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Fordson High School

Public Grades 9-12
581st
SchoolDigger Rank ?
of 739 Michigan High Schools
Better than 21% of Michigan high schools
Summary

Fordson High School is a public high school located in Dearborn, Michigan, serving grades 9-12 with a total enrollment of 2,092 students. It is part of the Dearborn City School District, which is ranked 279 out of 613 school districts in Michigan and has a 3-star rating from SchoolDigger.

Fordson High School has consistently underperformed compared to the state and district averages on standardized tests. In the 2024-2025 school year, only 13.9% of 11th-grade students were proficient or better in M-Step/Science, compared to the district average of 23.7% and the state average of 34.9%. Similarly, in SAT/Mathematics, only 21.2% of 11th-grade students were proficient or better, compared to the district average of 24.2% and the state average of 27.5%. The school's four-year graduation rate has ranged from 81.7% to 97.2% over the past few years, which is generally lower than the state average, and its dropout rate has been relatively high, ranging from 1.1% to 8.1% during the same period. Additionally, Fordson High School has experienced high rates of chronic absenteeism, ranging from 21.3% to 30.8% over the past few years, which is significantly higher than the state average.

Compared to nearby schools, Fordson High School generally underperforms. For example, Henry Ford Early College/Advanced Manufacturing, a school within the same district, has significantly higher academic performance, with 45.2% of 11th-grade students proficient or better in M-Step/Science and 78.6% proficient or better in SAT/Evidence-Based Reading and Writing. Fordson High School's performance is particularly low for certain student subgroups, with the school's ranking for White students and English Language Learner students in the bottom 10% of Michigan high schools. Despite an increase in per-student spending over the years, from $11,683 in 2020-2021 to $16,849 in 2023-2024, these investments have not translated into significant improvements in academic performance or other key metrics.

1,966
Students ?
19.1
Student/teacher ratio ?
$16,849
Per pupil spending ?
85.8%
Free/discounted lunch ?
 13800 Ford Rd
       Dearborn, MI  48126-3209

(313) 827-1400

District: Dearborn City School District


Feeder schools for Fordson High School:

Elementary:    Iris Becker Elementary School
    Lowrey Elementary School
    McCollough Elementary School
    McDonald Elementary School
    More...
Middle:    Lowrey Middle School
    Unis Middle School
Racial breakdown:

White:
97.8%
African American:
1.1%
Hispanic:
0.6%
more
 See top rated Michigan high schools

 Compare Fordson High School to nearby high schools!
At a glance
Ranking trend: Declining — 60th percentile in 2015 → 21st in 2025
Strengths
97% graduate in 4 years — above the Michigan average (83%)
Worth a look
!Test scores below the Michigan average (23% vs 40% meeting standards)
!In the lower quartile statewide (21st percentile)
!Ranking has slipped — down 39 percentile points since 2015
Students meeting standards (2024-2025) ?
This school23%
District avg32%
Michigan avg40%
581st of 739
Michigan public high schools ?
Bottom 21%▼ down 39 pts since 2015
From top 40% (2015) to bottom 21% (2025)
See the entire ranking list of Michigan High Schools →
SchoolDigger rating ?
5th of 5High Schools in the Dearborn City School District
279th of 613Dearborn City School District among Michigan districts
Statewide rank percentile over time (100 = the top-ranked school in the state; click a legend item to add a student group)
Show full rank history (all student groups)

All Students

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankMichigan percentileRating
202520.4581 of 73921.4%★☆☆☆☆
202426.1545 of 74326.6%★☆☆☆☆
202319.8591 of 73519.6%★☆☆☆☆
202235.8385 of 53127.5%★☆☆☆☆
202144.7293 of 56147.8%★★☆☆☆
201933.8449 of 66632.6%★★☆☆☆
201844.4450 of 82445.4%★★☆☆☆
201735.6491 of 83541.2%★★☆☆☆
201631.6552 of 85235.2%★★☆☆☆
201561.6329 of 83260.5%★★★☆☆
201437.7519 of 79935.0%★★☆☆☆
201345.8466 of 80542.1%★★☆☆☆
201235.9525 of 77332.1%★★☆☆☆
201138.0548 of 78430.1%★★☆☆☆
201045.5502 of 76534.4%★★☆☆☆
200943.7498 of 75434.0%★★☆☆☆
200837.6535 of 75028.7%★☆☆☆☆
200735.9549 of 76728.4%★☆☆☆☆
200630.1551 of 70521.8%★☆☆☆☆

English Language Learner

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankMichigan percentileRating
202511.352 of 531.9%☆☆☆☆☆
202414.841 of 434.7%☆☆☆☆☆
202314.734 of 352.9%☆☆☆☆☆
201916.927 of 270.0%☆☆☆☆☆
201821.991 of 10210.8%★☆☆☆☆

Female

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankMichigan percentileRating
202519.0508 of 62919.2%★☆☆☆☆
202427.2452 of 61927.0%★☆☆☆☆
202315.6522 of 61114.6%★☆☆☆☆
202229.9344 of 41617.3%★☆☆☆☆
202148.4225 of 46251.3%★★★☆☆
201921.0456 of 55417.7%★☆☆☆☆
201840.9422 of 71040.6%★★☆☆☆

Low Socio Economic Status

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankMichigan percentileRating
202525.8477 of 63524.9%★☆☆☆☆
202435.3427 of 65434.7%★★☆☆☆
202324.0496 of 61419.2%★☆☆☆☆
202250.2204 of 36944.7%★★☆☆☆
202161.1134 of 41767.9%★★★☆☆
201946.9288 of 53245.9%★★☆☆☆
201858.4280 of 75562.9%★★★☆☆

Male

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankMichigan percentileRating
202514.2544 of 62813.4%★☆☆☆☆
202417.2542 of 63314.4%★☆☆☆☆
202315.8527 of 61113.7%★☆☆☆☆
202230.0343 of 44022.0%★☆☆☆☆
202129.9340 of 47228.0%★☆☆☆☆
201935.1370 of 54331.9%★★☆☆☆
201837.3443 of 70737.3%★★☆☆☆

Special Education

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankMichigan percentileRating
201848.9120 of 31561.9%★★★☆☆

White

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankMichigan percentileRating
202511.6579 of 6399.4%☆☆☆☆☆
202415.2566 of 63811.3%★☆☆☆☆
202311.2598 of 6477.6%☆☆☆☆☆
202224.8409 of 49216.9%★☆☆☆☆
202133.3352 of 51631.8%★★☆☆☆
201922.4468 of 58219.6%★☆☆☆☆
201830.9501 of 70829.2%★☆☆☆☆
How student groups rank statewide ? (each group's percentile vs the same group at other schools — higher is better; the +/- beside each compares the group with this school's overall percentile)
Special Education (2018)62nd percentile+17 vs school
Low Socio Economic Status (2025)25th percentile+4 vs school
Female (2025)19th percentile~ school
Male (2025)13th percentile-8 vs school
White (2025)9th percentile-12 vs school
English Language Learner (2025)2nd percentile-19 vs school
By subject vs Michigan (2024-2025) ?
Evidence-Based Reading and Writing36%-20 vs state
Mathematics21%-6 vs state
Social Studies21%-21 vs state
Science14%-21 vs state

3.6
5 ratings · 2 written reviews
52
41
31
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11
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What people are saying
Facebook Profile Picture by a parent on FaceBook
Monday, December 19, 2011

Open Quote Based on a precentage of screwballs and the humane... Close Quote


by a student
Wednesday, September 2, 2009

Open Quote Its actually a pretty good school, yu get along with most of the teacher's. The teacher's stay after school to help with any problems you face in the class. You can get along with most of the students there, although there attitudes get them in a lot of trouble... well.... lets not mention it anymore... Close Quote





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Frequently Asked Questions about Fordson High School

Fordson High School ranks in the bottom 21.4% of Michigan high schools.

In the 2024-25 school year, 1,966 students attended Fordson High School.

Students at Fordson High School are 98% White, 1% African American.


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SchoolDigger data sources: National Center for Education Statistics, U.S. Department of Education, the U.S. Census Bureau and the Michigan Department of Education.

IMPORTANT DISCLAIMERS: Not all boundaries are included. We make every effort to ensure that boundaries are up-to-date. But it's important to note that these are approximations and are for general informational purposes only. To verify legal descriptions of boundaries or school locations, contact your local tax assessor's office and/or school district.





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