columbia City
- Columbia City High SchoolHigh · 1,202 students
- Indian Springs Middle SchoolMiddle · 797 students
- Little Turtle Elementary SchoolElementary · 583 students
- Mary Raber Elementary SchoolElementary · 297 students
- Coesse SchoolElementary · 291 students
Nearby schools
- Eagleview Online5.6 mi · 12
- Mary Raber Elementary School5.6 mi · 297
- Central Noble Primary School6.7 mi · 238
- Columbia City High School6.9 mi · 1,202
- Indian Springs Middle School7.2 mi · 797
- Little Turtle Elementary School7.2 mi · 583
Frequently asked questions
About Northern Heights Elementary SchoolHow many students attend Northern Heights Elementary School?
Northern Heights Elementary School enrolls approximately 504 students in grades KG-05.
What age range does Northern Heights Elementary School serve?
Northern Heights Elementary School serves students from grade KG through grade 05.
How many students per teacher at Northern Heights Elementary School?
Approximately 15.2:1 students per teacher at Northern Heights Elementary School.
How diverse is Northern Heights Elementary School?
Northern Heights Elementary School reports a student body of 93% White, 3% Hispanic, 0% Black, 0% Asian, 4% Two or more.
What district is Northern Heights Elementary School in?
Northern Heights Elementary School is part of Whitley County Con Schools.
Data sourceSchool profile facts are sourced from the NCES. Community content is posted by allk12 members.