Best Public Schools in Columbia, MD

The city of Columbia, Maryland is home to 23 schools that are part of the Howard County Public Schools district, which is ranked 2nd out of 25 districts in Maryland and rated 5 stars out of 5 by SchoolDigger. The schools include 14 elementary, 4 middle, and 5 high schools, serving a diverse student population.

Several standout schools emerge from the data, including Waterloo Elementary, which ranks 115th out of 859 Maryland elementary schools and is rated 4 stars, with strong performance in Mathematics (57% proficient) and English Language Arts (73% proficient). Clemens Crossing Elementary and Stevens Forest Elementary also stand out as high-performing 4-star schools. However, the data reveals significant performance gaps, with some schools, like Long Reach High and Oakland Mills High, struggling with proficiency rates well below the state and district averages.

The data also suggests a potential correlation between a school's socioeconomic status, as measured by free and reduced lunch rates, and its academic performance. Schools with higher percentages of students from low-income families tend to have lower test scores. Additionally, the data shows that there is not a clear relationship between per-student spending and academic performance, indicating that factors beyond just funding, such as instructional practices and school leadership, may be more important in driving student success.