Central CUSD 3

The four schools in Central CUSD 3 serve preschool through grade 12, from Central Early Childhood to Central High School. Early Childhood has no reported test scores; the elementary and junior-high results are close to the state in English language arts (ELA), but the clearest shared academic concern is math. In 2025–2026, the two IAR schools averaged 56.4% in ELA, nearly the state’s 56.3%, while their math average was 33% versus 40% statewide—a 7-point gap below the state.

Central Elementary School leads Central Junior High School in both all-grades IAR subjects: 57% versus 56% in ELA, and 37% versus 29% in math. The junior high has striking differences across grades: fifth-grade science proficiency was 72%, 25 points above the state, while eighth-grade science was 32%, 20 points below. At Central High School, 10th-grade results stand out, including 64% in science (15 points above the state) and 45% in math (8 points above); ninth-grade math was 33%, 9 points below the state. So no one school or grade leads across every measure.

Results have moved in different directions: elementary math fell 8 points from the prior year, while junior-high math rose 2 points and its ELA rose 9. Central High’s 10th-grade results improved, while ninth-grade ELA fell 9 points. SchoolDigger’s rankings also declined from 2023–2024 to 2025–2026: Central High went from the 88th to the 67th percentile, Central Elementary from the 56th to the 42nd, and Central Junior High from the 60th to the 27th. These are SchoolDigger ranking percentiles, not test scores. Student–teacher ratios range from 9.5:1 to 12.9:1; free/reduced lunch eligible rates in 2024–2025 range from 40% to 44%. Chronic absenteeism in 2025–2026 was below the state’s 23.5% at all four schools, ranging from 8% at the junior high to 14% at Early Childhood.