1
What's the one class at Central High School every student should take?
Community prompt from u/allk12. Replies below.
Enrollment
1,352
High
DISTRICT 870 · STATE 627
SCHOOL COMMUNITY·MESA COUNTY VALLEY SCHOOL DISTRICT NO. 51·NCES 080435000600
Central High School
3130 E1/2 ROAD, GRAND JUNCTION, CO 81504 · (970) 254-6200 · Mesa County
GRADES 09–12HIGH22-SUBURBTITLE IREGULAR SCHOOL1,352 STUDENTS
·
allk12 Grade
Not graded
This school has no state test results for 2023-24 or 2024-25 to grade, which is common for schools that end before third grade. How grades work
Student : Teacher
17.0:1
80 FTE teachers
DISTRICT 16.0:1 · STATE 16.9:1
Free / Reduced Lunch
58%
788 students
DISTRICT 54% · STATE 50%
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 9 | 359 | 27% |
| Grade 10 | 322 | 24% |
| Grade 11 | 351 | 26% |
| Grade 12 | 320 | 24% |
Student demographics
54%Diversity index
The chance that two students picked at random belong to different racial or ethnic groups.
DISTRICT 45% · STATE 62% · 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
BeatsExpectations
Demographically-adjusted score · methodologyTier
AS EXPECTED
Performing as predicted given the school's student profile
Actual proficiency
23.8%
composite math + reading, all grades
Predicted
31.4%
based on CO schools with similar FRL share
Beats by
-7.6pp
below demographic expectation
What this means: About 24% of students here test proficient in math and reading, compared with the roughly 31% typical for Colorado 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 Colorado'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 (23.8% proficient) is higher than 0 of the 4 schools below with a result.
| School | Students | Low-income | Proficient |
|---|---|---|---|
| Central High School this school | 1,352 | 58.3% | 23.8% |
| Pueblo County High School PUEBLO | 1,148 | 51.8% | 25.6% |
| Palisade High School PALISADE | 1,073 | 50.9% | 34.5% |
| Longmont High School LONGMONT | 1,268 | 47.9% | 35.5% |
| Montezuma-Cortez High School CORTEZ | 598 | 57.5% | N/A |
| Coronado High School COLORADO SPRINGS | 1,279 | 48.3% | 24.4% |
Matched among Colorado 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 Colorado | In Mesa County |
|---|---|---|---|
| State test proficiency ranked highest first | 23.8% | #145 of 231 | N/A |
| Enrollment ranked largest first | 1,352 | #69 of 409 | #3 of 9 |
| Students per teacher ranked fewest first | 17.0:1 | #111 of 250 | N/A |
| Diversity index ranked most diverse first | 53.6% | #80 of 250 | N/A |
| Free and reduced lunch ranked highest share first | 58.3% | #122 of 320 | #2 of 6 |
| Enrollment change since 2017-18 ranked steepest decline first | -10.9% | #83 of 139 | N/A |
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
1,352
-231 (-15%) vs 2020
+5% since 1990-91, when it was 1,289
Student : Teacher
17.0:1
was 20.6:1
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 | 1,352 | 79.6 | 17.0:1 | 58% (788) |
| 2023-24 | 1,443 | 79.5 | 18.2:1 | 59% (845) |
| 2022-23 | 1,613 | 83.8 | 19.3:1 | 45% (723) |
| 2020-21 | 1,583 | 77 | 20.6:1 | 56% (880) |
| 2017-18 | 1,518 | 81.9 | 18.5:1 | 44% (662) |
| 2015-16 | 1,515 | 82 | 18.5:1 | 48% (733) |
| 2010-11 | 1,599 | 88 | 18.2:1 | 48% (762) |
| 2000-01 | 1,548 | 76 | 20.4:1 | 27% (424) |
| 1990-91 | 1,289 | 66 | 19.5:1 | N/A |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data. Rows are the federal collections on file for Central High School.
Since 2017-18: students down 11% (1,518 to 1,352); teachers down 3% (81.9 to 79.6).
About Central High School
At 3130 E1/2 ROAD in GRAND JUNCTION, Colorado, Central High School operates as a large high school. A federal count lists 1,352 students at the school, in grades 9 through 12. Average enrollment for high schools in Colorado is about 627, so this school runs 116% larger than that.
Mesa County Valley School District No. 51 runs 45 schools with a combined 20,344 students. Central High School is one of them.
By race and ethnicity, Central High School is 57% White. After that, the student body is 37% Hispanic and 4% multiracial. Census figures show Mesa County is about 82% White. Central High School has a diversity index of 54%, compared with 70% for all US public school students.
At Central High School, 79.6 full-time-equivalent teachers work with students, a ratio of about 17.0:1. Across high schools in Colorado, the average ratio is about 16.9:1. Students eligible for free or reduced-price lunch make up 58% of enrollment.
The allk12 BeatsExpectations score for Central High School is -7.6 points: 23.8% actual, 31.4% predicted.
County data help place the school in context: in Mesa County, median household income is about $73,658, roughly 32% of adults have a four-year degree or more, and the share of residents below the poverty line is 7%. The public schools of Mesa County number 57 and enroll about 22,232.
The nearest other public school, Grand Mesa Middle School, is about 0.2 miles away. In all, at least 8 other public schools sit within five miles of Central High School. On state test proficiency, Central High School ranks 6th in a group of 9 nearby schools.
Central High School is coded as Suburb: Mid-size in federal locale data.
Central High School saw enrollment fall 15% between 2020-21 and 2024-25. By 2024-25, the school had 17.0 students per teacher, compared with 20.6 in 2020-21.
Community posts for Central High School can cover science fairs, picture day, and bus routes. Questions from prospective families are welcome too.
Mesa County at a glance
View full county profilePopulation
158,601
Census ACS
Median income
$73,658
Household, ACS
Bachelor's+
32%
Adults 25+
Poverty rate
7%
Below federal line
Schools in county
57
22,232 students
Quick facts
Related schools
Other schools in Mesa County Valley School District No. 51
- Grand Junction High SchoolHigh · 1,832 students
- Fruita Monument High SchoolHigh · 1,427 students
- Palisade High SchoolHigh · 1,073 students
- Fruita Middle SchoolMiddle · 690 students
- Redlands Middle SchoolMiddle · 632 students
- Fruita 8/9 SchoolCombined · 591 students
Other schools in GRAND JUNCTION
- Grand Junction High SchoolHigh · 1,832 students
- Caprock AcademyCombined · 871 students
- Redlands Middle SchoolMiddle · 632 students
- Orchard Mesa Middle SchoolMiddle · 560 students
- Bookcliff Middle SchoolMiddle · 525 students
- Independence AcademyElementary · 491 students
Other Central High schools
70 other US public schools in 32 states are named Central High. Central High School is the 17th largest of the 71.
- Central High SchoolPUEBLO, CO · 1,145 students
- Central High SchoolSAN ANGELO, TX · 2,985 students
- CENTRAL HIGH SCHOOLOMAHA, NE · 2,587 students
- Central High SchoolKELLER, TX · 2,410 students
- CENTRAL HIGH SCHOOLLITTLE ROCK, AR · 2,371 students
Nearby schools
- Grand Mesa Middle School0.2 mi · 476
- Ascent Classical Academy of Grand Junction0.5 mi · 457
- Thunder Mountain Elementary School1.0 mi · 432
- Chatfield Elementary School1.3 mi · 371
- Fruitvale Elementary School1.3 mi · 358
- Clifton Elementary School1.5 mi · 346
Frequently asked questions
About Central High SchoolWhat is the total enrollment at Central High School?
Central High School enrolls approximately 1,352 students in grades 09-12.
What age range does Central High School serve?
Central High School serves students from grade 09 through grade 12.
How many teachers does Central High School have?
Central High School employs 80 FTE teachers, for a student-to-teacher ratio of 17.0:1.
What is the student diversity at Central High School?
Student demographics at Central High School are roughly 57% White, 37% Hispanic, 0% Black, 1% Asian, 4% Two or more.
Who oversees Central High School?
Central High School is overseen by Mesa County Valley School District No. 51 in Mesa County.
Data sourceSchool profile facts are sourced from the NCES. Community content is posted by allk12 members.