Central Middle School of Science

Summary:

Central Middle School of Science is a public magnet middle school in Anchorage, Alaska, serving 371 students in grades 7-8. The school stands out for its highly diverse student population, with a racial makeup that is significantly different from nearby schools in the Anchorage School District.

Despite its diversity, Central Middle School of Science has consistently ranked in the bottom quartile of Alaska middle schools in academic performance. The school's scores on standardized tests like the ASA/Science, STAR/English Language Arts, and STAR/Mathematics are significantly lower than the Anchorage School District and state averages. Interestingly, the school's performance varies widely across different student subgroups, with African American students ranking 2nd out of 2 Alaska middle schools, but Asian and White students ranking much lower.

Another key factor is the school's high percentage of students receiving free or reduced-price lunch, at 80.05% - much higher than nearby schools. This suggests that socioeconomic factors may be contributing to the school's academic challenges. However, the school does have a relatively low student-teacher ratio of 17.3, indicating that staffing resources may not be the primary issue. Overall, Central Middle School of Science faces significant hurdles in improving the academic outcomes of its diverse, low-income student population, and may need to implement targeted interventions to address the unique needs of its community.


Detail:

Public, Magnet 7-8

 1405 E St
       Anchorage, AK  99501-5098


(907) 742-5100

District: Anchorage School District

SchoolDigger Rank:
84th of 91 Alaska Middle Schools

Per Pupil Expenditures:  $16,253 Help


Students who attend Central Middle School of Science usually attend:

High:    West High School

Feeder schools for Central Middle School of Science:

Elementary:    Denali Montessori Elementary
    Dr. Etheldra Davis - Fairview Elementary School
    Government Hill Elementary
    Inlet View Elementary
    More...

Student/teacher ratio:  18.8 Help
Number of students:  376

Racial breakdown:

White:
22.6%
Hispanic:
16.8%
American Indian:
15.2%
more

Free/discounted lunch recipients:  80.9% Help


 See top rated Alaska middle schools

 Compare Central Middle School of Science to nearby middle schools!

Performance Trends
Help
Compare Details Central Middle School of Science ranks worse than 92.3% of middle schools in Alaska. It also ranks 9th among 11 ranked middle schools in the Anchorage School District. (See more...)
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Compare Details In 2024 the calculated Average Standard Score was 11.82. (See more...)
Student Body
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Compare Details Student population at Central Middle School of Science is diverse. Racial makeup is: White (22.6%), Hispanic (16.8%), American Indian (15.2%). (See more...)
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Compare Details 80.9% of students are receiving a free or discounted lunch. (See more...)
Teachers
Help
Compare Details The student/teacher ratio at Central Middle School of Science is 18.8. 5 middle schools in the Anchorage School District have better student/teacher ratios. (See more...)
Help
Compare Central Middle School of Science employs 19.9 full-time teachers.
Finance
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Compare Details The average total spent per student at Central Middle School of Science is $16,253, which is the 2nd highest among 11 middle schools in the Anchorage School District.
Schooldigger 2024 Rankings:

Central Middle School of Science:

SchoolDigger ranks Central Middle School of Science 84th of 91 Alaska public middle schools. (See Central Middle School of Science in the ranking list.)

Middle School Test Score Ratings by Student Subgroup:


Multi-racial students:
Low Socio Economic Status students:
Female students:
Military Connected students:
Male students:
Asian students:
African American students:
Hispanic students:
White students:


Anchorage School District:

SchoolDigger ranks Anchorage School District 14th of 24 Alaska school districts. (See district ranking list.)


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Your rating for Central Middle School of Science?

Rank History for Central Middle School of Science

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Compare

Rank History for all students at Central Middle School of Science

Year Avg Standard Score Statewide Rank Total # Ranked Middle Schools AK State Percentile SchoolDigger Rating
2005 76.45 29th 138 79.0%
2006 72.74 39th 132 70.5%
2007 77.32 29th 128 77.3%
2008 64.97 46th 132 65.2%
2009 61.84 50th 131 61.8%
2010 69.92 44th 136 67.6%
2011 64.02 48th 133 63.9%
2012 64.44 56th 135 58.5%
2013 65.29 53rd 136 61.0%
2014 56.05 59th 138 57.2%
2015 45.91 81st 151 46.4%
2017 18.90 75th 88 14.8%
2018 18.45 82nd 96 14.6%
2019 16.49 87th 99 12.1%
2021 14.66 75th 84 10.7%
2022 15.48 85th 95 10.5%
2023 12.07 84th 92 8.7%
2024 11.82 84th 91 7.7%
See the entire list of Alaska Middle School Rankings!

Rank History for Multi-racial students at Central Middle School of Science

Year Avg Standard Score Statewide Rank Total # Ranked Middle Schools AK State Percentile SchoolDigger Rating
2019 41.19 23rd 34 32.4%
2021 14.89 28th 30 6.7%
2022 29.86 18th 28 35.7%
2023 33.35 23rd 31 25.8%
2024 24.24 25th 31 19.4%
See the entire list of Best Alaska Middle Schools for Multi-racial Students!

Rank History for Low Socio Economic Status students at Central Middle School of Science

Year Avg Standard Score Statewide Rank Total # Ranked Middle Schools AK State Percentile SchoolDigger Rating
2019 17.71 57th 64 10.9%
2021 17.51 38th 43 11.6%
2022 21.98 34th 43 20.9%
2023 16.09 49th 55 10.9%
2024 11.28 50th 54 7.4%
See the entire list of Best Alaska Middle Schools for Low Socio Economic Status Students!

Rank History for Female students at Central Middle School of Science

Year Avg Standard Score Statewide Rank Total # Ranked Middle Schools AK State Percentile SchoolDigger Rating
2019 14.74 68th 74 8.1%
2021 21.59 50th 57 12.3%
2022 12.98 60th 66 9.1%
2023 11.34 61st 66 7.6%
2024 11.61 63rd 69 8.7%
See the entire list of Best Alaska Middle Schools for Female Students!

Rank History for Military Connected students at Central Middle School of Science

Year Avg Standard Score Statewide Rank Total # Ranked Middle Schools AK State Percentile SchoolDigger Rating
2019 53.36 9th 20 55.0%
2021 16.29 14th 14 0.0%
2022 64.26 5th 17 70.6%
2023 52.30 9th 17 47.1%
2024 38.75 11th 14 21.4%
See the entire list of Best Alaska Middle Schools for Military Connected Students!

Rank History for Male students at Central Middle School of Science

Year Avg Standard Score Statewide Rank Total # Ranked Middle Schools AK State Percentile SchoolDigger Rating
2019 15.17 65th 73 11.0%
2021 12.61 54th 62 12.9%
2022 20.01 53rd 68 22.1%
2023 13.70 66th 72 8.3%
2024 9.86 68th 72 5.6%
See the entire list of Best Alaska Middle Schools for Male Students!

Rank History for Asian students at Central Middle School of Science

Year Avg Standard Score Statewide Rank Total # Ranked Middle Schools AK State Percentile SchoolDigger Rating
2019 15.34 20th 22 9.1%
2023 17.53 17th 19 10.5%
2024 14.08 14th 16 12.5%
See the entire list of Best Alaska Middle Schools for Asian Students!

Rank History for African American students at Central Middle School of Science

Year Avg Standard Score Statewide Rank Total # Ranked Middle Schools AK State Percentile SchoolDigger Rating
2019 34.91 2nd 4 50.0%
2022 37.65 1st 3 66.7%
2023 18.90 3rd 3 0.0%
2024 15.67 2nd 2 0.0%
See the entire list of Best Alaska Middle Schools for African American Students!

Rank History for Hispanic students at Central Middle School of Science

Year Avg Standard Score Statewide Rank Total # Ranked Middle Schools AK State Percentile SchoolDigger Rating
2021 33.90 12th 15 20.0%
2022 26.37 14th 19 26.3%
2023 22.48 18th 21 14.3%
2024 16.31 21st 26 19.2%
See the entire list of Best Alaska Middle Schools for Hispanic Students!

Rank History for White students at Central Middle School of Science

Year Avg Standard Score Statewide Rank Total # Ranked Middle Schools AK State Percentile SchoolDigger Rating
2019 45.95 41st 72 43.1%
2021 43.16 36th 58 37.9%
2022 48.79 37th 69 46.4%
2023 40.66 48th 75 36.0%
2024 36.11 50th 74 32.4%
See the entire list of Best Alaska Middle Schools for White Students!

Data source: test scores: Alaska Department of Education and Early Developmenr, rankings: SchoolDigger.com

As you review the school rankings data, please be aware that some of the information from certain demographics is missing. The reason for this omission is that the data has been redacted from the source data itself due to low population samples in these specific demographic groups.

Redacting data from low population samples is a necessary step to ensure the reliability and accuracy of the results, as small sample sizes may not be representative of the broader population. Additionally, this measure helps protect the privacy of individuals belonging to these demographic groups.

Central Middle School of Science Test Scores
Tests: 
  
Grades: 
  
Years: 
  
Group by: 
District Scores:
State Scores:    
  
Subgroup: 





Data source: Alaska Department of Education and Early Development

Review counts

All ratings (Avg rating: 1)
0%

0%

0%

0%

100%

  

Reviews:
by a student
Thursday, March 15, 2018

Open Quote Terrible school. Terrible staff. Teachers act like children, even bullied students openly. This school needs to close. Close Quote



Enrollment information for Central Middle School of Science

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Year White African American Asian Hispanic American Indian Pacific Islander Two or More Races Not Specified Total
1989 380 88 29 27 54 n/a n/a 0 578
1990 339 113 20 37 36 n/a n/a 0 545
1991 355 98 25 29 41 n/a n/a 0 548
1992 381 102 30 39 60 n/a n/a 0 612
1993 376 123 30 46 53 n/a n/a 0 628
1994 382 138 39 51 73 n/a n/a 0 683
1995 421 131 44 61 62 n/a n/a 0 719
1996 421 131 44 61 62 n/a n/a 0 719
1997 460 124 44 70 59 n/a n/a 0 757
1998 483 117 50 66 71 n/a n/a 0 787
1999 468 125 59 51 95 n/a n/a 0 798
2000 409 151 56 55 66 n/a n/a 0 737
2001 434 137 65 73 72 n/a n/a 0 781
2002 429 132 65 62 84 n/a n/a 0 772
2003 429 132 65 62 84 n/a n/a 0 772
2004 425 135 73 63 94 n/a n/a 0 790
2005 378 135 74 74 89 n/a n/a 0 750
2006 347 125 56 54 87 n/a n/a 0 669
2007 270 95 52 43 69 n/a n/a 0 529
2008 277 82 88 80 56 n/a n/a 63 646
2009 295 73 58 87 58 36 77 0 684
2010 260 56 54 67 42 26 77 0 582
2011 275 53 71 55 47 29 58 0 588
2012 254 52 68 68 48 46 52 0 588
2013 218 62 64 61 37 36 69 0 547
2014 179 54 56 71 34 40 57 0 491
2015 156 55 49 78 37 39 66 0 480
2016 149 45 41 72 34 40 54 0 435
2017 140 62 51 77 37 47 46 0 460
2018 111 64 52 69 31 61 51 0 439
2019 89 47 45 59 32 48 49 0 369
2020 114 35 42 59 53 59 52 0 414
2021 88 37 40 52 50 39 51 0 357
2022 67 48 32 50 47 41 55 0 340
2023 69 43 34 64 56 56 49 0 371
2024 85 43 31 63 57 51 46 0 376

Data source: National Center for Education Statistics, U.S. Dept of Education.

About Enrollment/Ethnicity

For more information about how the Department of Education defines ethnicity, see Defining Race and Ethnicity Data, National Center for Education Statistics

Students eligible for free or discounted lunch at Central Middle School of Science

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Compare
Year # Students Full-time Teachers Student/Teacher ratio % Free/Discounted Lunch
1989 578 29.7 19.4 16.1
1990 545 26.8 20.3 17.6
1991 548 27.6 19.8 19
1992 612 27.6 22.1 27
1993 628 27.6 22.8 26.3
1994 683 27.6 24.7 24.2
1995 719 34.2 21.0 20.7
1996 719 34.2 21.0 20.7
1997 757 34.2 22.1 22.9
1998 787 43.6 18.1 30.7
1999 798 43.2 18.5 30.8
2000 737 42.6 17.3 32
2001 781 39.9 19.6 29.6
2002 772 42.8 18.0 24.7
2003 772 42.8 18.0 24.7
2004 790 43.8 18.0 29.7
2005 750 42.4 17.7 32
2006 669 40.1 16.7 43.6
2007 529 38.0 13.9 46.7
2008 646 38.9 16.6 53
2009 684 39.6 17.3 45.2
2010 582 35.0 16.6 44.3
2011 588 35.9 16.3 49.7
2012 588 37.1 15.8 48.6
2013 547 32.4 16.8 50.3
2014 491 32.3 15.1 60.1
2015 480 30.0 16.0 60.6
2016 435 27.0 16.1 60
2017 460 28.8 15.9 73.7
2018 439 25.6 17.0 73.6
2019 369 21.9 16.8 n/a
2020 414 22.1 18.7 80
2021 357 23.9 14.9 n/a
2022 340 21.0 16.1 n/a
2023 371 21.3 17.3 80.1
2024 376 19.9 18.8 80.9

Data source: National Center for Education Statistics, U.S. Dept of Education.

About Students eligible for discounted/free lunch:

The National School Lunch Program (NSLP) provides low-cost or free meals to students in U.S. public and nonprofit private schools based on household income. Those with incomes below 130% of the poverty line receive free lunch, while those between 130% and 185% qualify for reduced-price lunch. The percentage of students receiving free or reduced-price lunch serves as a marker for poverty, as it reflects the socioeconomic status of families in a given school or district. A higher FRPL rate typically indicates a higher concentration of low-income families, suggesting that the school or district may face additional challenges in providing adequate resources and support for student success.

Student/Teacher Ratio Central Middle School of Science

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Compare
Year # Students Full-time Teachers Student/Teacher ratio % Free/Discounted Lunch
1989 578 29.7 19.4 16.1
1990 545 26.8 20.3 17.6
1991 548 27.6 19.8 19
1992 612 27.6 22.1 27
1993 628 27.6 22.8 26.3
1994 683 27.6 24.7 24.2
1995 719 34.2 21.0 20.7
1996 719 34.2 21.0 20.7
1997 757 34.2 22.1 22.9
1998 787 43.6 18.1 30.7
1999 798 43.2 18.5 30.8
2000 737 42.6 17.3 32
2001 781 39.9 19.6 29.6
2002 772 42.8 18.0 24.7
2003 772 42.8 18.0 24.7
2004 790 43.8 18.0 29.7
2005 750 42.4 17.7 32
2006 669 40.1 16.7 43.6
2007 529 38.0 13.9 46.7
2008 646 38.9 16.6 53
2009 684 39.6 17.3 45.2
2010 582 35.0 16.6 44.3
2011 588 35.9 16.3 49.7
2012 588 37.1 15.8 48.6
2013 547 32.4 16.8 50.3
2014 491 32.3 15.1 60.1
2015 480 30.0 16.0 60.6
2016 435 27.0 16.1 60
2017 460 28.8 15.9 73.7
2018 439 25.6 17.0 73.6
2019 369 21.9 16.8 n/a
2020 414 22.1 18.7 80
2021 357 23.9 14.9 n/a
2022 340 21.0 16.1 n/a
2023 371 21.3 17.3 80.1
2024 376 19.9 18.8 80.9

Data source: National Center for Education Statistics, U.S. Dept of Education.

About Student-Teacher Ratio

Student/teacher ratio is calculated by dividing the total number of students by the total number of full-time equivalent teachers. Please note that a smaller student/teacher ratio does not necessarily translate to smaller class size. In some instances, schools hire teachers part time, and some teachers are hired for specialized instruction with very small class sizes. These and other factors contribute to the student/teacher ratio. Note: For private schools, Student/teacher ratio may not include Pre-Kindergarten.
Finances

Per Pupil Expenditures for Central Middle School of Science

Help

YearExpenditures from Federal FundsExpenditures from State and Local FundsTotal Expenditures Per Pupil (All Funds)
2019 $1,191 (7.3%) $15,062 (92.7%) $16,253

Data source: Alaska Department of Education
Pre and Post Pandemic Data

Impact of COVID-19 on Central Middle School of Science

The coronavirus has had a profound impact on education in America. Learning shifted online overnight, attendance numbers dwindled, and enrollment decreased. SchoolDigger.com is making it easier for you to better assess how COVID-19 has impacted your school. Through the collection of pre-pandemic (2019) and current data, SchoolDigger.com is sharing test scores, enrollment numbers and school demographics from schools across the country – and we make it easy to see how impacted schools compare locally and statewide.

Rankings

Rank
Pre-pandemic (2018-2019)
Rank
Post pandemic (2022-2023)
Change (%)
Ranks 87th of 99 Middle schoolsRanks 84th of 92 Middle schools
 3.4%

Test Scores

% proficient
Pre-pandemic (2018-2019)
% proficient
Post pandemic (2022-2023)
Change (%)
8th Grade Science (Central Middle School of Science)30.826.7
 4.1%
   8th Grade Science (Anchorage School District)45.237.3
 8%
   8th Grade Science (Alaska)43.134.5
 8.6%
All Grades Science (Central Middle School of Science)30.826.7
 4.1%
   All Grades Science (Anchorage School District)46.639.4
 7.2%
   All Grades Science (Alaska)44.736.9
 7.7%

Student Body

Number of students
Pre-pandemic (2018-2019)
Number of students
Post pandemic (2022-2023)
Change (%)
Total Students369371
 0.5%
African American4743
 8.5%
American Indian3256
 75%
Asian4534
 24.4%
Hispanic5964
 8.5%
Pacific Islander4856
 16.7%
White8969
 22.5%
Two or More Races4949


Schools Near Central Middle School of Science









Frequently Asked Questions about Central Middle School of Science

Students who attend Central Middle School of Science usually go on to attend West High School

Central Middle School of Science ranks in the bottom 7.7% of Alaska middle schools.

In the 2023-24 school year, 376 students attended Central Middle School of Science.

Students at Central Middle School of Science are 23% White, 17% Hispanic, 15% American Indian, 14% Pacific Islander, 12% Two or more races, 11% African American, 8% Asian.


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

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.





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