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Central Elementary

Q: Is Central Elementary a good school?

Central Elementary ranks 2511 th of 5857 California elementary schools. SchoolDigger rates this school 3 stars out of 5.

Public Grades K-6

2511^th

SchoolDigger Rank ?

of 5,857 California Elementary Schools

Better than 57% of California elementary schools

Summary

Central Elementary is a large K-6 school serving 762 students in the Central Unified district of Fresno, consistently performing in the middle tier of California schools while serving a community with significant economic need.

The school stands out for its leadership in English Language Arts, outperforming all other nearby Central Unified schools like Madison Elementary and Harvest Elementary. It has also made impressive progress reducing chronic student absences, now boasting a better rate than most peers, including schools in the neighboring Fresno Unified district such as Addams Elementary and Homan Elementary. Furthermore, Central achieves these solid results while spending less per student than some lower-performing schools in its own district.

While stable overall, the school faces some challenges, including a noticeable drop in math performance between 3rd and 6th grades. It also shows very strong results for some groups of students but has room for improvement in supporting others, such as English Language Learners. Compared to schools with similar levels of economic disadvantage like Teague Elementary and Roosevelt Elementary, Central Elementary demonstrates more effective strategies for supporting student success.

762

Students ?

26.2

Student/teacher ratio ?

81.5%

Free/discounted lunch ?

2195 North Polk Ave.
Fresno, CA 93722-5052

(559) 274-9780

District: Central Unified

Students who attend Central Elementary usually attend:

Middle:	El Capitan Middle
High:	Central East High

Racial breakdown:

Hispanic:

53.8%

Asian:

28.3%

White:

8.8%

See top rated California elementary schools

Compare Central Elementary to nearby elementary schools!

At a glance

▼ Ranking trend: Declining — 73rd percentile in 2013 → 57th in 2025

Strengths

✓Above the California median (57th percentile)

Worth a look

!Ranking has slipped — down 16 percentile points since 2013

!Some student groups rank well below the school's overall statewide standing

!Large classes — about 26 students per teacher

Students meeting standards (2024-2025) ?

This school42%

District avg35%

California avg41%

2,511^th of 5,857

California public elementary schools ?

Top 43%▼ down 1 pts since 2015

See the entire ranking list of California Elementary Schools →

★★★★★

SchoolDigger rating ?

4^th of 14Elementary Schools in the Central Unified

835^th of 1,543Central Unified among California districts

Statewide rank percentile over time (100 = the top-ranked school in the state; click a legend item to add a student group)

Show full rank history (all student groups)

All Students

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2025	51.8	2511 of 5857	57.1%	★★★☆☆
2024	51.0	2510 of 5869	57.2%	★★★☆☆
2023	51.8	2445 of 5859	58.3%	★★★☆☆
2022	47.6	2668 of 5883	54.6%	★★★☆☆
2019	59.2	2118 of 5789	63.4%	★★★☆☆
2018	60.1	2035 of 5662	64.1%	★★★☆☆
2017	56.7	2191 of 5692	61.5%	★★★☆☆
2016	57.8	2090 of 5614	62.8%	★★★☆☆
2015	51.8	2349 of 5611	58.1%	★★★☆☆
2013	71.7	1493 of 5530	73.0%	★★★★☆
2012	73.4	1360 of 5390	74.8%	★★★★☆
2011	66.1	1692 of 5377	68.5%	★★★☆☆
2010	49.7	2577 of 5314	51.5%	★★★☆☆
2009	49.3	2532 of 5193	51.2%	★★★☆☆
2008	31.2	3502 of 5113	31.5%	★★☆☆☆
2007	25.5	3898 of 5113	23.8%	★☆☆☆☆

African American

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2019	33.2	505 of 747	32.4%	★★☆☆☆

Asian

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2025	18.6	1011 of 1203	16.0%	★☆☆☆☆
2024	16.3	1037 of 1205	13.9%	★☆☆☆☆
2023	11.2	1061 of 1190	10.8%	★☆☆☆☆
2022	10.5	1036 of 1154	10.2%	★☆☆☆☆
2019	24.3	944 of 1149	17.8%	★☆☆☆☆
2018	34.8	815 of 1071	23.9%	★☆☆☆☆

Disabled

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2022	90.4	160 of 2227	92.8%	★★★★★
2019	66.9	561 of 2585	78.3%	★★★★☆

English Language Learner

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2024	33.3	2310 of 3162	26.9%	★☆☆☆☆
2023	35.3	2137 of 3245	34.1%	★★☆☆☆
2022	60.2	749 of 3311	77.4%	★★★★☆
2019	71.0	507 of 3275	84.5%	★★★★☆

Female

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2025	50.3	2447 of 5597	56.3%	★★★☆☆
2024	52.9	2283 of 5612	59.3%	★★★☆☆
2023	50.4	2385 of 5609	57.5%	★★★☆☆
2022	44.1	2751 of 5635	51.2%	★★★☆☆
2019	58.1	2048 of 5492	62.7%	★★★☆☆
2018	55.9	2197 of 5413	59.4%	★★★☆☆

Hispanic

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2025	64.4	1473 of 5107	71.2%	★★★★☆
2024	67.7	1292 of 5107	74.7%	★★★★☆
2023	70.2	1169 of 5087	77.0%	★★★★☆
2022	66.7	1309 of 5084	74.3%	★★★★☆
2019	69.3	1202 of 4963	75.8%	★★★★☆
2018	68.6	1201 of 4830	75.1%	★★★★☆

Low Socio Economic Status

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2025	60.5	1833 of 5460	66.4%	★★★☆☆
2024	55.2	2054 of 5517	62.8%	★★★☆☆
2023	65.5	1452 of 5363	72.9%	★★★★☆
2022	54.6	1996 of 5264	62.1%	★★★☆☆
2019	72.1	1081 of 5173	79.1%	★★★★☆
2018	74.1	979 of 5084	80.7%	★★★★☆

Male

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2025	52.2	2369 of 5628	57.9%	★★★☆☆
2024	47.8	2587 of 5643	54.2%	★★★☆☆
2023	52.1	2333 of 5638	58.6%	★★★☆☆
2022	50.4	2422 of 5663	57.2%	★★★☆☆
2019	58.5	2013 of 5510	63.5%	★★★☆☆
2018	62.3	1839 of 5431	66.1%	★★★☆☆

Military Connected

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2025	32.1	106 of 153	30.7%	★★☆☆☆
2024	36.0	74 of 118	37.3%	★★☆☆☆
2023	36.0	91 of 140	35.0%	★★☆☆☆

Special Education

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2023	61.0	629 of 2420	74.0%	★★★★☆

White

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2019	48.9	1587 of 2834	44.0%	★★☆☆☆
2018	37.0	1896 of 2737	30.7%	★★☆☆☆

How student groups rank statewide ? (each group's percentile vs the same group at other schools — higher is better; the +/- beside each compares the group with this school's overall percentile)

Disabled (2022)93rd percentile+38 vs school

Special Education (2023)74th percentile+16 vs school

Hispanic (2025)71st percentile+14 vs school

Low Socio Economic Status (2025)66th percentile+9 vs school

Male (2025)58th percentile~ school

Female (2025)56th percentile~ school

White (2019)44th percentile-19 vs school

African American (2019)32nd percentile-31 vs school

Military Connected (2025)31st percentile-26 vs school

English Language Learner (2024)27th percentile-30 vs school

Asian (2025)16th percentile-41 vs school

By subject vs California (2024-2025) ?

English Language Arts/Literacy50%~ state avg

Mathematics37%~ state avg

Science27%-5 vs state

4.0

1 rating

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1★0

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Schools Near Central Elementary

Choose columns to see: Summary School Students/Teachers Ranking Test Scores Immunizations Finance All

School													Students/Teachers											Ranking (2025)				Ranking (2024)				CAST Science (2025)		Smarter Balanced Assessments English Language Arts/Literacy (2025)					Smarter Balanced Assessments Mathematics (2025)					% Completely Immunized (2022)	% Polio (2022)	% Hepatitis B (2022)	% Varicella (2022)	% DTP (2022)	% MMR (2022)	Per Pupil Expenditures (2024)
Name	Type	Grades	Address	City	Zip	County	District	Is Charter	Is Magnet	Is Virtual	Is Title I	Phone	Enrollment	Full-time Teachers	Student/ Teacher Ratio	Free/Discounted Lunch Recipients	White	Black	Hispanic	Asian	American Indian	Pacific Islander	Two or More Races	Average Standard Score (2025)	Statewide Rank (2025)	State Percentile (2025)	SchoolDigger Rating (2025)	Average Standard Score (2024)	Statewide Rank (2024)	State Percentile (2024)	Rank Change from Previous Year	CAST Science 5th Grade	CAST Science All Grades	Smarter Balanced Assessments English Language Arts/Literacy 3rd Grade	Smarter Balanced Assessments English Language Arts/Literacy 4th Grade	Smarter Balanced Assessments English Language Arts/Literacy 5th Grade	Smarter Balanced Assessments English Language Arts/Literacy 6th Grade	Smarter Balanced Assessments English Language Arts/Literacy All Grades	Smarter Balanced Assessments Mathematics 3rd Grade	Smarter Balanced Assessments Mathematics 4th Grade	Smarter Balanced Assessments Mathematics 5th Grade	Smarter Balanced Assessments Mathematics 6th Grade	Smarter Balanced Assessments Mathematics All Grades	% Completely Immunized KG	% Polio KG	% Hepatitis B KG	% Varicella KG	% DTP KG	% MMR KG	Per Pupil Expenditures Total	Sub-total from Federal Funds	Sub-total from State/Local Funds
Central Elementary	Public	K-6	2195 North Polk Ave.	Fresno	93722	Fresno County	Central Unified	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(559) 274-9780	762	29	26.2	81.5%	67 (8.8%)	43 (5.6%)	410 (53.8%)	216 (28.3%)	2 (0.3%)	4 (0.5%)	20 (2.6%)	51.8	2511^th of 5857 public elementary schools	57.1%		51	2510^th of 5869 public elementary schools	57.2%	1	27.2	27.2	58.5	47.2	47.8	47.2	50.1	54.1	38.7	30.4	27.0	37.4	96.2	98.1			97.2
McKinley Elementary	Public	K-6	4444 West McKinley Ave.	Fresno	93722	Fresno County	Central Unified	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(559) 276-5232	671	25	26.8	83.9%	39 (5.8%)	61 (9.1%)	459 (68.4%)	93 (13.9%)	2 (0.3%)	0 (0.0%)	17 (2.5%)	24.2	4476^th of 5857 public elementary schools	23.6%		27.8	4131^st of 5869 public elementary schools	29.6%	345	10.7	10.7	27.1	27.8	29.7	44.3	32.4	30.6	15.6	15.5	30.0	22.7	95.8			97.2		97.2
John Steinbeck Elementary	Public	K-6	3550 North Milburn Ave.	Fresno	93722	Fresno County	Central Unified	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(559) 276-3141	689	25	27.5	85.1%	55 (8.0%)	52 (7.5%)	454 (65.9%)	107 (15.5%)	4 (0.6%)	1 (0.1%)	16 (2.3%)	29	4048^th of 5857 public elementary schools	30.9%		29.9	3930^th of 5869 public elementary schools	33.0%	118	17.0	17.0	37.0	24.6	44.6	41.3	36.3	28.8	21.1	20.8	28.9	24.4	94.0	96.4		96.4
Roosevelt Elementary	Public	K-6	2600 North Garfield Ave.	Fresno	93723	Fresno County	Central Unified	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(559) 276-5257	489	20	24.4	86.9%	54 (11.0%)	28 (5.7%)	337 (68.9%)	65 (13.3%)	3 (0.6%)	0 (0.0%)	2 (0.4%)	21.2	4726^th of 5857 public elementary schools	19.3%		14	5389^th of 5869 public elementary schools	8.2%	663	19.7	19.7	35.6	29.3	28.3	29.1	30.2	29.8	10.2	8.2	22.8	17.5	96.7				96.7
Hanh Phan Tilley Elementary	Public	K-6	2280 North Valentine Ave.	Fresno	93722	Fresno County	Central Unified	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(559) 512-6912	622	24	25.9	89.9%	24 (3.9%)	49 (7.9%)	433 (69.6%)	99 (15.9%)	2 (0.3%)	2 (0.3%)	13 (2.1%)	28.3	4113^th of 5857 public elementary schools	29.8%		26.4	4259^th of 5869 public elementary schools	27.4%	146	18.8	18.8	34.9	34.9	35.7	31.3	34.1	31.0	36.6	23.3	16.2	26.2	96.5				96.5
Teague Elementary	Public	K-6	4725 North Polk Ave.	Fresno	93722	Fresno County	Central Unified	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(559) 276-5260	551	23	23.9	91.5%	16 (2.9%)	37 (6.7%)	408 (74.0%)	64 (11.6%)	10 (1.8%)	0 (0.0%)	15 (2.7%)	27.9	4143^rd of 5857 public elementary schools	29.3%		26.2	4272^nd of 5869 public elementary schools	27.2%	129	17.1	17.1	24.1	34.9	37.8	41.1	34.2	12.2	33.7	30.3	20.3	24.2	97.0	98.0			97.0
Harvest Elementary	Public	K-6	6514 West Gettysburg Ave.	Fresno	93723	Fresno County	Central Unified	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(559) 271-0420	1,010	35	28.8	74.8%	93 (9.2%)	48 (4.8%)	509 (50.4%)	312 (30.9%)	3 (0.3%)	7 (0.7%)	38 (3.8%)	44.9	2894^th of 5857 public elementary schools	50.6%		39.4	3212^th of 5869 public elementary schools	45.3%	318	30.1	30.1	46.7	33.6	50.4	52.1	45.7	42.8	16.0	29.6	38.0	31.5	95.9	96.6	97.9	97.2	96.6	97.2
Addams Elementary	Public	K-6	2117 West McKinley Ave.	Fresno	93728	Fresno County	Fresno Unified	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(559) 457-2510	748	34	21.7	96.0%	46 (6.1%)	51 (6.8%)	555 (74.2%)	45 (6.0%)	16 (2.1%)	8 (1.1%)	26 (3.5%)	16	5184^th of 5857 public elementary schools	11.5%		15.7	5241^st of 5869 public elementary schools	10.7%	57	7.6	7.6	23.6	24.5	24.4	28.4	25.1	25.7	14.3	16.0	18.7	18.7							$18,715	$2,505	$16,210
Madison Elementary	Public	K-6	330 South Brawley Ave.	Fresno	93706	Fresno County	Central Unified	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(559) 276-5280	487	21	23.1	85.0%	34 (7.0%)	18 (3.7%)	350 (71.9%)	72 (14.8%)	1 (0.2%)	2 (0.4%)	10 (2.1%)	45.4	2860^th of 5857 public elementary schools	51.2%		45.4	2839^th of 5869 public elementary schools	51.6%	21	23.9	23.9	40.8	50.0	37.3	42.9	42.1	53.7	41.7	30.8	32.0	39.2	94.4				94.4
Lawless Elementary	Public	K-6	5255 North Reese Ave.	Fresno	93722	Fresno County	Fresno Unified	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(559) 451-4520	663	29	23.0	84.2%	67 (10.1%)	73 (11.0%)	337 (50.8%)	134 (20.2%)	10 (1.5%)	3 (0.5%)	39 (5.9%)	30.3	3939^th of 5857 public elementary schools	32.7%		32.7	3715^th of 5869 public elementary schools	36.7%	224	7.2	7.2	44.4	32.0	23.5	42.2	35.4	50.7	24.7	15.7	24.7	28.3							$16,262	$2,023	$14,239

Frequently Asked Questions about Central Elementary

What district is Central Elementary in?

Central Unified

How many students attend Central Elementary?

In the 2024-25 school year, 762 students attended Central Elementary.

Is Central Elementary a good school?

Central Elementary ranks 2511^th of 5857 California elementary schools. SchoolDigger rates this school 3 stars out of 5.

What schools do graduates of Central Elementary attend?

Students who attend Central Elementary usually go on to attend:

Middle : El Capitan Middle
High : Central East High

What is the racial makeup of Central Elementary?

Students at Central Elementary are 54% Hispanic, 28% Asian, 9% White, 6% African American, 3% Two or more races.

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SchoolDigger data sources: National Center for Education Statistics, U.S. Department of Education, the U.S. Census Bureau and the California Department of Education.

IMPORTANT DISCLAIMERS: Not all boundaries are included. We make every effort to ensure that boundaries are up-to-date. But it's important to note that these are approximations and are for general informational purposes only. To verify legal descriptions of boundaries or school locations, contact your local tax assessor's office and/or school district.