1 Ferndale School Top 3rd, Rest 50th Percentile or Lower in State's 'Top-to-Bottom' List

The Michigan Department of Education released its top-to-bottom ranking of public schools Friday and, with the exception of , Ferndale Public School District facilities ranked in the bottom half of all schools ranked.

The state's Top-to-Bottom ranking list was based on student proficiency, achievement, academic growth, achievement gaps in math, reading, writing, science, and social studies, and the graduation rate for high school buildings, according to a Michigan Department of Education press release Friday.

"We are still assessing the rankings and do not have conclusive information at this time," said Stephanie Hall, Ferndale Public Schools director of pupil services and community relations, in a emailed statement.

Even though University High School was ranked in the top-third of the list, it is one of 98 schools on the MDE's Persistently Lowest Achieving Schools list for the second-straight year. No other school in the district was on the PLA list.

Schools on the PLA list must submitted to the MDE a redesign plan. Hall said that the district has already done so after being placed on the 2010 list. "We are waiting to learn what our appearance on the 2011 list means," Hall said.

Schools that don't comply with MDE requirements in regards to the PLA list are subject to state takeover, Hall said. (Read more about that .)

Besides UHS, was the next-highest ranked building coming in at the 50th percentile on the list of more than 3,000 schools. The lowest-ranked Ferndale school was , which came in at the 4th percentile.

“Some schools are doing well at preparing students. Too many others still are struggling. But we all can improve,” state Superintendent of Public Instruction Mike Flanagan said. “In order for Michigan to succeed in this competitive global economy, our schools need to step up their efforts – some, in a big way. I encourage communities to have honest discussions with their school leaders to embrace and support the changes needed to move forward.”

There are no consequences linked to the Top-to-Bottom list – it's simply for "light-of-day" reporting and information, according to the MDE.

The department said it encourages schools to use the list as a diagnostic tool, to understand their achievement, improvement, and achievement gaps in all tested subjects, and to appropriately target resources to areas of highest need.

Percentile ranks of Ferndale schools

Ferndale Public School District

Statewide
Percentile*
Ranking

64

50

49

23

19

4

Ferndale Alternative Education

NA

Source: Michigan Department of Education

*A percentile rank of 99, for example, means that 99 percent of schools statewide scored below that school's result.