Enrollment
145
California · 2024-25 NCES data
2024-25 NCES data High school (grades 9-12) NCES 060003701551
Ferndale High — Ferndale, CA
Federal NCES profile for Ferndale High, including enrollment, faculty, free-lunch eligibility, demographics, and resource indicators — Resource Investment Index 50/100.
👥 Class size 58
📚 AP courses 20
🌟 Gifted program 70
🎓 Counselors 52
📋 Attendance 48
How this works: Each indicator above is scored 0–100 from federal NCES and CRDC data, then averaged into the Resource Investment Index. This measures resource allocation — staffing, programs, and support services — not standardized test scores or academic outcomes. Full methodology →
School address
District: Ferndale Unified · California
Public location data per NCES (National Center for Education Statistics) Common Core of Data. Verify the school's current address on the NCES CCD record.
Teachers (FTE)
12.0
Federal CCD staff survey
Students per teacher
10.4:1
vs 21.6:1 California avg
-52% vs state
Free-lunch eligible
44.8%
vs 55.5% California avg
-19% vs state
Student-teacher ratio in context
How Ferndale High compares with California and U.S. medians
The federal record — no proprietary index, no editorial formula.
PlainSchools publishes the actual federal measurements — enrollment, staffing, demographics, discipline, and finance — straight from the NCES Common Core of Data, CRDC, and F-33 surveys. No composite rating, no opinion-based score on top. You get the same raw numbers researchers and policymakers use, with benchmarks, spending context, and equity indicators computed from the same federal datasets. Full methodology linked below.
What this school's NCES data tells you
Ferndale High reports 145 enrolled students to the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) alongside 12.0 full-time-equivalent teachers, producing a 10.4:1 student-teacher ratio. That figure sits 52% below the California state mean of 21.6:1, signalling more teacher attention per pupil than the state benchmark. Against the national 2024-25 average of 15.9:1, it is 35% lower, a useful calibration for families comparing districts across state lines.
Title I and federal lunch eligibility offer another window into the student body: 44.8% of pupils qualify for free meals, a proxy for household income that federal programs use to direct funding. The free-lunch share is 19% below the California average and 14% below the national baseline. The school offers 4 Advanced Placement courses, a stronger academic pipeline indicator than enrollment alone. Counselor coverage works out to roughly 242 students per counselor, meeting the American School Counselor Association recommendation of 250:1. Chronic absenteeism — missing 10% or more of school days — stands at 20.7% according to the 2021-22 Civil Rights Data Collection.
On the finance side, the surrounding Ferndale Unified spends $14,992 per pupil district-wide, below the California average of $18,039 and below the national average of $19,490. Revenue comes 31.0% from local sources (property taxes), 56.5% from the state, and 12.5% from federal programs per the NCES F-33 finance survey. Taken together, these measurements produce a Resource Investment Index of 50/100 (C-), calculated from 5 distinct NCES and CRDC indicators measuring resource allocation rather than academic outcomes.
Source: National Center for Education Statistics Common Core of Data + CRDC + F-33 · 2024-25
How Ferndale High compares
Cross-validating school-level NCES values against California state and U.S. national means lets readers see whether this school is an outlier or in line with peers.
| Metric | This school | vs California | California avg | U.S. avg |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Students per teacher | 10.4:1 | ▼ 52% | 21.6:1 | 15.9:1 |
| Free-lunch eligible | 44.8% | ▼ 19% | 55.5% | 51.8% |
| Enrollment | 145 | top 14% | — | — |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data School-level CCD + state/national means from Public School Universe · 2024-25
What the federal data reveals about equity at this school
Federal measurements — not ratings — surface the resource and opportunity picture. Below are the indicators that researchers, civil-rights monitors, and funding formulas use to assess equity.
Economic need
44.8%
free-lunch eligible
— 19% below the California average of 55.5%
Above the 40% Title I schoolwide threshold — federal funds support the whole school, not individual students.
Staffing depth
10.4:1
students per teacher
— 52% below state mean
Top 4% in California — lower ratio than 96% of state schools
Below the 15:1 benchmark — typical of schools with smaller class sizes and more individualized attention.
Engagement
20.7%
chronically absent (missed 10%+ of school days)
Chronic absenteeism at or above 20% — the CDC threshold for "high" — signals significant barriers to regular attendance.
Funding equity
$14,992
per pupil, district-wide
— below California avg of $18,039
Below the U.S. average per-pupil spend — funding constraints may affect programs, facilities, and staffing.
Support staff
Counselors0.6 FTE
Per 242 students — the combined health-and-guidance staffing load for this school.
Discipline context
2
in-school suspensions + 3 out-of-school
Suspension rate: 1.4 per 100 students. Combined in-school and out-of-school rate: 3.4 per 100 students. Reported via the Civil Rights Data Collection.
Overview
Enrollment 145 Top 14% in California — larger than 86% of 10,006 state schools
Teachers (FTE) 12.0
Students per teacher 10.4:1 -52% vs state
Free-lunch eligible 44.8% -19% vs state
NCES ID 060003701551
Student demographics
White 71.0%
Hispanic or Latino 22.1%
Two or More 4.1%
American Indian / Alaska Native 2.1%
African American 0.7%
Largest group: White at 71.0% of enrollment.
Programs & staff
AP courses offered 4
Gifted & talented Yes
Counselors (FTE) 0.6
Students per counselor 242:1
Discipline & special education
Chronically absent 20.7%
In-school suspensions 2
Out-of-school suspensions 3
Funding & spending
District-wide per-pupil expenditure for Ferndale Unified, which includes Ferndale High.
$14,992
Per student
-17%
vs California
Avg $18,039
-23%
vs U.S.
Avg $19,490
Revenue mix
Local 31.0%
State 56.5%
Federal 12.5%
Source: NCES F-33 School District Finance Survey District-level finance · FY 2021-22 Per-pupil expenditure reflects the district-wide average. Individual school budgets are not reported at the federal level.
Other Schools in This District
- Enrollment
- 338
- Students per teacher
- 19.1:1
Educator & family resources
In-depth guides on understanding NCES data, school choice, and education funding.
Understanding NCES data
How CCD, CRDC and EDFacts feed every public-school number you see.
Choose a school district
Eight signals that matter more than the overall ranking number.
How schools are funded
Title I, F-33, state aid formulas and what per-pupil spending really means.
Chronic absenteeism
Why missing 10% of school matters and how it varies by district.
Magnet vs charter vs traditional
Three school types, three funding models, three sets of trade-offs.
School discipline data
What CRDC suspension and expulsion records do and don't reveal.
Frequently asked questions about Ferndale High
How many students attend Ferndale High?
Ferndale High has 145 students enrolled. It is a high school in Ferndale, CA.
What is the student-teacher ratio at Ferndale High?
The student-teacher ratio at Ferndale High is 10.4:1, which is 52% lower than the California average of 21.6:1 and 35% lower than the national average of 15.9:1. Lower ratios generally mean more individual attention per student.
What percentage of students receive free lunch at Ferndale High?
44.8% of students at Ferndale High are eligible for free lunch, compared to the California average of 55.5%.
What is the racial and ethnic makeup of Ferndale High?
The largest demographic group at Ferndale High is White at 71.0%. The school serves a diverse student body in Ferndale, CA.
What is the Resource Investment Index for Ferndale High?
Ferndale High has a Resource Investment Index of 50/100 (C-) based on 5 factors: student-teacher ratio, AP course offerings, counselor availability, attendance rates. This index measures federal resource allocation — staffing levels, program availability, and support services — not standardized test scores or academic outcomes.