Enrollment
1,309
Wisconsin · 2024-25 NCES data
High school (grades 9-12) · Salem, WI
Central High
Federal NCES profile for Central High, including enrollment, faculty, free-lunch eligibility, demographics, and resource indicators - Resource Investment Index 47/100.
2024-25 NCES dataHigh school (grades 9-12)NCES 551329001751
👥 S:T ratio 22
📚 AP courses 100
🌟 Gifted program 30
🎓 Counselors 35
📋 Attendance 49
Scored 0–100 from federal NCES and CRDC indicators, resource allocation, not test scores. Full methodology →
The verdict
Central High earns 47/100 on the Resource Investment Index, with class sizes larger than 92% of Wisconsin schools. It is also one of the largest schools in Wisconsin.
- 47
- Resource Index · Typical
- 19.5:1
- large classes for Wisconsin
- 8.7%
- free-lunch eligible
- 1,309
- students enrolled
Central High has class sizes larger than 92% of Wisconsin schools. Computed live against every Wisconsin school reporting to NCES.
School address
District: Central/Westosha Uhs School District · Wisconsin
NCES ID 551329001751 Verify on NCES CCD record →
Teachers (FTE)
67.0
Federal CCD staff survey
Students per teacher
19.5:1
vs 14.4:1 Wisconsin avg
+35% vs state
Free-lunch eligible
8.7%
vs 38.5% Wisconsin avg
-77% vs state
Student-teacher ratio in context
How Central High compares with Wisconsin and U.S. medians
What stands out at Central High
Central High is a lower-poverty, large high school in Salem, Wisconsin, enrolling 1,309 students.
Class loads run heavy: 19.5:1 is larger than about 92% of Wisconsin schools and 35% above the 14.4:1 state mean, so each teacher carries more students than is typical.
Comparatively few students face economic hardship here, 8.7% free-meal eligibility runs 77% below the Wisconsin average.
By headcount it is one of the larger campuses in Wisconsin, bigger than 98% of state schools at 1,309 students.
Its Resource Investment Index lands in the lower third of 2,202 scored Wisconsin schools.
Among 74 similarly sized, similarly resourced-need Wisconsin schools statewide, it ranks #69, in the lower tier once campus size and economic need are matched.
Its student body is predominantly White (83% of enrollment) (diversity index 30/100).
On the academic-pipeline side it reports 20 Advanced Placement courses.
Counselor availability sits well past the ASCA benchmark, roughly 327 students sharing each counselor, though short of the most stretched campuses.
Attendance runs somewhat below the norm, with 20.6% of students chronically absent per the 2021-22 civil-rights collection.
Central/Westosha Uhs School District operates only this one school, so Central High has no district-mates to compare against locally. At 1,309 students, it is also among the largest single-school districts in Wisconsin, well beyond the enrollment of a typical standalone charter.
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 compares
Central High on the metrics families compare, against Wisconsin and U.S. means.
| Metric | This school | vs Wisconsin | Wisconsin avg | U.S. avg |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Students per teacher | 19.5:1 | ▲ 35% | 14.4:1 | 15.7:1 |
| Free-lunch eligible | 8.7% | ▼ 77% | 38.5% | 51.7% |
| Enrollment | 1,309 | top 2% | - | - |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data School-level CCD + state/national means from Public School Universe · 2024-25
19.5:1
Leaner classes than 18% of US schools, heavier class loads than most.
1,309
Bigger than 95% of US schools by enrollment, a large campus nationally.
Equity indicators (what these measure)
Economic need
8.7%
free-lunch eligible
- 77% below the Wisconsin average of 38.5%
Below the 40% Title I threshold, among the lower-need profiles in the state; federal aid targets individual qualifying students rather than schoolwide programs.
Staffing depth
19.5:1
students per teacher
- 35% above state mean
Top 92% in Wisconsin - lower ratio than 8% of state schools
Between 16:1 and 20:1, squarely in the typical U.S. public-school staffing range.
Engagement
20.6%
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
$13,691
per pupil, district-wide
- below Wisconsin avg of $14,919
Somewhat below the U.S. average per-pupil spend; funding constraints may affect programs, facilities, and staffing.
Support staff
Counselors4.0 FTE
Per 327 students, the combined health-and-guidance staffing load for this school.
Discipline context
112
in-school suspensions + 62 out-of-school
Suspension rate: 8.6 per 100 students. Combined in-school and out-of-school rate: 13.3 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 83.0%
Hispanic or Latino 10.8%
Two or More 3.4%
African American 1.6%
Asian 1.1%
American Indian / Alaska Native 0.1%
Native Hawaiian / Pacific Islander 0.1%
Largest group: White at 83.0% of enrollment.
Student-body diversity index 29.8/100
Simpson diversity index - at 29.8, Central High is less mixed than the Wisconsin school average of 35.7.
Programs
AP courses offered 20
Funding & spending
District-wide per-pupil expenditure for Central/Westosha Uhs School District, which includes Central High.
$13,691
Per student
-8%
vs Wisconsin
Avg $14,919
-17%
vs U.S.
Avg $16,593
Revenue mix
Local 66.1%
State 30.0%
Federal 3.9%
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.
Similar high schools statewide
Matched by enrollment size and by staffing ratio across all of Wisconsin, not just this city - a different peer set than the local comparisons above.
Similar enrollment (~1,309 students)
Similar student-teacher ratio (~19.5:1)
Next steps
Verify locally before acting on Central High's federal record.
- Compare Central High against another school. Compare schools
- Central/Westosha Uhs School District'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
How many students attend Central High?
Central High has 1,309 students enrolled. It is a high school in Salem, WI.
What is the student-teacher ratio at Central High?
The student-teacher ratio at Central High is 19.5:1, which is 35% higher than the Wisconsin average of 14.4:1 and 24% higher than the national average of 15.7:1.
What percentage of students receive free lunch at Central High?
8.7% of students at Central High are eligible for free lunch, compared to the Wisconsin average of 38.5%.
What is the racial and ethnic makeup of Central High?
The largest demographic group at Central High is White at 83.0% of enrollment, in Salem, WI.
What is the Resource Investment Index for Central High?
Central High has a Resource Investment Index of 47/100 (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 a good school?
Central High earns 47/100 on the Resource Investment Index, with class sizes larger than 92% of Wisconsin schools. It is also one of the largest schools in Wisconsin. 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 Central/Westosha Uhs School District?
None reported; Central/Westosha Uhs School District operates only Central High as a public school district in NCES's records.
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.