Central Elementary

Summary:

Central Elementary is a public elementary school in Hillsborough, North Carolina, serving 296 students in grades PK-5. The school is part of the Orange County Schools district, which is ranked 125 out of 242 districts in the state and has a 2-star rating from SchoolDigger.

Central Elementary has consistently ranked in the bottom half of North Carolina elementary schools over the past decade, with significantly below-average performance on state standardized tests across all grade levels and subject areas. For example, in the 2023-2024 school year, only 35.3% of 5th-grade students at Central Elementary were proficient or better in mathematics, compared to 53.9% in the district and 58.1% statewide. The school has a diverse student population, with 75% of students qualifying for free or reduced-price lunch, indicating a high percentage of economically disadvantaged students. Despite a relatively low student-to-teacher ratio and higher per-student spending than the district and state averages, Central Elementary's academic performance lags behind most of the nearby schools in the Orange County Schools district, such as Hillsborough Elementary, River Park Elementary, and Pathways Elementary.

Central Elementary's performance on state tests varies significantly among different student subgroups, with Hispanic students generally performing better than African American and White students. Gifted and talented students at the school also perform relatively well, ranking in the top half of North Carolina elementary schools in this subgroup. However, the school's statewide ranking has steadily declined over the past decade, suggesting that its academic performance may be worsening relative to other elementary schools in the state. These challenges highlight the need for targeted interventions and resources to improve student outcomes at Central Elementary.


Detail:

Public PK, KG-5

 154 Hayes St
       Hillsborough, NC  27278-2319


(919) 732-3622

District: Orange County Schools

SchoolDigger Rank:
1102nd of 1,505 North Carolina Elementary Schools

Per Pupil Expenditures:  $14,465 Help


Students who attend Central Elementary usually attend:

Middle:    Gravelly Hill Middle
High:    Orange High

Student/teacher ratio:  11.2 Help
Number of students:  296

Racial breakdown:

White:
36.1%
African American:
26.7%
Hispanic:
24.0%
more

Free/discounted lunch recipients:  75% Help


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Performance Trends
Help
Compare Details Central Elementary ranks worse than 73.2% of elementary schools in North Carolina. It also ranks last among 7 ranked elementary schools in the Orange County Schools District. (See more...)
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Compare Details In 2024 the calculated Average Standard Score was 29.81. (See more...)
Student Body
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Compare Details Central Elementary has the smallest elementary school student body size in the Orange County Schools District. Student population at Central Elementary is diverse. Racial makeup is: White (36.1%), African American (26.7%), Hispanic (24%). (See more...)
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Compare Details 75% of students are receiving a free or discounted lunch. This is the highest percentage in the Orange County Schools District. (See more...)
Teachers
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Compare Details The student/teacher ratio at Central Elementary is 11.2, which is the lowest among 7 elementary schools in the Orange County Schools District! (See more...)
Help
Compare Central Elementary employs 26.2 full-time teachers.
Finance
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Compare Details The average total spent per student at Central Elementary is $14,465, which is the 2nd highest among 7 elementary schools in the Orange County Schools District.
Schooldigger 2024 Rankings:

Central Elementary:

SchoolDigger ranks Central Elementary 1102nd of 1505 North Carolina public elementary schools. (See Central Elementary in the ranking list.)

Elementary School Test Score Ratings by Student Subgroup:


Low Socio Economic Status students:
Female students:
Gifted and Talented students:
Male students:
African American students:
Hispanic students:
White students:


Orange County Schools:

SchoolDigger ranks Orange County Schools 125th of 242 North Carolina school districts. (See district ranking list.)


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Rank History for Central Elementary

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Rank History for all students at Central Elementary

Year Avg Standard Score Statewide Rank Total # Ranked Elementary Schools NC State Percentile SchoolDigger Rating
2006 28.55 1022nd 1276 19.9%
2007 36.57 943rd 1293 27.1%
2008 36.99 905th 1324 31.6%
2009 40.83 906th 1354 33.1%
2010 36.72 978th 1363 28.2%
2011 29.79 1073rd 1381 22.3%
2012 17.91 1240th 1388 10.7%
2013 41.44 824th 1403 41.3%
2014 28.18 1035th 1390 25.5%
2015 33.17 1034th 1440 28.2%
2016 30.73 1065th 1425 25.3%
2017 43.99 852nd 1429 40.4%
2018 28.99 1090th 1434 24.0%
2019 19.90 1266th 1473 14.1%
2021 14.22 1323rd 1489 11.1%
2022 24.71 1180th 1514 22.1%
2023 26.40 1148th 1502 23.6%
2024 29.81 1102nd 1505 26.8%
See the entire list of North Carolina Elementary School Rankings!

Rank History for Low Socio Economic Status students at Central Elementary

Year Avg Standard Score Statewide Rank Total # Ranked Elementary Schools NC State Percentile SchoolDigger Rating
2018 30.76 1014th 1332 23.9%
2019 25.35 1127th 1361 17.2%
2021 12.05 1290th 1329 2.9%
2022 25.84 1121st 1366 17.9%
2023 33.05 1020th 1437 29.0%
2024 35.75 1000th 1450 31.0%
See the entire list of Best North Carolina Elementary Schools for Low Socio Economic Status Students!

Rank History for Female students at Central Elementary

Year Avg Standard Score Statewide Rank Total # Ranked Elementary Schools NC State Percentile SchoolDigger Rating
2018 24.82 1159th 1405 17.5%
2019 14.36 1308th 1424 8.1%
2021 9.07 1378th 1440 4.3%
2022 22.80 1204th 1458 17.4%
2023 24.93 1163rd 1459 20.3%
2024 32.18 1054th 1455 27.6%
See the entire list of Best North Carolina Elementary Schools for Female Students!

Rank History for Disabled students at Central Elementary

Year Avg Standard Score Statewide Rank Total # Ranked Elementary Schools NC State Percentile SchoolDigger Rating
2018 21.42 801st 897 10.7%
See the entire list of Best North Carolina Elementary Schools for Disabled Students!

Rank History for Gifted and Talented students at Central Elementary

Year Avg Standard Score Statewide Rank Total # Ranked Elementary Schools NC State Percentile SchoolDigger Rating
2023 29.35 540th 582 7.2%
2024 52.96 430th 669 35.7%
See the entire list of Best North Carolina Elementary Schools for Gifted and Talented Students!

Rank History for Male students at Central Elementary

Year Avg Standard Score Statewide Rank Total # Ranked Elementary Schools NC State Percentile SchoolDigger Rating
2018 36.22 988th 1413 30.1%
2019 31.22 1083rd 1430 24.3%
2021 25.40 1076th 1444 25.5%
2022 31.69 1038th 1464 29.1%
2023 32.55 1043rd 1461 28.6%
2024 27.95 1123rd 1464 23.3%
See the entire list of Best North Carolina Elementary Schools for Male Students!

Rank History for African American students at Central Elementary

Year Avg Standard Score Statewide Rank Total # Ranked Elementary Schools NC State Percentile SchoolDigger Rating
2018 46.58 497th 927 46.4%
2019 13.75 903rd 949 4.8%
2021 18.57 830th 896 7.4%
2022 24.99 775th 927 16.4%
2023 23.77 779th 933 16.5%
2024 27.92 736th 924 20.3%
See the entire list of Best North Carolina Elementary Schools for African American Students!

Rank History for Hispanic students at Central Elementary

Year Avg Standard Score Statewide Rank Total # Ranked Elementary Schools NC State Percentile SchoolDigger Rating
2018 64.54 242nd 851 71.6%
2022 46.65 445th 893 50.2%
2023 34.73 621st 915 32.1%
2024 44.76 523rd 951 45.0%
See the entire list of Best North Carolina Elementary Schools for Hispanic Students!

Rank History for White students at Central Elementary

Year Avg Standard Score Statewide Rank Total # Ranked Elementary Schools NC State Percentile SchoolDigger Rating
2018 17.90 1086th 1178 7.8%
2019 29.19 944th 1183 20.2%
2021 37.08 767th 1172 34.6%
2022 33.31 868th 1194 27.3%
2023 37.93 796th 1183 32.7%
2024 27.21 937th 1166 19.6%
See the entire list of Best North Carolina Elementary Schools for White Students!

Data source: test scores: North Carolina Dept of Public Instruction, rankings: SchoolDigger.com

As you review the school rankings data, please be aware that some of the information from certain demographics is missing. The reason for this omission is that the data has been redacted from the source data itself due to low population samples in these specific demographic groups.

Redacting data from low population samples is a necessary step to ensure the reliability and accuracy of the results, as small sample sizes may not be representative of the broader population. Additionally, this measure helps protect the privacy of individuals belonging to these demographic groups.

Central Elementary Test Scores
Tests: 
  
Grades: 
  
Years: 
  
Group by: 
District Scores:
State Scores:    
  
Subgroup: 





Data source: North Carolina Dept of Public Instruction

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Enrollment information for Central Elementary

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Year White African American Asian Hispanic American Indian Pacific Islander Two or More Races Not Specified Total
1988 267 119 4 5 1 n/a n/a 0 396
1989 257 108 1 5 2 n/a n/a 0 373
1990 254 121 0 4 3 n/a n/a 0 382
1991 238 123 1 7 2 n/a n/a 0 371
1992 333 133 0 7 1 n/a n/a 0 474
1993 315 145 0 12 1 n/a n/a 17 490
1994 325 148 0 15 0 n/a n/a 15 503
1995 386 165 1 19 0 n/a n/a 0 571
1996 386 165 1 19 0 n/a n/a 0 571
1997 311 111 1 21 0 n/a n/a 0 444
1998 284 127 1 20 0 n/a n/a 0 432
1999 259 148 1 24 0 n/a n/a 0 432
2000 261 145 0 24 0 n/a n/a 0 430
2001 263 139 0 24 1 n/a n/a 0 427
2002 146 134 0 39 0 n/a n/a 0 319
2003 146 134 0 39 0 n/a n/a 0 319
2004 136 133 0 37 1 n/a n/a 0 307
2005 117 139 0 33 1 n/a n/a 0 290
2006 140 130 0 35 1 n/a n/a 0 306
2007 134 114 2 42 2 n/a n/a 14 308
2008 98 108 1 30 1 n/a n/a 13 251
2009 115 98 1 32 2 n/a n/a 0 248
2010 121 120 0 41 1 n/a n/a 0 283
2011 130 78 0 36 1 0 11 0 256
2012 172 96 0 56 3 0 20 0 347
2013 149 118 0 58 2 0 20 0 347
2014 161 123 0 45 1 0 16 0 346
2015 140 114 0 42 0 0 14 0 310
2016 143 130 0 50 0 0 15 0 338
2017 119 113 0 61 0 0 14 0 307
2018 112 92 0 53 0 0 19 0 276
2019 109 102 0 63 0 0 23 0 297
2020 114 94 3 66 0 0 38 0 315
2021 106 90 1 74 0 0 26 0 297
2022 111 92 3 82 0 0 30 0 318
2023 107 79 6 71 0 0 33 0 296

Data source: National Center for Education Statistics, U.S. Dept of Education.

About Enrollment/Ethnicity

For more information about how the Department of Education defines ethnicity, see Defining Race and Ethnicity Data, National Center for Education Statistics

Students eligible for free or discounted lunch at Central Elementary

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Compare
Year # Students Full-time Teachers Student/Teacher ratio % Free/Discounted Lunch
1988 396 26.0 15.2 28.8
1989 373 26.0 14.3 60.3
1990 382 26.0 14.6 50.8
1991 371 26.0 14.2 52.3
1992 474 26.0 18.2 26.4
1993 490 34.0 14.4 40.2
1994 503 33.0 15.2 41.8
1995 571 35.0 16.3 38.4
1996 571 35.0 16.3 38.4
1997 444 31.0 14.3 43.7
1998 432 34.0 12.7 36.3
1999 432 34.0 12.7 49.5
2000 430 34.0 12.6 54
2001 427 34.0 12.6 51.5
2002 319 33.0 9.7 74
2003 319 33.0 9.7 74
2004 307 33.0 9.3 68.1
2005 290 31.0 9.4 71.4
2006 306 31.0 9.9 61.1
2007 308 n/a n/a 73.5
2008 251 29.5 8.5 66.4
2009 248 25.7 9.6 68.1
2010 283 25.0 11.4 75.6
2011 256 28.5 8.9 69.1
2012 347 25.2 13.7 65.7
2013 347 28.5 12.1 67.7
2014 346 31.2 11.0 76.9
2015 310 33.0 9.3 67.4
2016 338 32.0 10.5 68.6
2017 307 31.5 9.7 69.1
2018 276 24.5 11.2 64.9
2019 297 22.5 13.2 69
2020 315 23.5 13.4 68.3
2021 297 25.0 11.8 57.2
2022 318 23.9 13.3 61.6
2023 296 26.2 11.2 75

Data source: National Center for Education Statistics, U.S. Dept of Education.

About Students eligible for discounted/free lunch:

The National School Lunch Program (NSLP) provides low-cost or free meals to students in U.S. public and nonprofit private schools based on household income. Those with incomes below 130% of the poverty line receive free lunch, while those between 130% and 185% qualify for reduced-price lunch. The percentage of students receiving free or reduced-price lunch serves as a marker for poverty, as it reflects the socioeconomic status of families in a given school or district. A higher FRPL rate typically indicates a higher concentration of low-income families, suggesting that the school or district may face additional challenges in providing adequate resources and support for student success.

Student/Teacher Ratio Central Elementary

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Compare
Year # Students Full-time Teachers Student/Teacher ratio % Free/Discounted Lunch
1988 396 26.0 15.2 28.8
1989 373 26.0 14.3 60.3
1990 382 26.0 14.6 50.8
1991 371 26.0 14.2 52.3
1992 474 26.0 18.2 26.4
1993 490 34.0 14.4 40.2
1994 503 33.0 15.2 41.8
1995 571 35.0 16.3 38.4
1996 571 35.0 16.3 38.4
1997 444 31.0 14.3 43.7
1998 432 34.0 12.7 36.3
1999 432 34.0 12.7 49.5
2000 430 34.0 12.6 54
2001 427 34.0 12.6 51.5
2002 319 33.0 9.7 74
2003 319 33.0 9.7 74
2004 307 33.0 9.3 68.1
2005 290 31.0 9.4 71.4
2006 306 31.0 9.9 61.1
2007 308 n/a n/a 73.5
2008 251 29.5 8.5 66.4
2009 248 25.7 9.6 68.1
2010 283 25.0 11.4 75.6
2011 256 28.5 8.9 69.1
2012 347 25.2 13.7 65.7
2013 347 28.5 12.1 67.7
2014 346 31.2 11.0 76.9
2015 310 33.0 9.3 67.4
2016 338 32.0 10.5 68.6
2017 307 31.5 9.7 69.1
2018 276 24.5 11.2 64.9
2019 297 22.5 13.2 69
2020 315 23.5 13.4 68.3
2021 297 25.0 11.8 57.2
2022 318 23.9 13.3 61.6
2023 296 26.2 11.2 75

Data source: National Center for Education Statistics, U.S. Dept of Education.

About Student-Teacher Ratio

Student/teacher ratio is calculated by dividing the total number of students by the total number of full-time equivalent teachers. Please note that a smaller student/teacher ratio does not necessarily translate to smaller class size. In some instances, schools hire teachers part time, and some teachers are hired for specialized instruction with very small class sizes. These and other factors contribute to the student/teacher ratio. Note: For private schools, Student/teacher ratio may not include Pre-Kindergarten.
Finances

Per Pupil Expenditures for Central Elementary

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YearExpenditures from Federal FundsExpenditures from State and Local FundsTotal Expenditures Per Pupil (All Funds)
2019 $1,168 (8.1%) $13,297 (91.9%) $14,465

Data source: North Carolina Department of Education
Pre and Post Pandemic Data

Impact of COVID-19 on Central Elementary

The coronavirus has had a profound impact on education in America. Learning shifted online overnight, attendance numbers dwindled, and enrollment decreased. SchoolDigger.com is making it easier for you to better assess how COVID-19 has impacted your school. Through the collection of pre-pandemic (2019) and current data, SchoolDigger.com is sharing test scores, enrollment numbers and school demographics from schools across the country – and we make it easy to see how impacted schools compare locally and statewide.

Rankings

Rank
Pre-pandemic (2018-2019)
Rank
Post pandemic (2022-2023)
Change (%)
Ranks 1266th of 1473 Elementary schoolsRanks 1148th of 1502 Elementary schools
 9.5%

Test Scores

% proficient
Pre-pandemic (2018-2019)
% proficient
Post pandemic (2022-2023)
Change (%)
3rd Grade Mathematics (Central Elementary)32.745.6
 12.9%
   3rd Grade Mathematics (Orange County Schools)55.756.5
 0.8%
   3rd Grade Mathematics (North Carolina)64.361.1
 3.2%
3rd Grade Reading (Central Elementary)36.543.9
 7.4%
   3rd Grade Reading (Orange County Schools)52.148.8
 3.3%
   3rd Grade Reading (North Carolina)56.848
 8.8%
4th Grade Mathematics (Central Elementary)51.144.4
 6.7%
   4th Grade Mathematics (Orange County Schools)55.656.5
 0.9%
   4th Grade Mathematics (North Carolina)57.355.3
 2%
4th Grade Reading (Central Elementary)55.348.1
 7.2%
   4th Grade Reading (Orange County Schools)53.353.8
 0.5%
   4th Grade Reading (North Carolina)57.355.3
 2%
5th Grade Mathematics (Central Elementary)30.236.5
 6.3%
   5th Grade Mathematics (Orange County Schools)6160.7
 0.3%
   5th Grade Mathematics (North Carolina)60.255.9
 4.3%
5th Grade Reading (Central Elementary)37.233.3
 3.9%
   5th Grade Reading (Orange County Schools)54.151.1
 3%
   5th Grade Reading (North Carolina)54.648
 6.6%
5th Grade Science (Central Elementary)53.534.6
 18.9%
   5th Grade Science (Orange County Schools)70.661.9
 8.7%
   5th Grade Science (North Carolina)72.665.3
 7.3%

Student Body

Number of students
Pre-pandemic (2018-2019)
Number of students
Post pandemic (2022-2023)
Change (%)
Total Students297296
 0.3%
African American10279
 22.5%
American Indian00
Asian06
Hispanic6371
 12.7%
Pacific Islander00
White109107
 1.8%
Two or More Races2333
 43.5%
% Free/Discounted Lunch Recipients69%75%
 6%


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Frequently Asked Questions about Central Elementary

In the 2022-23 school year, 296 students attended Central Elementary.

Students who attend Central Elementary usually go on to attend:

Middle : Gravelly Hill Middle
High : Orange High

Students at Central Elementary are 36% White, 27% African American, 24% Hispanic, 11% Two or more races, 2% Asian.

Central Elementary ranks 1102nd of 1505 North Carolina elementary schools. SchoolDigger rates this school 1 star out of 5.


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SchoolDigger data sources: National Center for Education Statistics, U.S. Department of Education, the U.S. Census Bureau and the North Carolina Dept of Public Instruction.

IMPORTANT DISCLAIMERS: Not all boundaries are included. We make every effort to ensure that boundaries are up-to-date. But it's important to note that these are approximations and are for general informational purposes only. To verify legal descriptions of boundaries or school locations, contact your local tax assessor's office and/or school district.





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