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Does Ferndale High School have enough mental health and stress support?
Community prompt from u/allk12. Replies below.
Enrollment
1,325
High
DISTRICT 679 · STATE 573
SCHOOL COMMUNITY·FERNDALE SCHOOL DISTRICT·NCES 530285000460
Ferndale High School
5830 Golden Eagle Drive, Ferndale, WA 98248 · (360) 383-9240 · Whatcom County
GRADES 09–12HIGH22-SUBURBTITLE IREGULAR SCHOOL1,325 STUDENTS
Student : Teacher
19.1:1
69 FTE teachers
DISTRICT 19.1:1 · STATE 21.6:1
Free / Reduced Lunch
46%
603 students
DISTRICT 57% · STATE 51%
Community
1
0 members
Enrollment and student:teacher ratio compared against other high schools. Free/Reduced Lunch and demographics compared against all schools.
Enrollment by grade, 2024-25
| Grade | Students | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Grade 9 | 333 | 25% |
| Grade 10 | 338 | 26% |
| Grade 11 | 314 | 24% |
| Grade 12 | 340 | 26% |
Student demographics
62%Diversity index
The chance that two students picked at random belong to different racial or ethnic groups.
DISTRICT 64% · STATE 68% · 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
Smarter Balanced + WCAS 2024-25 . % Met or Exceeded StandardEnglish Language Arts
56.7%
WA avg 58.4% . +22.7pp since 2014
Math
33.6%
WA avg 51.2% . +21.4pp since 2014
What this means: On the Smarter Balanced + WCAS, Washington's statewide test, about 57 of every 100 students at this school read and write at grade level and about 34 of 100 do math at grade level. Across all Washington schools, those numbers are about 58 and 51. Reading and writing scores are up about 23 points since 2014, while math scores are up about 21 points.
Smarter Balanced + WCAS results by year
| School year | English Language Arts | Math |
|---|---|---|
| 2024-25 | 56.7% | 33.6% |
| 2023-24 | 61.0% | 30.1% |
| 2022-23 | 63.0% | 25.2% |
| 2021-22 | 67.9% | 27.4% |
| 2018-19 | 71.9% | 30.9% |
| 2017-18 | 65.0% | 30.9% |
| 2016-17 | 10.5% | 26.4% |
| 2015-16 | 13.9% | 34.6% |
| 2014-15 | 34.0% | 12.2% |
% Met or Exceeded Standard, all students and all tested grades.
Source: Smarter Balanced + WCAS. All students, all grades. See all years and grades →
BeatsExpectations
Demographically-adjusted score · methodologyTier
AS EXPECTED
Performing as predicted given the school's student profile
Actual proficiency
46.9%
composite math + reading, all grades
Predicted
49.7%
based on WA schools with similar FRL share
Beats by
-2.8pp
below demographic expectation
What this means: About 47% of students here test proficient in math and reading, compared with the roughly 50% typical for Washington schools with a similar share of low-income students. BeatsExpectations measures results against demographically similar schools rather than by raw scores, and this school falls within the typical range, neither among Washington's top nor bottom 10%.
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 High School
Ferndale High School's state test result (46.9% proficient) is higher than 3 of the 4 schools below with a result.
| School | Students | Low-income | Proficient |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ferndale High School this school | 1,325 | 45.5% | 46.9% |
| Squalicum High School Bellingham | 1,273 | 43.2% | 37.1% |
| Lynden High School LYNDEN | 1,002 | 43.5% | 47.6% |
| Yelm High School 12 Yelm | 1,693 | 42.9% | 40.9% |
| Prairie High School BRUSH PRAIRIE | 1,502 | 43.5% | N/A |
| Olympic High School BREMERTON | 1,162 | 41.7% | 43.6% |
Matched among Washington high 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 High School ranks
Among high schools| Measure | This school | In Washington | In Whatcom County |
|---|---|---|---|
| State test proficiency ranked highest first | 46.9% | #108 of 271 | #7 of 10 |
| Math proficiency ranked highest first | 33.6% | #121 of 321 ▲ 21 | #7 of 10 no change |
| Reading proficiency ranked highest first | 56.7% | #177 of 327 ▼ 17 | #8 of 10 no change |
| 3-year test score change ranked biggest drop first | -2.5pp | #98 of 259 | #5 of 9 |
| Enrollment ranked largest first | 1,325 | #120 of 570 | #1 of 18 |
| Students per teacher ranked fewest first | 19.1:1 | #96 of 311 | #2 of 9 |
| Diversity index ranked most diverse first | 61.6% | #112 of 316 | #2 of 9 |
| Free and reduced lunch ranked highest share first | 45.5% | #226 of 386 | #5 of 12 |
| Enrollment change since 2017-18 ranked steepest decline first | -10.8% | #58 of 164 | N/A |
Ranked against other public high 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
1,325
-19 (-1%) vs 2020
+24% since 1990-91, when it was 1,068
Student : Teacher
19.1:1
was 21.3:1
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 | 1,325 | 69.3 | 19.1:1 | 46% (603) |
| 2023-24 | 1,338 | 71.5 | 18.7:1 | 49% (652) |
| 2022-23 | 1,323 | 70.9 | 18.7:1 | 48% (629) |
| 2020-21 | 1,344 | 63 | 21.3:1 | 41% (554) |
| 2017-18 | 1,485 | 64.6 | 23.0:1 | 40% (593) |
| 2015-16 | 1,482 | 65 | 22.8:1 | 38% (564) |
| 2010-11 | 1,567 | 77 | 20.4:1 | 37% (581) |
| 2000-01 | 1,476 | 69 | 21.4:1 | N/A |
| 1990-91 | 1,068 | 50 | 21.4:1 | N/A |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data. Rows are the federal collections on file for Ferndale High School.
Since 2017-18: students down 11% (1,485 to 1,325); teachers up 7% (64.6 to 69.3).
About Ferndale High School
Families in Ferndale, Washington, are served by Ferndale High School, a large high school. Enrollment stands at 1,325 students, covering grades 9 through 12. The school is 131% bigger than the average for high schools in Washington.
Ferndale School District has 13 schools; together they serve 4,746 students.
More than half of the students at Ferndale High School are White (55%). Next come 24% Hispanic, 7% multiracial, 6% Asian, and 6% Native American. That compares with about 78% White among all Whatcom County residents. The diversity index for Ferndale High School is 62%. For US public schools as a whole it is 70%.
There are 69.3 full-time-equivalent teachers at Ferndale High School, giving a ratio of 19.1:1. The school's 19.1:1 compares with an average of 21.6:1 for high schools in Washington. By family income, 46% of students are eligible for free or reduced-price lunch. Public schools in Whatcom County average a similar 47%.
Given its share of students eligible for free or reduced-price lunch, Ferndale High School would be expected to post about 49.7%. Its actual average proficiency rate across its state test results is 46.9%.
In the surrounding county, Whatcom County, the median household earns about $81,784 a year, 39% of adults hold a bachelor's degree or higher, and about 7% of residents live below the federal poverty line. Counting Ferndale High School, Whatcom County has 78 public schools.
Ferndale Virtual Academy is less than a tenth of a mile away, making it the nearest public school. Other public schools within five miles number at least 8. On average proficiency, Ferndale High School is 1st of 6 nearby schools with test data.
The National Center for Education Statistics classifies the school's location as Suburb: Mid-size, meaning it is in a suburban area outside a principal city, within an urbanized area with a population between 100,000 and 250,000.
The school's size has been steady, with 1,344 students in 2020-21 and 1,325 in 2024-25. The student-to-teacher ratio went down from 21.3:1 to 19.1:1.
The allk12 page for Ferndale High School lets the school community talk about pickup and drop-off, after-school programs, and teacher feedback. You can also rate the school on this page.
Whatcom County at a glance
View full county profilePopulation
230,503
Census ACS
Median income
$81,784
Household, ACS
Bachelor's+
39%
Adults 25+
Poverty rate
7%
Below federal line
Schools in county
78
27,779 students
Quick facts
Related schools
Other schools in Ferndale School District
- Vista Middle SchoolMiddle · 550 students
- Skyline Elementary SchoolElementary · 496 students
- Eagleridge ElementaryElementary · 457 students
- Cascadia ElementaryElementary · 440 students
- Horizon Middle SchoolMiddle · 433 students
- Custer ElemElementary · 392 students
Other schools in Ferndale
- Vista Middle SchoolMiddle · 550 students
- Skyline Elementary SchoolElementary · 496 students
- Eagleridge ElementaryElementary · 457 students
- Cascadia ElementaryElementary · 440 students
- Horizon Middle SchoolMiddle · 433 students
- Central ElementaryElementary · 315 students
Other Ferndale High schools
2 other US public schools in 3 states are named Ferndale High. Ferndale High School is the largest of the 3.
- Ferndale High SchoolFERNDALE, MI · 739 students
- Ferndale HighFerndale, CA · 145 students
Nearby schools
- Ferndale Virtual Academy0.0 mi · 154
- Central Elementary0.4 mi · 315
- Mountain View Elementary0.6 mi · 101
- Ferndale Special Services0.7 mi · 20
- Ferndale Re-Engagement0.7 mi · 33
- Vista Middle School0.7 mi · 550
Frequently asked questions
About Ferndale High SchoolHow many students attend Ferndale High School?
Ferndale High School enrolls approximately 1,325 students in grades 09-12.
What grades does Ferndale High School serve?
Ferndale High School serves grades 09-12.
How many teachers does Ferndale High School have?
Ferndale High School employs 69 FTE teachers, for a student-to-teacher ratio of 19.1:1.
What is the student diversity at Ferndale High School?
Student demographics at Ferndale High School are roughly 55% White, 24% Hispanic, 1% Black, 6% Asian, 7% Two or more.
Is Ferndale High School public or private?
Ferndale High School is a public K-12 school, overseen by Ferndale School District.
Data sourceSchool profile facts are sourced from the NCES. Community content is posted by allk12 members.