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Central High

Q: Is Central High a good school?

Central High ranks 975 th of 2162 California high schools. SchoolDigger rates this school 3 stars out of 5.

Public Grades 9-12

975^th

SchoolDigger Rank ?

of 2,162 California High Schools

Better than 55% of California high schools

Summary

Central High is a public high school serving 625 students in grades 9-12 within the Central Unified School District in Fresno, CA, and it stands out for its exceptionally high graduation rate and strong English performance, even while facing challenges with math scores and student attendance.

The school's greatest strengths are in English Language Arts, where over 57% of students are proficient—outperforming the district, state, and most nearby schools like Justin Garza High and Fresno High. Most impressively, Central High graduates over 95% of its students with a dropout rate below 1%, figures that beat both the Central Unified and state averages and are on par with Kerman High. However, the school has a significant gap in mathematics, with less than 20% of students proficient, which is an area it is working to improve.

When looking at the bigger picture, Central High achieves these strong results in graduation and English with relatively modest per-student spending compared to some neighbors. A notable concern is chronic absenteeism, which at 32% is higher than at similar schools. Performance can also vary for different groups of students within the school. Compared to other schools in the area, Central High holds its own, offering a lower student-teacher ratio than many and standing as one of the stronger comprehensive high schools within its district.

625

Students ?

15.9

Student/teacher ratio ?

74.9%

Free/discounted lunch ?

2045 North Dickenson Ave.
Fresno, CA 93723-9643

(559) 276-5276

District: Central Unified

Racial breakdown:

Hispanic:

62.6%

White:

17.8%

Asian:

14.4%

See top rated California high schools

Compare Central High to nearby high schools!

At a glance

▲ Ranking trend: Improving — 49th percentile in 2023 → 55th in 2025

Strengths

✓96% graduate in 4 years — above the California average (88%)

✓Ranking is trending up — up 6 percentile points since 2023

✓Among the top-ranked schools in Central Unified

Worth a look

!Test scores below the California average (35% vs 41% meeting standards)

!High chronic absenteeism (32% vs 19% California)

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

Students meeting standards (2024-2025) ?

This school35%

District avg35%

California avg41%

975^th of 2,162

California public high schools ?

Top 45%▲ up 6 pts since 2023

From bottom 49% (2023) to top 45% (2025)

See the entire ranking list of California High Schools →

★★★★★

SchoolDigger rating ?

1^st of 4High 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	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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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)

Male (2025)61st percentile+6 vs school

Low Socio Economic Status (2025)54th percentile~ school

White (2025)53rd percentile~ school

Hispanic (2025)50th percentile-5 vs school

Special Education (2025)46th percentile-9 vs school

Female (2025)43rd percentile-12 vs school

Asian (2025)14th percentile-41 vs school

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

By subject vs California (2024-2025) ?

English Language Arts/Literacy57%+9 vs state

Science28%-5 vs state

Mathematics19%-18 vs state

★

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Schools Near Central High

Choose columns to see: Summary School Students/Teachers Ranking Test Scores 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)			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 8th Grade	CAST Science 11th Grade	CAST Science 12th Grade	CAST Science All Grades	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 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	93723	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%)	52.7	975^th of 2162 public high schools	54.9%		61.1	739^th of 2159 public high schools	65.8%	236		28.4		28.0		57.5	57.5		19.4	19.4
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%)	51.3	1013^th of 2162 public high schools	53.1%		64.7	660^th of 2159 public high schools	69.4%	353		24.2		24.2		53.4	53.4		24.8	24.8
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%)	36.4	1348^th of 2162 public high schools	37.7%		38.6	1282^nd of 2159 public high schools	40.6%	66		16.6	0.0	16.0		49.9	49.9		12.8	12.8
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%)	57.4	886^th of 2162 public high schools	59.0%		45.2	1119^th of 2159 public high schools	48.2%	233		31.8		31.4		57.4	57.4		23.1	23.1	$17,422	$1,050	$16,372
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%)	11.7	1928^th of 2162 public high schools	10.8%		21.9	1655^th of 2159 public high schools	23.3%	273		4.0		4.0		20.8	20.8		0.0	0.0	$27,793	$2,859	$24,934
Dewolf Continuation High	Public	11-12	2445 West Dakota Ave.	Fresno	93705	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%)	11.8	1925^th of 2162 public high schools	11.0%		10.4	2049^th of 2159 public high schools	5.1%	124		4.5		6.3		13.3	13.3		4.5	4.5	$25,421	$2,338	$23,083
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	0.0	0.0	0.0		0.0	$50,707	$10,558	$40,149
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%)	10.9	1970^th of 2162 public high schools	8.9%		9.2	2114^th of 2159 public high schools	2.1%	144		8.3	0.0	6.4		8.6	8.6		0.0	0.0
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	100.0%	3 (30.0%)	0 (0.0%)	5 (50.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	2 (20.0%)								(n/a)
Fresno High	Public	9-12	1839 Echo Ave.	Fresno	93704	Fresno County	Fresno Unified	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(559) 457-2780	1,867	103	18.0	88.5%	159 (8.5%)	141 (7.6%)	1,410 (75.5%)	88 (4.7%)	14 (0.7%)	6 (0.3%)	44 (2.4%)	36.1	1357^th of 2162 public high schools	37.2%		32.1	1447^th of 2159 public high schools	33.0%	90		24.2		24.2		40.0	40.0		12.6	12.6	$20,107	$2,428	$17,679

Frequently Asked Questions about 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 975^th of 2162 California high schools. SchoolDigger rates this school 3 stars out of 5.

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.

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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.