Enrollment
617
Tennessee · 2024-25 NCES data
High school (grades 9-12) · Harrison, TN
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 dataHigh school (grades 9-12)NCES 470159000495
👥 S:T ratio 57
📚 AP courses 10
🌟 Gifted program 70
🎓 Counselors 59
📋 Attendance 0
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 smaller than 90% of Tennessee schools. It is also more racially and ethnically mixed than most Tennessee schools.
- 39
- Resource Index · Typical
- 10.8:1
- small classes for Tennessee
- 617
- students enrolled
Central High School has class sizes smaller than 90% of Tennessee schools. Computed live against every Tennessee school reporting to NCES.
School address
District: Hamilton County · Tennessee
NCES ID 470159000495 Verify on NCES CCD record →
Teachers (FTE)
57.0
Federal CCD staff survey
Students per teacher
10.8:1
vs 15.3:1 Tennessee avg
-29% vs state
Student-teacher ratio in context
How Central High School compares with Tennessee and U.S. medians
What stands out at Central High School
Central High School is a mid-sized high school in Harrison, Tennessee, enrolling 617 students.
Classes run notably small here: at 10.8:1, Central High School is leaner than roughly 90% of Tennessee schools and 29% under the state's 15.3:1 norm, more adult attention per pupil than most peers.
Enrollment of 617 puts it in the larger third of Tennessee schools by headcount.
Its Resource Investment Index sits near the middle of the pack among 1,838 scored Tennessee schools.
Its student body is led by African American (43%) and White (36%), more mixed than most schools in the state (diversity index 66/100).
On the academic-pipeline side it reports 2 Advanced Placement courses.
Counselor coverage is strong, about 206 students per counselor, inside the American School Counselor Association's recommended 250:1.
Chronic absenteeism is elevated: 50.2% of students missed 10% or more of school days (2021-22 Civil Rights Data Collection).
Its district draws 21.1% of revenue from federal sources, an above-typical federal share that tends to track a higher-need student population.
Discipline events run high: 280 in- and out-of-school suspensions were reported for 617 students in the 2021-22 Civil Rights Data Collection.
The federal civil-rights collection also records 30 expulsions at this campus for 2021-22.
Hamilton County also operates Signal Mountain Middle/High School (1,396 students) and The Howard School (1,329 students) alongside Central High School.
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 Tennessee and U.S. means.
| Metric | This school | vs Tennessee | Tennessee avg | U.S. avg |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Students per teacher | 10.8:1 | ▼ 29% | 15.3:1 | 15.7:1 |
| Enrollment | 617 | top 30% | - | - |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data School-level CCD + state/national means from Public School Universe · 2024-25
10.8:1
Leaner classes than 84% of US schools, among the more generously staffed nationally.
617
Bigger than 74% of US schools by enrollment, mid-sized for the country.
Equity indicators (what these measure)
Staffing depth
10.8:1
students per teacher
- 29% below state mean
Top 10% in Tennessee - lower ratio than 90% of state schools
Well under the widely cited 15:1 individualized-attention benchmark, among the leaner class loads nationally.
Engagement
50.2%
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
$12,002
per pupil, district-wide
- above Tennessee avg of $10,822
Well below the U.S. average per-pupil spend, a notably leaner funding position that may affect programs, facilities, and staffing.
Support staff
Counselors3.0 FTE
Per 206 students, the combined health-and-guidance staffing load for this school.
Discipline context
177
in-school suspensions + 103 out-of-school
Suspension rate: 28.7 per 100 students. Combined in-school and out-of-school rate: 45.4 per 100 students. Reported via the Civil Rights Data Collection. Includes 30 expulsions.
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
African American 42.8%
White 36.3%
Two or More 11.3%
Hispanic or Latino 9.2%
Asian 0.2%
American Indian / Alaska Native 0.2%
Largest group: African American at 42.8% of enrollment.
Student-body diversity index 66.4/100
Simpson diversity index - at 66.4, Central High School is more mixed than the Tennessee school average of 38.3.
Programs
AP courses offered 2
Gifted & talented Yes
Funding & spending
District-wide per-pupil expenditure for Hamilton County, which includes Central High School.
$12,002
Per student
+11%
vs Tennessee
Avg $10,822
-28%
vs U.S.
Avg $16,593
Revenue mix
Local 47.2%
State 31.6%
Federal 21.1%
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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Signal Mountain Middle/High School | Larger | No free-lunch data | Higher S:T ratio |
| The Howard School | Larger | No free-lunch data | Higher S:T ratio |
| East Hamilton High School | Larger | No free-lunch data | Higher S:T ratio |
| Ooltewah High School | Larger | No free-lunch data | Higher S:T ratio |
| East Brainerd Elementary | Larger | No free-lunch data | Higher 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
- 1,396
- Students per teacher
- 16.6:1
- Resource Index
- 50/100
- Enrollment
- 1,329
- Students per teacher
- 14.4:1
- Resource Index
- 40/100
- Enrollment
- 1,293
- Students per teacher
- 68.1:1
- Resource Index
- 31/100
- Enrollment
- 1,233
- Students per teacher
- 15.8:1
- Resource Index
- 46/100
- Enrollment
- 1,177
- Students per teacher
- 16.3:1
- Resource Index
- 40/100
Similar high schools statewide
Matched by enrollment size and by staffing ratio across all of Tennessee, not just this city - a different peer set than the local comparisons above.
Similar enrollment (~617 students)
Similar student-teacher ratio (~10.8:1)
Next steps
Verify locally before acting on Central High School's federal record.
- Compare Central High School against another school. Compare schools
- Hamilton 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 617 students enrolled. It is a high school in Harrison, TN.
What is the student-teacher ratio at Central High School?
The student-teacher ratio at Central High School is 10.8:1, which is 29% lower than the Tennessee average of 15.3:1 and 31% lower than the national average of 15.7:1. Lower ratios generally mean more individual attention per student.
What is the racial and ethnic makeup of Central High School?
The largest demographic group at Central High School is African American at 42.8% of enrollment, in Harrison, TN. Its student body is more racially and ethnically mixed than most US schools, with a diversity index of 66.4/100.
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 5 factors: student-teacher ratio, AP course offerings, 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 smaller than 90% of Tennessee schools. It is also more racially and ethnically mixed than most Tennessee 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 Hamilton County?
Besides Central High School, Hamilton County also operates Signal Mountain Middle/High School (1,396 students), The Howard School (1,329 students), and East Hamilton High School (1,293 students). See the Hamilton 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.