The top reported proficiency rate is 49% in Math. The lowest is 39% in English language arts.
Original Research by School Decision on Columbia Elementary School
Columbia Elementary School, part of Woodland School District, serves children from pre-kindergarten through fourth grade in the small, growing city of Woodland, Washington. The school sits at the southern gateway to Mount St. Helens and the Lewis River recreation areas, a community defined by its historic Old Town district, the long-running Planter’s Days festival, and its position at the I-5 junction just north of Vancouver. The city has seen steady population growth, and the school district has responded with a new middle school campus that opened recently, funded by a capital bond passed in the same period.
The school enrolls a modest number of students for an elementary, with enrollment spread fairly evenly from kindergarten through fourth grade, plus a pre-kindergarten program. The student body is predominantly white, with a notable Hispanic or Latino population, and smaller numbers of students identifying with two or more races. Just over half of the students qualify for free or reduced-price meals, giving the school a middle-to-lower economic profile. Data on the share of students with an individualized education program or those classified as English learners were not available.
State testing data is available for the most recent school year, covering third and fourth graders in both math and English language arts. In math, the school’s combined third- and fourth-grade proficiency rate placed it in the top quartile when compared to other elementary schools in Cowlitz County, which reflects a stronger result than many of its district neighbors. In English language arts, proficiency rates were lower. For each grade, about a third to two-fifths of students met the state standard. That puts the school around the middle of the pack relative to other elementary schools in the county. Only one year of testing data was available, so there is no trend to assess yet.
Because Columbia Elementary serves only through fourth grade, there is no graduation rate to report, and chronic absenteeism data was also missing from the available information. A parent considering this school may want to ask the school directly about attendance patterns and how it supports students who are still building foundational literacy skills.
The local housing market has kept pace with the area’s growth. Home values in the zip code are modestly below the state average, but they have been rising, reflecting the broader pressures of the Portland-Vancouver metropolitan corridor. Rents are about in line with national affordability benchmarks, but the cost of buying a home is significantly higher than the national median relative to income, which may factor into a family’s long-term planning.
Columbia Elementary does not have any special designations as a charter or magnet school. It is a regular public school neighborhood elementary. The district operates three elementary schools, one middle school, and one high school, meaning students from Columbia will move on to a district middle school after fourth grade. A parent looking for a small elementary in a growing community that has invested in its school facilities, with math outcomes that compare well locally and literacy results that are more mixed, would find a straightforward, grounded option here.
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