Summary:
Zip code 60109 has three schools in Central CUSD 301, serving students from prekindergarten through grade 12: Howard B Thomas Grade School, Central Middle School, and Central High School. The latest reported results show strengths across the area: every listed 2025–2026 school result is above the state result for the matching subject and grade. The lead ranges from 7 points for Howard B Thomas’s fourth-grade math to 33 points for Central Middle’s all-grades ELA. Central High also reports a 96% graduation rate, compared with 90% statewide. The clearest overall takeaway is that all three schools outperform state results, though the size of the advantage varies.
Central Middle stands out most in ELA: its all-grades proficiency is 90%, versus 56% statewide, a 33-point lead. Central High is consistently strong across grade 11 ACT subjects, with 75% proficient in ELA, 62% in math, and 73% in science—25, 23, and 25 points above state results. Howard B Thomas also exceeds state results overall, but has the smallest lead in the area: its fourth-grade math proficiency is 49%, 7 points above the state. Its grade-level results vary considerably: ELA ranges from 60% in grade 3 to 82% in grade 5, while math ranges from 48% to 73%.
Recent changes are mixed rather than showing a clear area-wide rise or decline. Central High’s grade 11 ACT results rose by 4 points in ELA, 6 in math, and 8 in science, while its grade 9 PreACT results fell by 7, 5, and 6 points in those subjects. Central Middle improved by 7 points in ELA and 4 in both math and science; Howard B Thomas’s all-grades ELA was up 1 point, math was essentially unchanged, and grade 5 science rose 9 points. SchoolDigger places Central High at the 92nd statewide percentile, Central Middle at the 91st, and Howard B Thomas at the 77th. For context, 2024–2025 free/reduced lunch eligible shares were 17%–19%; student-teacher ratios were 15.2 at Howard B Thomas and 18.4 at the other two schools. These figures add context, but do not explain the schools’ different results.
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