Enrollment
875
Washington · 2024-25 NCES data
2024-25 NCES data Middle school (grades 6-8) NCES 530522000785
Columbia Middle School — Moses Lake, WA
Federal NCES profile for Columbia Middle School, including enrollment, faculty, free-lunch eligibility, demographics, and resource indicators — Resource Investment Index 36/100.
👥 Class size 25
🌟 Gifted program 70
🎓 Counselors 13
📋 Attendance 38
How this works: Each indicator above is scored 0–100 from federal NCES and CRDC data, then averaged into the Resource Investment Index. This measures resource allocation — staffing, programs, and support services — not standardized test scores or academic outcomes. Full methodology →
School address
District: Moses Lake School District · Washington
Public location data per NCES (National Center for Education Statistics) Common Core of Data. Verify the school's current address on the NCES CCD record.
Teachers (FTE)
47.0
Federal CCD staff survey
Students per teacher
18.7:1
vs 17.8:1 Washington avg
+5% vs state
Free-lunch eligible
51.3%
vs 45.0% Washington avg
+14% vs state
Student-teacher ratio in context
How Columbia Middle School compares with Washington and U.S. medians
The federal record — no proprietary index, no editorial formula.
PlainSchools publishes the actual federal measurements — enrollment, staffing, demographics, discipline, and finance — straight from the NCES Common Core of Data, CRDC, and F-33 surveys. No composite rating, no opinion-based score on top. You get the same raw numbers researchers and policymakers use, with benchmarks, spending context, and equity indicators computed from the same federal datasets. Full methodology linked below.
What this school's NCES data tells you
Columbia Middle School reports 875 enrolled students to the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) alongside 47.0 full-time-equivalent teachers, producing a 18.7:1 student-teacher ratio. That figure sits 5% above the Washington state mean of 17.8:1, signalling larger average class loads than peers in the same state. Against the national 2024-25 average of 15.9:1, it is 18% higher, a useful calibration for families comparing districts across state lines.
Title I and federal lunch eligibility offer another window into the student body: 51.3% of pupils qualify for free meals, a proxy for household income that federal programs use to direct funding. The free-lunch share is 14% above the Washington average and 1% below the national baseline. Counselor coverage works out to roughly 438 students per counselor, above the ASCA-recommended ceiling of 250:1. Chronic absenteeism — missing 10% or more of school days — stands at 24.7% according to the 2021-22 Civil Rights Data Collection.
On the finance side, the surrounding Moses Lake School District spends $22,002 per pupil district-wide, below the Washington average of $23,175 and above the national average of $19,490. Revenue comes 12.8% from local sources (property taxes), 76.8% from the state, and 10.4% from federal programs per the NCES F-33 finance survey. Taken together, these measurements produce a Resource Investment Index of 36/100 (F), calculated from 4 distinct NCES and CRDC indicators measuring resource allocation rather than academic outcomes.
Source: National Center for Education Statistics Common Core of Data + CRDC + F-33 · 2024-25
How Columbia Middle School compares
Cross-validating school-level NCES values against Washington state and U.S. national means lets readers see whether this school is an outlier or in line with peers.
| Metric | This school | vs Washington | Washington avg | U.S. avg |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Students per teacher | 18.7:1 | ▲ 5% | 17.8:1 | 15.9:1 |
| Free-lunch eligible | 51.3% | ▲ 14% | 45.0% | 51.8% |
| Enrollment | 875 | top 91% | — | — |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data School-level CCD + state/national means from Public School Universe · 2024-25
What the federal data reveals about equity at this school
Federal measurements — not ratings — surface the resource and opportunity picture. Below are the indicators that researchers, civil-rights monitors, and funding formulas use to assess equity.
Economic need
51.3%
free-lunch eligible
— 14% above the Washington average of 45.0%
Above the 40% Title I schoolwide threshold — federal funds support the whole school, not individual students.
Staffing depth
18.7:1
students per teacher
— 5% above state mean
Top 73% in Washington — lower ratio than 27% of state schools
Between 15:1 and 20:1 — in line with the typical U.S. public-school staffing range.
Engagement
24.7%
chronically absent (missed 10%+ of school days)
Chronic absenteeism at or above 20% — the CDC threshold for "high" — signals significant barriers to regular attendance.
Funding equity
$22,002
per pupil, district-wide
— below Washington avg of $23,175
Above the U.S. public-school average, reflecting higher local or state investment per enrolled student.
Support staff
Counselors2.0 FTE
Per 438 students — the combined health-and-guidance staffing load for this school.
Discipline context
48
in-school suspensions + 82 out-of-school
Suspension rate: 5.5 per 100 students. Combined in-school and out-of-school rate: 14.9 per 100 students. Reported via the Civil Rights Data Collection. Includes 46 expulsions.
Overview
Enrollment 875 Top 91% in Washington — larger than 9% of 2,465 state schools
Teachers (FTE) 47.0
Students per teacher 18.7:1 +5% vs state
Free-lunch eligible 51.3% +14% vs state
NCES ID 530522000785
Student demographics
Hispanic or Latino 48.3%
White 45.4%
Two or More 3.5%
African American 1.5%
Asian 0.8%
American Indian / Alaska Native 0.3%
Native Hawaiian / Pacific Islander 0.1%
Largest group: Hispanic or Latino at 48.3% of enrollment.
Programs & staff
Gifted & talented Yes
Counselors (FTE) 2.0
Students per counselor 438:1
Discipline & special education
Chronically absent 24.7%
In-school suspensions 48
Out-of-school suspensions 82
Expulsions 46
Funding & spending
District-wide per-pupil expenditure for Moses Lake School District, which includes Columbia Middle School.
$22,002
Per student
-5%
vs Washington
Avg $23,175
+13%
vs U.S.
Avg $19,490
Revenue mix
Local 12.8%
State 76.8%
Federal 10.4%
Source: NCES F-33 School District Finance Survey District-level finance · FY 2021-22 Per-pupil expenditure reflects the district-wide average. Individual school budgets are not reported at the federal level.
Other Schools in This District
- Enrollment
- 1,856
- Students per teacher
- 24.5:1
- Enrollment
- 690
- Students per teacher
- 17.6:1
- Enrollment
- 454
- Students per teacher
- 16.3:1
- Enrollment
- 413
- Students per teacher
- 17:1
- Enrollment
- 387
- Students per teacher
- 22.1:1
Similar middle schools in Moses Lake
1 comparable middle schools (grades 6-8) serving the same city.
Educator & family resources
In-depth guides on understanding NCES data, school choice, and education funding.
Understanding NCES data
How CCD, CRDC and EDFacts feed every public-school number you see.
Choose a school district
Eight signals that matter more than the overall ranking number.
How schools are funded
Title I, F-33, state aid formulas and what per-pupil spending really means.
Chronic absenteeism
Why missing 10% of school matters and how it varies by district.
Magnet vs charter vs traditional
Three school types, three funding models, three sets of trade-offs.
School discipline data
What CRDC suspension and expulsion records do and don't reveal.
Frequently asked questions about Columbia Middle School
How many students attend Columbia Middle School?
Columbia Middle School has 875 students enrolled. It is a middle school in MOSES LAKE, WA.
What is the student-teacher ratio at Columbia Middle School?
The student-teacher ratio at Columbia Middle School is 18.7:1, which is 5% higher than the Washington average of 17.8:1 and 18% higher than the national average of 15.9:1.
What percentage of students receive free lunch at Columbia Middle School?
51.3% of students at Columbia Middle School are eligible for free lunch, compared to the Washington average of 45.0%.
What is the racial and ethnic makeup of Columbia Middle School?
The largest demographic group at Columbia Middle School is Hispanic or Latino at 48.3%. The school serves a diverse student body in MOSES LAKE, WA.
What is the Resource Investment Index for Columbia Middle School?
Columbia Middle School has a Resource Investment Index of 36/100 (F) based on 4 factors: student-teacher ratio, counselor availability, attendance rates. This index measures federal resource allocation — staffing levels, program availability, and support services — not standardized test scores or academic outcomes.