Central High School

Central High School is a large, traditional comprehensive high school in Memphis, Tennessee, serving 1,331 students in grades 9–12 within the Memphis-Shelby County Schools system. The school's state ranking has remained low but shows signs of improvement, climbing from the 17th percentile in 2023-24 to the 29th percentile in 2025-26.

For parents, the most encouraging news is that Central graduates its students at nearly the statewide rate. Its 2024-25 graduation rate was 90.2%, well above the district's 84.1%, and its dropout rate of 8.9% is dramatically better than the district's 14.4% — and far better than nearby Manassas High School or Hamilton High School. Academically, Geometry stands out as a bright spot, with proficiency at 40.4%, close to the state's 42.3% and well above the district's 27.7%. However, English performance is a real concern: only 15.7% of students scored proficient on English I, far below the state's 37.3%. The most urgent challenge is chronic absenteeism — 35.9% of students were chronically absent in 2024-25, nearly double the state average and well above the district's 30.2%. This rate has climbed steadily from 12.2% in 2020-21.

Compared with nearby schools, Central occupies a middle position. Smaller programs like Crosstown High School, Medical District High School, and Middle College High School rank above Central, while Central outperforms several schools that spend considerably more per student, including Manassas High School, Hamilton High School, and Memphis Academy of Science Engineering Middle/High. Central is the largest school in its immediate area — nearly double the size of the next-largest nearby schools — and spends the least per pupil at $12,857. Attendance and English proficiency are the areas parents will want to watch most closely, but the school's improving graduation rate and notable test-score gains in math suggest momentum worth paying attention to.