Central High School

Central High School in Detroit, MI, serves approximately 403 students in grades 9-12 and is part of the Detroit Public Schools Community District, a district that ranks in the 13th percentile statewide. The school serves a highly economically disadvantaged population, with over 93% of students qualifying for free or reduced-price lunch.

The most encouraging news is the school's dramatic improvement in graduation rates, which have climbed from 44.1% in 2020-2021 to 79.0% in 2024-2025—a nearly 35-percentage-point increase in just four years. This puts Central close to the state average of 84.0% and well above nearby Northwestern High School's 66.6% rate. The dropout rate has also fallen significantly, from 28.8% to 13.7% over the same period. However, the school faces a critical challenge with chronic absenteeism: 84.1% of students miss a significant portion of the school year, which is far worse than the district average of 60.9% and higher than nearby Frederick Douglass Academy for Young Men (67.1%). This attendance crisis is likely the biggest barrier to academic progress.

Academically, Central remains in the bottom 10% of Michigan high schools, though it has shown steady improvement in its statewide ranking over the past three years. Test scores are low across the board, with math being the weakest area—only 11.1% of 11th graders were proficient on the SAT, compared to 26.5% statewide. The school shows relative strength in Social Studies (19.4% proficiency) and Evidence-Based Reading and Writing (20.8%). Central spends a substantial $22,764 per student, which is more than double what Oakland International Academy 912 spends, yet that school achieves nearly double Central's proficiency rates in Science and Social Studies. The disconnect between high spending, improved graduation rates, and persistently low test scores suggests the school is successfully keeping students on track for a diploma, but academic skills measured by state assessments are not improving at the same pace. The school's relative success with its African American student population—ranking in the 24th percentile in 2025-2026, up from the 2nd percentile just two years earlier—offers a foundation to build upon.