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What do you wish you knew before starting at Ferndale Middle School?
Community prompt from u/allk12. Replies below.
Enrollment
528
Middle
DISTRICT 517 · STATE 502
SCHOOL COMMUNITY·FERNDALE PUBLIC SCHOOLS·NCES 261428001282
Ferndale Middle School
725 PINECREST DR, FERNDALE, MI 48220 · (248) 541-1783 · Oakland County
GRADES 06–08MIDDLE21-SUBURBTITLE IREGULAR SCHOOL528 STUDENTS
D
allk12 Grade
Scored higher than 9% of Michigan public middle schools
- C-Test scores Share of students meeting the state standard in reading, math, and other tested subjects, 2023-24 and 2024-25.
- DBeats expectations How far test scores land above or below what the share of low-income students predicts for a school in this state.
- ·Three-year trend Not available for this school, so the grade uses the other parts.
Grades compare a school only with schools in the same state, because every state gives its own test. How grades work · Top-graded Michigan public middle schools
Student : Teacher
17.0:1
31 FTE teachers
DISTRICT 19.7:1 · STATE 17.5:1
Free / Reduced Lunch
46%
242 students
DISTRICT 57% · STATE 55%
Community
5
0 members
Enrollment and student:teacher ratio compared against other middle schools. Free/Reduced Lunch and demographics compared against all schools.
Enrollment by grade, 2024-25
| Grade | Students | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Grade 6 | 169 | 32% |
| Grade 7 | 181 | 34% |
| Grade 8 | 178 | 34% |
Student demographics
57%Diversity index
The chance that two students picked at random belong to different racial or ethnic groups.
DISTRICT 54% · STATE 56% · US 70%
Student head counts by race/ethnicity from federal NCES enrollment data. District, state, and US figures are each group's share of all public school students in that area (US excludes territories). Very small groups may be suppressed in the source, so categories do not always sum exactly to total enrollment.
Gender split
Test scores
M-STEP 2024-25 . % Advanced + ProficientEnglish Language Arts
36.6%
MI avg 47.7%
Math
21.2%
MI avg 44.8%
What this means: On the M-STEP, Michigan's statewide test, about 37 of every 100 students at this school read and write at grade level and about 21 of 100 do math at grade level. Across all Michigan schools, those numbers are about 48 and 45.
Source: M-STEP. All students, all grades. See all years and grades →
BeatsExpectations
Demographically-adjusted score · methodologyTier
UNDERPERFORMING
Bottom 10% of MI schools after controlling for student poverty
Actual proficiency
31.6%
composite math + reading, all grades
Predicted
46.0%
based on MI schools with similar FRL share
Beats by
-14.4pp
below demographic expectation
What this means: About 32% of students here test proficient in math and reading, below the roughly 46% typical for Michigan schools with a similar share of low-income students. BeatsExpectations compares each school with others at the same poverty level, not by raw scores, so a school lands here when its results trail those comparable schools, which is not the same as having low scores. A higher-scoring school can still fall in this tier if similar schools score higher still.
BeatsExpectations runs a per-state regression of proficiency on free/reduced-lunch share, then scores each school by residual. How this is calculated →
Schools most like Ferndale Middle School
Ferndale Middle School's state test result (31.6% proficient) is higher than 5 of the 5 schools below with a result.
| School | Students | Low-income | Proficient |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ferndale Middle School this school | 528 | 45.8% | 31.6% |
| McBride Middle School BELLEVILLE | 561 | 46.3% | 30.3% |
| Owen Intermediate School BELLEVILLE | 575 | 48.0% | 23.4% |
| Hillside Middle School KALAMAZOO | 476 | 60.1% | 27.7% |
| Middle School South HARRISON TOWNSHIP | 383 | 56.1% | 27.9% |
| Lincoln Middle School YPSILANTI | 712 | 53.4% | 28.0% |
Matched among Michigan middle schools on enrollment, the share of students from low-income families (eligible for free or reduced-price lunch), and racial and ethnic makeup. Proficient is the average share of students meeting the state standard across all of the school's state tests in 2023-24 and 2024-25, the same combined score our test-score rankings use. Online schools and schools serving specialized populations are not matched.
Where Ferndale Middle School ranks
Among middle schools| Measure | This school | In Michigan | In Oakland County |
|---|---|---|---|
| State test proficiency ranked highest first | 31.6% | #336 of 397 | #39 of 41 |
| Math proficiency ranked highest first | 21.2% | #342 of 380 | #40 of 41 |
| Reading proficiency ranked highest first | 36.6% | #259 of 377 | #35 of 40 |
| Enrollment ranked largest first | 528 | #224 of 491 | #34 of 46 |
| Students per teacher ranked fewest first | 17.0:1 | #178 of 436 | #22 of 45 |
| Diversity index ranked most diverse first | 57.0% | #92 of 437 | #13 of 45 |
| Free and reduced lunch ranked highest share first | 45.8% | #246 of 477 | #11 of 46 |
| Enrollment change since 2017-18 ranked fastest growth first | +3.7% | #69 of 101 | #6 of 9 |
Ranked against other public middle schools. Online schools are left out of every list, and test-score lists leave out schools that serve specialized populations. Each rank links to the full list. Arrows under a test-score rank show places moved since the prior test year, among schools tested both years.
4-year change
SY 2020-21 vs SY 2024-25Enrollment
528
+23 (+5%) vs 2020
+30% since 2010-11, when it was 405
Student : Teacher
17.0:1
was 18.7:1
Source: NCES Common Core of Data
Enrollment and staffing by year
| School year | Students | Teachers (FTE) | Students per teacher | Free and reduced lunch |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024-25 | 528 | 31 | 17.0:1 | 46% (242) |
| 2023-24 | 521 | 28.5 | 18.3:1 | 61% (320) |
| 2022-23 | 540 | 29.1 | 18.6:1 | 61% (332) |
| 2020-21 | 505 | 27 | 18.7:1 | 63% (318) |
| 2017-18 | 509 | 27.3 | 18.7:1 | 63% (322) |
| 2015-16 | 355 | 11 | 32.3:1 | 56% (198) |
| 2010-11 | 405 | 25 | 16.2:1 | 66% (268) |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data. Rows are the federal collections on file for Ferndale Middle School.
Since 2017-18: students up 4% (509 to 528); teachers up 14% (27.3 to 31).
About Ferndale Middle School
Ferndale Middle School is listed by the National Center for Education Statistics as a middle school in FERNDALE, Michigan. Students in grades 6 through 8 make up the school's enrollment of 528 students.
Ferndale Middle School is a school in Ferndale Public Schools. The district has 6 schools and 3,102 students.
Federal enrollment data show Ferndale Middle School is 55% Black. Other groups make up 35% White, 7% multiracial, and 2% Hispanic. Oakland County as a whole is about 13% Black, so the school's share is higher. A diversity index of 57% means there is a 57% chance two randomly chosen students at Ferndale Middle School are from different groups.
There are 31 full-time-equivalent teachers at the school, a ratio of 17.0:1. The average for middle schools in Michigan is about 17.5:1. Of all students at Ferndale Middle School, 46% are eligible for free or reduced-price lunch. The average for public schools in Oakland County is 32%.
Ferndale Middle School holds a D allk12 Grade, placing it above 9% of Michigan public middle schools.
Ferndale Middle School trails its predicted average proficiency rate across its state test results by 14.4 points (31.6% versus 46.0%), a bottom-10% result in Michigan on BeatsExpectations.
The school's county is Oakland County. According to Census Bureau estimates, median household income comes to about $97,760, 51% of adults hold a bachelor's degree or higher, and about 5% of residents live below the federal poverty line. Oakland County's 345 public schools enroll about 169,926 students and include Ferndale Middle School.
Among nearby public schools, Ferndale High School is closest at less than a tenth of a mile. In all, at least 8 other public schools sit within five miles of Ferndale Middle School.
Ferndale Middle School is in a suburban area outside a principal city, within an urbanized area with a population of 250,000 or more, a location NCES labels Suburb: Large.
Enrollment increased 5% over 4 years, reaching 528 in 2024-25. Staffing shifted too: the ratio moved from 18.7:1 to 17.0:1.
This page is a place to ask questions and share updates about athletics, class schedules, and weather closures at Ferndale Middle School. Parents, students, alumni, and staff are welcome to post.
Oakland County at a glance
View full county profilePopulation
1,279,825
Census ACS
Median income
$97,760
Household, ACS
Bachelor's+
51%
Adults 25+
Poverty rate
5%
Below federal line
Schools in county
345
169,926 students
Quick facts
Related schools
Other schools in Ferndale Public Schools
- Ferndale High SchoolHigh · 739 students
- Ferndale Lower Elementary CampusElementary · 517 students
- Ferndale Upper Elementary CampusElementary · 501 students
- University High SchoolHigh · 469 students
- Tri County Educational CenterHigh · 348 students
- CASAHigh
Other schools in FERNDALE
- Ferndale High SchoolHigh · 739 students
- University High SchoolHigh · 469 students
- Tri County Educational CenterHigh · 348 students
- Webb Elementary SchoolElementary · 328 students
- EdisonCombined · 65 students
- Jardon Vocational SchoolCombined · 34 students
Other Ferndale Middle schools
One other US public school is named Ferndale Middle. Ferndale Middle School is the largest of the 2.
- Ferndale MiddleHigh Point, NC · 486 students
Nearby schools
- Ferndale High School0.1 mi · 739
- Tri County Educational Center0.5 mi · 348
- Ferndale Lower Elementary Campus1.0 mi · 517
- Pasteur Elementary School1.1 mi · 310
- University High School1.2 mi · 469
- Bates Academy1.3 mi · 773
Frequently asked questions
About Ferndale Middle SchoolWhat is the total enrollment at Ferndale Middle School?
Ferndale Middle School enrolls approximately 528 students in grades 06-08.
What grades does Ferndale Middle School serve?
Ferndale Middle School serves grades 06-08.
What is the student-teacher ratio at Ferndale Middle School?
The student-to-teacher ratio at Ferndale Middle School is approximately 17.0:1 (31 FTE teachers).
What is the racial breakdown of students at Ferndale Middle School?
At Ferndale Middle School, the student body is approximately 35% White, 2% Hispanic, 55% Black, 0% Asian, 7% Two or more.
Is Ferndale Middle School public or private?
Ferndale Middle School is a public K-12 school, overseen by Ferndale Public Schools.
Data sourceSchool profile facts are sourced from the NCES. Community content is posted by allk12 members.