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Honest take: what's the hardest part about being a student at Columbia Middle School?
Community prompt from u/allk12. Replies below.
Enrollment
875
Middle
DISTRICT 612 · STATE 577
SCHOOL COMMUNITY·MOSES LAKE SCHOOL DISTRICT·NCES 530522000785
Columbia Middle School
1111 E NELSON ROAD, MOSES LAKE, WA 98837 · (509) 766-2661 · Grant County
GRADES 06–08MIDDLE33-TOWNTITLE IREGULAR SCHOOL875 STUDENTS
B-
allk12 Grade
Scored higher than 51% of Washington public middle schools
- C+Test scores Share of students meeting the state standard in reading, math, and other tested subjects, 2023-24 and 2024-25.
- B-Beats expectations How far test scores land above or below what the share of low-income students predicts for a school in this state.
- A-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 Washington public middle schools
Student : Teacher
21.5:1
41 FTE teachers
DISTRICT 21.2:1 · STATE 18.9:1
Free / Reduced Lunch
59%
515 students
DISTRICT 64% · STATE 51%
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 6 | 309 | 35% |
| Grade 7 | 268 | 31% |
| Grade 8 | 298 | 34% |
Student demographics
56%Diversity index
The chance that two students picked at random belong to different racial or ethnic groups.
DISTRICT 55% · STATE 68% · 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
Smarter Balanced + WCAS 2024-25 . % Met or Exceeded StandardEnglish Language Arts
42.9%
WA avg 58.4% . -5.9pp since 2014
Math
35.7%
WA avg 51.2% . +0.2pp since 2014
What this means: On the Smarter Balanced + WCAS, Washington's statewide test, about 43 of every 100 students at this school read and write at grade level and about 36 of 100 do math at grade level. Across all Washington schools, those numbers are about 58 and 51. Reading and writing scores are down about 6 points since 2014, while math scores have held steady.
Smarter Balanced + WCAS results by year
| School year | English Language Arts | Math |
|---|---|---|
| 2024-25 | 42.9% | 35.7% |
| 2023-24 | 38.9% | 32.1% |
| 2022-23 | 36.3% | 28.4% |
| 2021-22 | 39.1% | 29.2% |
| 2018-19 | 50.2% | 36.2% |
| 2017-18 | 49.1% | 37.1% |
| 2016-17 | 46.5% | 35.7% |
| 2015-16 | 50.4% | 38.2% |
| 2014-15 | 48.8% | 35.6% |
% Met or Exceeded Standard, all students and all tested grades.
Source: Smarter Balanced + WCAS. 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
36.8%
composite math + reading, all grades
Predicted
40.7%
based on WA schools with similar FRL share
Beats by
-3.9pp
below demographic expectation
What this means: About 37% of students here test proficient in math and reading, compared with the roughly 41% typical for Washington 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 Washington'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 Columbia Middle School
| School | Students | Low-income | Proficient |
|---|---|---|---|
| Columbia Middle School this school | 875 | 58.9% | 36.8% |
| Frontier Middle School MOSES LAKE | 690 | 60.7% | 29.1% |
| Horse Heaven Hills Middle School KENNEWICK | 856 | 55.0% | N/A |
| East Valley Central Middle School YAKIMA | 792 | 62.4% | 39.7% |
| Sterling Junior High School East Wenatchee | 676 | 53.6% | N/A |
| Foothills Middle School WENATCHEE | 567 | 58.2% | N/A |
Matched among Washington 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 Columbia Middle School ranks
Among middle schools| Measure | This school | In Washington | In Grant County |
|---|---|---|---|
| State test proficiency ranked highest first | 36.8% | #177 of 294 | #4 of 10 |
| Math proficiency ranked highest first | 35.7% | #161 of 357 ▲ 23 | #3 of 10 ▲ 1 |
| Reading proficiency ranked highest first | 42.9% | #214 of 357 ▲ 29 | #4 of 10 no change |
| 3-year test score change ranked biggest gain first | +5.2pp | #77 of 290 | #1 of 10 |
| Enrollment ranked largest first | 875 | #38 of 377 | #1 of 10 |
| Students per teacher ranked fewest first | 21.5:1 | #289 of 340 | #9 of 10 |
| Diversity index ranked most diverse first | 55.9% | #181 of 340 | #2 of 10 |
| Free and reduced lunch ranked highest share first | 58.9% | #125 of 359 | #8 of 10 |
| Enrollment change since 2017-18 ranked steepest decline first | -6.3% | #140 of 192 | N/A |
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
875
-59 (-6%) vs 2020
+25% since 1990-91, when it was 699
Student : Teacher
21.5:1
was 20.8:1
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 | 875 | 40.6 | 21.5:1 | 59% (515) |
| 2023-24 | 871 | 47.8 | 18.2:1 | 61% (528) |
| 2022-23 | 878 | 47 | 18.7:1 | 63% (552) |
| 2020-21 | 934 | 45 | 20.8:1 | 66% (614) |
| 2017-18 | 934 | 46.9 | 19.9:1 | 60% (561) |
| 2015-16 | 888 | 43 | 20.6:1 | 61% (543) |
| 2010-11 | 975 | 51 | 19.1:1 | 60% (588) |
| 2000-01 | 799 | 38 | 21.0:1 | N/A |
| 1990-91 | 699 | 29 | 24.1:1 | N/A |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data. Rows are the federal collections on file for Columbia Middle School.
Since 2017-18: students down 6% (934 to 875); teachers down 13% (46.9 to 40.6).
About Columbia Middle School
Columbia Middle School is a large middle school. Its address is in MOSES LAKE, Washington. It teaches 875 students in grades 6 through 8. It has 52% more students than the average for middle schools in Washington (about 577).
Moses Lake School District has 20 schools and 8,430 students, and Columbia Middle School is one of those schools.
The biggest share of students at Columbia Middle School, 48%, is Hispanic. The next largest groups are 45% White and 4% multiracial. Measured by the diversity index, the student body scores 56%.
A staff of 40.6 full-time-equivalent teachers puts the student-to-teacher ratio at 21.5:1. The gap from the 18.9:1 average for middle schools in Washington is 2.6 students per teacher. By family income, 59% of students are eligible for free or reduced-price lunch. Compared with the 69% average for public schools in Grant County, the school's rate is lower.
On the allk12 Grade, Columbia Middle School lands at B-, ahead of 51% of Washington public middle schools.
When test results are adjusted for free or reduced-price lunch eligibility, Columbia Middle School is 3.9 points below its prediction. Actual: 36.8%. Predicted: 40.7%.
In Grant County, home to about 101,799 people, median household income comes to about $73,267, the share of adults with a bachelor's degree or higher is 18%, and roughly 12% of residents are in poverty. There are 61 public schools in the county, enrolling about 20,494, Columbia Middle School among them.
Of the public schools around it, Columbia Middle School is closest to MLSD Open Doors Re-Engagement Program, about 0.2 miles away. Columbia Middle School has at least 8 other public schools within five miles. Ranking the closest schools with test data puts Columbia Middle School at 3rd of 6.
NCES assigns Columbia Middle School the locale Town: Remote, meaning in a town far from an urbanized area.
From 2020-21 to 2024-25, enrollment fell from 934 to 875, a 6% decline.
You can use this page to share news and ask questions about fundraisers, report cards, and school supplies. Current and former families are welcome to add their experience.
Grant County at a glance
View full county profilePopulation
101,799
Census ACS
Median income
$73,267
Household, ACS
Bachelor's+
18%
Adults 25+
Poverty rate
12%
Below federal line
Schools in county
61
20,494 students
Quick facts
Related schools
Other schools in Moses Lake School District
- Moses Lake High SchoolHigh · 1,856 students
- Frontier Middle SchoolMiddle · 690 students
- Park Orchard Elementary SchoolElementary · 454 students
- Vicki I. Groff Elementary SchoolElementary · 413 students
- Vanguard AcademyHigh · 387 students
- Peninsula ElementaryElementary · 383 students
Other schools in MOSES LAKE
- Moses Lake High SchoolHigh · 1,856 students
- Frontier Middle SchoolMiddle · 690 students
- Park Orchard Elementary SchoolElementary · 454 students
- Vicki I. Groff Elementary SchoolElementary · 413 students
- Vanguard AcademyHigh · 387 students
- Peninsula ElementaryElementary · 383 students
Other Columbia Middle schools
10 other US public schools in 8 states are named Columbia Middle. Columbia Middle School is the 2nd largest of the 11.
- Columbia Middle SchoolBURBANK, WA · 174 students
- Columbia Middle SchoolGrovetown, GA · 903 students
- Columbia MiddleAdelanto, CA · 754 students
- Columbia MiddleSunnyvale, CA · 697 students
- Columbia Middle SchoolAURORA, CO · 636 students
Nearby schools
- MLSD Open Doors Re-Engagement Program0.2 mi · 67
- Digital Learning Center0.3 mi · 359
- Garden Heights Elementary0.3 mi · 324
- Moses Lake High School0.4 mi · 1,856
- Vicki I. Groff Elementary School0.5 mi · 413
- Lakeview Terrace Elementary0.6 mi · 303
Frequently asked questions
About Columbia Middle SchoolWhat is the total enrollment at Columbia Middle School?
Columbia Middle School enrolls approximately 875 students in grades 06-08.
Is Columbia Middle School an elementary, middle, or high school?
Columbia Middle School is a middle school covering grades 06-08.
How many teachers does Columbia Middle School have?
Columbia Middle School employs 41 FTE teachers, for a student-to-teacher ratio of 21.5:1.
What is the racial breakdown of students at Columbia Middle School?
At Columbia Middle School, the student body is approximately 45% White, 48% Hispanic, 1% Black, 1% Asian, 4% Two or more.
What district is Columbia Middle School in?
Columbia Middle School is part of Moses Lake School District.
Data sourceSchool profile facts are sourced from the NCES. Community content is posted by allk12 members.