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.

Ferndale High School – Not A Dropout Factory | Removed from Johns Hopkins University List

May 9, 2008: Researchers at Johns Hopkins University have notified the Ferndale Schools that they agree that Ferndale High School does not belong on the list of high schools designated to have poor promoting power, i.e., Dropout Factories. In short, Ferndale High School has been officially been removed from the list. Johns Hopkins will post a notification on their website indicating that FHS has been removed, and will work with the district to develop a media release plan for the news.

Posted on the Johns Hopkins Website (http://web.jhu.edu/csos) May 14, 2008:

"The following High Schools are being removed from the list of schools with a 3-Year Average of Promoting Power of 60% or below for the Classes of 2004, 2005, and 2006. As a result they should not be characterized as “fitting the profile” of a Dropout Factory.

General Population Decline and Extraordinarily Large Number of Transfers Out of the District Ferndale High School,
Ferndale Public Schools (MI)
During the period studied, the Ferndale Public School district experienced an overall decline in total population and extraordinarily high rates out-transfers not balanced by intransfers at the high school level. The difference between out and in-transfers averaged close to 8 to 1. For the Class of 2006, 126 of the 350 students who were ninth-grade students in the fall of 2002 transferred to other high schools before twelfth grade and counterbalanced by only 18 net in-transfers. Similarly for the Class of 2005, 153 of the 419 students who were ninth-grade students in the fall of 2001 transferred to other highschools before twelfth grade and counterbalanced by only 17 in-transfers. For the Class of 2004, 126 of the 411 students who were ninth-grade students in the fall of 2000 transferred to other high schools before twelfth grade and counterbalanced by only 18 intransfers. Due to the large decline in overall student population caused by students transferring out of the district, Ferndale High School’s Promoting Power Ratios are lower than the cohort rates the district was able to calculate by following individual students over a four-year time period; 64% for the Class of 2004, 77% for the Class of 2005, and 91% for the Class of 2006, yielding a three-year Promoting Power Average of 77%."

Johns Hopkins University initially published a research study “Transforming the Nation’s Dropout Factories,”that listed 1700 high schools nationwide that had a 3-Year Average of Promoting Power of 60% or below for the Classes of 2004, 2005, and 2006. The Associated Press released the results of Johns Hopkins’ analysis of graduating class sizes from 9th grade to 12th grade to the national press in October 2007. Since then, the Ferndale Schools have been working with the researchers to clarify how those data should be analyzed, and that Ferndale High School’s three-year average is well over the 60% at 77%. Johns Hopkins acknowledged Friday, May 9, 2008 that Ferndale High School should not be characterized as “fitting the profile” of a Dropout Factory. They further acknowledged that the general population decline of the Ferndale Schools, and a higher number of high school students who transfer out, than move in resulted in the inaccurate designation.

Ferndale Schools Superintendent Gary Meier says, “We are pleased that Johns Hopkins has removed Ferndale High School from this list where we never belonged. Ferndale High School should actually be considered as a model for Dr. Balfanz’ research study. Ferndale High School has a great deal of success with our diverse student population, has a reputation for supporting all student groups, and has a long track record of successful graduates.”

The Ferndale Public Schools felt it was imperative to set the record straight about the graduation and dropout rate at Ferndale High School. Superintendent Gary W. Meier sent five requests 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:

May 1, 2008 | Letter #5: To JHU Refuting Label "Dropout Factory"

April 15, 2008 | Letter #4: To JHU Refuting Label "Dropout Factory"

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