School Profile · Ferndale
Ferndale Elementary: This school runs ahead of the state average. The bar itself is the harder conversation.
Ferndale posts 48% meeting the standard against 43% statewide — ahead of most, with real headroom above the bar.
164 Shaw Avenue, 95536 (opens in new tab)·Ferndale Unified·Ferndale·Grades TK-8·338 students·46% low-income·2024–25 CAASPP·(707) 786-5300
Scope Score
43
📈 On the Rise · Developing
ranked #2,339 statewide
Ferndale Elementary scores 43 of 100 on SchoolScope's Scope Score — the 55th percentile of 5,230 California elementary schools (CDE CAASPP 2025).
Measures test performance, attendance, and climate — not arts, community, or your kid. How we score →
Most rating sites would stop at “48% proficient” and call it done. Ferndale deserves a closer read. The school sits in Ferndale, where two in five students qualify for free or reduced lunch — and reading the numbers without that context misreads the school.
The headline number: 9.0% chronic absenteeism — versus 18.1% statewide. Attendance is the quietest strong signal a school can post.
The story this school is actually telling
The school, grade by grade
ELA · CAASPP 2024–25Different students, same year — each bar is one grade's proficiency mix.
18%
13%
69%
Grade 3 · 31% proficient
33%
17%
50%
Grade 4 · 50% proficient
24%
29%
47%
Grade 5 · 53% proficient
The honest read: the share exceeding rises 5.4pp across grades; the floor rises 20.8pp. The state average rises 4.5pp over the same span. Kids here gain ground the longer they stay — the pattern you want to see. A school visit and conversation with teachers will tell you more than this number.
The 6 things our score weighs
Exceeded standard
22.0%
State 21.6%
0.4pp above state avg
Met or exceeded
47.8%
State 42.9%
4.9pp above state avg
Growth (G3→G5)
+12.8pp
State -3.0pp
Scores improve across grades
Chronic absenteeism
9.0%
State 18.1%
9.1pp below state avg
Suspension rate
3.4%
State 1.7%
1.7pp above state avg
EL proficiency (ELPAC)
16.7%
State 18.0%
1.3pp below state avg
Worth a school visit
Ask how the school challenges kids who clear the standard early. The gap between meeting and exceeding is where pacing shows.
Where the path goes
The path below follows attendance boundaries — scores shown for each next step.
K-12 Feeder Path
Elementary
Ferndale Elementary
43/100
This school
Feeder patterns derived from NCES attendance boundary data. Boundaries are approximate and may have changed — verify with your school district for current assignments.
Planning ahead? 1 licensed preschools near this school →
Your other options
The community around it
Community Profile
Context — not part of the Scope ScoreStudent demographics
Hispanic18.9%
White72.8%
Other8.3%
GenderFemale 51.2%Male 48.8%
Resources & Access
Enrollment
338
282 below CA avg (~620)
Transitional Kindergarten
24 TK students
7% of a 351-student campus · CDE Census Day 2025-26
Free/Reduced Lunch
46%
18pp below CA avg (64%)
Student-Teacher Ratio
20:1
1 fewer students per teacher than CA avg
Per-Pupil Spending
$18,180
District avg: $14,304 · CA avg: $14,815 · School-level · CDE ESSA
EL Proficiency (ELPAC)
16.7% Level 4
Share of English Learners reaching full proficiency
Teacher Salary Range
$48,765 – $90,131
District schedule · CA median ~$98K
At Ferndale Elementary in Ferndale, 38.8% of low-income students met or exceeded the ELA standard in 2025, compared to 40.7% district-wide and 38.2% statewide. Ferndale Elementary trails its district average for low-income students by 1.8 percentage points in ELA. Other subgroups: Low-Income students (47.1% Math proficient); White students (56.1% ELA proficient). The largest proficiency gap is 12.8 percentage points for low-income students. Data source: California Department of Education, CAASPP 2024-25. 103 students tested.
Equity Gaps
Suspension · English Learner+7.1pp
10.5% vs 3.4% overall · n=19
ELA · Low-Income−12.8pp
38.9% vs 51.7% overall · n=103
3 more gaps by subject
ELA Exceeded · Low-Income−12.4pp
9.1% vs 21.5% overall · n=103
Math · Low-Income−10.2pp
48.8% vs 59.0% overall · n=104
Math Exceeded · Low-Income−14.4pp
19.4% vs 33.8% overall · n=104
Subgroups with fewer than 15 students are excluded for privacy. Gaps of less than 3 percentage points are not shown.
Subgroup Proficiency
Low-Income104 tested
ELA 38.8%·Math 47.1%· -1.8pp vs district
White155 tested
ELA 56.1%·Math 61.9%· +1.2pp vs district
Weighted average across tested grades. Subgroups with fewer than 15 students excluded. Data: CDE CAASPP 2024-25.
Subgroup Growth by Grade
Change in proficiency from lowest tested grade. Shows which groups are gaining ground.
Low-income student ELA proficiency rises by 18.7pp from grade 3 to grade 5 at this school. District average: +18.7pp.
Subgroups with fewer than 10 tested students per grade are not shown.
Funding Breakdown
Neighborhood Context
Median Income
$73K
$12K below CA median
Median Home Value
$566K
$93K below CA median
Bachelor's+
30%
5pp below CA avg
Source: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 5-year estimates (2024) · ZIP-level
Whole Child
Teacher experience, college/career readiness, and more. Context only — never part of the Scope Score.
Teacher Experience
11.1 years avg experience
20 teachers · 5% first-year · 10% second-year
Teacher Credentials
80% fully credentialed
Source: CDE SARC, 2024-25
Community Profile provides context about who attends this school and the resources available. These factors are never part of the Scope Score. Learn why →
For the data nerdsEvery number on this page
Score factors, grade-level breakdowns, subgroup proficiency, and peer comparisons.
For the data nerds
Every number on this page
Score factors, grade-level breakdowns, subgroup proficiency, and peer comparisons.
01Score factorsWeighted composite · 2024–25
Exceeded standard · 43%
22.0%
↑ vs CA 21.6% · 50th pctile
Met or exceeded · 22%
47.8%
↑ vs CA 42.9% · 54th pctile
Growth (G3→G5) · 15%
+12.8pp
↑ vs CA -3.0pp · 42th pctile
Chronic absenteeism · 10%
9.0%
↑ vs CA 18.1% · 65th pctile
Suspension rate · 5%
3.4%
↓ vs CA 1.7% · 36th pctile
EL proficiency (ELPAC) · 5%
16.7%
↓ vs CA 18.0% · 26th pctile
02By grade & subgroupCAASPP 2024–25 · % of tested students
| ELA | Tested | EXC | MET | NEAR | NOT | MET+ | +/CA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Grade 3 | 38 | 18% | 13% | 32% | 37% | 32% | −12 |
| Grade 4 | 36 | 33% | 17% | 22% | 28% | 50% | +5 |
| Grade 5 | 42 | 24% | 29% | 12% | 36% | 52% | +4 |
| Grade 6 | 35 | 23% | 23% | 23% | 31% | 46% | −1 |
| Grade 7 | 36 | 14% | 47% | 28% | 11% | 61% | +13 |
| Grade 8 | 30 | 17% | 53% | 20% | 10% | 70% | +24 |
| Math | Tested | EXC | MET | NEAR | NOT | MET+ | +/CA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Grade 3 | 38 | 5% | 34% | 34% | 26% | 39% | −6 |
| Grade 4 | 36 | 28% | 42% | 22% | 8% | 69% | +28 |
| Grade 5 | 43 | 23% | 21% | 23% | 33% | 44% | +9 |
| Grade 6 | 35 | 29% | 17% | 34% | 20% | 46% | +11 |
| Grade 7 | 36 | 56% | 31% | 14% | 0% | 86% | +52 |
| Grade 8 | 30 | 63% | 7% | 17% | 13% | 70% | +38 |
| Science (CAST) | Tested | EXC | MET | NEAR | NOT |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Grade 5/8/11 | 72 | 19% | 18% | 54% | 8% |
CAST is tested in grades 5, 8, and once in high school — not annually. Not part of the Scope Score.
| Subgroup · ELA | Tested | MET+ | vs district | vs CA |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Socioeconomically Disadvantaged | 103 | 38.8% | −2 | +1 |
| White | 155 | 56.1% | +1 | −6 |
03Peer comparison · nearest elementary schoolssorted by Scope Score
| School | Dist | Scope | EXC | MET+ | Growth | Susp |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ferndale Elementary ← | — | 43 | 22.0% | 47.8% | +12.8 | 3.4% |
| California average | — | 44 | 21.6% | 42.9% | −3.0 | 1.7% |
04More measurescontext · not all part of the Scope Score
Scope Score history
2019 · 2022 · 2023 · 2024 · 2025 · no testing 2020–21 (COVID) · rank #3245 → #2922 → #2283 → #2212 → #2339
What we can't show
- — Scored here as an elementary school — other grade spans appear in the data appendix.
Source: CA Dept. of Education · CAASPP 2024–25 · n=5,230 elementary schools · Data updated 2026-07-03methodology · data updates · CSV · report issue
Frequently asked questions
Is Ferndale Elementary a good elementary school?
Ferndale Elementary has a Scope Score of 43 out of 100, placing it in the 55th percentile of California elementary schools and ranked #2,339 statewide. 22.0% of students exceeded the state standard on the 2025 CAASPP assessment, which is near the California average of 21.6%. The Scope Score weights six dimensions for elementary schools: exceeded standard (43%), met or exceeded (22%), grade 3-to-5 growth (15%), chronic absenteeism (10%), ELPAC English Learner proficiency (5%), and suspension rate (5%). Data source: California Department of Education CAASPP 2025, analyzed by SchoolScope.
What are Ferndale Elementary's CAASPP test scores?
On the 2025 CAASPP Smarter Balanced Assessment, 47.8% of students at Ferndale Elementary met or exceeded the state standard in ELA and Math combined, and 22.0% exceeded it. The gap between those numbers matters: 25.9% of students are at the proficiency floor, while 22.0% pushed past it. Most rating sites report only the combined "proficient" number. SchoolScope surfaces the exceeded-vs-met split because it reveals whether a school's curriculum challenges students beyond minimum proficiency or paces toward it. 233 student-subject combinations were assessed.
How does Ferndale Elementary rank in California?
Ferndale Elementary ranks #2,339 among California elementary schools by Scope Score, placing it in the 55th percentile. This ranking is based on a weighted composite of 2025 CAASPP test performance (exceeded and met rates), grade-level growth (Grade 3 to grade 5 growth), chronic absenteeism, and suspension rate. Unlike single-number ratings, the Scope Score shows what drives the ranking so parents can decide what matters most to their family. See full methodology.
Is Ferndale Elementary getting better or worse?
Based on 2025 CAASPP data, proficiency at Ferndale Elementary increases by 12.8 percentage points from Grade 3 to grade 5 growth. This upward trajectory suggests the school is adding measurable value — students leave with higher proficiency rates than they entered with. Growth trajectory is weighted at 15% in the elementary Scope Score because it measures what the school does, not just who walks in the door.
What is the attendance and school culture like at Ferndale Elementary?
9.0% of students at Ferndale Elementary are chronically absent (missing 10% or more of school days), which is better than the California average of 18.1%. The suspension rate is 3.4%. SchoolScope includes these culture metrics in the Scope Score because they reflect day-to-day school experience in ways test scores alone cannot.
How does Ferndale Elementary compare to other schools in Ferndale?
Ferndale Elementary scores 43/100 (55th percentile) among California elementary schools. To compare with nearby schools, SchoolScope shows the same metrics side by side: exceeded rate, proficiency, growth trajectory, and school culture indicators. The school serves 338 students. Use the schools in Ferndale page or the map view to compare all elementary schools nearby.
How does Ferndale Elementary serve low-income and underrepresented students?
At Ferndale Elementary in Ferndale, 38.8% of low-income students met or exceeded the ELA standard in 2025, compared to 40.7% district-wide and 38.2% statewide. Ferndale Elementary trails its district average for low-income students by 1.8 percentage points in ELA. Other subgroups: Low-Income students (47.1% Math proficient); White students (56.1% ELA proficient). The largest proficiency gap is 12.8 percentage points for low-income students. Data source: California Department of Education, CAASPP 2024-25. 103 students tested. SchoolScope shows disaggregated test scores by demographic subgroup so you can see how a school performs for your child's specific group — not just the school-wide average. Subgroup data is context, not part of the Scope Score: we don't penalize schools for who they serve. See our equity approach.