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What advice would you give to incoming students at Central Columbia MS?
Community prompt from u/allk12. Replies below.
Enrollment
587
Middle
DISTRICT 631 · STATE 594
SCHOOL COMMUNITY·CENTRAL COLUMBIA SD·NCES 420537005390
Central Columbia Middle School
4777 Old Berwick Rd, Bloomsburg, PA 17815 · (570) 784-6103 · Columbia County
GRADES 05–08MIDDLE32-TOWNREGULAR SCHOOL587 STUDENTS
A
allk12 Grade
Scored higher than 87% of Pennsylvania public middle schools
- A-Test scores Share of students meeting the state standard in reading, math, and other tested subjects, 2023-24 and 2024-25.
- A-Beats 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 Pennsylvania public middle schools
Student : Teacher
14.7:1
40 FTE teachers
DISTRICT 13.8:1 · STATE 13.2:1
Free / Reduced Lunch
38%
222 students
DISTRICT 35% · STATE 75%
Community
1
0 members
Enrollment and student:teacher ratio compared against other middle schools. Free/Reduced Lunch and demographics compared against all schools.
Enrollment by grade, 2024-25
| Grade | Students | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Grade 5 | 143 | 24% |
| Grade 6 | 156 | 27% |
| Grade 7 | 137 | 23% |
| Grade 8 | 151 | 26% |
Student demographics
23%Diversity index
The chance that two students picked at random belong to different racial or ethnic groups.
DISTRICT 20% · STATE 59% · 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
Central Columbia Middle School→Central Columbia SHS
Feeds from
Based on grade levels within Central Columbia SD. Attendance zones can vary; confirm enrollment with the district.
Test scores
PSSA + Keystone 2024-25 . % Proficient or AdvancedEnglish Language Arts
58.5%
PA avg 51.1% . -10.3pp since 2023
Math
60.4%
PA avg 43.0% . -0.4pp since 2023
What this means: On the PSSA + Keystone, Pennsylvania's statewide test, about 59 of every 100 students at this school read and write at grade level and about 60 of 100 do math at grade level. Across all Pennsylvania schools, those numbers are about 51 and 43. Reading and writing scores are down about 10 points since 2023, while math scores have held steady.
PSSA + Keystone results by year
| School year | English Language Arts | Math |
|---|---|---|
| 2024-25 | 58.5% | 60.4% |
| 2023-24 | 68.8% | 60.8% |
% Proficient or Advanced, all students and all tested grades.
Source: PSSA + Keystone. 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
63.0%
composite math + reading, all grades
Predicted
61.4%
based on PA schools with similar FRL share
Beats by
+1.6pp
above demographic expectation
What this means: About 63% of students here test proficient in math and reading, compared with the roughly 61% typical for Pennsylvania 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 Pennsylvania'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 Central Columbia Middle School
Central Columbia Middle School's state test result (63.0% proficient) is higher than 5 of the 5 schools below with a result.
| School | Students | Low-income | Proficient |
|---|---|---|---|
| Central Columbia Middle School this school | 587 | 37.8% | 63.0% |
| Dallas Middle School Dallas | 589 | 36.2% | 52.9% |
| Danville Area Middle School Danville | 518 | 35.5% | 54.5% |
| Crossroads Middle School Lewisberry | 541 | 40.3% | 50.2% |
| Shaler Area Middle School Glenshaw | 589 | 41.1% | 47.2% |
| Blue Mountain Middle School Orwigsburg | 561 | 39.6% | 46.0% |
Matched among Pennsylvania middle 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 Central Columbia Middle School ranks
Among middle schools| Measure | This school | In Pennsylvania |
|---|---|---|
| State test proficiency ranked highest first | 63.0% | #82 of 479 |
| Math proficiency ranked highest first | 60.4% | #56 of 513 ▼ 11 |
| Reading proficiency ranked highest first | 58.5% | #163 of 513 ▼ 61 |
| Enrollment ranked largest first | 587 | #245 of 522 |
| Students per teacher ranked fewest first | 14.7:1 | #384 of 486 |
| Diversity index ranked most diverse first | 23.1% | #363 of 486 |
| Free and reduced lunch ranked highest share first | 37.8% | #357 of 510 |
| Enrollment change since 2017-18 ranked steepest decline first | -2.3% | #298 of 332 |
Ranked against other public middle 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
587
-29 (-5%) vs 2020
-13% since 1990-91, when it was 678
Student : Teacher
14.7:1
was 15.8:1
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 | 587 | 40 | 14.7:1 | 38% (222) |
| 2023-24 | 630 | 39.5 | 15.9:1 | 35% (222) |
| 2022-23 | 612 | 36.5 | 16.8:1 | 37% (224) |
| 2020-21 | 616 | 39 | 15.8:1 | 33% (201) |
| 2017-18 | 601 | 40.5 | 14.8:1 | 30% (180) |
| 2015-16 | 587 | 41 | 14.3:1 | 30% (178) |
| 2010-11 | 597 | 43 | 13.9:1 | 23% (138) |
| 2000-01 | 794 | 40 | 19.9:1 | 16% (128) |
| 1990-91 | 678 | 44 | 15.4:1 | N/A |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data. Rows are the federal collections on file for Central Columbia Middle School.
Since 2017-18: students down 2% (601 to 587); teachers down 1% (40.5 to 40).
About Central Columbia Middle School
This page covers Central Columbia Middle School, a medium-sized middle school in Bloomsburg, Pennsylvania. The school enrolls 587 students, from grades 5 through 8.
Central Columbia SD enrolls 1,893 students, and its 3 schools include Central Columbia Middle School.
At Central Columbia Middle School, White students make up 87% of the student body. The remaining students are 5% multiracial, 4% Hispanic, and 3% Asian. Central Columbia Middle School has a diversity index of 23%, compared with 70% for all US public school students.
The count of teachers at Central Columbia Middle School is 40 full-time equivalents, for a ratio of 14.7:1. The average ratio among middle schools in Pennsylvania is 13.2:1, lower than at this school. Around 38% of the school's students qualify for free or reduced-price meals. Public schools in Columbia County average 56%.
The allk12 Grade for Central Columbia Middle School is A. Compared with Pennsylvania public middle schools, the school scored higher than 87% on a mix of test scores, poverty-adjusted results, and recent trend.
After adjusting for student poverty, Central Columbia Middle School lands between the top and bottom 10% of Pennsylvania schools. Its average proficiency rate on state tests is 63.0%; the prediction is 61.4%.
In the county around the school, Columbia County, median household income is about $64,644, a bachelor's degree or higher is held by about 27% of adults, and the share of residents below the poverty line is 8%. Central Columbia Middle School is among the 20 public schools in Columbia County.
The nearest public school is Central Columbia SHS, at about 0.1 miles. There are 4 other public schools within five miles. Of the 9 nearby schools with scores, including this one, Central Columbia Middle School is 4th on average proficiency.
Its location is classified as Town: Distant by the National Center for Education Statistics.
Enrollment was 616 in 2020-21 and 587 in 2024-25, a decrease of 29 students. Staffing shifted too: the ratio moved from 15.8:1 to 14.7:1.
Threads on this page can be about enrollment questions, class placement, and PTA news. Alumni can share how the school prepared them.
Columbia County at a glance
View full county profilePopulation
65,362
Census ACS
Median income
$64,644
Household, ACS
Bachelor's+
27%
Adults 25+
Poverty rate
8%
Below federal line
Schools in county
20
7,501 students
Quick facts
Related schools
Other schools in Central Columbia SD
- Central Columbia Elementary SchoolElementary · 705 students
- Central Columbia SHSHigh · 601 students
Other schools in Bloomsburg
- Central Columbia Elementary SchoolElementary · 705 students
- Columbia-Montour Area Vocational-Technical SchoolHigh · 609 students
- Central Columbia SHSHigh · 601 students
- Memorial Elementary SchoolElementary · 405 students
- Bloomsburg Area Middle SchoolMiddle · 380 students
- Bloomsburg Area High SchoolHigh · 362 students
Nearby schools
- Central Columbia SHS0.1 mi · 601
- Central Columbia Elementary School0.4 mi · 705
- Columbia-Montour Area Vocational-Technical School0.5 mi · 609
- Memorial Elementary School4.9 mi · 405
- Bloomsburg Area High School5.1 mi · 362
- Bloomsburg Area Middle School5.1 mi · 380
Frequently asked questions
About Central Columbia Middle SchoolHow large is Central Columbia Middle School?
Central Columbia Middle School enrolls approximately 587 students in grades 05-08.
Is Central Columbia Middle School an elementary, middle, or high school?
Central Columbia Middle School is a middle school covering grades 05-08.
How many teachers does Central Columbia Middle School have?
Central Columbia Middle School employs 40 FTE teachers, for a student-to-teacher ratio of 14.7:1.
What is the student diversity at Central Columbia Middle School?
Student demographics at Central Columbia Middle School are roughly 87% White, 4% Hispanic, 3% Asian, 5% Two or more.
Is Central Columbia Middle School public or private?
Central Columbia Middle School is a public K-12 school, overseen by Central Columbia SD.
Data sourceSchool profile facts are sourced from the NCES. Community content is posted by allk12 members.