Beta You're viewing our redesigned school page. Prefer the classic layout?

Central High School

Q: Is Central High School a good school?

Central High School ranks 299 th of 400 Tennessee high schools. SchoolDigger rates this school 1 star out of 5.

Q: How many students attend Central High School?

In the 2024-25 school year, 617 students attended Central High School.

Q: What is the racial makeup of Central High School?

Students at Central High School are 43% African American, 36% White, 11% Two or more races, 9% Hispanic.

Q: What schools feed into Central High School?

Central High School is fed by the following schools: Elementary : Harrison Elementary School Elementary : Ooltewah Elementary School Elementary : Snow Hill Elementary School Elementary : Wallace A. Smith Elementary School Middle : Brown Middle School Middle : Hunter Middle School

Public Grades 9-12

299^th

SchoolDigger Rank ?

of 400 Tennessee High Schools

Better than 25% of Tennessee high schools

Summary

Central High School is a public high school in Harrison, Tennessee, serving 617 students in grades 9–12 as part of Hamilton County Schools. The school currently holds a 1-star state rating and ranks 299th out of 400 Tennessee high schools, placing it in the bottom quarter of the state.

Academically, proficiency rates at Central are far below state averages in every subject. For example, only 13.7% of students are proficient in Algebra I (compared to 32.3% statewide), and just 6.7% are proficient in US History, a staggering gap of nearly 36 percentage points. The nearby Ooltewah High School, located just 4.3 miles away, outperforms Central in every subject, and East Hamilton High School and Soddy Daisy High School also post significantly higher scores. What makes this especially notable is that Central spends $18,211 per pupil — more than East Hamilton, Ooltewah, or Soddy Daisy — yet achieves considerably weaker results.

There are promising signs worth acknowledging. Central's graduation rate has climbed steadily from 78.7% to 88.6% over the past two years, and chronic absenteeism has dropped from 33.6% to 25.0%. The dropout rate also improved from 12.4% to 9.1%. Perhaps the standout bright spot is Central's support for homeless students, who rank 2nd in the entire state for academic performance. However, these gains in retention and attendance have not yet translated into stronger test scores. For parents, Central offers a school that is clearly working to keep students engaged and graduating, but one where core math and literacy mastery remains a serious concern that needs immediate attention.

617

Students ?

15.0

Student/teacher ratio ?

$18,211

Per pupil spending ?

43.8%

Directly certified for free meals (2024-25) ?

5728 Highway 58
Harrison, TN 37341

(423) 344-1447

District: Hamilton County Schools

Feeder schools for Central High School:

Elementary:	Harrison Elementary School
	Ooltewah Elementary School
	Snow Hill Elementary School
	Wallace A. Smith Elementary School
Middle:	Brown Middle School
	Hunter Middle School

Racial breakdown:

African American:

42.8%

White:

36.3%

Two or more races:

11.3%

See top rated Tennessee high schools

Compare Central High School to nearby high schools!

At a glance

▬ Ranking trend: Holding steady — 25th percentile in 2016 → 25th in 2026

Strengths

✓94% graduate in 4 years — above the Tennessee average (91%)

Worth a look

!Test scores below the Tennessee average (25% vs 43% meeting standards)

!US History scores 36 pts below the Tennessee average

Students meeting standards (2025-2026) ?

This school25%

District avg43%

Tennessee avg43%

299^th of 400

Tennessee public high schools ?

Bottom 25%▲ up 1 pts since 2016

See the entire ranking list of Tennessee High Schools →

★★★★★

SchoolDigger rating ?

11^th of 17High Schools in the Hamilton County Schools

81^st of 141Hamilton County Schools among Tennessee 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

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Tennessee percentile	Rating
2026	27.1	299 of 400	25.3%	★☆☆☆☆
2025	21.8	319 of 389	18.0%	★☆☆☆☆
2024	24.7	306 of 392	21.9%	★☆☆☆☆
2023	36.0	239 of 384	37.8%	★★☆☆☆
2022	37.0	223 of 358	37.7%	★★☆☆☆
2021	38.4	210 of 347	39.5%	★★☆☆☆
2019	27.7	264 of 342	22.8%	★☆☆☆☆
2018	26.0	269 of 341	21.1%	★☆☆☆☆
2017	22.6	232 of 273	15.0%	★☆☆☆☆
2016	29.3	265 of 351	24.5%	★☆☆☆☆
2015	33.5	256 of 300	14.7%	★☆☆☆☆
2014	39.7	211 of 296	28.7%	★☆☆☆☆
2013	46.1	197 of 285	30.9%	★★☆☆☆
2012	29.6	231 of 269	14.1%	★☆☆☆☆
2011	57.7	134 of 273	50.9%	★★★☆☆
2010	34.5	214 of 267	19.9%	★☆☆☆☆

African American

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Tennessee percentile	Rating
2026	32.9	152 of 230	33.9%	★★☆☆☆
2025	21.7	192 of 233	17.6%	★☆☆☆☆
2024	22.0	193 of 240	19.6%	★☆☆☆☆
2023	35.7	142 of 239	40.6%	★★☆☆☆
2022	43.4	106 of 222	52.3%	★★★☆☆
2021	39.1	115 of 208	44.7%	★★☆☆☆
2019	34.6	114 of 187	39.0%	★★☆☆☆
2018	23.2	167 of 199	16.1%	★☆☆☆☆

Female

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Tennessee percentile	Rating
2025	22.9	301 of 365	17.5%	★☆☆☆☆
2024	25.4	280 of 365	23.3%	★☆☆☆☆
2023	34.8	243 of 366	33.6%	★★☆☆☆
2022	33.4	238 of 350	32.0%	★★☆☆☆
2021	33.5	230 of 340	32.4%	★★☆☆☆
2019	30.4	255 of 337	24.3%	★☆☆☆☆

Hispanic

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Tennessee percentile	Rating
2026	23.6	194 of 229	15.3%	★☆☆☆☆
2025	33.1	149 of 213	30.0%	★★☆☆☆
2024	46.7	92 of 209	56.0%	★★★☆☆
2023	40.6	107 of 202	47.0%	★★☆☆☆
2022	47.4	81 of 189	57.1%	★★★☆☆
2021	75.2	20 of 180	88.9%	★★★★☆
2019	52.1	55 of 153	64.1%	★★★☆☆
2018	40.8	85 of 159	46.5%	★★☆☆☆

Homeless

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Tennessee percentile	Rating
2025	86.2	2 of 26	92.3%	★★★★★

Low Socio Economic Status

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Tennessee percentile	Rating
2026	25.7	248 of 308	19.5%	★☆☆☆☆
2025	19.4	291 of 324	10.2%	★☆☆☆☆
2024	31.9	241 of 337	28.5%	★☆☆☆☆
2023	34.1	229 of 330	30.6%	★★☆☆☆
2022	33.5	219 of 322	32.0%	★★☆☆☆
2021	25.7	249 of 317	21.5%	★☆☆☆☆
2019	21.9	263 of 302	12.9%	★☆☆☆☆
2018	17.1	282 of 308	8.4%	☆☆☆☆☆

Male

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Tennessee percentile	Rating
2025	19.1	305 of 368	17.1%	★☆☆☆☆
2024	21.7	297 of 366	18.9%	★☆☆☆☆
2023	33.4	234 of 359	34.8%	★★☆☆☆
2022	34.2	226 of 349	35.2%	★★☆☆☆
2021	43.6	158 of 332	52.4%	★★★☆☆
2019	26.5	265 of 329	19.5%	★☆☆☆☆

Special Education

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Tennessee percentile	Rating
2026	27.1	175 of 210	16.7%	★☆☆☆☆
2025	30.0	142 of 198	28.3%	★☆☆☆☆
2024	34.7	111 of 183	39.3%	★★☆☆☆
2023	43.1	72 of 154	53.2%	★★★☆☆
2022	57.1	33 of 151	78.1%	★★★★☆

White

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Tennessee percentile	Rating
2026	32.1	239 of 330	27.6%	★☆☆☆☆
2025	29.9	231 of 323	28.5%	★☆☆☆☆
2024	29.9	243 of 326	25.5%	★☆☆☆☆
2023	43.7	167 of 325	48.6%	★★☆☆☆
2022	42.9	164 of 312	47.4%	★★☆☆☆
2021	47.6	133 of 306	56.5%	★★★☆☆
2019	36.5	188 of 301	37.5%	★★☆☆☆
2018	33.9	218 of 307	29.0%	★☆☆☆☆

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)

Homeless (2025)92nd percentile+74 vs school

African American (2026)34th percentile+9 vs school

White (2026)28th percentile~ school

Low Socio Economic Status (2026)19th percentile-6 vs school

Female (2025)18th percentile~ school

Male (2025)17th percentile~ school

Special Education (2026)17th percentile-9 vs school

Hispanic (2026)15th percentile-10 vs school

By subject vs Tennessee (2025-2026) ?

English II38%-20 vs state

Biology I37%-13 vs state

Geometry28%-14 vs state

English I19%-19 vs state

Algebra I14%-19 vs state

Algebra II13%-24 vs state

US History7%-36 vs state

★

No ratings yet

Be the first to rate Central High School and help other families decide.

Rate Central High School

Have first-hand experience? A quick rating - and a sentence or two about what stands out (teachers, academics, safety, communication) - helps other families know what to expect.

Takes about a minute. We email you a link to verify your review - your address is never shown publicly.

Tap a star to rate

Reviews

No written reviews yet. If you know this school, be the first to share what stands out.

Schools Near Central High School

Load more schools when map is moved

Ranking:

E Elementary M Middle H High A Alternative P Private

Choose columns to see: Summary School Students/Teachers Ranking Test Scores Finance All

School													Students/Teachers											Ranking (2026)				Ranking (2025)				TNReady Mathematics (2026)				TNReady English Language Arts (2026)				TNReady Algebra I (2026)					TNReady Algebra II (2026)					TNReady Biology I (2026)					TNReady US History (2026)					TNReady English I (2026)					TNReady English II (2026)					TNReady Geometry (2026)					TNReady Science (2026)				TNReady Social Studies (2026)				Per Pupil Expenditures (2025)
Name	Type	Grades	Address	City	Zip	County	District	Is Charter	Is Magnet	Is Virtual	Is Title I	Phone	Enrollment	Full-time Teachers	Student/ Teacher Ratio	Directly certified (2024-25)	White	Black	Hispanic	Asian	American Indian	Pacific Islander	Two or More Races	Average Standard Score (2026)	Statewide Rank (2026)	State Percentile (2026)	SchoolDigger Rating (2026)	Average Standard Score (2025)	Statewide Rank (2025)	State Percentile (2025)	Rank Change from Previous Year	TNReady Mathematics 6th Grade	TNReady Mathematics 7th Grade	TNReady Mathematics 8th Grade	TNReady Mathematics All Grades	TNReady English Language Arts 6th Grade	TNReady English Language Arts 7th Grade	TNReady English Language Arts 8th Grade	TNReady English Language Arts All Grades	TNReady Algebra I 9th Grade	TNReady Algebra I 10th Grade	TNReady Algebra I 11th Grade	TNReady Algebra I 12th Grade	TNReady Algebra I All Grades	TNReady Algebra II 9th Grade	TNReady Algebra II 10th Grade	TNReady Algebra II 11th Grade	TNReady Algebra II 12th Grade	TNReady Algebra II All Grades	TNReady Biology I 9th Grade	TNReady Biology I 10th Grade	TNReady Biology I 11th Grade	TNReady Biology I 12th Grade	TNReady Biology I All Grades	TNReady US History 9th Grade	TNReady US History 10th Grade	TNReady US History 11th Grade	TNReady US History 12th Grade	TNReady US History All Grades	TNReady English I 9th Grade	TNReady English I 10th Grade	TNReady English I 11th Grade	TNReady English I 12th Grade	TNReady English I All Grades	TNReady English II 9th Grade	TNReady English II 10th Grade	TNReady English II 11th Grade	TNReady English II 12th Grade	TNReady English II All Grades	TNReady Geometry 9th Grade	TNReady Geometry 10th Grade	TNReady Geometry 11th Grade	TNReady Geometry 12th Grade	TNReady Geometry All Grades	TNReady Science 6th Grade	TNReady Science 7th Grade	TNReady Science 8th Grade	TNReady Science All Grades	TNReady Social Studies 6th Grade	TNReady Social Studies 7th Grade	TNReady Social Studies 8th Grade	TNReady Social Studies All Grades	Per Pupil Expenditures Total	Sub-total from Federal Funds	Sub-total from State/Local Funds
Central High School	Public	9-12	5728 Highway 58	Harrison	37341	Hamilton County	Hamilton County Schools	No	No	No	Yes	(423) 344-1447	670	45	15.0	43.8%	244 (36.4%)	291 (43.4%)	55 (8.2%)	1 (0.1%)	1 (0.1%)	0 (0.0%)	78 (11.6%)	27.1	299^th of 400 public high schools	25.3%		21.8	319^th of 389 public high schools	18.0%	20									14.5				13.7			11.2	18.2	12.9		38.4	33.3		37.0			< 5%		6.7	19.0				18.6		39.4			38.5		28.2	12.5		28.3									$18,211	$994	$16,587
Tyner Middle High Academy	Public	6-12	6836 Tyner Road	Chattanooga	37421	Hamilton County	Hamilton County Schools	No	(n/a)	(n/a)	(n/a)	(423) 855-2635				—															(n/a)	13.7	16.0	39.1	23.4	10.4	9.6	9.7	9.9	29.2				28.9		50.0	32.2		33.1	14.3	50.3			46.4			< 5%		5.4	12.3				12.1	< 5%	57.0			52.0	10.5	46.9			42.5	21.1	18.7	39.4	26.8	14.5	30.9	40.6	29.3
Ooltewah High School	Public	9-12	6123 Mountain View Road	Ooltewah	37363	Hamilton County	Hamilton County Schools	No	No	No	No	(423) 498-6920	1,275	76	16.8	20.1%	652 (51.1%)	216 (16.9%)	253 (19.8%)	34 (2.7%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	120 (9.4%)	57.1	144^th of 400 public high schools	64.0%		46.5	190^th of 389 public high schools	51.2%	46									27.2				26.6		80.0	17.8	12.1	28.7	84.6	45.7	57.5		53.7				6.3	12.5	33.9				33.4		68.0			66.1	89.7	38.0	15.4		46.7									$16,249	$899	$14,942
Hamilton County Collegiate High at Chattanooga State	Public	9-12	4501 Amnicola Highway	Chattanooga	37406	Hamilton County	Hamilton County Schools	No	No	No	No	(423) 697-4492	135	4	38.5	5.0%	93 (68.9%)	6 (4.4%)	17 (12.6%)	6 (4.4%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	13 (9.6%)	95.2	9^th of 400 public high schools	97.8%					(n/a)															94.7	87.1		90.2											≥ 95%				≥ 95%		≥ 95%			≥ 95%	≥ 95%	≥ 95%			≥ 95%									$12,567	$574	$11,967
Hixson High School	Public	9-12	5705 Middle Valley Road	Hixson	37343	Hamilton County	Hamilton County Schools	No	No	No	No	(423) 847-4800	887	58	15.3	23.8%	473 (53.3%)	143 (16.1%)	158 (17.8%)	34 (3.8%)	3 (0.3%)	0 (0.0%)	76 (8.6%)	46.4	207^th of 400 public high schools	48.3%		52.1	163^rd of 389 public high schools	58.1%	44									25.3				25.0		78.1	11.9		21.8	76.9	47.2	50.0		49.8			15.8		18.5	29.2				28.8		53.8	13.3		49.8	89.3	32.0			38.2									$17,397	$1,082	$15,834
STEM School Chattanooga	Public	9-12	4501 Amnicola Highway	Chattanooga	37406	Hamilton County	Hamilton County Schools	No	No	No	No	(423) 531-6270	273	20	13.7	17.6%	159 (58.2%)	51 (18.7%)	24 (8.8%)	8 (2.9%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	31 (11.4%)	89.4	19^th of 400 public high schools	95.3%		92.2	15^th of 389 public high schools	96.1%	4									27.7				27.7		94.4	51.0		64.3			71.6		71.6						57.3				57.3		87.3			87.3	92.6	78.6			83.1									$16,773	$568	$16,180
Brainerd High School	Public	9-12	1020 N Moore Road	Chattanooga	37411	Hamilton County	Hamilton County Schools	No	No	No	Yes	(423) 855-2615	732	46	15.8	63.6%	28 (3.8%)	555 (75.8%)	107 (14.6%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	42 (5.7%)	14	357^th of 400 public high schools	10.8%		12.1	359^th of 389 public high schools	7.7%	2									7.1				7.1		50.0	15.4		21.5		24.5			21.8			8.3		11.5	< 5%				< 5%		24.2			22.0		11.5	< 5%		10.2									$18,581	$1,552	$16,507
East Hamilton High School	Public	9-12	2015 Ooltewah-Ringgold Road	Ooltewah	37363	Hamilton County	Hamilton County Schools	No	No	No	No	(423) 893-3535	1,263	67	18.9	13.9%	674 (53.4%)	233 (18.4%)	164 (13.0%)	75 (5.9%)	2 (0.2%)	0 (0.0%)	115 (9.1%)	83.3	35^th of 400 public high schools	91.3%		90.3	20^th of 389 public high schools	94.9%	15									31.4				30.4		86.7	53.3	28.6	60.0		72.4	73.8		73.1						45.1				45.1		67.6			65.1	90.7	64.5			70.3									$15,473	$645	$14,496
Sequoyah High School	Public	10-12	9517 W Ridge Trail Road	Soddy Daisy	37379	Hamilton County	Hamilton County Schools	No	No	No	Yes	(423) 843-4707	222	26	8.4	20.4%	201 (90.5%)	6 (2.7%)	4 (1.8%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	11 (5.0%)	15.9	348^th of 400 public high schools	13.0%		23.4	310^th of 389 public high schools	20.3%	38																< 5%		< 5%																	38.6			38.6		14.6			14.0									$21,413	$687	$19,884
Soddy Daisy High School	Public	9-12	618 Sequoyah- Access Road	Soddy Daisy	37379	Hamilton County	Hamilton County Schools	No	No	No	No	(423) 332-8828	1,118	72	15.5	15.3%	941 (84.2%)	18 (1.6%)	75 (6.7%)	10 (0.9%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	74 (6.6%)	69.3	90^th of 400 public high schools	77.5%		73.4	64^th of 389 public high schools	83.5%	26									22.1				21.4		88.4	35.9		52.2	< 5%	62.8			57.9			11.8		9.1	41.2				40.8	7.1	69.7			66.7	80.4	45.9			56.8									$15,670	$691	$14,646

Frequently Asked Questions about Central High School

What is the racial makeup of Central High School?

Students at Central High School are 43% African American, 36% White, 11% Two or more races, 9% Hispanic.

How many students attend Central High School?

In the 2024-25 school year, 617 students attended Central High School.

Is Central High School a good school?

Central High School ranks 299^th of 400 Tennessee high schools. SchoolDigger rates this school 1 star out of 5.

What district is Central High School in?

Hamilton County Schools

What schools feed into Central High School?

Central High School is fed by the following schools:

Elementary : Harrison Elementary School
Elementary : Ooltewah Elementary School
Elementary : Snow Hill Elementary School
Elementary : Wallace A. Smith Elementary School
Middle : Brown Middle School
Middle : Hunter Middle School

Rate Central High School!

Other helpful SchoolDigger resources...

Compare to nearby schools

TNTennessee High School Rankings

TNTennessee District Rankings

Schools in Harrison, TN

Sign up for updates!

Be the first to know when there is an update for Central High School!

Latest Tennessee data All new data »

2025–26 graduation ratesNewOct 29, 2026

2025–26 TNReady test scoresAug 25, 2026

2024–25 dropout ratesApr 2, 2026

2024–25 school spending dataFeb 27, 2026

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