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What's the best and worst thing about the food at Central High School?
Community prompt from u/allk12. Replies below.
Enrollment
596
High
DISTRICT 557 · STATE 682
SCHOOL COMMUNITY·LAUDERDALE COUNTY·NCES 010201000765
Central High School
3000 County Road 200, Florence, AL 35633 · (256) 764-2903 · Lauderdale County
GRADES 07–12HIGH42-RURALTITLE IREGULAR SCHOOL596 STUDENTS
Student : Teacher
15.7:1
38 FTE teachers
DISTRICT 16.7:1 · STATE 17.2:1
Free / Reduced Lunch
45%
269 students
DISTRICT 41% · STATE 58%
Community
6
0 members
Enrollment and student:teacher ratio compared against other high schools. Free/Reduced Lunch and demographics compared against all schools.
Enrollment by grade, 2024-25
| Grade | Students | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Grade 7 | 86 | 14% |
| Grade 8 | 103 | 17% |
| Grade 9 | 107 | 18% |
| Grade 10 | 102 | 17% |
| Grade 11 | 107 | 18% |
| Grade 12 | 91 | 15% |
Student demographics
18%Diversity index
The chance that two students picked at random belong to different racial or ethnic groups.
DISTRICT 18% · 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
55.2%
AL avg 52.7%
Math
23.4%
AL avg 31.8%
What this means: On the ACAP, Alabama's statewide test, about 55 of every 100 students at this school read and write at grade level and about 23 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
39.0%
composite math + reading, all grades
Predicted
51.2%
based on AL schools with similar FRL share
Beats by
-12.2pp
below demographic expectation
What this means: About 39% of students here test proficient in math and reading, compared with the roughly 51% 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 High School
Central High School's state test result (39.0% proficient) is higher than 2 of the 5 schools below with a result.
| School | Students | Low-income | Proficient |
|---|---|---|---|
| Central High School this school | 596 | 45.1% | 39.0% |
| Cleburne County High School Heflin | 555 | 47.7% | 31.1% |
| Wilson High School Florence | 585 | 48.2% | 33.5% |
| Satsuma High School Satsuma | 729 | 45.3% | 49.6% |
| Cherokee County High School Centre | 448 | 47.8% | 39.8% |
| Flomaton High School Flomaton | 559 | 47.9% | 41.4% |
Matched among Alabama high 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 High School ranks
Among high schools| Measure | This school | In Alabama | In Lauderdale County |
|---|---|---|---|
| State test proficiency ranked highest first | 39.0% | #65 of 305 | #4 of 7 |
| Math proficiency ranked highest first | 23.4% | #118 of 305 | #5 of 7 |
| Reading proficiency ranked highest first | 55.2% | #30 of 305 | #4 of 7 |
| Enrollment ranked largest first | 596 | #135 of 319 | #3 of 8 |
| Students per teacher ranked fewest first | 15.7:1 | #70 of 307 | #1 of 8 |
| Diversity index ranked most diverse first | 18.5% | #264 of 307 | #5 of 8 |
| Free and reduced lunch ranked highest share first | 45.1% | #230 of 317 | #4 of 8 |
| Enrollment change since 2017-18 ranked steepest decline first | -56.5% | #4 of 164 | #3 of 7 |
Ranked against other public high 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
596
-671 (-53%) vs 2020
-49% since 1990-91, when it was 1,165
Student : Teacher
15.7:1
was 15.6:1
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 | 596 | 38 | 15.7:1 | 45% (269) |
| 2023-24 | 603 | 39 | 15.5:1 | 62% (376) |
| 2022-23 | 603 | 40 | 15.1:1 | 62% (376) |
| 2020-21 | 1,267 | 81 | 15.6:1 | 46% (584) |
| 2017-18 | 1,369 | 82 | 16.7:1 | 55% (750) |
| 2015-16 | 1,342 | 76 | 17.7:1 | 50% (674) |
| 2010-11 | 1,340 | 93 | 14.4:1 | 52% (702) |
| 2000-01 | 1,272 | 80 | 15.9:1 | 34% (433) |
| 1990-91 | 1,165 | 58 | 20.1:1 | N/A |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data. Rows are the federal collections on file for Central High School.
Since 2017-18: students down 56% (1,369 to 596); teachers down 54% (82 to 38).
About Central High School
Central High School, a mid-sized high school, is located in Florence, Alabama. The school counted 596 students in 2024-25, covering grades 7 through 12.
Lauderdale County runs 14 schools with a combined 7,952 students. Central High School is one of them.
The share of White students at Central High School is 90%. Other groups make up 4% Hispanic and 4% Black. Measured by the diversity index, the student body scores 18%.
For every teacher at Central High School, there are about 15.7 students; the school has 38 full-time-equivalent teachers. Compared with the 17.2:1 average for high schools in Alabama, this school's ratio is lower. The eligibility rate for free or reduced-price meals is 45%. The figure for public schools in Lauderdale County is close, at 47%.
Central High School is 12.2 points below its predicted average proficiency rate across its state test results (39.0% versus 51.2%), which places it in neither the top nor the bottom 10% in Alabama.
The school's county is Lauderdale County. According to Census Bureau estimates, median household income comes to about $62,649, 30% of adults hold a bachelor's degree or higher, and about 9% of people live in poverty. There are 24 public schools in the county, enrolling about 12,526, Central High School among them.
Central Elementary School is less than a tenth of a mile away, making it the nearest public school. Central High School is one of several public schools in the area, with at least 8 others within ten miles. Ranking the closest schools with test data puts Central High School at 7th of 9.
Locale data from NCES put Central High School in rural territory some distance from an urban area (Rural: Distant).
Federal data put enrollment at 1,267 in 2020-21 and 596 in 2024-25; the school may have served different grades in those years.
This page is set up for the Central High School community to discuss homework, tutoring, and testing dates. Current and former families are welcome to add their experience.
Lauderdale County at a glance
View full county profilePopulation
95,830
Census ACS
Median income
$62,649
Household, ACS
Bachelor's+
30%
Adults 25+
Poverty rate
9%
Below federal line
Schools in county
24
12,526 students
Quick facts
Related schools
Other schools in Lauderdale County
- Brooks Elementary SchoolElementary · 874 students
- Lauderdale Elementary SchoolElementary · 746 students
- Brooks High SchoolHigh · 729 students
- Central Elementary SchoolElementary · 713 students
- Rogers Elementary SchoolElementary · 592 students
- Wilson High SchoolHigh · 585 students
Other schools in Florence
- Florence High SchoolHigh · 1,101 students
- Forest Hills SchoolElementary · 906 students
- Florence Middle SchoolMiddle · 663 students
- Rogers Elementary SchoolElementary · 592 students
- Wilson High SchoolHigh · 585 students
- Wilson Elementary SchoolElementary · 552 students
Other Central High schools
70 other US public schools in 32 states are named Central High. Central High School is the 46th largest of the 71.
- Central High SchoolPhenix City, AL · 1,579 students
- Central High SchoolTuscaloosa, AL · 796 students
- Central High SchoolRockford, AL · 354 students
- Central High SchoolHayneville, AL · 175 students
- Central High SchoolSAN ANGELO, TX · 2,985 students
Nearby schools
- Central Elementary School0.0 mi · 713
- Underwood Elementary School5.9 mi · 343
- Wilson Elementary School7.4 mi · 552
- Wilson High School7.4 mi · 585
- Forest Hills School7.6 mi · 906
- Hibbett Elementary School7.7 mi · 489
Frequently asked questions
About Central High SchoolHow large is Central High School?
Central High School enrolls approximately 596 students in grades 07-12.
What age range does Central High School serve?
Central High School serves students from grade 07 through grade 12.
How many students per teacher at Central High School?
Approximately 15.7:1 students per teacher at Central High School.
What is the racial breakdown of students at Central High School?
At Central High School, the student body is approximately 90% White, 4% Hispanic, 4% Black, 2% Two or more.
Who oversees Central High School?
Central High School is overseen by Lauderdale County in Lauderdale County.
Data sourceSchool profile facts are sourced from the NCES. Community content is posted by allk12 members.