Ferndale Public Schools - Parent Resources

Background

On October 29, 2007, The Associated Press released an article, “1 in 10 Schools are ‘Dropout Factories” that ran nationwide. On the internet, the article linked to a U.S. map that allowed viewers to see the 1,700 identified schools at the state and local level. Ferndale High School was incorrectly identified among the Michigan schools who graduate fewer than 60% of their students. In fact, this information about Ferndale High School is not correct and the label “dropout factory” grossly misrepresents our school district.

Ferndale High School is not a Dropout Factory.

Actually, our graduation rates are high. The Class of 2006 graduation rate is as follows, according to No Child Left Behind (NCLB) and State of Michigan reporting:

Retention rate for 2005-2006 was 97.72%.
Graduation Rate for 2005-2006 was 91.27%
Dropout Rate for 2005-2006 was 2.28%

Johns Hopkins University researcher Robert Balfanz acknowledges there is not a uniform federal method for calculating dropout and graduation rates. The figures he used for Ferndale are raw numbers of students enrolled as 9th graders in Fall 2002 compared to the number of students enrolled as 12th graders in Winter 2006.

Johns Hopkins researchers define Retention Rate as the percentage of children who make it from freshman year to senior year. By not taking into account students who graduated before Winter 2006, student retention and mobility, the researchers drew an inaccurate conclusion that the decline in enrollment from ninth to 12th grades only represented those dropping out of school. In fact, the Instruction and Pupil Services Offices completed an analysis of the 2007 Cohort Report created by CEPI, and only two students are defined as dropouts.

The Ferndale Public Schools feel it is imperative to set the record straight about the graduation and dropout rate at Ferndale High School. In fact, Superintendent Gary W. Meier is awaiting an additional response to a request to the Johns Hopkins University researchers who compiled the data to remove Ferndale High School from the list. Please take a moment to read through the formal requests - available here for public review:

NEW: February 11, 2008 | Letter #3: To JHU Refuting Label "Dropout Factory"
December 17, 2007 | Letter #2: To JHU Refuting Label "Dropout Factory."
November 27, 2007 | Letter #1: To Johns Hopkins University (JHU) Refuting Label "Dropout Factory."

Johns Hopkins' Response:
December 7, 2007 | Letter #1 from Chris West at Johns Hopkins
January 28, 2008 | Letter #2 from Robert Balfanz, Research Scientist at Johns Hopkins University