Enrollment
354
Alabama · 2024-25 NCES data
Other / mixed grade configuration · Rockford, AL
Central High School
Federal NCES profile for Central High School, including enrollment, faculty, free-lunch eligibility, demographics, and resource indicators - Resource Investment Index 39/100.
2024-25 NCES dataOther / mixed grade configurationNCES 010090001749
👥 S:T ratio 17
🌟 Gifted program 70
🎓 Counselors 29
📋 Attendance 39
Scored 0–100 from federal NCES and CRDC indicators, resource allocation, not test scores. Full methodology →
The verdict
Central High School earns 39/100 on the Resource Investment Index, with class sizes larger than 89% of Alabama schools.
- 39
- Resource Index · Typical
- 20.8:1
- large classes for Alabama
- 55.5%
- free-lunch eligible
- 354
- students enrolled
Central High School has class sizes larger than 89% of Alabama schools. Computed live against every Alabama school reporting to NCES.
School address
District: Coosa County · Alabama
NCES ID 010090001749 Verify on NCES CCD record →
Teachers (FTE)
17.0
Federal CCD staff survey
Students per teacher
20.8:1
vs 17.7:1 Alabama avg
+18% vs state
Free-lunch eligible
55.5%
vs 58.8% Alabama avg
-6% vs state
Student-teacher ratio in context
How Central High School compares with Alabama and U.S. medians
What stands out at Central High School
Central High School is a higher-need, mid-sized combined-grade school in Rockford, Alabama, enrolling 354 students.
Class loads run heavy: 20.8:1 is larger than about 89% of Alabama schools and 18% above the 17.7:1 state mean, so each teacher carries more students than is typical.
Its free-meal eligibility rate of 55.5% lands close to the Alabama typical range, neither a high- nor low-need campus by this measure.
Enrollment of 354 puts it in the smaller third of Alabama schools by headcount.
Its Resource Investment Index sits near the middle of the pack among 1,365 scored Alabama schools.
Against 341 statewide peers matched on enrollment and economic need, it ranks mid-pack at #200.
Its student body is led by White (46%) and African American (45%) (diversity index 58/100).
Counselor availability sits well past the ASCA benchmark, roughly 354 students sharing each counselor, though short of the most stretched campuses.
Attendance runs somewhat below the norm, with 24.3% of students chronically absent per the 2021-22 civil-rights collection.
The surrounding Coosa County spends $15,283 per pupil, 22% above the Alabama average, a better-resourced district than most.
Its district draws 28.7% of revenue from federal sources, an above-typical federal share that tends to track a higher-need student population.
Discipline events run high: 272 in- and out-of-school suspensions were reported for 354 students in the 2021-22 Civil Rights Data Collection.
Its district, Coosa County, also runs Central Elementary School (397 students).
Sourced from NCES CCD, CRDC, and F-33 (federal records, not a quality verdict). How we source and compute this.
Source: National Center for Education Statistics Common Core of Data + CRDC + F-33 · 2024-25
How Central High School compares
Central High School on the metrics families compare, against Alabama and U.S. means.
| Metric | This school | vs Alabama | Alabama avg | U.S. avg |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Students per teacher | 20.8:1 | ▲ 18% | 17.7:1 | 15.7:1 |
| Free-lunch eligible | 55.5% | ▼ 6% | 58.8% | 51.7% |
| Enrollment | 354 | top 73% | - | - |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data School-level CCD + state/national means from Public School Universe · 2024-25
20.8:1
Leaner classes than 13% of US schools, heavier class loads than most.
354
Bigger than 40% of US schools by enrollment, mid-sized for the country.
Equity indicators (what these measure)
Economic need
55.5%
free-lunch eligible
- 6% below the Alabama average of 58.8%
Above the 40% Title I schoolwide threshold; federal funds support the whole school, not individual students.
Staffing depth
20.8:1
students per teacher
- 18% above state mean
Top 89% in Alabama - lower ratio than 11% of state schools
Above 20:1, running heavier than the typical U.S. public school; staffing is comparatively stretched.
Engagement
24.3%
chronically absent (missed 10%+ of school days)
At or above 20%, the commonly used threshold for "high" chronic absenteeism, signaling significant barriers to regular attendance.
Funding equity
$15,283
per pupil, district-wide
- above Alabama avg of $12,491
Somewhat below the U.S. average per-pupil spend; funding constraints may affect programs, facilities, and staffing.
Support staff
Counselors1.0 FTE
Per 354 students, the combined health-and-guidance staffing load for this school.
Discipline context
133
in-school suspensions + 139 out-of-school
Suspension rate: 37.6 per 100 students. Combined in-school and out-of-school rate: 76.8 per 100 students. Reported via the Civil Rights Data Collection.
Overview
- Common Core of Data (June 2026): enrollment, staffing, and the student-teacher ratio above.
- Civil Rights Data Collection: discipline counts and program access (AP, gifted, special education).
- F-33 School District Finance Survey: the district-wide per-pupil spending figures below.
Three separate federal collections, each on its own reporting cadence - which is why this school's numbers line up on a consistent basis against every other school and state on this site, rather than mixing figures pulled from different survey years.
Student demographics
White 45.8%
African American 45.2%
Hispanic or Latino 5.9%
Two or More 2.8%
American Indian / Alaska Native 0.3%
Largest group: White at 45.8% of enrollment.
Student-body diversity index 58.2/100
Simpson diversity index - at 58.2, Central High School is more mixed than the Alabama school average of 42.5.
Programs
Gifted & talented Yes
Funding & spending
District-wide per-pupil expenditure for Coosa County, which includes Central High School.
$15,283
Per student
+22%
vs Alabama
Avg $12,491
-8%
vs U.S.
Avg $16,593
Revenue mix
Local 32.7%
State 38.5%
Federal 28.7%
Source: NCES F-33 School District Finance Survey District-level finance · FY 2021-22 Per-pupil expenditure reflects the district-wide average. Individual school budgets are not reported at the federal level.
How Central High School Compares to District-Mates
| School | Enrollment | Economic Profile | Student-Teacher Ratio |
|---|---|---|---|
| Central Elementary School | Similar size | Similar economic need | Lower S:T ratio |
Comparisons are relative to Central High School's own figures; each column derives from NCES Common Core of Data.
Other Schools in This District
- Enrollment
- 397
- Students per teacher
- 15.9:1
- Resource Index
- 39/100
Similar other schools statewide
Matched by enrollment size and by staffing ratio across all of Alabama, not just this city - a different peer set than the local comparisons above.
Similar enrollment (~354 students)
Next steps
Verify locally before acting on Central High School's federal record.
- Compare Central High School against another school. Compare schools
- Coosa County's spending and staffing shape this school. District profile
- Confirm current enrollment and boundaries with the school. Choosing guide
Federal record (CCD 2024-25, CRDC 2021-22) - PlainSchools assigns no subjective rating; the composite quality score is a transparent, reproducible index computed from this cited federal data.
Frequently asked questions about Central High School
How many students attend Central High School?
Central High School has 354 students enrolled. It is a public school in Rockford, AL.
What is the student-teacher ratio at Central High School?
The student-teacher ratio at Central High School is 20.8:1, which is 18% higher than the Alabama average of 17.7:1 and 32% higher than the national average of 15.7:1.
What percentage of students receive free lunch at Central High School?
55.5% of students at Central High School are eligible for free lunch, compared to the Alabama average of 58.8%.
What is the racial and ethnic makeup of Central High School?
The largest demographic group at Central High School is White at 45.8% of enrollment, in Rockford, AL. Its student body is more racially and ethnically mixed than most US schools, with a diversity index of 58.2/100.
What is the Resource Investment Index for Central High School?
Central High School has a Resource Investment Index of 39/100 (typical reported resources relative to schools nationally) based on 4 factors: student-teacher ratio, counselor availability, attendance rates. Not a test-score or academic measure (national median ~41/100, see methodology).
Is Central High School a good school?
Central High School earns 39/100 on the Resource Investment Index, with class sizes larger than 89% of Alabama schools. This is a resource snapshot, not an academic rating; see the Resource Investment Index question above for what the number does and doesn't measure.
What other schools are in Coosa County?
Besides Central High School, Coosa County also operates Central Elementary School (397 students). See the Coosa County district page for the complete list.
Related tools
Every figure on PlainSchools is rendered directly from the source NCES, CRDC and F-33 federal records, no number is typed in by an editor. Each school's figures reflect its most recent NCES/CRDC submission on file. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error. Data current as of June 2026.