The top reported proficiency rate is 37% in Science. The lowest is 28% in Math.
Original Research by School Decision on New Haven Elem.
New Haven Elementary is a regular public school in Columbia, Missouri, serving students from pre-kindergarten through fifth grade. It is part of the Columbia 93 school district, the fourth largest in the state. The school is situated in a city that is the fastest-growing municipality in Missouri, a Midwestern college town anchored by the University of Missouri, with a strong student presence from multiple colleges. The local economy is dominated by education and healthcare, and the city has a notable concentration of financial services and technology companies founded there. The area around the school blends residential neighborhoods with the larger university and commercial fabric of the city.
The student body is composed of a diverse mix of backgrounds. White students make up the largest single group, followed by a substantial share of Hispanic students, a significant Black population, and smaller numbers of Asian and multiracial students. A very large proportion of the student body qualifies for free or reduced-price lunch, which is a widely used indicator of low-income household status. This is a high-need student population by that measure.
State assessment data for the 2024-25 school year is available but shows a pattern of results that a parent would want to understand fully. Performance on the Missouri Assessment Program tests was mixed by grade and subject. In fourth-grade math, roughly one in five students scored at the proficient level or above, and in fifth-grade math, about one in three did. In English language arts, fourth-grade proficiency was in a similar range, while fifth-grade proficiency reached nearly half of students. Fifth-grade science results showed about a third of students meeting the proficient bar. Some results for third grade, in both math and English language arts, were suppressed in the data provided, so a complete picture for that grade is not available. The school’s overall proficiency across tested subjects, when compared to other districts in Boone County, falls in the bottom quartile. This is a soft spot in the academic picture that a family should discuss with the school to understand the specific support and interventions in place.
The school offers only the elementary grades, so there is no graduation rate to report. As an elementary school, it does not have the same program breadth that a high school would, such as AP or career pathways. The district has recently taken steps that affect elementary instruction. A new literacy curriculum based on the science of reading, with a focus on phonics and structured literacy, began phasing in during the 2023-24 school year, and teacher training is ongoing. The district has also implemented a 1:1 technology initiative, providing iPads to students in grades 3 through 5, which was fully in place by early 2024.
Housing in the area carries a cost that is above the national benchmark. Both home values and rents have seen upward movement recently. For a family considering a move, the housing market here feels expensive relative to the national average, and the monthly cost to rent is higher than the estimated cost to own with a mortgage, which is atypical and worth checking against current local conditions. The broader Columbia area benefits from low unemployment and steady job growth, concentrated in the university, healthcare, and insurance sectors.
New Haven Elementary serves a high-poverty, diverse student population and sits within a growing, economically dynamic college town. Its academic proficiency numbers, as measured by the state, are below the median of other districts in the county, and this is the central fact a family would want to investigate further through a visit and a conversation with school leadership about academic support and improvement efforts. The district has signaled a focus on early literacy and expanded technology access, but the effect of those changes on this school’s outcomes is not yet visible in the state test results.
See more original research from School Decision →