Enrollment
227
Montana · 2024-25 NCES data
High school (grades 9-12) · Columbus, MT
Columbus High School
Federal NCES profile for Columbus High School, including enrollment, faculty, free-lunch eligibility, demographics, and resource indicators - Resource Investment Index 36/100.
2024-25 NCES dataHigh school (grades 9-12)NCES 300720000205
👥 S:T ratio 35
📚 AP courses 10
🌟 Gifted program 30
🎓 Counselors 55
📋 Attendance 52
Scored 0–100 from federal NCES and CRDC indicators, resource allocation, not test scores. Full methodology →
The verdict
Columbus High School earns 36/100 on the Resource Investment Index, with class sizes larger than 86% of Montana schools.
- #2 of 3
- public schools in Columbus · Resource Index
- 36
- Resource Index · Typical
- 16.2:1
- large classes for Montana
- 227
- students enrolled
Columbus High School has class sizes larger than 86% of Montana schools. Computed live against every Montana school reporting to NCES.
By Resource Investment Index, Columbus High School ranks #2 of 3 public schools in Columbus, MT.
School address
District: Columbus H S · Montana
NCES ID 300720000205 Verify on NCES CCD record →
Teachers (FTE)
14.0
Federal CCD staff survey
Students per teacher
16.2:1
vs 11.8:1 Montana avg
+37% vs state
Student-teacher ratio in context
How Columbus High School compares with Montana and U.S. medians
What stands out at Columbus High School
Columbus High School is a mid-sized high school in Columbus, Montana, enrolling 227 students.
Class loads run heavy: 16.2:1 is larger than about 86% of Montana schools and 37% above the 11.8:1 state mean, so each teacher carries more students than is typical.
Enrollment of 227 puts it in the larger third of Montana schools by headcount.
Its Resource Investment Index sits near the middle of the pack among 826 scored Montana schools.
Its student body is predominantly White (91% of enrollment) (diversity index 17/100).
No Advanced Placement courses are reported for this campus in the federal data.
Counselor coverage is strong, about 227 students per counselor, inside the American School Counselor Association's recommended 250:1.
Attendance runs somewhat below the norm, with 19.4% of students chronically absent per the 2021-22 civil-rights collection.
The surrounding Columbus H S spends $13,632 per pupil, 29% below the Montana average, a leaner-resourced district than most.
Columbus H S operates only this one school, so Columbus High School has no district-mates to compare against locally.
Sourced from NCES CCD, CRDC, and F-33 (federal records, not a quality verdict). How we source and compute this.
Source: National Center for Education Statistics Common Core of Data + CRDC + F-33 · 2024-25
How Columbus High School compares
Columbus High School on the metrics families compare, against Montana and U.S. means.
| Metric | This school | vs Montana | Montana avg | U.S. avg |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Students per teacher | 16.2:1 | ▲ 37% | 11.8:1 | 15.7:1 |
| Enrollment | 227 | top 29% | - | - |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data School-level CCD + state/national means from Public School Universe · 2024-25
16.2:1
Leaner classes than 36% of US schools, a middle-of-the-pack class size.
227
Bigger than 23% of US schools by enrollment, mid-sized for the country.
Equity indicators (what these measure)
Staffing depth
16.2:1
students per teacher
- 37% above state mean
Top 86% in Montana - lower ratio than 14% of state schools
Between 16:1 and 20:1, squarely in the typical U.S. public-school staffing range.
Engagement
19.4%
chronically absent (missed 10%+ of school days)
In the 15-20% range, nearing the "high" absenteeism threshold.
Funding equity
$13,632
per pupil, district-wide
- below Montana avg of $19,282
Somewhat below the U.S. average per-pupil spend; funding constraints may affect programs, facilities, and staffing.
Support staff
Counselors1.0 FTE
Per 227 students, the combined health-and-guidance staffing load for this school.
Discipline context
7
in-school suspensions + 7 out-of-school
Suspension rate: 3.1 per 100 students. Combined in-school and out-of-school rate: 6.2 per 100 students. Reported via the Civil Rights Data Collection.
Overview
- Common Core of Data (June 2026): enrollment, staffing, and the student-teacher ratio above.
- Civil Rights Data Collection: discipline counts and program access (AP, gifted, special education).
- F-33 School District Finance Survey: the district-wide per-pupil spending figures below.
Three separate federal collections, each on its own reporting cadence - which is why this school's numbers line up on a consistent basis against every other school and state on this site, rather than mixing figures pulled from different survey years.
Student demographics
White 91.2%
Hispanic or Latino 5.7%
Two or More 1.8%
African American 0.4%
Asian 0.4%
American Indian / Alaska Native 0.4%
Largest group: White at 91.2% of enrollment.
Student-body diversity index 16.5/100
Simpson diversity index - at 16.5, Columbus High School is less mixed than the Montana school average of 23.6.
Programs
AP program Not offered
Funding & spending
District-wide per-pupil expenditure for Columbus H S, which includes Columbus High School.
$13,632
Per student
-29%
vs Montana
Avg $19,282
-18%
vs U.S.
Avg $16,593
Revenue mix
Local 61.8%
State 36.4%
Federal 1.8%
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.
Similar high schools statewide
Matched by enrollment size and by staffing ratio across all of Montana, not just this city - a different peer set than the local comparisons above.
Similar enrollment (~227 students)
Similar student-teacher ratio (~16.2:1)
Next steps
Verify locally before acting on Columbus High School's federal record.
- Compare Columbus High School against another school. Compare schools
- Columbus H S's spending and staffing shape this school. District profile
- Confirm current enrollment and boundaries with the school. Choosing guide
Federal record (CCD 2024-25, CRDC 2021-22) - PlainSchools assigns no subjective rating; the composite quality score is a transparent, reproducible index computed from this cited federal data.
Frequently asked questions about Columbus High School
How many students attend Columbus High School?
Columbus High School has 227 students enrolled. It is a high school in Columbus, MT.
What is the student-teacher ratio at Columbus High School?
The student-teacher ratio at Columbus High School is 16.2:1, which is 37% higher than the Montana average of 11.8:1 and 3% higher than the national average of 15.7:1.
What is the racial and ethnic makeup of Columbus High School?
The largest demographic group at Columbus High School is White at 91.2% of enrollment, in Columbus, MT.
What is the Resource Investment Index for Columbus High School?
Columbus High School has a Resource Investment Index of 36/100 (typical reported resources relative to schools nationally) based on 5 factors: student-teacher ratio, counselor availability, attendance rates. Not a test-score or academic measure (national median ~41/100, see methodology).
How does Columbus High School rank among public schools in Columbus?
By Resource Investment Index, Columbus High School ranks #2 of 3 public schools in Columbus, MT. This compares federal resource and staffing data among local peers; it is not a test-score or academic ranking. See all public schools in Columbus on the city page.
Is Columbus High School a good school?
Columbus High School earns 36/100 on the Resource Investment Index, with class sizes larger than 86% of Montana schools. This is a resource snapshot, not an academic rating; see the Resource Investment Index question above for what the number does and doesn't measure.
What other schools are in Columbus H S?
None reported; Columbus H S operates only Columbus High School as a public school district in NCES's records.
Related tools
Every figure on PlainSchools is rendered directly from the source NCES, CRDC and F-33 federal records, no number is typed in by an editor. Each school's figures reflect its most recent NCES/CRDC submission on file. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error. Data current as of June 2026.