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Kalamazoo Central High School

Public Grades 9-12
380th
SchoolDigger Rank ?
of 739 Michigan High Schools
Better than 49% of Michigan high schools
Summary

Kalamazoo Central High School is a public high school serving 1,651 students in grades 9-12 in Kalamazoo, Michigan. The school is part of the Kalamazoo Public Schools district, which is ranked 416 out of 613 districts in the state and has a 2-star rating from SchoolDigger.

Kalamazoo Central High School's performance has fluctuated over the years, ranking as high as 79th out of 561 Michigan high schools in 2020-2021 with a 4-star rating, but dropping to 380th out of 739 schools with a 2-star rating in the most recent year. The school's graduation rates have ranged from 65.8% to 82.8%, while dropout rates have been between 7.6% and 16.2%. Test scores, particularly in mathematics, are lower than state and district averages, but the school performs better in social studies. Kalamazoo Central High School has a high percentage of students eligible for free or reduced-price lunch, ranging from 54.39% to 63.59%, and its per-student spending has increased from $11,767 in 2020-2021 to $15,410 in 2023-2024.

Compared to nearby schools, such as Phoenix Alternative High School and Kalamazoo Innovative Learning Program, Kalamazoo Central High School appears to be the relatively stronger performing school within the Kalamazoo Public Schools district. However, the district as a whole faces challenges in providing high-quality education across all its schools. With targeted interventions and increased resources, Kalamazoo Central High School has the potential to improve its overall performance and provide a more equitable education for all its students.

1,613
Students ?
23.1
Student/teacher ratio ?
$15,410
Per pupil spending ?
54.2%
Free/discounted lunch ?
 2432 N Drake Rd
       Kalamazoo, MI  49006-1361

(269) 337-0300

District: Kalamazoo Public Schools


Feeder schools for Kalamazoo Central High School:

Elementary:    Arcadia Elementary School
    Indian Prairie Elementary School
    KingWestwood Elementary School
    Northeastern Elementary School
    More...
Middle:    Hillside Middle School
    Linden Grove Middle School
Racial breakdown:

African American:
43.4%
White:
32.5%
Two or more races:
12.1%
more
 See top rated Michigan high schools

 Compare Kalamazoo Central High School to nearby high schools!
At a glance
Ranking trend: Holding steady — 50th percentile in 2015 → 49th in 2025
Worth a look
!Dropout rate above the Michigan average (11% vs 8%)
!High chronic absenteeism (45% vs 28% Michigan)
!Some student groups rank well below the school's overall statewide standing
Students meeting standards (2024-2025) ?
This school37%
District avg37%
Michigan avg40%
380th of 739
Michigan public high schools ?
Bottom 49%▼ down 2 pts since 2015
See the entire ranking list of Michigan High Schools →
SchoolDigger rating ?
2nd of 4High Schools in the Kalamazoo Public Schools
416th of 613Kalamazoo Public Schools among Michigan 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

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankMichigan percentileRating
202548.5380 of 73948.6%★★☆☆☆
202463.1232 of 74368.8%★★★☆☆
202343.2404 of 73545.0%★★☆☆☆
202243.5335 of 53136.9%★★☆☆☆
202180.279 of 56185.9%★★★★☆
201935.5435 of 66634.7%★★☆☆☆
201842.7472 of 82442.7%★★☆☆☆
201730.7521 of 83537.6%★★☆☆☆
201637.7509 of 85240.3%★★☆☆☆
201552.5415 of 83250.1%★★★☆☆
201455.3385 of 79951.8%★★★☆☆
201346.0462 of 80542.6%★★☆☆☆
201252.9408 of 77347.2%★★☆☆☆
201143.9524 of 78433.2%★★☆☆☆
201051.5467 of 76539.0%★★☆☆☆
200960.9372 of 75450.7%★★★☆☆
200850.0459 of 75038.8%★★☆☆☆
200755.6423 of 76744.9%★★☆☆☆
200656.6377 of 70546.5%★★☆☆☆

African American

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankMichigan percentileRating
202549.280 of 19258.3%★★★☆☆
202445.587 of 18853.7%★★★☆☆
202335.5100 of 17041.2%★★☆☆☆
202231.044 of 5113.7%★☆☆☆☆
201926.8103 of 14729.9%★★☆☆☆
201839.5134 of 25447.2%★★☆☆☆

Asian

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankMichigan percentileRating
201858.345 of 8748.3%★★★☆☆

English Language Learner

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankMichigan percentileRating
202457.511 of 4374.4%★★★★☆
201836.753 of 10248.0%★★☆☆☆

Female

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankMichigan percentileRating
202543.6349 of 62944.5%★★☆☆☆
202464.7178 of 61971.2%★★★★☆
202337.2386 of 61136.8%★★☆☆☆
202245.6253 of 41639.2%★★☆☆☆
202164.7125 of 46272.9%★★★★☆
201933.8385 of 55430.5%★★☆☆☆
201835.3464 of 71034.6%★★☆☆☆

Hispanic

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankMichigan percentileRating
202552.190 of 20355.7%★★★☆☆
202445.5104 of 19546.7%★★☆☆☆
202318.1164 of 19013.7%★☆☆☆☆
202227.363 of 8324.1%★☆☆☆☆
202141.042 of 6434.4%★★☆☆☆
201928.866 of 9732.0%★★☆☆☆
201853.186 of 20157.2%★★★☆☆

Low Socio Economic Status

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankMichigan percentileRating
202532.2437 of 63531.2%★★☆☆☆
202445.4326 of 65450.2%★★★☆☆
202326.0478 of 61422.1%★☆☆☆☆
202227.7310 of 36916.0%★☆☆☆☆
202184.943 of 41789.7%★★★★☆
201919.7446 of 53216.2%★☆☆☆☆
201832.5497 of 75534.2%★★☆☆☆

Male

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankMichigan percentileRating
202543.1348 of 62844.6%★★☆☆☆
202448.3299 of 63352.8%★★★☆☆
202338.4383 of 61137.3%★★☆☆☆
202230.5340 of 44022.7%★☆☆☆☆
202188.444 of 47290.7%★★★★★
201926.3413 of 54323.9%★☆☆☆☆
201841.1419 of 70740.7%★★☆☆☆

Multi-racial

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankMichigan percentileRating
202563.743 of 12766.1%★★★☆☆
202436.961 of 10541.9%★★☆☆☆
202351.456 of 11049.1%★★☆☆☆
202258.016 of 3250.0%★★★☆☆
201957.914 of 3661.1%★★★☆☆
201846.744 of 9352.7%★★★☆☆

Special Education

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankMichigan percentileRating
202314.9103 of 11611.2%★☆☆☆☆
201824.1242 of 31523.2%★☆☆☆☆

White

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankMichigan percentileRating
202583.180 of 63987.5%★★★★☆
202487.762 of 63890.3%★★★★★
202372.3147 of 64777.3%★★★★☆
202275.2113 of 49277.0%★★★★☆
202195.425 of 51695.2%★★★★★
201968.0155 of 58273.4%★★★★☆
201859.4269 of 70862.0%★★★☆☆
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 (2025)87th percentile+39 vs school
English Language Learner (2024)74th percentile+6 vs school
Multi-racial (2025)66th percentile+18 vs school
African American (2025)58th percentile+10 vs school
Hispanic (2025)56th percentile+7 vs school
Asian (2018)48th percentile+6 vs school
Male (2025)45th percentile-4 vs school
Female (2025)45th percentile-4 vs school
Low Socio Economic Status (2025)31st percentile-17 vs school
Special Education (2023)11th percentile-34 vs school
By subject vs Michigan (2024-2025) ?
Social Studies47%+5 vs state
Evidence-Based Reading and Writing47%-8 vs state
Science36%~ state avg
Mathematics18%-10 vs state

2.3
3 ratings · 1 written review
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What people are saying
by a parent
Wednesday, May 4, 2022

Open Quote This is by far the most poorly organized school I've ever seen. Administrators have no teaching experience, so they have no idea how to choose quality teachers for the school. Many of the teachers are racist and do not know how to teach students who are from racial and ethnic backgrounds that are different from their own. There are about 5 fights per day and administration does nothing effective to combat the issue. Close Quote





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Frequently Asked Questions about Kalamazoo Central High School

Kalamazoo Central High School ranks 380th of 739 Michigan high schools. SchoolDigger rates this school 2 stars out of 5.

Students at Kalamazoo Central High School are 43% African American, 32% White, 12% Two or more races, 10% Hispanic, 1% Asian.

In the 2024-25 school year, 1,613 students attended Kalamazoo Central High School.


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SchoolDigger data sources: National Center for Education Statistics, U.S. Department of Education, the U.S. Census Bureau and the Michigan 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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