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Central Elementary School

Q: Is Central Elementary School a good school?

Central Elementary School ranks 341 st of 680 Alabama elementary schools. SchoolDigger rates this school 2 stars out of 5.

Public Grades PK, KG-6

341^st

SchoolDigger Rank ?

of 680 Alabama Elementary Schools

Better than 50% of Alabama elementary schools

Summary

Central Elementary School is a public elementary school located in Florence, Alabama, serving grades PK-6 with a total enrollment of 707 students. The school is part of the Lauderdale County School District, which is ranked 38 out of 135 districts in Alabama and has a 4-star rating from SchoolDigger.

Central Elementary School has shown mixed performance on standardized tests compared to the Lauderdale County and Alabama averages. In 2024-2025, the school's 3rd-grade math proficiency (59.14%) was higher than the county (59.41%) and state (45.47%) averages, but its 5th-grade math proficiency (23.71%) was significantly lower. The school's 3rd-grade English proficiency (75.27%) was higher than the county (75.26%) and state (65.34%) averages, but its 6th-grade English proficiency (52.13%) was lower than the county (60.76%) and state (56.81%) averages. Central Elementary School's performance on standardized tests also varied across different student subgroups, with its female students ranking 313 out of 649 Alabama elementary schools and its male students ranking 340 out of 651.

Central Elementary School has experienced relatively high chronic absenteeism rates, ranging from 13.7% to 19.2% over the past few years, which is higher than the desired target of less than 10%. The school's performance is mixed compared to nearby schools, such as Wilson Elementary School, which had higher 3rd-grade math proficiency but lower 6th-grade English proficiency, and Underwood Elementary School, which had higher 3rd-grade English proficiency and 5th-grade math proficiency. Central Elementary School's high percentage of free and reduced-lunch recipients, ranging from 63.03% to 63.08%, may contribute to its challenges in student performance and chronic absenteeism.

713

Students ?

17.2

Student/teacher ratio ?

43.8%

Free/discounted lunch ?

3000 County Road 200
Florence, AL 35633-3930

(256) 764-2903

District: Lauderdale County

Racial breakdown:

White:

89.5%

Two or more races:

3.5%

Hispanic:

3.4%

See top rated Alabama elementary schools

Compare Central Elementary School to nearby elementary schools!

At a glance

▼ Ranking trend: Declining — 67th percentile in 2024 → 50th in 2025

Worth a look

!Ranking has slipped — down 17 percentile points since 2024

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

Students meeting standards (2024-2025) ?

This school49%

District avg55%

Alabama avg50%

341^st of 680

Alabama public elementary schools ?

Top 50%▼ down 17 pts since 2024

From top 33% (2024) to top 50% (2025)

See the entire ranking list of Alabama Elementary Schools →

★★★★★

SchoolDigger rating ?

38^th of 135Lauderdale County among Alabama 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	Alabama percentile	Rating
2025	52.0	341 of 680	49.9%	★★☆☆☆
2024	64.3	226 of 684	67.0%	★★★☆☆

Female

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Alabama percentile	Rating
2025	52.6	313 of 649	51.8%	★★★☆☆
2024	65.1	207 of 650	68.2%	★★★☆☆

Low Socio Economic Status

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Alabama percentile	Rating
2025	52.8	304 of 660	53.9%	★★★☆☆
2024	67.8	190 of 670	71.6%	★★★★☆

Male

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Alabama percentile	Rating
2025	50.1	340 of 651	47.8%	★★☆☆☆
2024	60.5	263 of 655	59.8%	★★★☆☆

Special Education

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Alabama percentile	Rating
2025	33.6	268 of 403	33.5%	★★☆☆☆
2024	63.9	101 of 395	74.4%	★★★★☆

White

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Alabama percentile	Rating
2025	35.8	360 of 532	32.3%	★★☆☆☆
2024	47.8	286 of 535	46.5%	★★☆☆☆

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)

Low Socio Economic Status (2025)54th percentile+4 vs school

Female (2025)52nd percentile~ school

Male (2025)48th percentile~ school

Special Education (2025)33rd percentile-16 vs school

White (2025)32nd percentile-18 vs school

By subject vs Alabama (2024-2025) ?

English63%~ state avg

Mathematics38%~ state avg

Science37%-6 vs state

★

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Schools Near Central Elementary School

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Ranking:

E Elementary M Middle H High A Alternative P Private

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

School													Students/Teachers											Ranking (2025)				Ranking (2024)				Summative Assessment Mathematics (2025)				Summative Assessment Science (2025)	Summative Assessment English (2025)				Per Pupil Expenditures (2019)
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	Summative Assessment Mathematics 3rd Grade	Summative Assessment Mathematics 4th Grade	Summative Assessment Mathematics 5th Grade	Summative Assessment Mathematics 6th Grade	Summative Assessment Science 4th Grade	Summative Assessment English 3rd Grade	Summative Assessment English 4th Grade	Summative Assessment English 5th Grade	Summative Assessment English 6th Grade	Per Pupil Expenditures Total	Sub-total from Federal Funds	Sub-total from State/Local Funds
Central Elementary School	Public	PK, KG-6	3000 County Road 200	Florence	35633	Lauderdale County	Lauderdale County	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(256) 764-2903	713	41	17.2	43.8%	638 (89.5%)	23 (3.2%)	24 (3.4%)	1 (0.1%)	1 (0.1%)	1 (0.1%)	25 (3.5%)	52	341^st of 680 public elementary schools	49.9%		64.3	226^th of 684 public elementary schools	67.0%	115	59.1	47.2	23.7	22.3	36.8	75.3	58.5	67.0	52.1
Underwood Elementary School	Public	PK, KG-6	4725 Highway 157	Florence	35633	Lauderdale County	Lauderdale County	No	No	No	Yes	(256) 764-8939	343	22	15.7	46.9%	310 (90.4%)	13 (3.8%)	2 (0.6%)	1 (0.3%)	5 (1.5%)	0 (0.0%)	12 (3.5%)	66.1	223^rd of 680 public elementary schools	67.2%		68.3	204^th of 684 public elementary schools	70.2%	19	59.5	51.4	62.9	30.3	29.7	81.0	62.2	71.4	66.7	$10,792	$1,963	$8,818
Wilson Elementary School	Public	PK, KG-6	7601 Highway 17	Florence	35634	Lauderdale County	Lauderdale County	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(256) 764-8470	552	31	18.0	49.8%	508 (92.0%)	13 (2.4%)	13 (2.4%)	2 (0.4%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	16 (2.9%)	63.4	243^rd of 680 public elementary schools	64.3%		41.1	424^th of 684 public elementary schools	38.0%	181	55.0	53.6	28.2	46.2	44.3	73.3	60.0	71.8	62.8
Forest Hills School	Public	K-5	101 Stovall Dr	Florence	35633	Lauderdale County	Florence City	No	No	No	Yes	(256) 768-2500	906	63	14.3	46.6%	596 (65.8%)	151 (16.7%)	56 (6.2%)	4 (0.4%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	99 (10.9%)	80.4	116^th of 680 public elementary schools	82.9%		74.8	159^th of 684 public elementary schools	76.8%	43	59.7	60.8	59.6		50.7	82.6	73.6	78.7		$10,545	$1,336	$9,186
Hibbett Elementary School	Public	K-6	1601 Appleby Blvd	Florence	35630	Lauderdale County	Florence City	No	No	No	Yes	(256) 768-2800	489	37	13.3	70.8%	184 (37.6%)	157 (32.1%)	79 (16.2%)	8 (1.6%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	61 (12.5%)								(n/a)	54.6	28.0	28.6	41.4	24.0	56.5	48.0	60.7	51.6	$9,663	$1,495	$8,145
Harlan Elementary School	Public	K-5	2233 McBurney Dr	Florence	35630	Lauderdale County	Florence City	No	No	No	Yes	(256) 768-2700	426	36	11.7	84.7%	120 (28.2%)	196 (46.0%)	19 (4.5%)	1 (0.2%)	2 (0.5%)	0 (0.0%)	88 (20.7%)	45.2	390^th of 680 public elementary schools	42.6%		46.7	376^th of 684 public elementary schools	45.0%	14	20.0	35.8	60.0		30.9	55.6	50.8	76.0		$13,932	$2,610	$11,298
Kilby Laboratory School	Public	PK, KG-6	611 N Pine St	Florence	35632	Lauderdale County	Florence City	No	No	No	No	(256) 765-4303	187			11.2%	141 (75.4%)	22 (11.8%)	4 (2.1%)	6 (3.2%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	14 (7.5%)	95.3	12^th of 680 public elementary schools	98.2%		91.4	41^st of 684 public elementary schools	94.0%	29	79.0	68.4	82.1	60.7	79.0	100.0	84.2	92.9	92.9
Weeden Elementary School	Public	K-5	400 Baldwin Street	Florence	35630	Lauderdale County	Florence City	No	No	No	Yes	(256) 768-2900	477	32	15.1	84.3%	96 (20.1%)	144 (30.2%)	190 (39.8%)	2 (0.4%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	45 (9.4%)	50.6	351^st of 680 public elementary schools	48.4%		56.4	301^st of 684 public elementary schools	56.0%	50	49.4	50.0	37.0		30.8	59.7	52.0	70.4		$14,455	$2,668	$11,763
L E Willson Elementary School	Public	3-6	2200 31st St	Sheffield	35660	Colbert County	Sheffield City	No	No	No	Yes	(256) 386-5730	253	18	14.4	78.3%	116 (45.8%)	85 (33.6%)	20 (7.9%)	1 (0.4%)	1 (0.4%)	0 (0.0%)	30 (11.9%)	23.6	516^th of 680 public elementary schools	24.1%		25.3	513^th of 684 public elementary schools	25.0%	3	37.9	27.8	22.0	19.1	22.2	53.0	38.2	41.4	41.9	$10,053	$2,090	$7,960
WA Threadgill Primary School	Public	PK, KG-2	900 Annapolis Avenue	Sheffield	35660	Colbert County	Sheffield City	No	No	No	Yes	(256) 386-5720	344	24	14.6	69.8%	167 (48.5%)	106 (30.8%)	27 (7.8%)	2 (0.6%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	42 (12.2%)								(n/a)										$11,366	$2,150	$9,213

Frequently Asked Questions about Central Elementary School

What is the racial makeup of Central Elementary School?

Students at Central Elementary School are 89% White, 4% Two or more races, 3% Hispanic, 3% African American.

Is Central Elementary School a good school?

Central Elementary School ranks 341^st of 680 Alabama elementary schools. SchoolDigger rates this school 2 stars out of 5.

What district is Central Elementary School in?

Lauderdale County

How many students attend Central Elementary School?

In the 2024-25 school year, 713 students attended Central Elementary School.

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Latest Alabama data All new data »

2024–25 attendance data & graduation ratesDec 27, 2025

2024–25 Summative Assessment scoresAug 14, 2025

2021–22 through 2023–24 attendance data & graduation ratesDec 2, 2024

2016–17 through 2018–19 dropout rates & graduation ratesOct 7, 2024

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