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Central High School

Q: Is Central High School a good school?

Central High School ranks 211 th of 620 Illinois high schools. SchoolDigger rates this school 3 stars out of 5.

Public Grades 9-12

211^th

SchoolDigger Rank ?

of 620 Illinois High Schools

Better than 66% of Illinois high schools

Summary

Central High School serves grades 9–12 and enrolls 1,666 students in Champaign, Illinois. Its test results compare well with many nearby high schools, but its attendance and graduation figures raise concerns: in 2025–2026, 37.8% of students were chronically absent and 78.9% graduated, below both district and state rates. The most important takeaway is that strong academic results coexist with challenges in attendance and completion.

Science is the school’s most consistent academic strength against state results: proficiency was higher by 3 points in ninth grade, 6 in tenth and 9 in eleventh. On the 2025–2026 11th-grade ACT, Central scored 54% in ELA, 48% in math and 56% in science—above state results of 50%, 40% and 48%, and district results of 46%, 39% and 48%. Its scores also exceeded the average for nearby conventional high schools in all three subjects. Unity High School scored slightly higher in ACT math and science. ELA is less consistent: Central was 2 points below the state in both ninth and tenth grades, then 4 points above in eleventh. Chronic absenteeism, at 37.8%, was 6 points above the district and 14 above the state; graduation was 4 points below the district and 11 below the state.

Recent test changes are mixed: ninth-grade ELA rose 3 points from the prior year, while tenth-grade ELA fell 12 and tenth-grade math fell 6. SchoolDigger rates Central at the 66th statewide percentile, with 3 stars and a rank of 211 out of 620; its percentile has declined 17 points from 2020–2021. The student-teacher ratio was 13.2 in 2024–2025, and 44% of students were free/reduced lunch eligible that year. SchoolDigger’s 2025–2026 statewide rankings differ notably by group: White Students ranked at the 88th percentile for how well the school serves them, 22 points above the overall percentile, while Low Socio Economic Status Students ranked at the 25th percentile, 41 points below.

1,666

Students ?

13.2

Student/teacher ratio ?

$16,887

Per pupil spending ?

44.4%

Free/reduced lunch eligible (2024-25) ?

97.5%

Measles protection (all grades) (2025-26)

610 W University Ave
Champaign, IL 61820-3918

(217) 351-3914

District: Champaign CUSD 4

Feeder schools for Central High School:

Elementary:	Bottenfield Elementary School
	Carrie Busey Elementary School
	Dr Howard Elementary School
	Kenwood Elementary School
	More...
	Robeson Elementary School
	South Side Elementary School
	Stratton Elementary School
	Vernon L Barkstall Elementary School
	Westview Elementary School
Middle:	Edison Middle School
	Franklin Middle School
	Jefferson Middle School

Racial breakdown:

White:

37.8%

African American:

26.0%

Hispanic:

19.3%

See top rated Illinois high schools

Compare Central High School to nearby high schools!

At a glance

▼ Ranking trend: Recently slipping — 83rd percentile in 2021 → 66th in 2026

Strengths

✓Above the Illinois median (66th percentile)

Worth a look

!Graduation rate below the Illinois average (79% vs 90%)

!High chronic absenteeism (38% vs 24% Illinois)

!Ranking has slipped from its 83rd-percentile peak (2021) to 66th (2026)

Students meeting standards (2025-2026) ?

This school50%

District avg44%

Illinois avg47%

211^th of 620

Illinois public high schools ?

Top 34%▲ up 28 pts since 2016

From bottom 38% (2016) to top 34% (2026)

See the entire ranking list of Illinois High Schools →

★★★★★

SchoolDigger rating ?

1^st of 2High Schools in the Champaign CUSD 4

610^th of 738Champaign CUSD 4 among Illinois 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	Illinois percentile	Rating
2026	60.8	211 of 620	66.0%	★★★☆☆
2025	70.6	169 of 698	75.8%	★★★★☆
2024	72.8	149 of 697	78.6%	★★★★☆
2023	78.6	124 of 699	82.3%	★★★★☆
2022	75.0	138 of 699	80.3%	★★★★☆
2021	78.2	119 of 688	82.7%	★★★★☆
2019	67.4	184 of 701	73.8%	★★★★☆
2018	69.2	178 of 647	72.5%	★★★★☆
2017	64.2	197 of 642	69.3%	★★★☆☆
2016	39.5	400 of 643	37.8%	★★☆☆☆
2015	55.7	228 of 614	62.9%	★★★☆☆
2014	52.2	350 of 670	47.8%	★★☆☆☆
2013	51.5	365 of 670	45.5%	★★☆☆☆
2012	43.1	436 of 665	34.4%	★★☆☆☆
2011	54.9	333 of 655	49.2%	★★☆☆☆
2010	49.1	391 of 643	39.2%	★★☆☆☆
2009	62.7	257 of 632	59.3%	★★★☆☆
2008	61.6	267 of 624	57.2%	★★★☆☆
2007	62.3	238 of 612	61.1%	★★★☆☆
2006	69.4	172 of 596	71.1%	★★★★☆
2005	58.9	273 of 590	53.7%	★★★☆☆
2004	66.4	206 of 592	65.2%	★★★☆☆
2003	72.7	145 of 586	75.3%	★★★★☆

African American

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Illinois percentile	Rating
2026	28.9	124 of 187	33.7%	★★☆☆☆
2025	42.2	157 of 323	51.4%	★★★☆☆
2024	41.2	137 of 299	54.2%	★★★☆☆
2023	45.2	130 of 301	56.8%	★★★☆☆
2022	42.9	139 of 294	52.7%	★★★☆☆
2021	43.2	117 of 281	58.4%	★★★☆☆
2019	33.2	180 of 299	39.8%	★★☆☆☆
2018	31.2	169 of 253	33.2%	★★☆☆☆

Asian

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Illinois percentile	Rating
2026	42.8	77 of 124	37.9%	★★☆☆☆
2025	58.7	63 of 148	57.4%	★★★☆☆
2024	48.9	72 of 137	47.4%	★★☆☆☆
2023	69.7	42 of 134	68.7%	★★★★☆
2022	87.2	15 of 141	89.4%	★★★★★
2021	63.7	49 of 135	63.7%	★★★☆☆
2019	61.0	55 of 130	57.7%	★★★☆☆
2018	67.3	43 of 132	67.4%	★★★☆☆

Disabled

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Illinois percentile	Rating
2025	59.1	117 of 491	76.2%	★★★★☆
2024	94.6	25 of 429	94.2%	★★★★★
2023	36.9	227 of 428	47.0%	★★☆☆☆

English Language Learner

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Illinois percentile	Rating
2025	29.7	217 of 284	23.6%	★☆☆☆☆
2024	53.3	72 of 248	71.0%	★★★★☆
2023	23.1	201 of 217	7.4%	☆☆☆☆☆
2022	62.8	40 of 205	80.5%	★★★★☆
2021	49.2	60 of 189	68.3%	★★★☆☆
2019	34.2	114 of 183	37.7%	★★☆☆☆
2018	50.6	41 of 151	72.8%	★★★★☆

Female

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Illinois percentile	Rating
2026	49.5	276 of 545	49.4%	★★☆☆☆
2025	64.8	211 of 685	69.2%	★★★☆☆
2024	64.7	194 of 664	70.8%	★★★★☆
2023	78.3	119 of 656	81.9%	★★★★☆
2022	74.7	139 of 658	78.9%	★★★★☆
2021	79.2	117 of 639	81.7%	★★★★☆
2019	65.5	200 of 665	69.9%	★★★★☆
2018	71.0	164 of 620	73.5%	★★★★☆

Hispanic

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Illinois percentile	Rating
2026	30.0	186 of 268	30.6%	★★☆☆☆
2025	40.1	213 of 366	41.8%	★★☆☆☆
2024	44.7	158 of 336	53.0%	★★★☆☆
2023	43.3	166 of 333	50.2%	★★★☆☆
2022	19.6	281 of 335	16.1%	★☆☆☆☆
2021	29.7	221 of 317	30.3%	★★☆☆☆
2019	34.5	203 of 317	36.0%	★★☆☆☆
2018	39.8	168 of 291	42.3%	★★☆☆☆

Low Socio Economic Status

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Illinois percentile	Rating
2026	26.8	359 of 478	24.9%	★☆☆☆☆
2025	48.1	345 of 672	48.7%	★★☆☆☆
2024	62.3	181 of 639	71.7%	★★★★☆
2023	49.6	292 of 644	54.7%	★★★☆☆
2022	43.6	348 of 626	44.4%	★★☆☆☆
2021	24.1	484 of 611	20.8%	★☆☆☆☆
2019	32.2	443 of 639	30.7%	★★☆☆☆
2018	37.9	383 of 585	34.5%	★★☆☆☆

Male

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Illinois percentile	Rating
2026	60.9	187 of 521	64.1%	★★★☆☆
2025	73.4	149 of 685	78.2%	★★★★☆
2024	78.4	117 of 668	82.5%	★★★★☆
2023	75.7	125 of 668	81.3%	★★★★☆
2022	72.2	138 of 664	79.2%	★★★★☆
2021	72.8	138 of 653	78.9%	★★★★☆
2019	66.2	177 of 675	73.8%	★★★★☆
2018	63.7	199 of 619	67.9%	★★★☆☆

Multi-racial

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Illinois percentile	Rating
2026	19.2	104 of 130	20.0%	★☆☆☆☆
2025	52.9	93 of 211	55.9%	★★★☆☆
2024	26.0	127 of 182	30.2%	★★☆☆☆
2023	46.6	83 of 163	49.1%	★★★☆☆
2022	49.5	86 of 170	49.4%	★★☆☆☆
2021	44.5	80 of 160	50.0%	★★★☆☆
2019	37.6	96 of 165	41.8%	★★☆☆☆
2018	66.6	51 of 154	66.9%	★★★☆☆

Special Education

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Illinois percentile	Rating
2026	45.0	109 of 238	54.2%	★★★☆☆
2025	81.6	72 of 527	86.3%	★★★★☆
2024	85.7	61 of 482	87.3%	★★★★☆
2023	91.6	43 of 476	91.0%	★★★★★
2022	55.0	124 of 493	74.8%	★★★★☆
2021	76.9	51 of 453	88.7%	★★★★☆
2019	33.8	282 of 473	40.4%	★★☆☆☆
2018	57.7	92 of 374	75.4%	★★★★☆

White

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Illinois percentile	Rating
2026	84.2	63 of 515	87.8%	★★★★☆
2025	88.4	58 of 564	89.7%	★★★★☆
2024	90.9	52 of 554	90.6%	★★★★★
2023	91.7	36 of 557	93.5%	★★★★★
2022	84.7	71 of 560	87.3%	★★★★☆
2021	92.7	51 of 553	90.8%	★★★★★
2019	87.6	62 of 552	88.8%	★★★★☆
2018	84.7	68 of 548	87.6%	★★★★☆

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)

White (2026)88th percentile+22 vs school

Disabled (2025)76th percentile~ school

Male (2026)64th percentile~ school

Special Education (2026)54th percentile-12 vs school

Female (2026)49th percentile-17 vs school

Asian (2026)38th percentile-28 vs school

African American (2026)34th percentile-32 vs school

Hispanic (2026)31st percentile-35 vs school

Low Socio Economic Status (2026)25th percentile-41 vs school

English Language Learner (2025)24th percentile-52 vs school

Multi-racial (2026)20th percentile-46 vs school

By subject vs Illinois (2025-2026) ?

Science56%+8 vs state

English Language Arts54%+4 vs state

Mathematics48%+8 vs state

★

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Schools Near Central High 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 Vaccination Finance All

School													Students/Teachers											Ranking (2026)				Ranking (2025)				PreACT Secure English Language Arts (2026)		PreACT Secure Mathematics (2026)		PreACT Secure Science (2026)		ACT English Language Arts (2026)	ACT Mathematics (2026)	ACT Science (2026)	ISA Science (2026)	IAR English Language Arts (2026)		IAR Mathematics (2026)		Vaccination (2025-26)		Per Pupil Expenditures (2026)
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	PreACT Secure English Language Arts 9th Grade	PreACT Secure English Language Arts 10th Grade	PreACT Secure Mathematics 9th Grade	PreACT Secure Mathematics 10th Grade	PreACT Secure Science 9th Grade	PreACT Secure Science 10th Grade	ACT English Language Arts 11th Grade	ACT Mathematics 11th Grade	ACT Science 11th Grade	ISA Science 8th Grade	IAR English Language Arts 8th Grade	IAR English Language Arts All Grades	IAR Mathematics 8th Grade	IAR Mathematics All Grades	Vaccination: Measles protection (all grades)	Vaccination: Exemption rate	Per Pupil Expenditures Total	Sub-total from Federal Funds	Sub-total from State/Local Funds
Central High School	Public	9-12	610 W University Ave	Champaign	61820	Champaign County	Champaign CUSD 4	No	(n/a)	No	Yes	(217) 351-3914	1,666	126	13.2	44.4%	630 (37.8%)	433 (26.0%)	321 (19.3%)	156 (9.4%)	5 (0.3%)	1 (0.1%)	113 (6.8%)	60.8	211^th of 620 public high schools	66.0%		70.6	169^th of 698 public high schools	75.8%	42	59.2	51.7	39.7	37.2	49.6	53.9	53.6	47.7	56.4						97.5%		$16,887	$613	$16,274
Young Adult Program	Public	12	402 N Randolph St	Champaign	61820	Champaign County	Champaign CUSD 4	No	(n/a)	(n/a)	(n/a)	(217) 351-3841	0			—	0 ()	0 ()	0 ()	0 ()	0 ()	0 ()	0 ()								(n/a)
R E A D Y Program	Public	6-12	45 E University Ave	Champaign	61820	Champaign County	Champaign/Ford ROE	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(217) 239-0322	0	11	.0	—	0 ()	0 ()	0 ()	0 ()	0 ()	0 ()	0 ()								(n/a)
RE-Start Program	Public	9-12	45 E University Ave	Champaign	61820	Champaign County	Champaign/Ford ROE	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(217) 893-3219	0	1	.0	—	0 ()	0 ()	0 ()	0 ()	0 ()	0 ()	0 ()								(n/a)
Novak Academy	Public	9-12	1103 N Neil St	Champaign	61820	Champaign County	Champaign CUSD 4	No	(n/a)	No	No	(217) 352-4328	0	6	.0	—	0 ()	0 ()	0 ()	0 ()	0 ()	0 ()	0 ()								(n/a)
University of Illinois High School	Public	7-12	1212 W Springfield Ave	Urbana	61801	Champaign County	University of Ill Lab School	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(217) 333-2870	319	4	79.7	—	105 (32.9%)	16 (5.0%)	52 (16.3%)	101 (31.7%)	2 (0.6%)	1 (0.3%)	31 (9.7%)	99.8	2^nd of 620 public high schools	99.7%		99.7	2^nd of 698 public high schools	99.7%		98.4	100.0	93.8	100.0	93.8	100.0	98.5	89.4	95.5	98.4	100.0	100.0	87.5	87.5	100%
Centennial High School	Public	9-12	913 Crescent Dr	Champaign	61821	Champaign County	Champaign CUSD 4	No	(n/a)	No	Yes	(217) 351-3954	1,476	109	13.4	51.4%	388 (26.3%)	651 (44.1%)	191 (12.9%)	113 (7.7%)	1 (0.1%)	1 (0.1%)	130 (8.8%)	33.2	437^th of 620 public high schools	29.5%		44.7	395^th of 698 public high schools	43.4%	42	51.1	47.1	25.8	29.8	37.7	41.7	35.7	28.0	37.0						99.1%		$18,959	$599	$18,361
Educ for Employment Sys 330	Public	11-12	2400 W Bradley Ave	Champaign	61821	Champaign County	Champaign/Ford ROE	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(217) 355-1382	0	0		—	0 ()	0 ()	0 ()	0 ()	0 ()	0 ()	0 ()								(n/a)
Urbana High School	Public	9-12	1002 S Race St	Urbana	61801	Champaign County	Urbana School District 116	No	(n/a)	No	Yes	(217) 384-3505	1,176	99	11.8	65.2%	315 (26.8%)	412 (35.0%)	285 (24.2%)	55 (4.7%)	2 (0.2%)	0 (0.0%)	99 (8.4%)	22.5	488^th of 620 public high schools	21.3%		32.1	498^th of 698 public high schools	28.7%	10	40.1	41.9	22.4	21.0	29.3	33.3	37.1	24.5	33.9						99.6%		$20,577	$1,025	$19,552
Champaign County Detention Center	Public	6-12	400 Art Bartell Rd	Urbana	61802	Champaign County	Urbana School District 116	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(217) 384-3780	0	0		—	0 ()	0 ()	0 ()	0 ()	0 ()	0 ()	0 ()								(n/a)

Frequently Asked Questions about Central High School

Is Central High School a good school?

Central High School ranks 211^th of 620 Illinois high schools. SchoolDigger rates this school 3 stars out of 5.

What district is Central High School in?

Champaign CUSD 4

How many students attend Central High School?

In the 2024-25 school year, 1,666 students attended Central High School.

What schools feed into Central High School?

What is the racial makeup of Central High School?

Students at Central High School are 38% White, 26% African American, 19% Hispanic, 9% Asian, 7% Two or more races.

Rate Central High School!

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Schools in Champaign, IL

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Latest Illinois data All new data »

2025–26 school spending dataNewOct 30, 2026

2025–26 attendance data, dropout rates & graduation ratesNewOct 30, 2026

2025–26 ACT, IAR, ISA & PreACT Secure test scoresNewOct 30, 2026

2013–14 through 2025–26 immunization rates (updated)NewOct 19, 2026

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