Manchester Central High School

Summary:

Manchester Central High School is a public high school serving 1,168 students in grades 9-12 in Manchester, New Hampshire. The school is part of the Manchester School District, which is ranked 157 out of 163 districts in the state and has a 0-star rating from SchoolDigger.

While Manchester Central High School has a more diverse student population compared to nearby schools, with 38.61% White, 17.21% African American, 29.54% Hispanic, 3.08% Asian, and 11.04% two or more races, its academic performance has consistently underperformed the state and nearby schools on standardized tests. In the 2023-2024 school year, only 16% of students were proficient or better in Mathematics, 45% in Reading, and 27% in Science, significantly lower than the state and district averages. The school has a low statewide ranking, placing 74th out of 87 New Hampshire high schools, and has been ranked in the bottom half of the state's high schools for the past several years, with a 0-star rating from SchoolDigger in the 2022-2023 school year.

Interestingly, the racial diversity of Manchester Central High School has become less diverse over the past few years, with the percentage of White students increasing and the percentage of Hispanic students decreasing. The school also has a high percentage of students receiving free or reduced-price lunch, reaching 46.83% in the 2022-2023 school year, significantly higher than the nearby schools. While Manchester Central High School ranks highly for African American and English Language Learner students, it ranks poorly for Hispanic, White, and Multi-racial students. Nearby schools, such as Londonderry Senior High School, Merrimack High School, Goffstown High School, and Bedford High School, significantly outperform Manchester Central High School, suggesting that socioeconomic factors and district-level challenges may be contributing to the academic struggles of the school.


Detail:

Public 9-12

 535 Beech Street
       Manchester, NH  03104-4915


(603) 624-6363

District: Manchester School District

SchoolDigger Rank:
74th of 87 New Hampshire High Schools

Per Pupil Expenditures:  $12,752 Help


Feeder schools for Manchester Central High School:

Elementary:    Beech Street School
    Henry Wilson Elementary School
    McDonough School
    Smyth Road School
    More...
Middle:    Hillside Middle School

Student/teacher ratio:  12.6 Help
Number of students:  1,127

Racial breakdown:

White:
38.5%
Hispanic:
32.5%
African American:
15.7%
more

Free/discounted lunch recipients:  40.8% Help


 See top rated New Hampshire high schools

 Compare Manchester Central High School to nearby high schools!

Performance Trends
Help
Compare Details Manchester Central High School ranks worse than 85.1% of high schools in New Hampshire. It also ranks first among 4 ranked high schools in the Manchester School District! (See more...)
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Compare Details In 2024 the calculated Average Standard Score was 18.58. (See more...)
Student Body
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Compare Details Student population at Manchester Central High School is diverse. Racial makeup is: White (38.5%), Hispanic (32.5%), African American (15.7%). (See more...)
Help
Compare Details 40.8% of students are receiving a free or discounted lunch. (See more...)
Teachers
Help
Compare Details The student/teacher ratio at Manchester Central High School is 12.6, which is the 2nd best among 4 high schools in the Manchester School District. (See more...)
Help
Compare Manchester Central High School employs 89.3 full-time teachers.
Finance
Help
Compare Details The average total spent per student at Manchester Central High School is $12,752, which is the 2nd highest among 4 high schools in the Manchester School District.
Schooldigger 2024 Rankings:

Manchester Central High School:

SchoolDigger ranks Manchester Central High School 74th of 87 New Hampshire public high schools. (See Manchester Central High School in the ranking list.)

High School Test Score Ratings by Student Subgroup:


Multi-racial students:
English Language Learner students:
Female students:
Male students:
African American students:
Hispanic students:
White students:


Manchester School District:

SchoolDigger ranks Manchester School District 157th of 163 New Hampshire school districts. (See district ranking list.)


What do you think?

Your rating for Manchester Central High School?

Rank History for Manchester Central High School

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Compare

Rank History for all students at Manchester Central High School

Year Avg Standard Score Statewide Rank Total # Ranked High Schools NH State Percentile SchoolDigger Rating
2009 56.93 32nd 79 59.5%
2010 76.28 13th 81 84.0%
2011 61.81 31st 81 61.7%
2012 56.99 35th 83 57.8%
2013 31.76 65th 83 21.7%
2014 32.24 67th 85 21.2%
2015 62.25 27th 77 64.9%
2016 41.58 51st 84 39.3%
2017 36.17 62nd 82 24.4%
2018 25.03 65th 81 19.8%
2019 17.54 63rd 71 11.3%
2021 49.75 41st 84 51.2%
2022 19.29 71st 85 16.5%
2023 10.49 81st 85 4.7%
2024 18.58 74th 87 14.9%
See the entire list of New Hampshire High School Rankings!

Rank History for Multi-racial students at Manchester Central High School

Year Avg Standard Score Statewide Rank Total # Ranked High Schools NH State Percentile SchoolDigger Rating
2019 9.64 2nd 2 0.0%
2023 16.51 9th 10 10.0%
2024 21.65 7th 10 30.0%
See the entire list of Best New Hampshire High Schools for Multi-racial Students!

Rank History for English Language Learner students at Manchester Central High School

Year Avg Standard Score Statewide Rank Total # Ranked High Schools NH State Percentile SchoolDigger Rating
2021 0.00 1st 1 0.0%
2023 0.00 1st 1 0.0%
2024 0.00 1st 3 66.7%
See the entire list of Best New Hampshire High Schools for English Language Learner Students!

Rank History for Special Education students at Manchester Central High School

Year Avg Standard Score Statewide Rank Total # Ranked High Schools NH State Percentile SchoolDigger Rating
2023 39.44 20th 29 31.0%
See the entire list of Best New Hampshire High Schools for Special Education Students!

Rank History for Homeless students at Manchester Central High School

Year Avg Standard Score Statewide Rank Total # Ranked High Schools NH State Percentile SchoolDigger Rating
2019 50.00 1st 2 50.0%
See the entire list of Best New Hampshire High Schools for Homeless Students!

Rank History for Female students at Manchester Central High School

Year Avg Standard Score Statewide Rank Total # Ranked High Schools NH State Percentile SchoolDigger Rating
2018 14.12 52nd 60 13.3%
2019 13.79 53rd 63 15.9%
2021 31.70 37th 59 37.3%
2022 18.12 68th 79 13.9%
2023 8.68 75th 78 3.8%
2024 23.81 64th 81 21.0%
See the entire list of Best New Hampshire High Schools for Female Students!

Rank History for Male students at Manchester Central High School

Year Avg Standard Score Statewide Rank Total # Ranked High Schools NH State Percentile SchoolDigger Rating
2018 41.07 35th 61 42.6%
2019 22.03 50th 61 18.0%
2021 67.42 14th 60 76.7%
2022 20.13 65th 78 16.7%
2023 15.54 69th 78 11.5%
2024 16.76 75th 82 8.5%
See the entire list of Best New Hampshire High Schools for Male Students!

Rank History for Asian students at Manchester Central High School

Year Avg Standard Score Statewide Rank Total # Ranked High Schools NH State Percentile SchoolDigger Rating
2018 4.61 11th 11 0.0%
See the entire list of Best New Hampshire High Schools for Asian Students!

Rank History for African American students at Manchester Central High School

Year Avg Standard Score Statewide Rank Total # Ranked High Schools NH State Percentile SchoolDigger Rating
2018 27.92 2nd 2 0.0%
2019 15.99 5th 5 0.0%
2021 78.23 2nd 3 33.3%
2022 49.19 2nd 3 33.3%
2024 58.96 2nd 3 33.3%
See the entire list of Best New Hampshire High Schools for African American Students!

Rank History for Hispanic students at Manchester Central High School

Year Avg Standard Score Statewide Rank Total # Ranked High Schools NH State Percentile SchoolDigger Rating
2018 17.11 7th 7 0.0%
2019 20.60 8th 9 11.1%
2021 24.62 3rd 5 40.0%
2024 11.76 19th 20 5.0%
See the entire list of Best New Hampshire High Schools for Hispanic Students!

Rank History for White students at Manchester Central High School

Year Avg Standard Score Statewide Rank Total # Ranked High Schools NH State Percentile SchoolDigger Rating
2018 50.35 26th 64 59.4%
2019 35.97 42nd 66 36.4%
2021 71.43 13th 67 80.6%
2022 37.82 52nd 85 38.8%
2023 30.56 57th 83 31.3%
2024 37.85 50th 87 42.5%
See the entire list of Best New Hampshire High Schools for White Students!

Data source: test scores: New Hampshire Department of Education, 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.

Manchester Central High School Test Scores
Tests: 
  
Grades: 
  
Years: 
  
Group by: 
District Scores:
State Scores:    
  
Subgroup: 




Data source: New Hampshire Department of Education

Review counts

All ratings (Avg rating: 5)
100%

0%

0%

0%

0%

  

Reviews:
by a student
Monday, December 29, 2014

Open Quote I'm Andy V. and I'm a freshmen at CHS. I have to say that Central High School is great. Best high school I've ever been to since it's the only one I've ever been to. #centralpride #bleedgreen :) Close Quote


by a student
Monday, July 13, 2009

Open Quote I was a former student and went on to Boston University (Pre-Med) My years at Central High were the best 4 years I had. The facility taught me extremely well and prepared me for collage. with out them I would never have made it into any good collage or university. They all deserve a large raise for what the provide to the student body. Close Quote



Enrollment information for Manchester Central High School

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Compare
Year White African American Asian Hispanic American Indian Pacific Islander Two or More Races Not Specified Total
1990 1609 44 46 43 6 n/a n/a 0 1748
1991 1498 38 53 46 5 n/a n/a 0 1640
1992 1522 29 58 64 21 n/a n/a 0 1694
1993 1466 34 63 54 8 n/a n/a 0 1625
1994 1548 36 64 51 6 n/a n/a 0 1705
1995 1677 40 50 60 10 n/a n/a 0 1837
1996 1677 40 50 60 10 n/a n/a 0 1837
1997 1709 52 68 82 14 n/a n/a 0 1925
1998 1801 52 65 83 14 n/a n/a 0 2015
1999 1882 49 71 89 13 n/a n/a 0 2104
2000 2029 61 78 102 14 n/a n/a 0 2284
2001 2064 72 66 138 10 n/a n/a 0 2350
2002 2034 101 55 179 12 n/a n/a 0 2381
2003 2034 101 55 179 12 n/a n/a 0 2381
2004 2024 100 55 207 13 n/a n/a 0 2399
2005 2005 129 53 227 10 n/a n/a 0 2424
2006 1942 139 49 257 8 n/a n/a 0 2395
2007 1828 128 46 242 8 n/a n/a 2 2254
2008 1712 144 59 227 7 n/a n/a 0 2149
2009 1725 167 74 255 11 n/a n/a 0 2232
2010 1683 161 87 270 9 1 3 0 2214
2011 1629 188 109 236 12 1 57 0 2232
2012 1597 203 129 232 12 0 62 0 2235
2013 1477 201 128 257 4 0 59 0 2126
2014 1319 171 119 246 4 0 65 0 1924
2015 1199 167 110 280 4 0 76 0 1836
2016 1028 166 88 255 3 0 85 0 1625
2017 917 172 81 264 2 0 96 0 1532
2018 824 183 85 278 2 0 102 0 1474
2019 739 207 75 302 2 0 105 0 1430
2020 645 201 58 291 1 0 106 0 1302
2021 568 202 53 298 3 0 122 0 1246
2022 547 215 41 349 4 0 149 0 1305
2023 451 201 36 345 3 3 129 0 1168
2024 434 177 30 366 4 1 115 0 1127

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 Manchester Central High School

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Compare
Year # Students Full-time Teachers Student/Teacher ratio % Free/Discounted Lunch
1990 1748 115.0 15.2 2.5
1991 1640 100.0 16.4 3.7
1992 1694 99.2 17.0 6.7
1993 1625 100.5 16.2 7.3
1994 1705 110.0 15.5 7.9
1995 1837 100.7 18.2 13.8
1996 1837 100.7 18.2 13.8
1997 1925 102.0 18.9 10.1
1998 2015 104.2 19.3 10.9
1999 2104 120.0 17.5 9
2000 2284 132.0 17.3 11
2001 2350 123.0 19.1 9.4
2002 2381 133.0 17.9 12
2003 2381 133.0 17.9 12
2004 2399 141.0 17.0 19.9
2005 2424 133.0 18.2 21.8
2006 2395 136.0 17.6 24.5
2007 2254 131.0 17.2 25.9
2008 2149 132.0 16.3 28.9
2009 2232 132.0 16.9 29.9
2010 2214 126.2 17.5 26.4
2011 2232 131.2 17.0 36
2012 2235 136.2 16.4 37.5
2013 2126 119.4 17.8 37.2
2014 1924 120.9 15.9 36.9
2015 1836 117.0 15.6 42.1
2016 1625 114.0 14.2 45
2017 1532 113.2 13.5 46.2
2018 1474 105.6 13.9 50.9
2019 1430 98.2 14.5 54.2
2020 1302 99.3 13.1 44.2
2021 1246 89.8 13.8 36.7
2022 1305 84.8 15.3 37.2
2023 1168 87.4 13.3 46.8
2024 1127 89.3 12.6 40.8

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 Manchester Central High School

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Compare
Year # Students Full-time Teachers Student/Teacher ratio % Free/Discounted Lunch
1990 1748 115.0 15.2 2.5
1991 1640 100.0 16.4 3.7
1992 1694 99.2 17.0 6.7
1993 1625 100.5 16.2 7.3
1994 1705 110.0 15.5 7.9
1995 1837 100.7 18.2 13.8
1996 1837 100.7 18.2 13.8
1997 1925 102.0 18.9 10.1
1998 2015 104.2 19.3 10.9
1999 2104 120.0 17.5 9
2000 2284 132.0 17.3 11
2001 2350 123.0 19.1 9.4
2002 2381 133.0 17.9 12
2003 2381 133.0 17.9 12
2004 2399 141.0 17.0 19.9
2005 2424 133.0 18.2 21.8
2006 2395 136.0 17.6 24.5
2007 2254 131.0 17.2 25.9
2008 2149 132.0 16.3 28.9
2009 2232 132.0 16.9 29.9
2010 2214 126.2 17.5 26.4
2011 2232 131.2 17.0 36
2012 2235 136.2 16.4 37.5
2013 2126 119.4 17.8 37.2
2014 1924 120.9 15.9 36.9
2015 1836 117.0 15.6 42.1
2016 1625 114.0 14.2 45
2017 1532 113.2 13.5 46.2
2018 1474 105.6 13.9 50.9
2019 1430 98.2 14.5 54.2
2020 1302 99.3 13.1 44.2
2021 1246 89.8 13.8 36.7
2022 1305 84.8 15.3 37.2
2023 1168 87.4 13.3 46.8
2024 1127 89.3 12.6 40.8

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 Manchester Central High School

Help

YearTotal Expenditures Per Pupil
2019 $12,752

Data source: New Hampshire Department of Education
Pre and Post Pandemic Data

Impact of COVID-19 on Manchester Central High School

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 63rd of 71 High schoolsRanks 81st of 85 High schools
 6.6%

Test Scores

% proficient
Pre-pandemic (2018-2019)
% proficient
Post pandemic (2022-2023)
Change (%)
11th Grade Science (Manchester Central High School)2216
 6%
   11th Grade Science (Manchester School District)1817
 1%
   11th Grade Science (New Hampshire)4141
11th Grade Mathematics (Manchester Central High School)2814
 14%
   11th Grade Mathematics (Manchester School District)2515
 10%
   11th Grade Mathematics (New Hampshire)4235
 7%
11th Grade Reading (Manchester Central High School)4940
 9%
   11th Grade Reading (Manchester School District)4740
 7%
   11th Grade Reading (New Hampshire)6359
 4%
All Grades Mathematics (Manchester Central High School)2814
 14%
   All Grades Mathematics (Manchester School District)2419
 5%
   All Grades Mathematics (New Hampshire)4842
 6%
All Grades Reading (Manchester Central High School)4940
 9%
   All Grades Reading (Manchester School District)3428
 6%
   All Grades Reading (New Hampshire)5652
 4%
All Grades Science (Manchester Central High School)2216
 6%
   All Grades Science (Manchester School District)1814
 4%
   All Grades Science (New Hampshire)4037
 3%

Student Body

Number of students
Pre-pandemic (2018-2019)
Number of students
Post pandemic (2022-2023)
Change (%)
Total Students14301168
 18.3%
African American207201
 2.9%
American Indian23
 50%
Asian7536
 52%
Hispanic302345
 14.2%
Pacific Islander03
White739451
 39%
Two or More Races105129
 22.9%
% Free/Discounted Lunch Recipients54.2%46.8%
 7.4%


Schools Near Manchester Central High School









Frequently Asked Questions about Manchester Central High School

Manchester Central High School ranks in the bottom 14.9% of New Hampshire high schools.

In the 2023-24 school year, 1,127 students attended Manchester Central High School.

Students at Manchester Central High School are 39% White, 32% Hispanic, 16% African American, 10% Two or more races, 3% Asian.

Manchester Central High School is fed by the following schools:

Elementary : Beech Street School
Elementary : Henry Wilson Elementary School
Elementary : McDonough School
Elementary : Smyth Road School
Elementary : Webster School
Middle : Hillside Middle School


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SchoolDigger data sources: National Center for Education Statistics, U.S. Department of Education, the U.S. Census Bureau and the New Hampshire Department of Education.

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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