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Central High

Q: Is Central High a good school?

Central High ranks 1120 th of 2137 California high schools. SchoolDigger rates this school 2 stars out of 5.

Public Grades 9-12

1120^th

SchoolDigger Rank ?

of 2,137 California High Schools

Better than 48% of California high schools

Summary

Central High serves 625 students in grades 9–12 in Fresno, in California’s Central Valley, and is part of Central Unified. The most urgent concern is attendance: chronic absenteeism was 46% in 2025–2026, compared with 29% in the district and 18% statewide.

Academically, math is Central High’s clearest weakness, while science is a relative strength among nearby comprehensive high schools. Math proficiency was 17%, versus 31% in the district and 38% statewide, and below the nearby-school average of 20%. Science proficiency was 32%—above the district’s 26% and nearby average of 27%, but below the state’s 36%. ELA was 51%, slightly above the state’s 49% and the district’s 44%, though below the nearby average of 54%. Among five nearby comprehensive schools, Central High ranked third in ELA and math and second in science. Graduation is a counterpoint to the attendance concern: its 99% rate was higher than the district’s 93% and the state’s 88%.

Results have moved in different directions: from 2022–2023 to 2025–2026, ELA fell from 58% to 51%, math edged up from 16% to 17% while its gap below the state widened from 19 to 22 points, and science rose from 14% to 32%. SchoolDigger placed Central High at the 48th statewide percentile with 2 stars in 2025–2026, down from the 66th percentile in 2023–2024. Its 15.9:1 student-teacher ratio in 2024–2025 was lower than those of nearby comprehensive schools with comparable data. The school reported 75% free/reduced lunch eligible in 2024–2025; that figure is not a measure of who can receive meals, since California provides free meals statewide. SchoolDigger’s statewide ranking of how effectively the school serves Asian students was at the 19th percentile in 2025–2026, compared with 48th overall; for military-connected students, it was at the 4th percentile in 2024–2025, versus 55th overall that year.

625

Students ?

15.9

Student/teacher ratio ?

$31,457

Per pupil spending ?

74.9%

Free/reduced lunch eligible (2024-25) ?

All students in California receive free school meals.

2045 North Dickenson Ave.
Fresno, CA 93722-9643

(559) 276-5276

District: Central Unified

Racial breakdown:

Hispanic:

62.6%

White:

17.8%

Asian:

14.4%

See top rated California high schools

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At a glance

▬ Ranking trend: Holding steady — 49th percentile in 2023 → 48th in 2026

Strengths

✓99% graduate in 4 years — above the California average (88%)

Worth a look

!Test scores below the California average (33% vs 42% meeting standards)

!High chronic absenteeism (46% vs 18% California)

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

Students meeting standards (2025-2026) ?

This school33%

District avg36%

California avg42%

1,120^th of 2,137

California public high schools ?

Bottom 48%▼ down 1 pts since 2023

See the entire ranking list of California High Schools →

★★★★★

SchoolDigger rating ?

2^nd of 4High Schools in the Central Unified

553^rd of 968Central 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
2026	46.0	1120 of 2137	47.6%	★★☆☆☆
2025	52.7	975 of 2162	54.9%	★★★☆☆
2024	61.1	739 of 2159	65.8%	★★★☆☆
2023	44.9	1105 of 2170	49.1%	★★☆☆☆

Asian

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2026	22.6	464 of 575	19.3%	★☆☆☆☆
2025	15.1	501 of 585	14.4%	★☆☆☆☆
2024	33.1	409 of 573	28.6%	★☆☆☆☆
2023	23.5	464 of 591	21.5%	★☆☆☆☆

Female

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2026	48.0	958 of 1865	48.6%	★★☆☆☆
2025	41.6	1080 of 1906	43.3%	★★☆☆☆
2024	69.8	499 of 1915	73.9%	★★★★☆
2023	43.1	1033 of 1915	46.1%	★★☆☆☆

Hispanic

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2026	45.2	1017 of 1880	45.9%	★★☆☆☆
2025	49.4	949 of 1900	50.1%	★★★☆☆
2024	64.1	590 of 1902	69.0%	★★★☆☆
2023	41.9	1097 of 1917	42.8%	★★☆☆☆

Low Socio Economic Status

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2026	47.9	1027 of 1999	48.6%	★★☆☆☆
2025	52.5	916 of 2013	54.5%	★★★☆☆
2024	65.4	591 of 2026	70.8%	★★★★☆
2023	50.2	948 of 2030	53.3%	★★★☆☆

Male

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2026	37.3	1183 of 1932	38.8%	★★☆☆☆
2025	58.2	762 of 1942	60.8%	★★★☆☆
2024	44.6	999 of 1948	48.7%	★★☆☆☆
2023	42.8	1026 of 1963	47.7%	★★☆☆☆

Military Connected

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2025	7.8	168 of 175	4.0%	☆☆☆☆☆
2023	15.8	160 of 190	15.8%	★☆☆☆☆

Special Education

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2026	34.8	746 of 1235	39.6%	★★☆☆☆
2025	39.2	676 of 1252	46.0%	★★☆☆☆
2024	50.9	446 of 1216	63.3%	★★★☆☆
2023	36.5	673 of 1197	43.8%	★★☆☆☆

White

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2026	38.3	738 of 1132	34.8%	★★☆☆☆
2025	54.4	543 of 1155	53.0%	★★★☆☆
2024	49.5	610 of 1173	48.0%	★★☆☆☆
2023	29.3	867 of 1193	27.3%	★☆☆☆☆

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)

Female (2026)49th percentile~ school

Low Socio Economic Status (2026)49th percentile~ school

Hispanic (2026)46th percentile~ school

Special Education (2026)40th percentile-8 vs school

Male (2026)39th percentile-9 vs school

White (2026)35th percentile-13 vs school

Asian (2026)19th percentile-28 vs school

Military Connected (2025)4th percentile-51 vs school

By subject vs California (2025-2026) ?

English Language Arts/Literacy51%~ state avg

Science32%-4 vs state

Mathematics17%-22 vs state

★

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Schools Near Central High

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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 (2026)				Ranking (2025)				CAST Science (2026)					Smarter Balanced Assessments English Language Arts/Literacy (2026)						Smarter Balanced Assessments Mathematics (2026)						Per Pupil Expenditures (2025)
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/reduced lunch (2024-25)	White	Black	Hispanic	Asian	American Indian	Pacific Islander	Two or More Races	Average Standard Score (2026)	Statewide Rank (2026)	State Percentile (2026)	SchoolDigger Rating (2026)	Average Standard Score (2025)	Statewide Rank (2025)	State Percentile (2025)	Rank Change from Previous Year	CAST Science 5th Grade	CAST Science 8th Grade	CAST Science 11th Grade	CAST Science 12th Grade	CAST Science All Grades	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 7th Grade	Smarter Balanced Assessments English Language Arts/Literacy 8th Grade	Smarter Balanced Assessments English Language Arts/Literacy 11th Grade	Smarter Balanced Assessments English Language Arts/Literacy All Grades	Smarter Balanced Assessments Mathematics 5th Grade	Smarter Balanced Assessments Mathematics 6th Grade	Smarter Balanced Assessments Mathematics 7th Grade	Smarter Balanced Assessments Mathematics 8th Grade	Smarter Balanced Assessments Mathematics 11th Grade	Smarter Balanced Assessments Mathematics All Grades	Per Pupil Expenditures Total	Sub-total from Federal Funds	Sub-total from State/Local Funds
Central High	Public	9-12	2045 North Dickenson Ave.	Fresno	93722	Fresno County	Central Unified	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(559) 276-5276	625	39	15.9	74.9%	111 (17.8%)	28 (4.5%)	391 (62.6%)	90 (14.4%)	1 (0.2%)	0 (0.0%)	3 (0.5%)	46	1120^th of 2137 public high schools	47.6%		52.7	975^th of 2162 public high schools	54.9%	145			32.1		32.4					50.7	50.7					16.7	16.7	$31,457	$30,372	$1,085
Justin Garza High	Public	9-12	4100 North Grantland Ave.	Fresno	93723	Fresno County	Central Unified	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(559) 274-4700	2,095	92	22.8	72.9%	267 (12.7%)	160 (7.6%)	1,229 (58.7%)	393 (18.8%)	10 (0.5%)	2 (0.1%)	31 (1.5%)	62.5	761^st of 2137 public high schools	64.4%		51.3	1013^th of 2162 public high schools	53.1%	252			36.6	20.0	35.5					66.4	66.4					26.3	26.3	$17,072	$16,118	$954
Central East High	Public	9-12	3535 North Cornelia Ave.	Fresno	93722	Fresno County	Central Unified	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(559) 276-0280	1,741	85	20.5	82.2%	114 (6.5%)	191 (11.0%)	1,138 (65.4%)	270 (15.5%)	10 (0.6%)	7 (0.4%)	11 (0.6%)	34.9	1377^th of 2137 public high schools	35.6%		36.4	1348^th of 2162 public high schools	37.7%	29			19.0		18.9					49.9	49.9					12.1	12.1	$21,701	$20,588	$1,113
Kerman Unified Online	Public, Virtual	7-12	14655 West F St.	Kerman	93630	Fresno County	Kerman Unified	No	(n/a)	Yes	(n/a)	(559) 843-9800	140	3	51.8	93.6%	10 (7.1%)	1 (0.7%)	125 (89.3%)	0 (0.0%)	1 (0.7%)	2 (1.4%)	1 (0.7%)	12.7	1824^th of 2137 public high schools	14.6%		14.1	1833^rd of 2162 public high schools	15.2%	9			2.0	25.0	6.0					18.0	15.8					0.0	0.0	$32,308	$31,144	$1,164
Kerman High	Public	9-12	205 South First St.	Kerman	93630	Fresno County	Kerman Unified	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(559) 843-9700	1,493	69	21.5	86.8%	109 (7.3%)	5 (0.3%)	1,300 (87.1%)	66 (4.4%)	8 (0.5%)	0 (0.0%)	5 (0.3%)	51	1018^th of 2137 public high schools	52.4%		57.4	886^th of 2162 public high schools	59.0%	132			28.5		28.5					54.8	54.8					24.3	24.3	$25,284	$23,826	$1,458
Enterprise High	Public	9-12	15405 Sunset Ave.	Kerman	93630	Fresno County	Kerman Unified	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(559) 843-9580	57	5	10.4	94.7%	3 (5.3%)	0 (0.0%)	53 (93.0%)	0 (0.0%)	1 (1.8%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	21.6	1626^th of 2137 public high schools	23.9%		11.7	1928^th of 2162 public high schools	10.8%	302			9.5		9.5					42.9	42.9					0.0	0.0	$72,417	$69,392	$3,025
Dewolf Continuation High	Public	10-12	2445 West Dakota Ave.	Fresno	93703	Fresno County	Fresno Unified	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(559) 457-2990	182	9	19.8	90.7%	13 (7.1%)	15 (8.2%)	141 (77.5%)	9 (4.9%)	1 (0.5%)	0 (0.0%)	3 (1.6%)	9.2	1991^st of 2137 public high schools	6.8%		11.8	1925^th of 2162 public high schools	11.0%	66			3.8		4.7					5.1	5.1					5.1	5.1	$41,951	$39,504	$2,447
Ripperdan Community Day	Public	7-12	26133 Ave. 7	Madera	93637	Madera County	Madera Unified	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(559) 674-0059	49	7	6.8	98.0%	2 (4.1%)	4 (8.2%)	42 (85.7%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	1 (2.0%)								(n/a)					0.0						0.0						0.0	$83,400	$67,612	$15,788
Pershing Continuation High	Public	9-12	855 West Nielsen	Fresno	93706	Fresno County	Central Unified	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(559) 268-2272	101	6	16.0	86.1%	5 (5.0%)	11 (10.9%)	74 (73.3%)	4 (4.0%)	0 (0.0%)	1 (1.0%)	5 (5.0%)	6.3	2124^th of 2137 public high schools	0.6%		10.9	1970^th of 2162 public high schools	8.9%	154			0.0		0.0					2.0	2.0					0.0	0.0	$42,424	$40,482	$1,942
Pathway Community Day	Public	7-12	11 South Teilman	Fresno	93706	Fresno County	Central Unified	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(559) 487-1201	10	5	2.1	—	3 (30.0%)	0 (0.0%)	5 (50.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	2 (20.0%)								(n/a)											0.0						0.0

Frequently Asked Questions about Central High

What district is Central High in?

Central Unified

How many students attend Central High?

In the 2024-25 school year, 625 students attended Central High.

What is the racial makeup of Central High?

Students at Central High are 63% Hispanic, 18% White, 14% Asian, 4% African American.

Is Central High a good school?

Central High ranks 1120^th of 2137 California high schools. SchoolDigger rates this school 2 stars out of 5.

Rate Central High!

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Latest California data All new data »

2025–26 attendance data, dropout rates & graduation ratesNewOct 15, 2026

2025–26 CAST, CSA Spanish & Smarter Balanced Assessments scoresNewOct 15, 2026

2024–25 school spending dataJul 1, 2026

2024–25 attendance dataMar 13, 2026

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.