Summary:
Ferndale, California, has two schools in the supplied data: Ferndale Elementary, serving kindergarten through grade 8, and Ferndale High, serving grades 9–12; together they enroll 483 students. The clearest area-wide finding is a subject split: in 2025–26, the elementary school led in math and science, while the high school led in ELA.
Ferndale Elementary stands out in math and science, with 58% and 53% proficiency, compared with 37% and 23% at Ferndale High—gaps of 21 and 29 percentage points. The high school had the stronger ELA result, 57% versus 52%, and its 100% graduation rate and 0% dropout rate compare favorably with statewide figures of 88% and 8%. Grade-level results show both strengths and dips: elementary seventh-grade math was 80%, 42 points above the state, while fourth-grade ELA was 31%, 15 points below. High school chronic absenteeism was 18%, compared with 8% at the elementary school.
Results improved year over year, especially at the high school: its ELA, math and science results rose by 6, 7 and 13 percentage points, respectively, though math and science remained below state results. Elementary science rose 15 points, while its ELA and math each increased by less than one point. SchoolDigger rates both schools three stars, placing the elementary school at the 69th percentile and the high school at the 60th percentile in 2025–26; both percentiles are above their 2023–24 standings, though the high school’s ranking dipped before rising. The high school’s student-teacher ratio is lower, 11.3 compared with 19.3, but that does not correspond to stronger math or science scores. Both schools reported similar 2024–25 free/reduced lunch eligible shares: 46% at each. Grade 12 science at the high school is suppressed and unknown, and the schools serve different grade spans.
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