Johnson Elementary School, Columbus GA

Original Research by School Decision on Johnson Elementary School

Johnson Elementary School serves pre-K through fifth grade and sits on Woodlawn Avenue in Columbus, Georgia. It is a public school within Muscogee County Public Schools, a district that covers the consolidated city-county.

The school serves a student body that is economically disadvantaged at scale: nearly all students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch. The racial composition is roughly evenly split between Black students and students of other races, with a White plurality, a Hispanic minority, and very small numbers of multiracial and Native American students. Enrollment is small to mid-sized for an elementary school serving these grades.

State testing data from spring 2025 shows persistent academic challenges across the board. In math, proficiency rates ranged across the tested grades, with third grade at the lowest end and fourth grade slightly higher. Fifth-grade math proficiency fell to single digits as a share of students. In English language arts, fourth grade was particularly weak; third and fifth grades showed higher rates, though all remained well below what would be expected statewide. Fifth-grade science proficiency was also low. The school's only multi-year data point comes from a social studies assessment more than a decade old, so no recent trend is available. Parents considering Johnson should understand that current proficiency in core academics is substantially below state norms, and a parent may want to look into current remediation and intervention structures with the school directly.

Columbus is a mid-sized city along the Chattahoochee River, home to Fort Moore (the state's largest single-site employer), Aflac's headquarters, and several other regional employers. Downtown and Uptown Columbus have been revitalized with food, entertainment, and infill housing around the RiverWalk, a fifteen-mile walking and biking trail. Beyond Uptown and the historic core, Columbus is predominantly car-oriented. The city's population peaked around 2020 and has slipped modestly since, with economists citing slow growth and outmigration toward Atlanta. That said, major projects including Pratt & Whitney expansion, a new ballpark development, and advanced manufacturing and food-processing facilities are underway and bringing jobs.

Housing in the 31904 zip code is below state and national benchmarks. Home values are moderate, and rents are affordable relative to local incomes, making the area accessible to families on modest budgets. Unemployment is stable. The district has committed substantial capital to facility improvements through a voter-approved sales tax renewal and has pursued above-rollback property tax increases in recent years to fund operations, so families should factor ongoing property tax growth into long-term cost calculations.

Johnson Elementary is not a choice school; it is the neighborhood school assignment for its area. The data does not describe special education or English learner populations, program breadth, staffing, or attendance rates. For families in its zone, the school is available immediately. For families considering a move to Columbus or the area, the academic performance data is a significant consideration, and direct conversations with the school about its current improvement work would be warranted.

See more original research from School Decision →

Academic performance

How students perform on state tests, by grade, set against the district.

Math

Grade 315%

School 15% · District 27% · ▼ 12 pts below district

▼ 25 pts below state median · ▼ 1 pts below county median

Grade 419%

School 19% · District 30% · ▼ 11 pts below district

▼ 26 pts below state median · even with county median

Grade 512%

School 12% · District 26% · ▼ 15 pts below district

▼ 26 pts below state median · ▼ 8 pts below county median

English language arts

Grade 322%

School 22% · District 25% · ▼ 3 pts below district

▼ 9 pts below state median · ▲ 1 pts above county median

Grade 410%

School 10% · District 27% · ▼ 17 pts below district

▼ 25 pts below state median · ▼ 11 pts below county median

Grade 519%

School 19% · District 32% · ▼ 14 pts below district

▼ 20 pts below state median · ▼ 9 pts below county median

Science

Grade 514%

School 14% · District 32% · ▼ 18 pts below district

▼ 25 pts below state median · ▼ 11 pts below county median

Social studies

Grades 3-884%

School 84% · district not reported

▲ 1 pts above state median · ▲ 15 pts above county median

This schoolMuscogee County, same grade

Graduation rate (ACGR) reflects the federally published Adjusted Cohort Graduation Rate for the most recent year available. We refresh this data annually at the close of each academic year in June. The federal source publishes a banded rate (for example, "90-94%") instead of an exact number for cohorts small enough to risk identifying individual students. The state distribution chart, where shown, plots every school in the state with a published rate or band; schools whose rate is federally suppressed are excluded. Where the federal source publishes a band rather than an exact rate, the school is placed within its band using a stable, ID-derived offset, so its position is consistent across visits.