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Central High School

Public Grades 9-12
423rd
SchoolDigger Rank ?
of 434 New Jersey High Schools
Better than 3% of New Jersey high schools
Summary

Central High School is a public high school located in Newark, New Jersey, serving grades 9-12 with a total enrollment of 826 students. The school is part of the Newark Public School District, which is ranked 534 out of 609 districts in New Jersey and has a 1-star rating from SchoolDigger.

Central High School consistently ranks in the bottom 10% of New Jersey high schools, with a ranking between 402-423 out of 405-434 schools over the past 10 years. The school's performance on standardized tests is significantly below the state and district averages, with only 11.6% of 9th-grade students proficient or better in NJSLA/English Language Arts, compared to 49.9% statewide and 36% in the Newark Public School District. Central High School's four-year graduation rate has also declined, from 91.1% in 2022-2023 to 86.3% in 2023-2024, and the school's dropout rate has increased from 1.2% to 2.4% during the same period.

While Central High School's performance is generally lower than that of nearby schools, such as Arts High School, Malcolm X Shabazz High School, and Science Park High School, the school does outperform some nearby schools, such as West Side High School and American History High School, in certain areas like graduation rates and English Language Learner (ELL) student performance. The higher spending at Central High School, at $16,638 per student, does not seem to translate into significantly better academic outcomes, suggesting that resource allocation may not be the sole factor driving the school's performance.

1,051
Students ?
13.5
Student/teacher ratio ?
$16,638
Per pupil spending ?
74.5%
Free/discounted lunch ?
 250 18th Avenue
       Newark, NJ  07103

(973) 733-6378

District: Newark Public School District

Racial breakdown:

African American:
52.7%
Hispanic:
44.2%
Two or more races:
0.9%
more
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At a glance
▬ Ranking trend: Holding steady — 3rd percentile in 2015 → 3rd in 2025
Worth a look
!Test scores below the New Jersey average (15% vs 48% meeting standards)
!In the lower quartile statewide (3rd percentile)
!Graduation rate below the New Jersey average (77% vs 91%)
Students meeting standards (2024-2025) ?
This school15%
District avg31%
New Jersey avg48%
423rd of 434
New Jersey public high schools ?
Bottom 3%▼ down 1 pts since 2015
See the entire ranking list of New Jersey High Schools →
★★★★★
SchoolDigger rating ?
11th of 13High Schools in the Newark Public School District
534th of 609Newark Public School District among New Jersey 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 rankNew Jersey percentileRating
20258.5423 of 4342.5%☆☆☆☆☆
20248.6413 of 4293.7%☆☆☆☆☆
202310.2404 of 4224.3%☆☆☆☆☆
20229.0411 of 4151.0%☆☆☆☆☆
20215.7402 of 4050.7%☆☆☆☆☆
20198.2404 of 4162.9%☆☆☆☆☆
201814.4374 of 4159.9%★☆☆☆☆
201713.2379 of 4117.8%☆☆☆☆☆
201613.3393 of 4093.9%☆☆☆☆☆
201514.7392 of 4063.4%☆☆☆☆☆
20146.3379 of 4117.8%☆☆☆☆☆
20135.3370 of 3966.6%☆☆☆☆☆
20122.4372 of 3884.1%☆☆☆☆☆
20115.5350 of 3787.4%☆☆☆☆☆
20100.1368 of 3710.8%☆☆☆☆☆
20090.6364 of 3701.6%☆☆☆☆☆
20080.2355 of 3591.1%☆☆☆☆☆
20070.3356 of 3611.4%☆☆☆☆☆
20060.1351 of 3571.7%☆☆☆☆☆
20050.1348 of 3510.9%☆☆☆☆☆
20040.2343 of 3481.4%☆☆☆☆☆
20030.2339 of 3431.2%☆☆☆☆☆

African American

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankNew Jersey percentileRating
202520.4251 of 28311.3%★☆☆☆☆
202415.0257 of 2828.9%☆☆☆☆☆
202318.1236 of 2505.6%☆☆☆☆☆
202218.2242 of 2565.5%☆☆☆☆☆
202117.2240 of 2472.8%☆☆☆☆☆
201917.9233 of 2548.3%☆☆☆☆☆
201821.3240 of 2669.8%★☆☆☆☆

English Language Learner

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankNew Jersey percentileRating
202524.9175 of 21518.6%★☆☆☆☆
202430.2129 of 19132.5%★★☆☆☆
202346.163 of 16160.9%★★★☆☆
202224.4125 of 1378.8%☆☆☆☆☆
202130.174 of 10126.7%★☆☆☆☆
201922.7129 of 1386.5%☆☆☆☆☆
201842.864 of 14656.2%★★★☆☆

Female

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankNew Jersey percentileRating
20257.1411 of 4263.5%☆☆☆☆☆
20249.3398 of 4205.2%☆☆☆☆☆
202310.3385 of 4167.5%☆☆☆☆☆
20227.6408 of 4141.4%☆☆☆☆☆
20216.4397 of 4021.2%☆☆☆☆☆
20195.9395 of 4083.2%☆☆☆☆☆
201811.4382 of 4035.2%☆☆☆☆☆

Hispanic

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankNew Jersey percentileRating
202511.5385 of 4065.2%☆☆☆☆☆
202414.1375 of 4036.9%☆☆☆☆☆
202316.5347 of 3859.9%★☆☆☆☆
202212.6370 of 3823.1%☆☆☆☆☆
202110.8371 of 3740.8%☆☆☆☆☆
20199.8351 of 3643.6%☆☆☆☆☆
20186.5361 of 3681.9%☆☆☆☆☆

Low Socio Economic Status

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankNew Jersey percentileRating
202513.2354 of 3776.1%☆☆☆☆☆
202415.4331 of 3587.5%☆☆☆☆☆
202315.3328 of 3444.7%☆☆☆☆☆
202213.7309 of 3244.6%☆☆☆☆☆
20219.3323 of 3260.9%☆☆☆☆☆
201912.7326 of 3476.1%☆☆☆☆☆
201817.8318 of 3457.8%☆☆☆☆☆

Male

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankNew Jersey percentileRating
20258.2404 of 4265.2%☆☆☆☆☆
20247.6404 of 4193.6%☆☆☆☆☆
20237.5399 of 4143.6%☆☆☆☆☆
20229.1387 of 4105.6%☆☆☆☆☆
20217.1399 of 4020.7%☆☆☆☆☆
20197.1396 of 4072.7%☆☆☆☆☆
201810.6391 of 4053.5%☆☆☆☆☆

Special Education

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankNew Jersey percentileRating
202547.7145 of 35959.6%★★★☆☆
202419.8315 of 36112.7%★☆☆☆☆
202319.8302 of 33910.9%★☆☆☆☆
202218.8334 of 3442.9%☆☆☆☆☆
201919.1315 of 3499.7%★☆☆☆☆
201824.2302 of 35514.9%★☆☆☆☆
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)
Special Education (2025)60th percentile+57 vs school
English Language Learner (2025)19th percentile+16 vs school
African American (2025)11th percentile+9 vs school
Low Socio Economic Status (2025)6th percentile+4 vs school
Hispanic (2025)5th percentile+3 vs school
Male (2025)5th percentile+3 vs school
Female (2025)4th percentile~ school
By subject vs New Jersey (2024-2025) ?
Mathematics15%-43 vs state
English Language Arts12%-38 vs state
Science6%-25 vs state
Algebra I3%-28 vs state

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Frequently Asked Questions about Central High School

Students at Central High School are 53% African American, 44% Hispanic.

Central High School ranks in the bottom 2.5% of New Jersey high schools.

In the 2024-25 school year, 1,051 students attended Central High School.


Rate 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 New Jersey 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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