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Parents: what's one thing you'd want the Central Elementary School administration to hear?
Community prompt from u/allk12. Replies below.
Enrollment
439
Elementary
DISTRICT 464 · STATE 369
SCHOOL COMMUNITY·PORTAGE PUBLIC SCHOOLS·NCES 262895006486
Central Elementary School
8422 S WESTNEDGE AVE, PORTAGE, MI 49002 · (269) 323-6100 · Kalamazoo County
GRADES KG–05ELEMENTARY13-CITYREGULAR SCHOOL439 STUDENTS
B-
allk12 Grade
Scored higher than 48% of Michigan public elementary schools
- BTest scores Share of students meeting the state standard in reading, math, and other tested subjects, 2023-24 and 2024-25.
- CBeats 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 Michigan public elementary schools
Student : Teacher
16.3:1
27 FTE teachers
DISTRICT 16.3:1 · STATE 15.8:1
Free / Reduced Lunch
31%
138 students
DISTRICT 27% · STATE 55%
Community
5
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Kindergarten | 82 | 19% |
| Grade 1 | 58 | 13% |
| Grade 2 | 72 | 16% |
| Grade 3 | 73 | 17% |
| Grade 4 | 63 | 14% |
| Grade 5 | 91 | 21% |
This year's kindergarten class (82) is 10% smaller than its 5th grade class (91).
Student demographics
50%Diversity index
The chance that two students picked at random belong to different racial or ethnic groups.
DISTRICT 52% · STATE 56% · 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
M-STEP 2024-25 . % Advanced + ProficientEnglish Language Arts
47.8%
MI avg 47.7%
Math
45.1%
MI avg 44.8%
What this means: On the M-STEP, Michigan's statewide test, about 48 of every 100 students at this school read and write at grade level and about 45 of 100 do math at grade level. Across all Michigan schools, those numbers are about 48 and 45.
Source: M-STEP. 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
48.6%
composite math + reading, all grades
Predicted
52.4%
based on MI schools with similar FRL share
Beats by
-3.7pp
below demographic expectation
What this means: About 49% of students here test proficient in math and reading, compared with the roughly 52% typical for Michigan 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 Michigan'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 (48.6% proficient) is higher than 0 of the 5 schools below with a result.
| School | Students | Low-income | Proficient |
|---|---|---|---|
| Central Elementary School this school | 439 | 31.4% | 48.6% |
| Kennedy Elementary School LIVONIA | 472 | 28.8% | 60.7% |
| Roosevelt Elementary School LIVONIA | 409 | 28.1% | 59.8% |
| Yake Elementary School WOODHAVEN | 373 | 34.0% | 68.6% |
| Amberly Elementary School PORTAGE | 513 | 31.4% | 49.1% |
| Pine Knob Elementary School CLARKSTON | 487 | 28.1% | 63.4% |
Matched among Michigan 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 Michigan | In Kalamazoo County |
|---|---|---|---|
| State test proficiency ranked highest first | 48.6% | #457 of 1,085 | #12 of 30 |
| Math proficiency ranked highest first | 45.1% | #555 of 1,072 | #14 of 30 |
| Reading proficiency ranked highest first | 47.8% | #551 of 1,139 | #19 of 32 |
| Enrollment ranked largest first | 439 | #485 of 1,630 | #13 of 44 |
| Students per teacher ranked fewest first | 16.3:1 | #793 of 1,424 | #24 of 38 |
| Diversity index ranked most diverse first | 49.5% | #473 of 1,424 | #26 of 38 |
| Free and reduced lunch ranked highest share first | 31.4% | #1,199 of 1,563 | #31 of 42 |
| Enrollment change since 2017-18 ranked steepest decline first | -0.2% | #977 of 979 | #24 of 24 |
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
439
+5 (+1%) vs 2020
-10% since 1990-91, when it was 490
Student : Teacher
16.3:1
was 16.1:1
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 | 439 | 27 | 16.3:1 | 31% (138) |
| 2023-24 | 447 | 26 | 17.2:1 | 36% (160) |
| 2022-23 | 448 | 28.7 | 15.6:1 | 34% (151) |
| 2020-21 | 434 | 27 | 16.1:1 | 31% (135) |
| 2017-18 | 440 | 24.1 | 18.3:1 | 37% (162) |
| 2015-16 | 392 | 29 | 13.5:1 | 39% (151) |
| 2010-11 | 408 | 24 | 17.0:1 | 34% (140) |
| 2000-01 | 450 | 25 | 18.0:1 | 17% (75) |
| 1990-91 | 490 | N/A | N/A | N/A |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data. Rows are the federal collections on file for Central Elementary School.
Since 2017-18: students unchanged (440 to 439); teachers up 12% (24.1 to 27).
About Central Elementary School
Located in PORTAGE, Michigan, Central Elementary School is a medium-sized elementary school. It serves 439 students in kindergarten through 5.
Besides Central Elementary School, Portage Public Schools runs 13 other schools. The district enrolls 8,479 students.
Roughly 69% of students at Central Elementary School are White. Enrollment also includes 11% multiracial, 8% Black, 7% Hispanic, and 4% Asian. Central Elementary School's diversity index is 50%, against a US figure of 70%.
Central Elementary School counts 27 full-time-equivalent teachers, about 16.3 students for each one. That is close to the 15.8:1 average for elementary schools in Michigan. About 31% of students at the school meet free or reduced-price lunch income limits. Compared with the 45% average for public schools in Kalamazoo County, the school's rate is lower.
The allk12 Grade for Central Elementary School is B-. Compared with Michigan public elementary schools, the school scored higher than 48% on a mix of test scores, poverty-adjusted results, and recent trend.
Based on its free or reduced-price lunch share, the BeatsExpectations model predicts an average proficiency rate on state tests of 52.4% for Central Elementary School. The school posts 48.6%, 3.7 points below the prediction.
Census Bureau estimates for Kalamazoo County show that the median household income is $72,532, roughly 41% of adults have a four-year degree or more, and the share of residents below the poverty line is 8%. There are 93 public schools in Kalamazoo County, enrolling about 34,151 students in all.
Nearest public school: Portage Central Middle School, about 0.3 miles away. Within five miles are at least 8 other public schools. Ranked by average proficiency, Central Elementary School places 5th out of 7 schools in its immediate area.
The school's setting, by NCES definition, is City: Small: inside a principal city with a population under 100,000.
Enrollment in 2024-25 was 439, close to the 434 recorded in 2020-21.
Posts about science fairs, picture day, and bus routes are welcome on this page. Questions from prospective families are welcome too.
Kalamazoo County at a glance
View full county profilePopulation
262,375
Census ACS
Median income
$72,532
Household, ACS
Bachelor's+
41%
Adults 25+
Poverty rate
8%
Below federal line
Schools in county
93
34,151 students
Quick facts
Related schools
Other schools in Portage Public Schools
- Portage Central High SchoolHigh · 1,391 students
- Portage Northern High SchoolHigh · 1,194 students
- Portage Central Middle SchoolMiddle · 719 students
- Portage West Middle SchoolMiddle · 717 students
- Portage North Middle SchoolMiddle · 609 students
- Moorsbridge Elementary SchoolElementary · 591 students
Other schools in PORTAGE
- Portage Central High SchoolHigh · 1,391 students
- Portage Northern High SchoolHigh · 1,194 students
- Portage Central Middle SchoolMiddle · 719 students
- Portage West Middle SchoolMiddle · 717 students
- Portage North Middle SchoolMiddle · 609 students
- Moorsbridge Elementary SchoolElementary · 591 students
Other Central Elementary schools
151 other US public schools in 35 states are named Central Elementary. Central Elementary School is the 53rd largest of the 152.
- Central Elementary SchoolDAVISON, MI · 581 students
- Central Elementary SchoolFLUSHING, MI · 487 students
- Central Elementary SchoolMUSKEGON, MI · 428 students
- Central Elementary SchoolWHITE PIGEON, MI · 366 students
- Central Elementary SchoolLINDEN, MI · 337 students
Nearby schools
- Portage Central Middle School0.3 mi · 719
- Portage Central High School0.3 mi · 1,391
- Woodland Elementary School1.4 mi · 348
- Lake Center Elementary School2.0 mi · 494
- Haverhill Elementary School2.0 mi · 378
- Moorsbridge Elementary School2.1 mi · 591
Frequently asked questions
About Central Elementary SchoolHow many students attend Central Elementary School?
Central Elementary School enrolls approximately 439 students in grades KG-05.
What grades does Central Elementary School serve?
Central Elementary School serves grades KG-05.
How many teachers does Central Elementary School have?
Central Elementary School employs 27 FTE teachers, for a student-to-teacher ratio of 16.3:1.
What is the racial breakdown of students at Central Elementary School?
At Central Elementary School, the student body is approximately 69% White, 7% Hispanic, 8% Black, 4% Asian, 11% Two or more.
Is Central Elementary School public or private?
Central Elementary School is a public K-12 school, overseen by Portage Public Schools.
Data sourceSchool profile facts are sourced from the NCES. Community content is posted by allk12 members.