Central High
Memphis · TN · Memphis-Shelby County Schools · Public
Similar nearby schools
Most similar nearby schools
Kingsbury High → Overton High → Whitehaven High → Trezevant High → Craigmont High → Germantown High → Hamilton High → Melrose High →📋 At a glance
- 📚 20 AP courses offered — Elite
- ✅ Dual-enrollment program (college credit while in HS)
- ✅ Gifted & talented program
- 🔢 5 calculus classes · 9 physics · 17 chemistry
- 🎓 AP rigor: Top 3.7% of US high schools
- 📝 SAT/ACT participation: Top 4.8% by test-taker volume
- 🎓 4-yr grad rate: 81% (Bottom 27% of US high schools by 4-yr grad rate)
Composed from federal CRDC offerings, EDFacts graduation data, and other public data. Full breakdowns below.
How Central High compares for families
Among the nation's most academically rigorous high schools.
- ▸ StatewideAP rigor sits in the top 3.7% of US high schools with 20 AP courses.
- ▸ LocallyTN sits right at the US average on NAEP 8th-grade math — local school quality will set your kid apart.
- ▸ vs Similar SchoolsThe closest comparables nearby: Kingsbury High, Overton High, Whitehaven High and 5 more. See the sidebar to compare side-by-side.
For Parents
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Objective, government-grade data — no school pays us for placement.
🎓 Academic rigor
AP + advanced-course offerings
Elite — exceptional AP + advanced course breadth
Top 3.7% of US high schools
✅ Gifted/talented program
Source: federal Civil Rights Data Collection (CRDC 2020-21). CRDC reports what's offered + enrolled — it doesn't collect AP exam pass rates (College Board owns that data and doesn't release it school-level).
SAT / ACT participation
CRDC federal data · 2020-21Top 4.8% by test-taker volume
Source: federal Civil Rights Data Collection (CRDC 2020-21). Volume — not score — is what's reported here. A higher count means more students at this school are entering the college admissions pipeline. Note: 2020-21 was COVID-disrupted; some districts (especially those that stayed remote longer) report unusually low or zero takers.
🎓 4-year graduation rate · federal EDFacts
What % of students graduate on time?
Bottom 27% of US high schools by 4-yr grad rate
Source: federal EDFacts ACGR (Adjusted Cohort Graduation Rate), 2019 vintage via Urban Institute. EDFacts publishes a range (low-high) to preserve privacy on small cohorts; we display the midpoint.
👩🏫 Teacher workforce · federal CRDC
Teacher experience & reliability
Source: federal Civil Rights Data Collection (CRDC 2017-18 — the most recent vintage that publishes per-school teacher quality fields; the 2020-21 sweep had them suppressed). "Inexperienced" = teachers in their first or second year. "Chronic absence" = teachers absent 10+ days/year.
🏛️ Your state's public flagship
The University of Tennessee-Knoxville
The in-state tuition gap is the flagship's biggest draw — most in-state families pay far less than the out-of-state sticker. Average net price after aid runs about $18,976/yr. Admission odds depend on your student's GPA and test scores, not which high school they attend.
Source: IPEDS admissions, tuition & enrollment + College Scorecard net price. Flagship = the state's primary public research university.
💰 Pay for college in Tennessee
Tennessee's public scholarships
Tennessee pairs a lottery-funded merit award (HOPE) with the well-known TN Promise, which makes community and technical college essentially free for any graduate.
Lottery-funded merit award — qualify with EITHER a 3.0 weighted GPA OR ACT 21 / SAT 1060. No income limit. (Qualify by either path; enroll within 16 months of graduating.)
Official program details ↗Tuition-free community or technical college for any TN grad — no GPA, test, or income requirement. (Apply senior year; FAFSA, mentor meeting, 8 hrs community service/term.)
Official program details ↗Eligibility rules change yearly — confirm with the official program before relying on it. Amounts are recent published figures; awards cover tuition/fees, not housing or books unless noted. Verified 2026-06-14.
Chronic absenteeism
Why this matters to enrollment: Chronic absence is the strongest early indicator of dropout, transfer-out, and family disengagement. A school's absenteeism trend forecasts its enrollment trend 1-3 years out.
Source: U.S. Department of Education, Civil Rights Data Collection 2020–2021. Rate = students chronically absent ÷ 2024 total enrollment.
Counselor capacity
Source: U.S. Department of Education, Civil Rights Data Collection 2020-2021. Counselor ratio = the school's most recent total enrollment ÷ counselor FTE. The American School Counselor Association (ASCA) recommends a 250:1 maximum; the US national median across schools with on-staff counselors is roughly 430:1.
Enrollment trend & projection
Total enrollment + grade 12, NCES Common Core of Data (2021–2024).
If the recent trend holds…
At its recent rate of +0.6%/year, projecting from 2024's 1,331 students:
An extrapolation of the recent trajectory, not a forecast of the school's plans; ignores one-off shocks.
Revenue upside
At $12,511 per student in district revenue, the 42 students projected to be gained by 2029 represent ≈ $525,462/year in additional funding.
District total revenue ÷ enrollment, NCES F-33. Public funding largely follows enrollment, so a shrinking class is a recurring budget hit.
Most similar nearby high schools
The schools most like this one — same type, blended on distance and size — and where their enrollment is heading. These are the schools families here weigh against each other.
| School | Type | Miles | HS enrollment | Trend |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Kingsbury High Memphis |
Public | 5.8 | 1,383 | +1.6% |
| Overton High Memphis |
Public | 7.4 | 1,417 | +4.0% |
| Whitehaven High Memphis |
Public | 8.2 | 1,509 | +1.9% |
| Trezevant High Memphis |
Public | 6.2 | 883 | +93.6% |
| Craigmont High Memphis |
Public | 9.0 | 968 | +37.9% |
| Germantown High Germantown |
Public | 12.5 | 1,719 | -6.7% |
| Hamilton High Memphis |
Public | 2.3 | 628 | -2.3% |
| Melrose High Memphis |
Public | 3.6 | 645 | -10.9% |