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Schools›Alabama›Tuscaloosa
SCHOOL COMMUNITY·TUSCALOOSA CITY·NCES 010336001608

Central High School

905 15th Street, Tuscaloosa, AL 35401 · (205) 759-3720 · Tuscaloosa County
GRADES 09–12HIGH12-CITYTITLE IREGULAR SCHOOL796 STUDENTS
C-
allk12 Grade
Scored higher than 16% of Alabama public high schools
  • DTest scores Share of students meeting the state standard in reading, math, and other tested subjects, 2023-24 and 2024-25.
  • C+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 high schools

Enrollment
796
High
DISTRICT 1,028 · STATE 682
Student : Teacher
17.9:1
45 FTE teachers
DISTRICT 20.0:1 · STATE 17.2:1
Free / Reduced Lunch
78%
622 students
DISTRICT 58% · 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

GradeStudentsShare
Grade 922628%
Grade 1021427%
Grade 1117222%
Grade 1218423%
Student demographics
23%Diversity index
The chance that two students picked at random belong to different racial or ethnic groups.
DISTRICT 51% · STATE 63% · US 70%
White
375%
DISTRICT 21% · STATE 50% · US 43%
Hispanic
557%
DISTRICT 8% · STATE 12% · US 30%
Black
69487%
DISTRICT 66% · STATE 31% · US 15%
Asian
61%
DISTRICT 2% · STATE 1% · US 6%
Two+
30%
DISTRICT 2% · STATE 4% · US 5%
Pacific Islander
10%
DISTRICT 0% · STATE 0% · US 0%
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
Male
41953%
Female
37747%

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Test scores

ACAP 2024-25 . % Proficient
English Language Arts
12.0%
AL avg 52.7%
Math
4.2%
AL avg 31.8%

What this means: On the ACAP, Alabama's statewide test, about 12 of every 100 students at this school read and write at grade level and about 4 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 · methodology
Tier
UNDERPERFORMING
Bottom 10% of AL schools after controlling for student poverty
Actual proficiency
9.6%
composite math + reading, all grades
Predicted
27.2%
based on AL schools with similar FRL share
Beats by
-17.6pp
below demographic expectation

What this means: About 10% of students here test proficient in math and reading, below the roughly 27% typical for Alabama schools with a similar share of low-income students. BeatsExpectations compares each school with others at the same poverty level, not by raw scores, so a school lands here when its results trail those comparable schools, which is not the same as having low scores. A higher-scoring school can still fall in this tier if similar schools score higher still.

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 (9.6% proficient) is higher than 4 of the 5 schools below with a result.

SchoolStudentsLow-incomeProficient
Central High School this school79678.1%9.6%
Center Point High School
Center Point
68580.7%4.6%
Wenonah High School
Birmingham
67081.2%6.7%
Booker T Washington High
Tuskegee
65680.3%15.0%
Mattie T Blount High School
Eight Mile
1,05877.6%8.8%
Huffman High SchoolMagnet
Birmingham
1,09479.8%8.0%
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
MeasureThis schoolIn AlabamaIn Tuscaloosa County
State test proficiency
ranked highest first
9.6%#270 of 305#8 of 9
Math proficiency
ranked highest first
4.2%#273 of 305#8 of 9
Reading proficiency
ranked highest first
12.0%#264 of 305#7 of 9
Enrollment
ranked largest first
796#90 of 319#6 of 9
Students per teacher
ranked fewest first
17.9:1#203 of 307#4 of 9
Diversity index
ranked most diverse first
23.3%#245 of 307#8 of 9
Free and reduced lunch
ranked highest share first
78.1%#46 of 317#2 of 9
Enrollment change since 2017-18
ranked fastest growth first
+5.4%#92 of 130#6 of 8
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 2024-25
Enrollment
796
+51 (+7%) vs 2020
-30% since 1990-91, when it was 1,135
Student : Teacher
17.9:1
was 16.2:1
Source: NCES Common Core of Data

Enrollment and staffing by year

School yearStudentsTeachers (FTE)Students per teacherFree and reduced lunch
2024-2579644.517.9:178% (622)
2023-2483449.716.8:184% (701)
2022-2378346.516.8:184% (658)
2020-217454616.2:184% (626)
2017-1875539.619.1:184% (635)
2015-166663419.6:158% (389)
2010-117654915.6:183% (638)
2000-019975916.9:140% (401)
1990-911,1356417.7:1N/A
Source: NCES Common Core of Data. Rows are the federal collections on file for Central High School.

Since 2017-18: students up 5% (755 to 796); teachers up 12% (39.6 to 44.5).

About Central High School

Central High School serves students in Tuscaloosa, Alabama, as a mid-sized high school. It reported 796 students in grades 9 through 12 in 2024-25.

Central High School is part of Tuscaloosa City, where 19 schools serve 11,230 students.

Black students account for 87% of the school's enrollment. The rest of enrollment is 7% Hispanic and 5% White. Among all residents of Tuscaloosa County, the Black share is about 31%. A diversity index of 23% means there is a 23% chance two randomly chosen students at Central High School are from different groups.

There are 44.5 full-time-equivalent teachers at the school, a ratio of 17.9:1. Compared with the 17.2:1 average for high schools in Alabama, this school's ratio is higher. On the income side, 78% of students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch. Across public schools in Tuscaloosa County, the average is 54%.

Central High School holds a C- allk12 Grade, placing it above 16% of Alabama public high schools.

Predicted from its free or reduced-price lunch share, Central High School would score about 27.2%. It scores 9.6%, a bottom-10% result among Alabama schools on BeatsExpectations.

In Tuscaloosa County, median household income comes to about $66,231, roughly 32% of adults have a four-year degree or more, and the share of residents below the poverty line is 11%. The county's public schools total 58, with about 30,508 students.

University Place Elementary School sits about 0.7 miles from Central High School. Around the school, at least 8 other public schools are within five miles. By average proficiency, Central High School is 9th among 9 schools close by.

Central High School falls in the City: Mid-size locale category, used for schools inside a principal city with a population between 100,000 and 250,000.

The 2020-21-to-2024-25 change in enrollment was a 7% rise, from 745 to 796. The ratio of students to teachers went from 16.2:1 to 17.9:1 over the same years.

This page is set up for the Central High School community to discuss special education services, counseling, and support programs. Current and former families are welcome to add their experience.

Tuscaloosa County at a glance

View full county profile
Population
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

School name
Central High School
District
Tuscaloosa City
Address
905 15th Street, Tuscaloosa, AL 35401
Phone
(205) 759-3720
County
Tuscaloosa County
Level
High
Grade range
09–12
Total enrollment
796
Teachers (FTE)
45
Student–teacher ratio
17.9:1
Free and reduced lunch
622 (78%)
Locale
12-City: Mid-size
NCES ID
010336001608
Charter school
No
Virtual school
No

Related schools

Other schools in Tuscaloosa City
Other schools in Tuscaloosa
Other Central High schools

70 other US public schools in 32 states are named Central High. Central High School is the 37th largest of the 71.

Nearby schools

Frequently asked questions

About Central High School
What is the total enrollment at Central High School?
Central High School enrolls approximately 796 students in grades 09-12.
Is Central High School an elementary, middle, or high school?
Central High School is a high school covering grades 09-12.
How many teachers does Central High School have?
Central High School employs 45 FTE teachers, for a student-to-teacher ratio of 17.9:1.
What is the student diversity at Central High School?
Student demographics at Central High School are roughly 5% White, 7% Hispanic, 87% Black, 1% Asian, 0% Two or more.
Is Central High School public or private?
Central High School is a public K-12 school, overseen by Tuscaloosa City.
Data sourceSchool profile facts are sourced from the NCES. Community content is posted by allk12 members.
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