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What's one thing Central High School gets right about preparing students for what comes next?
Community prompt from u/allk12. Replies below.
Enrollment
1,008
High
DISTRICT 610 · STATE 630
SCHOOL COMMUNITY·CENTRAL SD 13J·NCES 410284001058
Central High School
1530 Monmouth St, Independence, OR 97351 · (503) 838-0480 · Polk County
GRADES 09–12HIGH31-TOWNTITLE IREGULAR SCHOOL1,008 STUDENTS
Student : Teacher
21.5:1
47 FTE teachers
DISTRICT 20.5:1 · STATE 19.8:1
Free / Reduced Lunch
94%
950 students
DISTRICT 94% · STATE 76%
Community
1
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 | 267 | 26% |
| Grade 10 | 243 | 24% |
| Grade 11 | 250 | 25% |
| Grade 12 | 248 | 25% |
Student demographics
57%Diversity index
The chance that two students picked at random belong to different racial or ethnic groups.
DISTRICT 57% · STATE 59% · 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
School pathway
Feeds from
Based on grade levels within Central SD 13J. Attendance zones can vary; confirm enrollment with the district.
Test scores
OSAS 2024-25 . % ProficientEnglish Language Arts
25.2%
OR avg 43.0% . -7.1pp since 2023
Math
7.1%
OR avg 31.8% . +0.5pp since 2023
What this means: On the OSAS, Oregon's statewide test, about 25 of every 100 students at this school read and write at grade level and about 7 of 100 do math at grade level. Across all Oregon schools, those numbers are about 43 and 32. Reading and writing scores are down about 7 points since 2023, while math scores have held steady.
OSAS results by year
| School year | English Language Arts | Math |
|---|---|---|
| 2024-25 | 25.2% | 7.1% |
| 2023-24 | 32.3% | 6.6% |
% Proficient, all students and all tested grades.
Source: OSAS. 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
16.7%
composite math + reading, all grades
Predicted
26.0%
based on OR schools with similar FRL share
Beats by
-9.3pp
below demographic expectation
What this means: About 17% of students here test proficient in math and reading, compared with the roughly 26% typical for Oregon 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 Oregon'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 (16.7% proficient) is higher than 1 of the 5 schools below with a result.
| School | Students | Low-income | Proficient |
|---|---|---|---|
| Central High School this school | 1,008 | 94.2% | 16.7% |
| The Dalles High School The Dalles | 795 | 99.2% | 28.6% |
| McNary High School Keizer | 1,995 | 89.9% | 23.5% |
| Hermiston High School Hermiston | 1,705 | 91.8% | 36.2% |
| Madras High School Madras | 768 | 92.4% | 16.3% |
| Newport High School Newport | 669 | 90.1% | 42.6% |
Matched among Oregon 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 Oregon |
|---|---|---|
| State test proficiency ranked highest first | 16.7% | #162 of 177 |
| Math proficiency ranked highest first | 7.1% | #181 of 194 ▲ 1 |
| Reading proficiency ranked highest first | 25.2% | #168 of 201 ▼ 28 |
| Enrollment ranked largest first | 1,008 | #68 of 257 |
| Students per teacher ranked fewest first | 21.5:1 | #124 of 171 |
| Diversity index ranked most diverse first | 56.8% | #47 of 171 |
| Free and reduced lunch ranked highest share first | 94.2% | #32 of 207 |
| Enrollment change since 2017-18 ranked fastest growth first | +1.3% | #59 of 67 |
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
1,008
-35 (-3%) vs 2020
+48% since 1990-91, when it was 680
Student : Teacher
21.5:1
was 23.7:1
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 | 1,008 | 46.8 | 21.5:1 | 94% (950) |
| 2023-24 | 1,014 | 45.1 | 22.5:1 | 70% (711) |
| 2022-23 | 1,100 | 49.7 | 22.1:1 | 65% (719) |
| 2020-21 | 1,043 | 44 | 23.7:1 | N/A |
| 2017-18 | 995 | 44.4 | 22.4:1 | 46% (453) |
| 2015-16 | 1,003 | 42 | 23.9:1 | 51% (509) |
| 2010-11 | 858 | 35 | 24.5:1 | 53% (459) |
| 2000-01 | 828 | 41 | 20.2:1 | 46% (381) |
| 1990-91 | 680 | 34 | 20.0:1 | N/A |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data. Rows are the federal collections on file for Central High School.
Since 2017-18: students up 1% (995 to 1,008); teachers up 5% (44.4 to 46.8).
About Central High School
Central High School is a high school with a street address in Independence, Oregon. The school serves 1,008 students in grades 9 through 12 in 2024-25. For comparison, high schools in Oregon average about 630 students.
Central High School is part of a district of 5 schools: Central SD 13J, with 3,050 students.
Hispanic students form the largest group at Central High School, 49% of enrollment. The remaining shares are 44% White and 4% multiracial. Census estimates put the Hispanic share of Polk County's population at about 16%. Central High School has a diversity index of 57%, compared with 70% for all US public school students.
The school reported 46.8 full-time-equivalent teachers in 2024-25 and a ratio of 21.5:1. The 19.8:1 average for high schools in Oregon is lower than this school's figure. Eligible students account for 94% of enrollment in the free or reduced-price lunch program. The average for public schools in Polk County is 84%.
The school's average proficiency rate on state tests is 16.7%. For its free or reduced-price lunch share, the predicted value is 26.0%.
Among Polk County residents, median household income is about $85,118, 31% of adults hold a bachelor's degree or higher, and about 9% of people live in poverty. Federal data list 24 public schools in Polk County, with a combined enrollment of about 11,121.
The school nearest to Central High School is Talmadge Middle School, at a distance of about 0.2 miles. Counting only straight-line distance, 4 other public schools are within five miles. On state test proficiency, Central High School ranks 8th in a group of 9 nearby schools.
The school is in a town close to an urbanized area, according to its NCES locale (Town: Fringe).
From 2020-21 to 2024-25, Central High School went from 1,043 students to 1,008. The student-to-teacher ratio went down from 23.7:1 to 21.5:1.
Topics for discussion here include school safety, transportation, and start times. Anyone with firsthand experience at this school can post or comment.
Polk County at a glance
View full county profilePopulation
89,662
Census ACS
Median income
$85,118
Household, ACS
Bachelor's+
31%
Adults 25+
Poverty rate
9%
Below federal line
Schools in county
24
11,121 students
Quick facts
Related schools
Other schools in Central SD 13J
- Talmadge Middle SchoolMiddle · 716 students
- Monmouth Elementary SchoolElementary · 468 students
- Ash Creek Elementary SchoolElementary · 433 students
- Independence Elementary SchoolElementary · 425 students
Other schools in Independence
- Talmadge Middle SchoolMiddle · 716 students
- Independence Elementary SchoolElementary · 425 students
Other Central High schools
70 other US public schools in 32 states are named Central High. Central High School is the 32nd largest of the 71.
- 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
- Central High SchoolPhiladelphia, PA · 2,329 students
Nearby schools
- Talmadge Middle School0.2 mi · 716
- Ash Creek Elementary School0.7 mi · 433
- Monmouth Elementary School0.7 mi · 468
- Independence Elementary School1.0 mi · 425
- Whitworth Elementary School6.2 mi · 367
- Dallas High School6.4 mi · 948
Frequently asked questions
About Central High SchoolWhat is the total enrollment at Central High School?
Central High School enrolls approximately 1,008 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 47 FTE teachers, for a student-to-teacher ratio of 21.5:1.
What is the racial breakdown of students at Central High School?
At Central High School, the student body is approximately 44% White, 49% Hispanic, 1% Black, 1% Asian, 4% Two or more.
Is Central High School public or private?
Central High School is a public K-12 school, overseen by Central SD 13J.
Data sourceSchool profile facts are sourced from the NCES. Community content is posted by allk12 members.