Enrollment
597
Mississippi · 2024-25 NCES data
Middle school (grades 6-8) · Columbus, MS
Columbus Middle School
Federal NCES profile for Columbus Middle School, including enrollment, faculty, free-lunch eligibility, demographics, and resource indicators - Resource Investment Index 44/100.
2024-25 NCES dataMiddle school (grades 6-8)NCES 280120001380
👥 S:T ratio 51
🌟 Gifted program 70
🎓 Counselors 40
📋 Attendance 16
Scored 0–100 from federal NCES and CRDC indicators, resource allocation, not test scores. Full methodology →
The verdict
Columbus Middle School earns 44/100 on the Resource Investment Index, with class sizes near the Mississippi median. It is also less racially and ethnically mixed than most Mississippi schools.
- 44
- Resource Index · Typical
- 12.2:1
- students per teacher
- 100.0%
- free-lunch eligible
- 597
- students enrolled
Columbus Middle School has class sizes near the Mississippi median. Computed live against every Mississippi school reporting to NCES.
School address
District: Columbus Municipal School Dist · Mississippi
NCES ID 280120001380 Verify on NCES CCD record →
Teachers (FTE)
49.0
Federal CCD staff survey
Students per teacher
12.2:1
vs 13.3:1 Mississippi avg
-8% vs state
Free-lunch eligible
100.0%
vs 80.5% Mississippi avg
+24% vs state
Student-teacher ratio in context
How Columbus Middle School compares with Mississippi and U.S. medians
What stands out at Columbus Middle School
Columbus Middle School is a high-poverty, mid-sized middle school in Columbus, Mississippi, enrolling 597 students.
Class sizes run a bit leaner than typical: 12.2:1 puts it in the smaller third of Mississippi schools by student-teacher ratio.
Its free-meal eligibility rate of 100.0% lands close to the Mississippi typical range, neither a high- nor low-need campus by this measure.
Enrollment of 597 puts it in the larger third of Mississippi schools by headcount.
Its Resource Investment Index sits near the middle of the pack among 877 scored Mississippi schools.
Against 182 statewide peers matched on enrollment and economic need, it ranks in the upper tier at #59.
Its student body is predominantly African American (93% of enrollment), among the less diverse in the state (diversity index 13/100).
Counselor coverage runs a bit thin, about 299 students per counselor, somewhat past the ASCA-recommended 250:1 benchmark.
Chronic absenteeism is elevated: 33.7% of students missed 10% or more of school days (2021-22 Civil Rights Data Collection).
Its district draws 28.1% of revenue from federal sources, an above-typical federal share that tends to track a higher-need student population.
Discipline events run high: 239 in- and out-of-school suspensions were reported for 597 students in the 2021-22 Civil Rights Data Collection.
Columbus Municipal School Dist also operates Columbus High School (865 students) and Cook Elementary School (415 students) alongside Columbus Middle School.
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 Middle School compares
Columbus Middle School on the metrics families compare, against Mississippi and U.S. means.
| Metric | This school | vs Mississippi | Mississippi avg | U.S. avg |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Students per teacher | 12.2:1 | ▼ 8% | 13.3:1 | 15.7:1 |
| Free-lunch eligible | 100.0% | ▲ 24% | 80.5% | 51.7% |
| Enrollment | 597 | top 27% | - | - |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data School-level CCD + state/national means from Public School Universe · 2024-25
12.2:1
Leaner classes than 74% of US schools, among the more generously staffed nationally.
597
Bigger than 72% of US schools by enrollment, mid-sized for the country.
Equity indicators (what these measure)
Economic need
100.0%
free-lunch eligible
- 24% above the Mississippi average of 80.5%
Above the 40% Title I schoolwide threshold; federal funds support the whole school, not individual students.
Staffing depth
12.2:1
students per teacher
- 8% below state mean
Top 33% in Mississippi - lower ratio than 67% of state schools
Well under the widely cited 15:1 individualized-attention benchmark, among the leaner class loads nationally.
Engagement
33.7%
chronically absent (missed 10%+ of school days)
At or above 20%, the commonly used threshold for "high" chronic absenteeism, signaling significant barriers to regular attendance.
Funding equity
$12,239
per pupil, district-wide
- above Mississippi avg of $11,990
Well below the U.S. average per-pupil spend, a notably leaner funding position that may affect programs, facilities, and staffing.
Support staff
Counselors2.0 FTE
Per 299 students, the combined health-and-guidance staffing load for this school.
Discipline context
1
in-school suspensions + 238 out-of-school
Suspension rate: 0.2 per 100 students. Combined in-school and out-of-school rate: 40.0 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
African American 93.1%
Hispanic or Latino 2.3%
White 2.2%
Two or More 2.0%
Asian 0.3%
Largest group: African American at 93.1% of enrollment.
Student-body diversity index 13.2/100
Simpson diversity index - at 13.2, Columbus Middle School is less mixed than the Mississippi school average of 41.1.
Programs
Gifted & talented Yes
Funding & spending
District-wide per-pupil expenditure for Columbus Municipal School Dist, which includes Columbus Middle School.
$12,239
Per student
+2%
vs Mississippi
Avg $11,990
-26%
vs U.S.
Avg $16,593
Revenue mix
Local 33.6%
State 38.2%
Federal 28.1%
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.
How Columbus Middle School Compares to District-Mates
| School | Enrollment | Economic Profile | Student-Teacher Ratio |
|---|---|---|---|
| Columbus High School | Larger | Similar economic need | Higher S:T ratio |
| Cook Elementary School | Smaller | Similar economic need | Similar S:T ratio |
| Stokes Beard Elementary School | Smaller | Similar economic need | Similar S:T ratio |
| Sale Elementary School | Smaller | Similar economic need | Higher S:T ratio |
| Fairview Elementary School | Smaller | Similar economic need | Similar S:T ratio |
Comparisons are relative to Columbus Middle School's own figures; each column derives from NCES Common Core of Data.
Other Schools in This District
- Enrollment
- 865
- Students per teacher
- 13.7:1
- Resource Index
- 29/100
- Enrollment
- 415
- Students per teacher
- 12.6:1
- Resource Index
- 50/100
- Enrollment
- 369
- Students per teacher
- 13.2:1
- Resource Index
- 41/100
- Enrollment
- 290
- Students per teacher
- 14.5:1
- Resource Index
- 45/100
- Enrollment
- 244
- Students per teacher
- 12.8:1
- Resource Index
- 52/100
Similar middle schools statewide
Matched by enrollment size and by staffing ratio across all of Mississippi, not just this city - a different peer set than the local comparisons above.
Similar enrollment (~597 students)
Similar student-teacher ratio (~12.2:1)
Next steps
Verify locally before acting on Columbus Middle School's federal record.
- Compare Columbus Middle School against another school. Compare schools
- Columbus Municipal School Dist'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 Middle School
How many students attend Columbus Middle School?
Columbus Middle School has 597 students enrolled. It is a middle school in Columbus, MS.
What is the student-teacher ratio at Columbus Middle School?
The student-teacher ratio at Columbus Middle School is 12.2:1, which is 8% lower than the Mississippi average of 13.3:1 and 22% lower than the national average of 15.7:1. Lower ratios generally mean more individual attention per student.
What percentage of students receive free lunch at Columbus Middle School?
100.0% of students at Columbus Middle School are eligible for free lunch, compared to the Mississippi average of 80.5%.
What is the racial and ethnic makeup of Columbus Middle School?
The largest demographic group at Columbus Middle School is African American at 93.1% of enrollment, in Columbus, MS.
What is the Resource Investment Index for Columbus Middle School?
Columbus Middle School has a Resource Investment Index of 44/100 (typical reported resources relative to schools nationally) based on 4 factors: student-teacher ratio, counselor availability, attendance rates. Not a test-score or academic measure (national median ~41/100, see methodology).
Is Columbus Middle School a good school?
Columbus Middle School earns 44/100 on the Resource Investment Index, with class sizes near the Mississippi median. It is also less racially and ethnically mixed than most Mississippi 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 Municipal School Dist?
Besides Columbus Middle School, Columbus Municipal School Dist also operates Columbus High School (865 students), Cook Elementary School (415 students), and Stokes Beard Elementary School (369 students). See the Columbus Municipal School Dist district page for the complete list.
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.