Central High School

Summary:

Central High School is a public high school serving 1,613 students in grades 9-12 in Grand Junction, Colorado, which is part of the Mesa County Valley School District No. 51. While the school has a diverse student population, with a significant Hispanic enrollment, its academic performance is generally lower than the district and state averages, particularly for certain student subgroups.

Compared to nearby schools like Fruita Monument High School and Palisade High School, Central High School's standardized test scores are lower, with only 26% of 11th-grade students proficient or better in CMAS/Science, compared to the district average of 32.6% and the state average of 24.8%. The school's performance for gifted and talented students is also a concern, ranking 92nd out of 108 Colorado high schools in 2021-2022.

Additionally, Central High School has a relatively high percentage of students receiving free or reduced-price lunch, at 44.82%, which is higher than the nearby schools. The school's statewide ranking has also steadily declined over the past several years, suggesting that its performance is not keeping pace with other schools in the state. The significant performance gaps between different student subgroups at Central High School, particularly for White and multi-racial students, indicate potential equity issues that the school and district may need to address.


Detail:

Public 9-12

 3130 E1/2 Road
       Grand Junction, CO  81504-6063


(970) 254-6200

District: Mesa County Valley School District No. 51

SchoolDigger Rank:
200th of 349 Colorado High Schools

Per Pupil Expenditures:  $13,447 Help


Feeder schools for Central High School:

Elementary:    Chatfield Elementary School
    Fruitvale Elementary School
    Nisley Elementary School
    Thunder Mountain Elementary School
Middle:    Bookcliff Middle School
    Grand Mesa Middle School

Student/teacher ratio:  19.2 Help
Number of students:  1,613

Racial breakdown:

White:
60.3%
Hispanic:
32.5%
Two or more races:
5.3%
more

Free/discounted lunch recipients:  44.8% Help


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Performance Trends
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Compare Details Central High School ranks worse than 57.3% of high schools in Colorado. It also ranks last among 4 ranked high schools in the Mesa County Valley School District No. 51. (See more...)
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Compare Details In 2024 the calculated Average Standard Score was 40.49. (See more...)
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The four-year cohort graduation rate measures the percentage of students at Central High School who earn a standard high school diploma within four years of starting ninth grade.
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The high school dropout rate measures the percentage of students who do not complete their high school education.
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Chronic absenteeism in a school refers to a situation where students repeatedly miss school, with the threshold often defined as missing 10% or more of school days for any reason, excused or unexcused.
Student Body
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Compare Details Central High School has the largest high school student body size in the Mesa County Valley School District No. 51.  (See more...)
Finance
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Compare Details The average total spent per student at Central High School is $13,447, which is the lowest among 5 high schools in the Mesa County Valley School District No. 51!
Schooldigger 2024 Rankings:

Central High School:

SchoolDigger ranks Central High School 200th of 349 Colorado public high schools. (See Central High School in the ranking list.)

High School Test Score Ratings by Student Subgroup:


Low Socio Economic Status students:
Female students:
Male students:
Hispanic students:
White students:


Mesa County Valley School District No. 51:

SchoolDigger ranks Mesa County Valley School District No. 51 52nd of 116 Colorado school districts. (See district ranking list.)


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Rank History for Central High School

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Rank History for all students at Central High School

Year Avg Standard Score Statewide Rank Total # Ranked High Schools CO State Percentile SchoolDigger Rating
2004 57.92 120th 279 57.0%
2005 47.88 150th 280 46.4%
2006 47.56 165th 286 42.3%
2007 54.09 154th 298 48.3%
2008 45.71 174th 301 42.2%
2009 44.23 189th 310 39.0%
2010 45.93 201st 327 38.5%
2011 47.45 192nd 337 43.0%
2012 41.42 208th 334 37.7%
2013 45.45 208th 349 40.4%
2014 40.60 235th 369 36.3%
2015 35.90 169th 292 42.1%
2016 23.64 187th 255 26.7%
2017 22.25 190th 256 25.8%
2018 32.49 245th 388 36.9%
2019 32.69 266th 411 35.3%
2021 17.40 172nd 210 18.1%
2022 14.59 185th 221 16.3%
2024 40.49 200th 349 42.7%
See the entire list of Colorado High School Rankings!

Rank History for Multi-racial students at Central High School

Year Avg Standard Score Statewide Rank Total # Ranked High Schools CO State Percentile SchoolDigger Rating
2021 3.88 48th 48 0.0%
2022 14.19 50th 56 10.7%
See the entire list of Best Colorado High Schools for Multi-racial Students!

Rank History for Special Education students at Central High School

Year Avg Standard Score Statewide Rank Total # Ranked High Schools CO State Percentile SchoolDigger Rating
2022 17.57 66th 77 14.3%
See the entire list of Best Colorado High Schools for Special Education Students!

Rank History for Low Socio Economic Status students at Central High School

Year Avg Standard Score Statewide Rank Total # Ranked High Schools CO State Percentile SchoolDigger Rating
2021 43.98 102nd 188 45.7%
2022 41.88 115th 203 43.3%
2024 53.45 88th 211 58.3%
See the entire list of Best Colorado High Schools for Low Socio Economic Status Students!

Rank History for Female students at Central High School

Year Avg Standard Score Statewide Rank Total # Ranked High Schools CO State Percentile SchoolDigger Rating
2021 31.99 162nd 239 32.2%
2022 27.70 182nd 257 29.2%
2024 36.41 155th 257 39.7%
See the entire list of Best Colorado High Schools for Female Students!

Rank History for Gifted and Talented students at Central High School

Year Avg Standard Score Statewide Rank Total # Ranked High Schools CO State Percentile SchoolDigger Rating
2021 74.87 14th 118 88.1%
2022 24.19 92nd 108 14.8%
See the entire list of Best Colorado High Schools for Gifted and Talented Students!

Rank History for Male students at Central High School

Year Avg Standard Score Statewide Rank Total # Ranked High Schools CO State Percentile SchoolDigger Rating
2021 29.78 163rd 240 32.1%
2022 27.99 174th 253 31.2%
2024 39.48 146th 256 43.0%
See the entire list of Best Colorado High Schools for Male Students!

Rank History for Hispanic students at Central High School

Year Avg Standard Score Statewide Rank Total # Ranked High Schools CO State Percentile SchoolDigger Rating
2021 25.78 134th 181 26.0%
2022 29.29 144th 205 29.8%
2024 48.05 88th 199 55.8%
See the entire list of Best Colorado High Schools for Hispanic Students!

Rank History for White students at Central High School

Year Avg Standard Score Statewide Rank Total # Ranked High Schools CO State Percentile SchoolDigger Rating
2021 16.53 194th 225 13.8%
2022 10.73 211th 228 7.5%
2024 17.86 195th 229 14.8%
See the entire list of Best Colorado High Schools for White Students!

Data source: test scores: Colorado Department of Education, rankings: SchoolDigger.com

As you review the school rankings data, please be aware that some of the information from certain demographics is missing. The reason for this omission is that the data has been redacted from the source data itself due to low population samples in these specific demographic groups.

Redacting data from low population samples is a necessary step to ensure the reliability and accuracy of the results, as small sample sizes may not be representative of the broader population. Additionally, this measure helps protect the privacy of individuals belonging to these demographic groups.

Central High School Test Scores
Tests: 
  
Grades: 
  
Years: 
  
Group by: 
District Scores:
State Scores:    
  
Subgroup: 





Data source: Colorado Department of Education

Review counts

All ratings (Avg rating: 5)
100%

0%

0%

0%

0%

  

Reviews:
No reviews have been submitted!


Enrollment information for Central High School

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Year White African American Asian Hispanic American Indian Pacific Islander Two or More Races Not Specified Total
1988 1104 3 6 93 8 n/a n/a 0 1214
1989 1123 10 7 106 8 n/a n/a 0 1254
1990 1104 8 13 105 6 n/a n/a 0 1236
1991 1155 5 17 103 9 n/a n/a 0 1289
1992 1187 4 18 123 10 n/a n/a 0 1342
1993 1194 1 19 130 13 n/a n/a 0 1357
1994 1181 4 10 119 13 n/a n/a 0 1327
1995 1164 6 10 137 9 n/a n/a 0 1326
1996 1164 6 10 137 9 n/a n/a 0 1326
1997 1197 4 9 132 7 n/a n/a 0 1349
1998 1198 8 11 143 10 n/a n/a 0 1370
1999 1214 9 16 145 8 n/a n/a 0 1392
2000 1299 9 17 150 12 n/a n/a 0 1487
2001 1340 9 19 168 12 n/a n/a 0 1548
2002 1398 9 17 205 23 n/a n/a 0 1652
2003 1398 9 17 205 23 n/a n/a 0 1652
2004 1351 10 19 236 25 n/a n/a 0 1641
2005 1312 14 15 264 29 n/a n/a 0 1634
2006 1290 10 16 303 26 n/a n/a 0 1645
2007 1289 18 18 353 36 n/a n/a 0 1714
2008 1289 11 15 353 29 n/a n/a 0 1697
2009 1205 18 24 382 41 n/a n/a 0 1670
2010 1197 22 18 393 34 n/a n/a 0 1664
2011 1124 12 13 404 22 2 22 0 1599
2012 1072 16 11 407 30 2 34 0 1572
2013 1011 11 10 400 10 3 41 0 1486
2014 991 12 15 381 14 2 47 0 1462
2015 962 9 12 421 15 3 51 0 1473
2016 978 15 9 425 17 6 65 0 1515
2017 1020 13 11 414 14 2 62 0 1536
2018 970 16 9 459 10 0 54 0 1518
2019 963 15 9 534 9 1 67 0 1598
2020 985 10 7 557 11 3 74 0 1647
2021 953 9 8 532 8 4 69 0 1583
2022 968 7 12 549 9 6 79 0 1630
2023 973 7 12 525 8 3 85 0 1613

Data source: National Center for Education Statistics, U.S. Dept of Education.

About Enrollment/Ethnicity

For more information about how the Department of Education defines ethnicity, see Defining Race and Ethnicity Data, National Center for Education Statistics

Students eligible for free or discounted lunch at Central High School

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Compare
Year # Students Full-time Teachers Student/Teacher ratio % Free/Discounted Lunch
1988 1214 66.5 18.2 n/a
1989 1254 66.3 18.9 9.3
1990 1236 66.2 18.6 7.3
1991 1289 66.2 19.4 8.6
1992 1342 68.9 19.4 10
1993 1357 67.5 20.1 8
1994 1327 70.5 18.8 6.4
1995 1326 71.2 18.6 22.4
1996 1326 71.2 18.6 22.4
1997 1349 69.6 19.4 24.9
1998 1370 68.0 20.1 17.4
1999 1392 68.1 20.4 16.3
2000 1487 72.0 20.7 26.4
2001 1548 76.6 20.2 27.4
2002 1652 79.3 20.8 30.4
2003 1652 79.3 20.8 30.4
2004 1641 85.5 19.2 34.4
2005 1634 82.0 19.9 36.8
2006 1645 74.8 22.0 37.3
2007 1714 76.5 22.4 25.6
2008 1697 83.3 20.4 34.5
2009 1670 87.5 19.1 36.3
2010 1664 87.8 18.9 44.4
2011 1599 88.1 18.1 47.7
2012 1572 85.5 18.3 46.1
2013 1486 83.4 17.8 47
2014 1462 84.8 17.2 43
2015 1473 84.0 17.5 44.3
2016 1515 82.0 18.4 48.4
2017 1536 82.1 18.6 52.3
2018 1518 81.8 18.5 43.6
2019 1598 81.6 19.5 51.9
2020 1647 85.5 19.2 47
2021 1583 77.6 20.3 55.6
2022 1630 82.6 19.7 49.4
2023 1613 83.7 19.2 44.8

Data source: National Center for Education Statistics, U.S. Dept of Education.

About Students eligible for discounted/free lunch:

The National School Lunch Program (NSLP) provides low-cost or free meals to students in U.S. public and nonprofit private schools based on household income. Those with incomes below 130% of the poverty line receive free lunch, while those between 130% and 185% qualify for reduced-price lunch. The percentage of students receiving free or reduced-price lunch serves as a marker for poverty, as it reflects the socioeconomic status of families in a given school or district. A higher FRPL rate typically indicates a higher concentration of low-income families, suggesting that the school or district may face additional challenges in providing adequate resources and support for student success.

Student/Teacher Ratio Central High School

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Compare
Year # Students Full-time Teachers Student/Teacher ratio % Free/Discounted Lunch
1988 1214 66.5 18.2 n/a
1989 1254 66.3 18.9 9.3
1990 1236 66.2 18.6 7.3
1991 1289 66.2 19.4 8.6
1992 1342 68.9 19.4 10
1993 1357 67.5 20.1 8
1994 1327 70.5 18.8 6.4
1995 1326 71.2 18.6 22.4
1996 1326 71.2 18.6 22.4
1997 1349 69.6 19.4 24.9
1998 1370 68.0 20.1 17.4
1999 1392 68.1 20.4 16.3
2000 1487 72.0 20.7 26.4
2001 1548 76.6 20.2 27.4
2002 1652 79.3 20.8 30.4
2003 1652 79.3 20.8 30.4
2004 1641 85.5 19.2 34.4
2005 1634 82.0 19.9 36.8
2006 1645 74.8 22.0 37.3
2007 1714 76.5 22.4 25.6
2008 1697 83.3 20.4 34.5
2009 1670 87.5 19.1 36.3
2010 1664 87.8 18.9 44.4
2011 1599 88.1 18.1 47.7
2012 1572 85.5 18.3 46.1
2013 1486 83.4 17.8 47
2014 1462 84.8 17.2 43
2015 1473 84.0 17.5 44.3
2016 1515 82.0 18.4 48.4
2017 1536 82.1 18.6 52.3
2018 1518 81.8 18.5 43.6
2019 1598 81.6 19.5 51.9
2020 1647 85.5 19.2 47
2021 1583 77.6 20.3 55.6
2022 1630 82.6 19.7 49.4
2023 1613 83.7 19.2 44.8

Data source: National Center for Education Statistics, U.S. Dept of Education.

About Student-Teacher Ratio

Student/teacher ratio is calculated by dividing the total number of students by the total number of full-time equivalent teachers. Please note that a smaller student/teacher ratio does not necessarily translate to smaller class size. In some instances, schools hire teachers part time, and some teachers are hired for specialized instruction with very small class sizes. These and other factors contribute to the student/teacher ratio. Note: For private schools, Student/teacher ratio may not include Pre-Kindergarten.
Finances

Per Pupil Expenditures for Central High School

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YearTotal Expenditures Per Pupil
2019 $10,666
2020 $12,532
2021 $11,348
2022 $12,290
2023 $13,447

Data source: Colorado Department of Education
Pre and Post Pandemic Data

Impact of COVID-19 on Central High School

The coronavirus has had a profound impact on education in America. Learning shifted online overnight, attendance numbers dwindled, and enrollment decreased. SchoolDigger.com is making it easier for you to better assess how COVID-19 has impacted your school. Through the collection of pre-pandemic (2019) and current data, SchoolDigger.com is sharing test scores, enrollment numbers and school demographics from schools across the country – and we make it easy to see how impacted schools compare locally and statewide.

Rankings

Rank
Pre-pandemic (2018-2019)
Rank
Post pandemic (2022-2023)
Change (%)
Ranks 266th of 411 High schoolsRanks 185th of 221 High schools
 19%

Student Body

Number of students
Pre-pandemic (2018-2019)
Number of students
Post pandemic (2022-2023)
Change (%)
Total Students15981613
 0.9%
African American157
 53.3%
American Indian98
 11.1%
Asian912
 33.3%
Hispanic534525
 1.7%
Pacific Islander13
 200%
White963973
 1%
Two or More Races6785
 26.9%
% Free/Discounted Lunch Recipients51.9%44.8%
 7.1%


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Frequently Asked Questions about Central High School

In the 2022-23 school year, 1,613 students attended Central High School.

Central High School ranks 200th of 349 Colorado high schools. SchoolDigger rates this school 2 stars out of 5.

Students at Central High School are 60% White, 33% Hispanic, 5% 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 Colorado 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.





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