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What's the most underrated thing about Centennial High that outsiders don't know?
Community prompt from u/allk12. Replies below.
Enrollment
1,377
High
DISTRICT 1,313 · STATE 1,185
SCHOOL COMMUNITY·HOWARD COUNTY PUBLIC SCHOOLS·NCES 240042000722
Centennial High
4300 Centennial Ln, Ellicott City, MD 21042 · (410) 313-2856 · Howard County
GRADES 09–12HIGH21-SUBURBREGULAR SCHOOL1,377 STUDENTS
A
allk12 Grade
Scored higher than 88% of Maryland public high schools
- ATest 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 Maryland public high schools
Student : Teacher
17.0:1
81 FTE teachers
DISTRICT 14.7:1 · STATE 15.3:1
Free / Reduced Lunch
19%
255 students
DISTRICT 29% · STATE 54%
Community
5
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 | 356 | 26% |
| Grade 10 | 362 | 26% |
| Grade 11 | 350 | 25% |
| Grade 12 | 309 | 22% |
Student demographics
70%Diversity index
The chance that two students picked at random belong to different racial or ethnic groups.
DISTRICT 77% · STATE 73% · 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
MCAP 2024-25 . % Proficient (Levels 3-4)English Language Arts
83.6%
MD avg 50.6% . -2.4pp since 2023
Math
20.3%
MD avg 34.8% . -4.4pp since 2023
What this means: On the MCAP, Maryland's statewide test, about 84 of every 100 students at this school read and write at grade level and about 20 of 100 do math at grade level. Across all Maryland schools, those numbers are about 51 and 35. Reading and writing scores are down about 2 points since 2023, while math scores are down about 4 points.
MCAP results by year
| School year | English Language Arts | Math |
|---|---|---|
| 2024-25 | 83.6% | 20.3% |
| 2023-24 | 86.0% | 24.7% |
% Proficient (Levels 3-4), all students and all tested grades.
Source: MCAP. 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
53.6%
composite math + reading, all grades
Predicted
63.3%
based on MD schools with similar FRL share
Beats by
-9.6pp
below demographic expectation
What this means: About 54% of students here test proficient in math and reading, compared with the roughly 63% typical for Maryland 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 Maryland'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 Centennial High
Centennial High's state test result (53.6% proficient) is higher than 2 of the 5 schools below with a result.
| School | Students | Low-income | Proficient |
|---|---|---|---|
| Centennial High this school | 1,377 | 18.5% | 53.6% |
| Mount Hebron High Ellicott City | 1,455 | 19.2% | 51.8% |
| Poolesville High Poolesville | 1,351 | 12.1% | 53.8% |
| Thomas S. Wootton High Rockville | 1,870 | 13.4% | 48.5% |
| River Hill High Clarksville | 1,383 | 7.7% | 55.4% |
| Marriotts Ridge High Marriottsville | 1,741 | 15.5% | 58.6% |
Matched among Maryland 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 Centennial High ranks
Among high schools| Measure | This school | In Maryland | In Howard County |
|---|---|---|---|
| State test proficiency ranked highest first | 53.6% | #19 of 203 | #4 of 13 |
| Math proficiency ranked highest first | 20.3% | #38 of 206 ▼ 16 | #3 of 13 ▲ 1 |
| Reading proficiency ranked highest first | 83.6% | #26 of 206 ▼ 17 | #4 of 13 ▼ 3 |
| Enrollment ranked largest first | 1,377 | #92 of 234 | #8 of 14 |
| Students per teacher ranked fewest first | 17.0:1 | #140 of 210 | #10 of 13 |
| Diversity index ranked most diverse first | 70.4% | #40 of 211 | #10 of 13 |
| Free and reduced lunch ranked highest share first | 18.5% | #195 of 212 | #11 of 14 |
| Enrollment change since 2017-18 ranked steepest decline first | -14.7% | #13 of 76 | #3 of 6 |
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
1,377
-90 (-6%) vs 2020
+16% since 1990-91, when it was 1,190
Student : Teacher
17.0:1
was 16.7:1
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 | 1,377 | 81 | 17.0:1 | 19% (255) |
| 2023-24 | 1,364 | 85.9 | 15.9:1 | 18% (243) |
| 2022-23 | 1,392 | 83.9 | 16.6:1 | 17% (237) |
| 2020-21 | 1,467 | 88 | 16.7:1 | 7% (100) |
| 2017-18 | 1,614 | 96.4 | 16.7:1 | 8% (128) |
| 2015-16 | 1,465 | 91 | 16.1:1 | 10% (147) |
| 2010-11 | 1,472 | 91 | 16.2:1 | 7% (101) |
| 2000-01 | 1,213 | 69 | 17.6:1 | 1% (18) |
| 1990-91 | 1,190 | 62 | 19.2:1 | N/A |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data. Rows are the federal collections on file for Centennial High.
Since 2017-18: students down 15% (1,614 to 1,377); teachers down 16% (96.4 to 81).
About Centennial High
Centennial High is one of the public schools in Ellicott City, Maryland. It is a medium-sized high school. Grades offered run from 9 through 12, with 1,377 students enrolled.
Howard County Public Schools runs 77 schools with a combined 57,565 students. Centennial High is one of them.
No single group makes up more than half of enrollment at Centennial High. The largest is Asian students, at 40%. The remaining shares are 33% White, 13% Black, 8% Hispanic, and 5% multiracial. Census estimates put the Asian share of Howard County's population at about 19%. Centennial High's diversity index is 70%, against a US figure of 70%.
Centennial High counts 81 full-time-equivalent teachers, about 17.0 students for each one. On average, high schools in Maryland have 15.3:1, compared with 17.0:1 here. About 19% of enrolled students meet the income rules for free or reduced-price lunch. Public schools in Howard County average 27%.
allk12 grades Centennial High an A. The grade compares the school only with Maryland public high schools, because each state gives its own test.
After adjusting for student poverty, Centennial High lands between the top and bottom 10% of Maryland schools. Its average proficiency rate on state tests is 53.6%; the prediction is 63.3%.
Recent Census Bureau figures for Howard County show that the median household income is $149,763, 65% of adults hold a bachelor's degree or higher, and about 4% of residents live below the federal poverty line. Centennial High is one of 78 public schools in the county.
Burleigh Manor Middle is the public school closest to Centennial High, about 0.2 miles away. The count of other public schools within five miles is at least 8. Ranked by average proficiency, Centennial High places 5th out of 8 schools in its immediate area.
For locale, NCES codes Centennial High as Suburb: Large.
Over 4 years, Centennial High's enrollment dropped 6%, to 1,377.
Threads on this page can be about sports tryouts, band and choir, and theater. Anyone with firsthand experience at this school can post or comment.
Howard County at a glance
View full county profilePopulation
336,328
Census ACS
Median income
$149,763
Household, ACS
Bachelor's+
65%
Adults 25+
Poverty rate
4%
Below federal line
Schools in county
78
57,565 students
Quick facts
Related schools
Other schools in Howard County Public Schools
- Marriotts Ridge HighHigh · 1,741 students
- Reservoir HighHigh · 1,597 students
- Atholton HighHigh · 1,540 students
- Howard HighHigh · 1,493 students
- Mount Hebron HighHigh · 1,455 students
- Oakland Mills HighHigh · 1,413 students
Other schools in Ellicott City
- Howard HighHigh · 1,493 students
- Mount Hebron HighHigh · 1,455 students
- Veterans ElementaryElementary · 883 students
- Waverly ElementaryElementary · 827 students
- Bellows Spring ElementaryElementary · 806 students
- Burleigh Manor MiddleMiddle · 777 students
Other Centennial High schools
16 other US public schools in 14 states are named Centennial High. Centennial High is the 12th largest of the 17.
- Centennial High SchoolLas Vegas, NV · 2,961 students
- Centennial HighCorona, CA · 2,712 students
- Centennial HighBakersfield, CA · 2,212 students
- Centennial High SchoolCIRCLE PINES, MN · 2,067 students
- Centennial High SchoolPEORIA, AZ · 2,026 students
Nearby schools
- Burleigh Manor Middle0.2 mi · 777
- Centennial Lane Elementary1.0 mi · 749
- Homewood School1.6 mi · 109
- Running Brook Elementary1.8 mi · 407
- Longfellow Elementary2.0 mi · 446
- Dunloggin Middle2.0 mi · 623
Frequently asked questions
About Centennial HighHow large is Centennial High?
Centennial High enrolls approximately 1,377 students in grades 09-12.
Is Centennial High an elementary, middle, or high school?
Centennial High is a high school covering grades 09-12.
How many students per teacher at Centennial High?
Approximately 17.0:1 students per teacher at Centennial High.
What is the racial breakdown of students at Centennial High?
At Centennial High, the student body is approximately 33% White, 8% Hispanic, 13% Black, 40% Asian, 5% Two or more.
Is Centennial High public or private?
Centennial High is a public K-12 school, overseen by Howard County Public Schools.
Data sourceSchool profile facts are sourced from the NCES. Community content is posted by allk12 members.