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Does Central HS have enough mental health and stress support?
Community prompt from u/allk12. Replies below.
Enrollment
2,329
High
DISTRICT 689 · STATE 738
SCHOOL COMMUNITY·PHILADELPHIA CITY SD·NCES 421899003848
Central High School
1700 W Olney Ave, Philadelphia, PA 19141 · (215) 400-3590 · Philadelphia County
GRADES 09–12HIGH11-CITYTITLE IREGULAR SCHOOL2,329 STUDENTS
Student : Teacher
26.5:1
88 FTE teachers
DISTRICT 18.7:1 · STATE 12.8:1
Free / Reduced Lunch
98%
2,287 students
DISTRICT 99% · STATE 75%
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 | 589 | 25% |
| Grade 10 | 597 | 26% |
| Grade 11 | 575 | 25% |
| Grade 12 | 568 | 24% |
Student demographics
74%Diversity index
The chance that two students picked at random belong to different racial or ethnic groups.
DISTRICT 71% · 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
Test scores
PSSA + Keystone 2024-25 . % Proficient or AdvancedEnglish Language Arts
96.3%
PA avg 51.1% . -2.1pp since 2023
Math
69.9%
PA avg 43.0% . -19.6pp since 2023
What this means: On the PSSA + Keystone, Pennsylvania's statewide test, about 96 of every 100 students at this school read and write at grade level and about 70 of 100 do math at grade level. Across all Pennsylvania schools, those numbers are about 51 and 43. Reading and writing scores are down about 2 points since 2023, while math scores are down about 20 points.
PSSA + Keystone results by year
| School year | English Language Arts | Math |
|---|---|---|
| 2024-25 | 96.3% | 69.9% |
| 2023-24 | 98.4% | 89.5% |
% Proficient or Advanced, all students and all tested grades.
Source: PSSA + Keystone. All students, all grades. See all years and grades →
BeatsExpectations
Demographically-adjusted score · methodologyTier
OUTPERFORMING
Top 10% of PA schools after controlling for student poverty
Actual proficiency
85.3%
composite math + reading, all grades
Predicted
35.5%
based on PA schools with similar FRL share
Beats by
+49.8pp
above demographic expectation
What this means: About 85% of students here test proficient in math and reading, well above the roughly 36% typical for Pennsylvania schools with a similar share of low-income students. BeatsExpectations ranks schools against others at the same poverty level, not by raw scores, so a school can post high scores and still fall short of its prediction, or post lower scores and still beat it. This school clears its prediction by about 50 points, placing it in Pennsylvania's top 10%.
BeatsExpectations runs a per-state regression of proficiency on free/reduced-lunch share, then scores each school by residual. How this is calculated →
Where Central High School ranks
Among high schools| Measure | This school | In Pennsylvania | In Philadelphia County |
|---|---|---|---|
| State test proficiency ranked highest first | 85.3% | #9 of 576 | #2 of 57 |
| Math proficiency ranked highest first | 69.9% | #53 of 626 | #6 of 67 |
| Reading proficiency ranked highest first | 96.3% | #2 of 626 | #1 of 67 |
| Enrollment ranked largest first | 2,329 | #22 of 713 | #3 of 70 |
| Students per teacher ranked fewest first | 26.5:1 | #592 of 601 | #58 of 65 |
| Diversity index ranked most diverse first | 74.3% | #8 of 604 | #5 of 65 |
| Enrollment change since 2017-18 ranked steepest decline first | -1.8% | #339 of 373 | #32 of 35 |
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.
7-year change
SY 2017-18 vs SY 2024-25Enrollment
2,329
-42 (-2%) vs 2017
Student : Teacher
26.5:1
was 26.1:1
% White
26%
was 25%
% Hispanic
11%
was 8%
% Black
23%
was 24%
% Asian
35%
was 37%
Source: NCES Common Core of Data
Enrollment and staffing by year
| School year | Students | Teachers (FTE) | Students per teacher | Free or reduced lunch |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024-25 | 2,329 | 87.9 | 26.5:1 | 98% (2,287) |
| 2023-24 | 2,287 | 111.7 | 20.5:1 | 100% (2,287) |
| 2022-23 | 2,364 | 116.1 | 20.4:1 | 100% (2,364) |
| 2017-18 | 2,371 | 90.8 | 26.1:1 | 100% (2,371) |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data. Rows are the federal collections on file for Central High School.
About Central High School
Central High School is a large high school in Pennsylvania, with an address in Philadelphia. Total enrollment is 2,329 students, and the grades served are 9 through 12. High schools in Pennsylvania have about 738 students on average; enrollment here is 216% higher.
In Philadelphia City SD, 220 schools enroll a combined 116,230 students.
Asian students make up 35% of enrollment at Central High School, the largest share of any group. The remaining shares are 26% White, 23% Black, 11% Hispanic, and 5% multiracial. Census estimates put the Asian share of Philadelphia County's population at about 8%. On a 0 to 100 scale, the school's diversity index is 74, compared with 70 nationally.
Central High School has 87.9 full-time-equivalent teachers on staff and a student-to-teacher ratio of 26.5:1. The school's 26.5:1 compares with an average of 12.8:1 for high schools in Pennsylvania. The school has 98% of students eligible for free or reduced-price lunch.
The BeatsExpectations model predicts 35.5% for Central High School, given its share of students eligible for free or reduced-price lunch. The actual figure is 85.3%. The 49.8-point gap ranks in the top 10% of Pennsylvania schools.
The school's county is Philadelphia County. According to Census Bureau estimates, the median household earns about $61,953 a year, roughly 35% of adults have a four-year degree or more, and about 17% of residents live below the federal poverty line. Public schools in Philadelphia County number 309, with about 182,005 students.
A public school about 0.2 miles away, Widener Memorial School, is the closest to Central High School. In all, at least 8 other public schools sit within five miles of Central High School. Among its closest neighbors with test data, Central High School is 1st of 6 on proficiency.
In the federal locale system, Central High School is coded City: Large, for schools inside a principal city with a population of 250,000 or more.
The school's size has been steady, with 2,371 students in 2017-18 and 2,329 in 2024-25.
Central High School has a community page on allk12 for topics such as special education services, counseling, and support programs. You can also rate the school on this page.
Philadelphia County at a glance
View full county profilePopulation
1,579,706
Census ACS
Median income
$61,953
Household, ACS
Bachelor's+
35%
Adults 25+
Poverty rate
17%
Below federal line
Schools in county
309
182,005 students
Quick facts
Related schools
Other schools in Philadelphia City SD
- Northeast High SchoolHigh · 3,463 students
- Lincoln High SchoolHigh · 2,472 students
- Northeast Community Propel AcademyElementary · 1,783 students
- Mayfair SchoolElementary · 1,763 students
- Washington George High SchoolHigh · 1,755 students
- Frank Anne SchoolElementary · 1,622 students
Other schools in Philadelphia
- Northeast High SchoolHigh · 3,463 students
- Philadelphia Performing Arts CSCombined · 2,572 students
- Lincoln High SchoolHigh · 2,472 students
- MaST Community CS IICombined · 1,875 students
- First Philadelphia Preparatory CSCombined · 1,831 students
- Northeast Community Propel AcademyElementary · 1,783 students
Nearby schools
- Widener Memorial School0.2 mi · 141
- Girls High School0.2 mi · 592
- Pennell Joseph School0.4 mi · 301
- Logan James School0.5 mi · 264
- Howe Julia Ward School0.5 mi · 229
- Prince Hall School0.7 mi · 360
Frequently asked questions
About Central High SchoolWhat is the total enrollment at Central High School?
Central High School enrolls approximately 2,329 students in grades 09-12.
What grades does Central High School serve?
Central High School serves grades 09-12.
What is the student-teacher ratio at Central High School?
The student-to-teacher ratio at Central High School is approximately 26.5:1 (88 FTE teachers).
What is the racial breakdown of students at Central High School?
At Central High School, the student body is approximately 26% White, 11% Hispanic, 23% Black, 35% Asian, 5% Two or more.
Is Central High School public or private?
Central High School is a public K-12 school, overseen by Philadelphia City SD.
Data sourceSchool profile facts are sourced from the NCES. Community content is posted by allk12 members.