Enrollment
291
Elementary
DISTRICT 493 · STATE 480
SCHOOL COMMUNITY·TUSCALOOSA CITY·NCES 010336001252
Central Elementary School
1510 Dinah Washington Ave, Tuscaloosa, AL 35401 · (205) 759-3570 · Tuscaloosa County
GRADES PK–05ELEMENTARY12-CITYTITLE IREGULAR SCHOOL291 STUDENTS
C
allk12 Grade
Scored higher than 32% of Alabama public elementary schools
- C-Test scores Share of students meeting the state standard in reading, math, and other tested subjects, 2023-24 and 2024-25.
- B-Beats expectations How far test scores land above or below what the share of low-income students predicts for a school in this state.
- ·Three-year trend Not available for this school, so the grade uses the other parts.
Grades compare a school only with schools in the same state, because every state gives its own test. How grades work · Top-graded Alabama public elementary schools
Student : Teacher
14.5:1
20 FTE teachers
DISTRICT 16.0:1 · STATE 17.0:1
Free / Reduced Lunch
79%
229 students
DISTRICT 58% · STATE 58%
Community
0
0 members
Enrollment and student:teacher ratio compared against other elementary schools. Free/Reduced Lunch and demographics compared against all schools.
Enrollment by grade, 2024-25
| Grade | Students | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Pre-K | 30 | 10% |
| Kindergarten | 43 | 15% |
| Grade 1 | 47 | 16% |
| Grade 2 | 53 | 18% |
| Grade 3 | 49 | 17% |
| Grade 4 | 41 | 14% |
| Grade 5 | 28 | 10% |
This year's kindergarten class (43) is 54% larger than its 5th grade class (28).
Student demographics
32%Diversity index
The chance that two students picked at random belong to different racial or ethnic groups.
DISTRICT 51% · STATE 63% · US 70%
Student head counts by race/ethnicity from federal NCES enrollment data. District, state, and US figures are each group's share of all public school students in that area (US excludes territories). Very small groups may be suppressed in the source, so categories do not always sum exactly to total enrollment.
Gender split
Test scores
ACAP 2024-25 . % ProficientEnglish Language Arts
49.6%
AL avg 52.7%
Math
31.3%
AL avg 31.8%
What this means: On the ACAP, Alabama's statewide test, about 50 of every 100 students at this school read and write at grade level and about 31 of 100 do math at grade level. Across all Alabama schools, those numbers are about 53 and 32.
Source: ACAP. All students, all grades. See all years and grades →
BeatsExpectations
Demographically-adjusted score · methodologyTier
AS EXPECTED
Performing as predicted given the school's student profile
Actual proficiency
33.7%
composite math + reading, all grades
Predicted
26.8%
based on AL schools with similar FRL share
Beats by
+6.9pp
above demographic expectation
What this means: About 34% of students here test proficient in math and reading, compared with the roughly 27% typical for Alabama schools with a similar share of low-income students. BeatsExpectations measures results against demographically similar schools rather than by raw scores, and this school falls within the typical range, neither among Alabama's top nor bottom 10%.
BeatsExpectations runs a per-state regression of proficiency on free/reduced-lunch share, then scores each school by residual. How this is calculated →
Schools most like Central Elementary School
Central Elementary School's state test result (33.7% proficient) is higher than 5 of the 5 schools below with a result.
| School | Students | Low-income | Proficient |
|---|---|---|---|
| Central Elementary School this school | 291 | 78.7% | 33.7% |
| King Elementary Montgomery | 293 | 76.1% | 24.1% |
| Norwood Elementary School Birmingham | 261 | 77.8% | 30.1% |
| Robinson Elementary School Birmingham | 354 | 78.8% | 26.3% |
| Richard Arrington Elementary Birmingham | 341 | 80.4% | 16.9% |
| Johnson Elementary School Montgomery | 340 | 79.1% | 20.3% |
Matched among Alabama elementary schools on enrollment, the share of students from low-income families (eligible for free or reduced-price lunch), and racial and ethnic makeup. Proficient is the average share of students meeting the state standard across all of the school's state tests in 2023-24 and 2024-25, the same combined score our test-score rankings use. Online schools and schools serving specialized populations are not matched.
Where Central Elementary School ranks
Among elementary schools| Measure | This school | In Alabama | In Tuscaloosa County |
|---|---|---|---|
| State test proficiency ranked highest first | 33.7% | #472 of 626 | #21 of 29 |
| Math proficiency ranked highest first | 31.3% | #393 of 626 | #17 of 29 |
| Reading proficiency ranked highest first | 49.6% | #465 of 626 | #20 of 29 |
| Enrollment ranked largest first | 291 | #576 of 709 | #28 of 31 |
| Students per teacher ranked fewest first | 14.5:1 | #62 of 655 | #8 of 31 |
| Diversity index ranked most diverse first | 32.3% | #480 of 658 | #25 of 31 |
| Free and reduced lunch ranked highest share first | 78.7% | #107 of 696 | #5 of 31 |
| Enrollment change since 2017-18 ranked steepest decline first | -14.4% | #154 of 364 | #7 of 16 |
Ranked against other public elementary schools. Online schools are left out of every list, and test-score lists leave out schools that serve specialized populations. Each rank links to the full list. Arrows under a test-score rank show places moved since the prior test year, among schools tested both years.
4-year change
SY 2020-21 vs SY 2024-25Enrollment
291
-25 (-8%) vs 2020
+111% since 1990-91, when it was 138
Student : Teacher
14.5:1
was 15.1:1
Source: NCES Common Core of Data
Enrollment and staffing by year
| School year | Students | Teachers (FTE) | Students per teacher | Free and reduced lunch |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024-25 | 291 | 20.1 | 14.5:1 | 79% (229) |
| 2023-24 | 301 | 19.1 | 15.8:1 | 84% (253) |
| 2022-23 | 297 | 22.1 | 13.4:1 | 85% (253) |
| 2020-21 | 316 | 21 | 15.1:1 | 87% (274) |
| 2017-18 | 340 | 21.8 | 15.6:1 | 89% (304) |
| 2015-16 | 370 | 22 | 16.8:1 | 74% (275) |
| 2010-11 | 324 | 26 | 12.5:1 | 82% (265) |
| 2000-01 | 243 | 21 | 11.6:1 | 76% (185) |
| 1990-91 | 138 | 9 | 15.3:1 | N/A |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data. Rows are the federal collections on file for Central Elementary School.
Since 2017-18: students down 14% (340 to 291); teachers down 8% (21.8 to 20.1).
About Central Elementary School
Central Elementary School is a small elementary school. Its address is in Tuscaloosa, Alabama. The school offers pre-K through 5 and enrolls 291 students. The school is 39% below the average for elementary schools in Alabama.
Tuscaloosa City is the district for Central Elementary School. It has 19 schools and 11,230 students.
The share of students at Central Elementary School who are Black is 80%. Enrollment also includes 17% Hispanic. Among people living in Tuscaloosa County, the Black share is about 31%. On a 0 to 100 scale, the school's diversity index is 32, compared with 70 nationally.
There are 20.1 full-time-equivalent teachers at the school, a ratio of 14.5:1. The average for elementary schools in Alabama, 17.0:1, is higher. Of all students at Central Elementary School, 79% are eligible for free or reduced-price lunch. It compares with 54% for public schools in Tuscaloosa County.
Central Elementary School earns a C on the allk12 Grade, which blends test scores, results against poverty-based expectations, and the three-year trend. It scored higher than 32% of Alabama public elementary schools.
Based on student poverty, the model expects 26.8% at Central Elementary School; the school's average proficiency rate across its state test results is 33.7%.
For the population of Tuscaloosa County, the median household earns about $66,231 a year, a bachelor's degree or higher is held by about 32% of adults, and the poverty rate is about 11%. Across Tuscaloosa County, 58 public schools serve about 30,508 students.
Straight-line distance to the nearest public school, Westlawn Middle School, is about 0.1 miles. Around the school, at least 8 other public schools are within five miles. By average proficiency, Central Elementary School is 3rd among 8 schools close by.
The school's locale code, City: Mid-size, means it is inside a principal city with a population between 100,000 and 250,000.
Over the 4 years from 2020-21 to 2024-25, enrollment fell 8%.
This page is a place to ask questions and share updates about fundraisers, report cards, and school supplies at Central Elementary School. Members of the school community can share what they know.
Tuscaloosa County at a glance
View full county profilePopulation
237,552
Census ACS
Median income
$66,231
Household, ACS
Bachelor's+
32%
Adults 25+
Poverty rate
11%
Below federal line
Schools in county
58
30,508 students
Quick facts
Related schools
Other schools in Tuscaloosa City
- Northridge High SchoolHigh · 1,153 students
- Paul W Bryant High SchoolHigh · 1,134 students
- Central High SchoolHigh · 796 students
- Northridge Middle SchoolMiddle · 775 students
- Eastwood Middle SchoolMiddle · 711 students
- Rock Quarry Elementary SchoolElementary · 671 students
Other schools in Tuscaloosa
- Hillcrest High SchoolHigh · 1,434 students
- Northridge High SchoolHigh · 1,153 students
- Central High SchoolHigh · 796 students
- Northridge Middle SchoolMiddle · 775 students
- Rock Quarry Elementary SchoolElementary · 671 students
- Southview Elementary SchoolElementary · 644 students
Other Central Elementary schools
151 other US public schools in 35 states are named Central Elementary. Central Elementary School is the 112th largest of the 152.
- Central Elementary SchoolFlorrence, AL · 713 students
- Central Elementary SchoolRockford, AL · 397 students
- Central Elementary SchoolHayneville, AL · 200 students
- Central Elementary SchoolCarrollton, GA · 991 students
- CENTRAL ELEM.ST CHARLES, MO · 865 students
Nearby schools
- Westlawn Middle School0.1 mi · 568
- Martin L King Jr Elementary School0.6 mi · 467
- CollinsRiverside Middle School1.4 mi · 318
- Matthews Elementary School1.5 mi · 401
- Central High School1.5 mi · 796
- Oakdale Elementary School1.6 mi · 292
Frequently asked questions
About Central Elementary SchoolHow large is Central Elementary School?
Central Elementary School enrolls approximately 291 students in grades PK-05.
What age range does Central Elementary School serve?
Central Elementary School serves students from grade PK through grade 05.
How many teachers does Central Elementary School have?
Central Elementary School employs 20 FTE teachers, for a student-to-teacher ratio of 14.5:1.
What is the student diversity at Central Elementary School?
Student demographics at Central Elementary School are roughly 0% White, 17% Hispanic, 80% Black, 2% Two or more.
Who oversees Central Elementary School?
Central Elementary School is overseen by Tuscaloosa City in Tuscaloosa County.
Data sourceSchool profile facts are sourced from the NCES. Community content is posted by allk12 members.