GENERAL INFORMATION
Central Catholic High School is a Catholic, college preparatory high school for boys, administered by the Brothers of the Christian Schools for the Diocese of Pittsburgh. It serves a population from the City of Pittsburgh and from three surrounding counties of Southwestern Pennsylvania.
ACCREDITATION
Central Catholic High School is accredited by the Pennsylvania Department of Education and the Middle States Association of Colleges and Secondary Schools.
ENTRANCE REQUIREMENTS
- Satisfactory elementary school record and IOWA scores
- Satisfactory scores on the entrance exam (STS Placements)
- Letters of recommendation
ENROLLMENT
Total Enrollment - 837
Grade 12 – 191; Grade 11 – 187;
Grade 10 – 223; Grade 9 - 236
FACULTY
With Bachelor’s Degree – 28
With Master’s Degree – 22
With Doctorate – 1
With Multiple Degrees – 15
Marking System: A percent grade will appear on the student report card as well as on the Permanent Record. This percentage is based on the following grading scale:
98-100=A+, 95-97=A, 93-94=A-;
90-92=B+, 87-89=B, 85-86=B-;
82-84=C+, 78-81=C, 75-77=C-;
73 -74=D+, 71-72=D, 70=D-;
69 and below=F
Every academic course except Physical Education is used in calculating the percentage and the rank in class.
Rank in Class: Rank in class will be determined by a weighted quality point system which reflects course content difficulty. With the exception of Physical Education, all courses taught will be categorized in one of five WQPA levels as follows:
The following Honors courses are offered in the curriculum over four years:
Honors English I, English II, British Literature, American Literature, World Literature
Honors World Geography/Cultures, Civilizations, U. S. History, World History I & II, Foreign Policy
Honors Algebra I, Honors Algebra II, Geometry, Algebra II/Geometry, Trigonometry/Math Analysis, Calculus
Honors Biology I, Biology II, Chemistry I, Chemistry II, Physics
Honors Spanish I, II, III, IV
Honors French IV
Honors German IV
Honors Latin IV
Programming in C++
Studio Art IV
Students must meet prerequisite requirements and be recommended for the course. Typically, only one section of each Honors course is taught each year. Sometimes this results in scheduling difficulties but it is very possible for a student’s transcript to reflect a course of studies over four years that contains primarily Honors Level courses.
David S. Baginski, FSC, Scholars Program
In the spring of 2002 a new academic program was introduced to the Central Catholic community. The requirements for entrance into the program are:
- Completion of a minimum of 15 credits of Honors/AP courses by the end of senior year
- Three years of a foreign language
- Maintain honor roll status each semester
- 30 hours of approved service in Greater Pittsburgh Area during each year
- Completion of an approved independent and integrated project during senior year
In September 2003, 21 juniors, 25 sophomores and 21 freshmen were admitted into the Scholars Program.
In May 2005, 19 seniors graduated from this high school with the distinction that they were the first graduates to be recognized as “Scholars”. In May 2007, 15 seniors graduated with the distinction “Scholar”.
Juniors and seniors also have the option of taking the following courses for college credit:
Through Duquesne University
AP English
AP Spanish
AP Biology
Through the University of Pittsburgh
Argument and Debate
AP Calculus
Web Calculus B/C
AP Chemistry
Programming in C++
Through LaRoche College
AP U. S. History
Studio Art IV
Total of 25 ¾ credits:
Religion 4, Science 3,
English 4, Foreign Language 2,
Social Studies 4, Health/Phys. Ed. 1 ¾,
Mathematics 4, Electives 4
(including one computer course)
Class of 2007 / Average of Previous 5 Years
Verbal 548 / 547
Math 547 / 546
Writing 536 / N/A
Members of the Class of 2007 established the following score ranges:
50th Percentile
Verbal 550
Math 540
Writing 540
75th Percentile
Verbal 630
Math 620
Writing 600
The top 32% of the Class of 2007 scored 600 or better in both verbal and math.
Class of 2007
(196 Graduates)
Acceptance into college 193 – 97.8%
Four-year colleges 174 – 88.8%
Two-year colleges 14 - 7.1%
Technical schools 0 - 0%
Military service 4 - 1%
Employment 2 - 1%
ADVANCED PLACEMENT SCORES FOR 2007
Test Takers: 102 students
Tests Taken: 170
56.5% or 96 students scored 5 or 4
83.5% or 142 students scored 5, 4, or 3
Score of 5: 48
Score of 4: 48
Score of 3: 46
Score of 2: 18
Score of 1: 10
The student’s Permanent Record will reflect his percentage grades, his cumulative weighted quality point average and his cumulative class rank.
Advanced Placement Courses:
The following Advanced Placement courses are offered to juniors and seniors:
AP English, AP Economics,
AP French, AP Calculus,
AP Spanish, AP Biology,
AP European History, AP Chemistry,
AP U. S. History, AP Physics
Students must meet prerequisite requirements and be recommended for the course. All AP students must take the AP exam. Only one section of each AP course is taught each year. Therefore, the number of
AP courses a student can take in a given year is always subject to scheduling possibilities. It is unlikely that a student will graduate from Central Catholic High School with more than 6 AP courses on his transcript.
Graduates of the Past Three Years have chosen to attend the following schools:
Allegheny College, American University, Antioch College, The Art Institute of Pittsburgh, Baruch College, Bard College, Belmont Abby College, Bethany College, Boston College, Boston University, Bowling Green State University, Bucknell University, California University of PA, Carnegie Mellon University, Case Western Reserve University, Catholic University of America, Clark Atlanta University, Clark University, Clarion University of PA, Clemson University, Coastal Carolina University, Colgate University, College of the Holy Cross, College of William and Mary, College of Wooster, Columbia University, Community College of Allegheny County, Connecticut College, Cornell University, Davidson College, Denison University, DePaul University, DeSales University, Drexel University, Duke University, Duquesne University, Edinboro University of PA, Elon University, Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University, Eugene Lang College, Florida State University, Fordham University, Franklin and Marshall College, Gannon University, Georgetown University, George Washington University, Georgian College (Canada), Gettysburg College, Hamilton College, Hofstra University, Howard University, Indiana University at Bloomington, Indiana University of PA, James Madison University, John Carroll University, John Hopkins University, Kent State University, LaRoche College, LaSalle University, Lehigh University, Lincoln University, Long Island University, Loyola University (Chicago), Lynchburg College, Marietta College, Mercyhurst College, Marquette University, Miami University (OH), Middlebury College, MIT, Morehouse College, Mount Saint Mary’s University, Mount Union College, New York University, North Carolina State University, Northeastern University, Northwestern University, Oberlin College, Ohio State University, Ohio University, Ohio Wesleyan University, Pennsylvania State University, Point Park College, Princeton University, Providence College, Purdue University, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, Rochester Institute of Technology, Robert Morris University, Santa Clara University, St. Anselm College, St. Bonaventure University, St. Francis University, St. John’s University, St. Joseph University, St. Vincent College, Seton Hill University, Shenandoah University, Shippensburg University, Slippery Rock University, Stanford university, Syracuse University, Thiel College, Tufts University, US Air Force Academy, US Military Academy, US Naval Academy, University of Chicago, University of Cincinnati, University of Colorado @ Boulder, University of Dayton, University of Delaware, University of Denver, University of Maine, University of Maryland, University of Michigan, University of Notre Dame, University of Pennsylvania, University of Pittsburgh, University of Richmond, University of Rochester, University of South Carolina, University of Toledo, University of Wisconsin @ Madison, Villanova University, Valley Forge Military College, Virginia Polytechnic Institute, Wake Forest University, Washington and Jefferson College, Washington University (MO), Westminster College, West Virginia University, West Liberty State University, Wheeling Jesuit College, Williams College, Xavier University, Youngstown State University.
