Central High School

Summary:

Central High School is a public high school in Newark, New Jersey, serving 894 students in grades 9-12. The school is part of the Newark Public School District, which is ranked 558 out of 613 districts in the state and has a 0-star rating from SchoolDigger. Central High School has consistently ranked in the bottom 10-15% of New Jersey high schools over the past decade.

Academically, Central High School performs significantly below state and district averages in standardized test scores across all subjects and grade levels. For example, in 2023-2024, only 10.9% of 9th-grade students were proficient or better in English Language Arts, compared to 38.1% in the district and 58.1% statewide. The school's performance is particularly low in mathematics, with only 3.2% of 9th-grade students and 3.2% of Algebra I students being proficient or better, compared to 13.1% and 19% in the district, and 22.9% and 39.7% statewide. Science performance is also very low, with only 2.6% of 11th-grade students being proficient or better, compared to 11.3% in the district and 28.1% statewide.

Central High School's challenges extend beyond academics. The school has experienced high rates of chronic absenteeism, ranging from 12.7% to 34.5% in recent years, which is significantly higher than the district and state averages. Additionally, the school's four-year graduation rate has fluctuated between 85.1% and 91.1% over the past few years, slightly below the district and state averages. Nearby schools, such as Arts High School, Malcolm X Shabazz High School, and Science Park High School, generally perform better than Central High School across various metrics, suggesting that factors beyond just the district-level challenges may be contributing to Central High School's struggles.


Detail:

Public 9-12

 250 18th Avenue
       Newark, NJ  07103


(973) 733-6378

District: Newark Public School District

SchoolDigger Rank:
412th of 426 New Jersey High Schools

Per Pupil Expenditures:  $16,638 Help


Student/teacher ratio:  10.8 Help
Number of students:  826

Racial breakdown:

African American:
65.9%
Hispanic:
30.8%
Asian:
1.2%
more

Free/discounted lunch recipients:  75.5% Help


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Performance Trends
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Compare Details Central High School ranks worse than 96.7% of high schools in New Jersey. It also ranks 11th among 13 ranked high schools in the Newark Public School District. (See more...)
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Compare Details In 2024 the calculated Average Standard Score was 8.87. (See more...)
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The four-year cohort graduation rate measures the percentage of students at Central High School who earn a standard high school diploma within four years of starting ninth grade.
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The high school dropout rate measures the percentage of students who do not complete their high school education.
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Chronic absenteeism in a school refers to a situation where students repeatedly miss school, with the threshold often defined as missing 10% or more of school days for any reason, excused or unexcused.
Student Body
Help
Compare Details Racial makeup is: African American (65.9%), Hispanic (30.8%), Asian (1.2%). (See more...)
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Compare Details 75.5% of students are receiving a free or discounted lunch. (See more...)
Teachers
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Compare Details The student/teacher ratio at Central High School is 10.8, which is the 3rd best among 13 high schools in the Newark Public School District. (See more...)
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Compare Central High School employs 76 full-time teachers.
Finance
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Compare Details The average total spent per student at Central High School is $16,638, which is the highest among 13 high schools in the Newark Public School District!
Schooldigger 2024 Rankings:

Central High School:

SchoolDigger ranks Central High School 412th of 426 New Jersey public high schools. (See Central High School in the ranking list.)

High School Test Score Ratings by Student Subgroup:


English Language Learner students:
Special Education students:
Low Socio Economic Status students:
Female students:
Male students:
African American students:
Hispanic students:


Newark Public School District:

SchoolDigger ranks Newark Public School District 558th of 613 New Jersey school districts. (See district ranking list.)


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Rank History for Central High School

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Rank History for all students at Central High School

Year Avg Standard Score Statewide Rank Total # Ranked High Schools NJ State Percentile SchoolDigger Rating
2003 0.25 339th 343 1.2%
2004 0.24 343rd 348 1.4%
2005 0.08 348th 351 0.9%
2006 0.09 351st 357 1.7%
2007 0.31 356th 361 1.4%
2008 0.24 355th 359 1.1%
2009 0.64 364th 370 1.6%
2010 0.15 368th 371 0.8%
2011 5.48 350th 378 7.4%
2012 2.35 372nd 388 4.1%
2013 5.34 370th 396 6.6%
2014 6.32 379th 411 7.8%
2015 14.74 392nd 406 3.4%
2016 13.28 393rd 409 3.9%
2017 13.16 379th 411 7.8%
2018 14.44 374th 415 9.9%
2019 8.19 404th 416 2.9%
2021 5.72 402nd 405 0.7%
2022 9.01 411th 415 1.0%
2023 10.19 404th 422 4.3%
2024 8.87 412th 426 3.3%
See the entire list of New Jersey High School Rankings!

Rank History for English Language Learner students at Central High School

Year Avg Standard Score Statewide Rank Total # Ranked High Schools NJ State Percentile SchoolDigger Rating
2018 42.83 64th 146 56.2%
2019 22.68 129th 138 6.5%
2021 30.05 74th 101 26.7%
2022 24.35 125th 137 8.8%
2023 46.09 63rd 161 60.9%
2024 28.27 135th 179 24.6%
See the entire list of Best New Jersey High Schools for English Language Learner Students!

Rank History for Special Education students at Central High School

Year Avg Standard Score Statewide Rank Total # Ranked High Schools NJ State Percentile SchoolDigger Rating
2018 24.23 302nd 355 14.9%
2019 19.14 315th 349 9.7%
2022 18.84 334th 344 2.9%
2023 19.77 302nd 339 10.9%
2024 15.48 332nd 349 4.9%
See the entire list of Best New Jersey High Schools for Special Education Students!

Rank History for Low Socio Economic Status students at Central High School

Year Avg Standard Score Statewide Rank Total # Ranked High Schools NJ State Percentile SchoolDigger Rating
2018 17.76 318th 345 7.8%
2019 12.73 326th 347 6.1%
2021 9.33 323rd 326 0.9%
2022 13.68 309th 324 4.6%
2023 15.30 328th 344 4.7%
2024 13.46 338th 350 3.4%
See the entire list of Best New Jersey High Schools for Low Socio Economic Status Students!

Rank History for Female students at Central High School

Year Avg Standard Score Statewide Rank Total # Ranked High Schools NJ State Percentile SchoolDigger Rating
2018 11.40 382nd 403 5.2%
2019 5.88 395th 408 3.2%
2021 6.36 397th 402 1.2%
2022 7.61 408th 414 1.4%
2023 10.29 385th 416 7.5%
2024 7.64 406th 416 2.4%
See the entire list of Best New Jersey High Schools for Female Students!

Rank History for Male students at Central High School

Year Avg Standard Score Statewide Rank Total # Ranked High Schools NJ State Percentile SchoolDigger Rating
2018 10.59 391st 405 3.5%
2019 7.06 396th 407 2.7%
2021 7.15 399th 402 0.7%
2022 9.12 387th 410 5.6%
2023 7.47 399th 414 3.6%
2024 7.72 404th 415 2.7%
See the entire list of Best New Jersey High Schools for Male Students!

Rank History for African American students at Central High School

Year Avg Standard Score Statewide Rank Total # Ranked High Schools NJ State Percentile SchoolDigger Rating
2018 21.32 240th 266 9.8%
2019 17.88 233rd 254 8.3%
2021 17.22 240th 247 2.8%
2022 18.18 242nd 256 5.5%
2023 18.13 236th 250 5.6%
2024 15.68 252nd 260 3.1%
See the entire list of Best New Jersey High Schools for African American Students!

Rank History for Hispanic students at Central High School

Year Avg Standard Score Statewide Rank Total # Ranked High Schools NJ State Percentile SchoolDigger Rating
2018 6.46 361st 368 1.9%
2019 9.84 351st 364 3.6%
2021 10.83 371st 374 0.8%
2022 12.55 370th 382 3.1%
2023 16.54 347th 385 9.9%
2024 13.01 372nd 394 5.6%
See the entire list of Best New Jersey High Schools for Hispanic Students!

Data source: test scores: New Jersey 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.

Central High School Test Scores
Tests: 
  
Grades: 
  
Years: 
  
Group by: 
District Scores:
State Scores:    
  
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Data source: New Jersey Department of Education

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Enrollment information for Central High School

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Year White African American Asian Hispanic American Indian Pacific Islander Two or More Races Not Specified Total
1988 0 785 1 78 0 n/a n/a 0 864
1989 1 881 0 70 0 n/a n/a 0 952
1990 1 766 42 86 0 n/a n/a 0 895
1991 0 905 38 41 0 n/a n/a 0 984
1992 0 929 36 36 0 n/a n/a 0 1001
1993 0 955 37 57 0 n/a n/a 0 1049
1994 0 884 34 60 0 n/a n/a 0 978
1995 0 897 20 46 0 n/a n/a 0 963
1996 0 897 20 46 0 n/a n/a 0 963
1998 0 895 2 32 0 n/a n/a 0 929
1999 0 472 1 41 21 n/a n/a 0 535
2000 0 304 7 33 5 n/a n/a 0 349
2001 0 350 7 30 0 n/a n/a 0 387
2002 0 661 0 55 0 n/a n/a 0 716
2003 0 661 0 55 0 n/a n/a 0 716
2004 0 803 9 82 2 n/a n/a 0 896
2005 3 760 4 84 1 n/a n/a 0 852
2006 1 761 5 95 0 n/a n/a 0 862
2007 0 691 3 87 0 n/a n/a 0 781
2008 0 710 6 71 0 n/a n/a 0 787
2009 0 738 5 65 0 0 0 0 808
2010 1 792 4 65 0 0 0 0 862
2011 0 698 2 64 0 0 0 0 764
2012 0 663 0 75 0 0 0 0 738
2013 0 693 1 84 1 0 0 0 779
2014 2 666 1 83 1 0 0 0 753
2015 3 668 1 92 1 0 1 0 766
2016 0 724 1 108 0 0 1 0 834
2017 1 815 1 116 1 0 0 0 934
2018 1 764 1 87 0 0 0 0 853
2019 1 674 2 89 0 0 0 0 766
2020 2 658 3 111 0 0 0 0 774
2021 4 583 3 139 0 0 0 0 729
2022 4 627 4 201 2 0 0 0 838
2023 9 646 6 219 10 3 1 0 894
2024 7 544 10 254 5 2 4 0 826

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 High School

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Year # Students Full-time Teachers Student/Teacher ratio % Free/Discounted Lunch
1988 864 74.0 11.6 n/a
1989 952 79.0 12.0 n/a
1990 895 81.0 11.0 30.4
1991 984 87.0 11.3 57.7
1992 1001 86.0 11.6 76.2
1993 1049 88.0 11.9 72.7
1994 978 91.0 10.7 66.9
1995 963 90.0 10.7 71.8
1996 963 90.0 10.7 71.8
1998 929 75.0 12.4 57.8
1999 535 57.0 9.4 60.6
2000 349 39.0 8.9 66.2
2001 387 39.2 9.9 62
2002 716 65.0 11.0 55.6
2003 716 65.0 11.0 55.6
2004 896 80.0 11.2 51.8
2005 852 81.0 10.5 n/a
2006 862 87.0 9.9 41.8
2007 781 69.0 11.3 63.4
2008 787 62.0 12.7 57.9
2009 808 63.5 12.8 71.7
2010 862 55.0 15.6 78.9
2011 764 58.0 13.1 86.9
2012 738 n/a n/a 88.6
2013 779 79.0 9.8 92.2
2014 753 92.0 8.1 86.7
2015 766 87.0 8.8 83.2
2016 834 81.0 10.2 82.4
2017 934 79.0 11.8 80.5
2018 853 80.0 10.6 80.9
2019 766 79.0 9.6 73
2020 774 71.0 10.9 82.8
2021 729 74.5 9.7 77.4
2022 838 73.5 11.4 82.8
2023 894 70.5 12.6 74.8
2024 826 76.0 10.8 75.5

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 High School

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Year # Students Full-time Teachers Student/Teacher ratio % Free/Discounted Lunch
1988 864 74.0 11.6 n/a
1989 952 79.0 12.0 n/a
1990 895 81.0 11.0 30.4
1991 984 87.0 11.3 57.7
1992 1001 86.0 11.6 76.2
1993 1049 88.0 11.9 72.7
1994 978 91.0 10.7 66.9
1995 963 90.0 10.7 71.8
1996 963 90.0 10.7 71.8
1998 929 75.0 12.4 57.8
1999 535 57.0 9.4 60.6
2000 349 39.0 8.9 66.2
2001 387 39.2 9.9 62
2002 716 65.0 11.0 55.6
2003 716 65.0 11.0 55.6
2004 896 80.0 11.2 51.8
2005 852 81.0 10.5 n/a
2006 862 87.0 9.9 41.8
2007 781 69.0 11.3 63.4
2008 787 62.0 12.7 57.9
2009 808 63.5 12.8 71.7
2010 862 55.0 15.6 78.9
2011 764 58.0 13.1 86.9
2012 738 n/a n/a 88.6
2013 779 79.0 9.8 92.2
2014 753 92.0 8.1 86.7
2015 766 87.0 8.8 83.2
2016 834 81.0 10.2 82.4
2017 934 79.0 11.8 80.5
2018 853 80.0 10.6 80.9
2019 766 79.0 9.6 73
2020 774 71.0 10.9 82.8
2021 729 74.5 9.7 77.4
2022 838 73.5 11.4 82.8
2023 894 70.5 12.6 74.8
2024 826 76.0 10.8 75.5

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 High School

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YearExpenditures from Federal FundsExpenditures from State and Local FundsTotal Expenditures Per Pupil (All Funds)
2019 $864 (5.2%) $15,774 (94.8%) $16,638

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

Impact of COVID-19 on 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 404th of 416 High schoolsRanks 404th of 422 High schools
 1.4%

Test Scores

% proficient
Pre-pandemic (2018-2019)
% proficient
Post pandemic (2022-2023)
Change (%)
9th Grade English Language Arts (Central High School)12.513.4
 0.9%
   9th Grade English Language Arts (Newark Public School District)33.432.4
 1%
   9th Grade English Language Arts (New Jersey)55.952.1
 3.8%
9th Grade Algebra I (Central High School)2.43.3
 0.9%
   9th Grade Algebra I (Newark Public School District)17.511
 6.5%
   9th Grade Algebra I (New Jersey)27.219.2
 8%
End of Course Algebra I (Central High School)2.43.3
 0.9%
   End of Course Algebra I (Newark Public School District)20.714.8
 5.9%
   End of Course Algebra I (New Jersey)43.335.1
 8.2%

Student Body

Number of students
Pre-pandemic (2018-2019)
Number of students
Post pandemic (2022-2023)
Change (%)
Total Students766894
 16.7%
African American674646
 4.2%
American Indian010
Asian26
 200%
Hispanic89219
 146.1%
Pacific Islander03
White19
 800%
Two or More Races01
% Free/Discounted Lunch Recipients73%74.8%
 1.9%


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Frequently Asked Questions about Central High School

Central High School ranks in the bottom 3.3% of New Jersey high schools.

Students at Central High School are 66% African American, 31% Hispanic, 1% Asian.

In the 2023-24 school year, 826 students attended Central High 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 Jersey 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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