By the numbers: Achievement data for schools on or near Idaho reservations

Carly Flandro | 05/17/2023

Idaho schools that serve the greatest populations of Native American students (and/or are located on or near reservations) often perform below the state average on tests. 

But, as some Native American educators have pointed out, test results may say more about school systems than about students. 

Data shows that disparities exist between Native American students and their peers, and between schools that serve comparatively large numbers of Native Americans and those that don’t. 

School leaders are working to close those achievement gaps, and many say that means incorporating more Native American perspectives and education into the curriculum, and recruiting more Native American teachers and administrators. 

Take a look at the data below to see where Native Americans attend school and how they’re doing academically. 

The methodology: A focus on schools serving Native American students/reservations

EdNews recently examined data on how Native American students statewide are doing compared to all students. Here, we look at individual schools’ performance on some of the most common academic achievement measures — the Idaho Reading Indicator, the Idaho Standard Achievement Test, and the SAT. 

We chose schools that are on or near reservations. In most cases, those were also the schools that serve the most Native Americans (Boundary County schools are one exception; they are near the Kootenai Reservation but serve a relatively small number of Native American students). 

The Owyhee Combined School, which is located in Nevada but serves Idaho students and tribes, is included but with different data points since the IRI, ISAT, and SAT are not administered by districts there. 

Idaho’s two tribal schools, Shoshone-Bannock Jr./Sr. High and the Coeur d’Alene Tribal School, are not represented because they are federal Bureau of Indian Education schools and assessment data was unavailable. 

Native American communities were especially hard-hit by COVID-19 and are still recovering

The testing data included below is from the 2021-2022 school year (the most recent available). 

When reviewing the data, it’s worth keeping in mind that many communities are still recovering from the Covid-19 pandemic, which hit Native American communities especially hard. A 2021 Princeton University study found that “Native Americans experience substantially greater rates of COVID-19 mortality compared with other racial and ethnic groups.”

And Idaho tribal communities have confirmed that the pandemic had major impacts on education. 

In Fort Hall, a lack of dependable internet access exacerbated remote learning difficulties. The Lapwai School District closed for extended periods of time and followed strict protocols to minimize the spread of illness. The chairman of the Kootenai Tribe of Idaho declined interview requests, citing ongoing, community-wide recovery from the pandemic. 

The school-by-school data

The data below shows school-wide outcomes on some key education achievement measures. 

Information about Native American student enrollment at each school and district is also included. However, school districts sometimes report different — and higher — numbers of Native American students than does the State Department of Education. 

This could be for a number of reasons. 

The SDE relies on students or guardians self-identifying race, and some Native Americans choose not to provide that information for a number of reasons. District numbers can also vary because they pull from state and federal data, while the SDE relies just on state numbers. 

DISTRICTS/SCHOOLS ON OR NEAR THE FORT HALL RESERVATION

BLACKFOOT SCHOOL DISTRICT

Native American students served, according to the SDE: 394 / 3965 or about 10%

Native American students served, according to the district: About 600-650 / 3965 or about 16%

POCATELLO/CHUBBUCK SCHOOL DISTRICT

Native American students served, according to the SDE: 420 / 12,048 or about 3.5%

Native American students served, according to the district: 846 / 12,348 or about 7%

CHARTER SCHOOLS

Chief Tahgee Elementary Academy: 

Native American students served, according to the SDE: 123 / 124

Native American students served, according to the district: Similar to SDE numbers

DISTRICTS/SCHOOLS ON OR NEAR THE NEZ PERCE RESERVATION

LAPWAI SCHOOL DISTRICT

Native American students served, according to the SDE: 387 / 510 or about 76%

Native American students served, according to the district: 479 / 518 or about 92%

DISTRICTS/SCHOOLS ON OR NEAR THE COEUR D’ALENE RESERVATION

PLUMMER-WORLEY SCHOOL DISTRICT

Native American students served, according to the SDE: 159 / 342 or about 46%

Native American students served, according to the district: Similar to SDE numbers

DISTRICTS/SCHOOLS ON OR NEAR THE KOOTENAI RESERVATION

BOUNDARY COUNTY SCHOOL DISTRICT 

Native American students served, according to the SDE: 37 / 1,407 or about 2.6%

Native American students served, according to the district: Similar to SDE numbers

DISTRICTS/SCHOOL ON OR NEAR THE DUCK VALLEY RESERVATION

ELKO COUNTY SCHOOL DISTRICT

Native American students served, according to the Nevada SDE: 567 / 9943 or about 5.7%

The Owyhee Combined School is located in Nevada and contains three schools within it. The data below reflects some of Nevada’s common learning achievement measures: the ACT and the CRT (which refers to a state-approved, criterion reference test). In both cases, specific results were redacted due to low numbers (10% or fewer) of students who achieved proficiency, which could risk student privacy. However, the redaction threshold indicates that results were below state averages.

 

This story is part of a series that was made possible with a generous grant from the Education Writers Association.

Idaho Education News data analyst Randy Schrader contributed to this report.

Carly Flandro

Carly Flandro

Carly Flandro reports from her hometown of Pocatello. Prior to joining EdNews, she taught English at Century High and was a reporter for the Bozeman Daily Chronicle. She has won state and regional journalism awards, and her work has appeared in newspapers throughout the West. Flandro has a bachelor’s degree in print journalism and Spanish from the University of Montana, and a master’s degree in English from Idaho State University. You can email her at [email protected] or call or text her at (208) 317-4287.

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Still Here | Tribes fight to be seen in Idaho classrooms

About this series

Reporter Carly Flandro set out to answer this question: What most helps Native American students succeed?

She logged more than a thousand miles to visit four of Idaho’s five reservations from the Kootenai Reservation (near the Canadian border) to the Fort Hall reservation (adjacent to her hometown of Pocatello). Carly talked with tribal officials, school leaders, teachers and students.

Two answers emerged:

  1. Students need more Native American teachers in the classroom ...
  2. And more Native American perspectives and voices in the curriculum.

This series takes a look at the people and organizations who are cultivating those two ingredients for student success. At stake: elevating students who are too often overlooked and ensuring they have equitable access to bright futures.

These stories were supported with a generous grant from the Education Writers Association.

Here’s the reporting by the numbers:

Miles traveled: 1,265
Reservations visited: Fort Hall, Coeur d’Alene, Nez Perce, Kootenai
Schools visited: 9
Classrooms visited: 11

Shoshone-Bannock

Shoshone-Bannock (Newe)

Get to know the tribes: 

  • Their own bison herd: The tribes own a bison herd of about 500, keeping alive a connection to an animal with great cultural and historical significance.
  • Bareback horse racing: Every year, the tribes host an “Indian Relay racing” event to honor a sport that originated with the Shoshone-Bannock people; it involves a rider making three laps around a racetrack, jumping bareback onto a new horse each time. Three other team members keep horses calm, catch the incoming horse, and prepare the next horse for the rider.
  • Cultural event of the year: The relay races are just one part of the annual Shoshone Bannock Indian Festival, which also includes dancing, drumming, parades, traditional games, an art show, a rodeo, bull riding, and a buffalo and salmon feast.
  • Visit the Shoshone-Bannock tribes’ website for more information.

Local schools, by the numbers:

  • Shoshone-Bannock Jr./Sr. High: About 150 Native American students attend this 6-12 grade school, which is one of two Idaho schools run by tribal governments. It is located on the Fort Hall Reservation.
  • Chief Tahgee Elementary Academy: 126 students (all of whom are Native American) attend this K-7 charter school located on the Fort Hall Reservation. The school focuses on Shoshoni language and cultural immersion.
  • Blackfoot school district: According to the State Department of Education, 394 Native American students attend these schools, making up about 10% of the district’s student population. The district's records show it has 600-650 Native American students, comprising about 16% of the population. 
  • Pocatello-Chubbuck school district: According to the SDE, 420 Native American students attend these schools, making up about 3.5% of the district’s student population. The district's records show it has 846 Native American students, comprising about 7% of the population. 

Nez Perce

Nez Perce (Nimiipuu)

Get to know the tribe:

  • Chief Joseph: When the U.S. government forced the Nez Perce to move to the existing reservation, Chief Joseph led his tribe on a long trek to Canada to escape. However, they surrendered in the Bear Paw mountains of Montana, just 40 miles from Canada. “I will fight no more forever,” he said. His people were sent to reservations in Oklahoma, then Washington. The tribe is now located in north Idaho.
  • Saving the Snake River: The tribe’s Salmon Orca Project is dedicated to restoring the Snake River by removing its lower dams. The goal: protecting salmon and other fish — and the orcas who depend on them.
  • Energy self-reliance: Nimiipuu Energy, a tribally-owned energy cooperative, is working on creating a cross-country, tribal network of alternative energy sources. Along with Project 5311, they aim to replace the energy “Bonneville Power claims the dams provide.”
  • Tribal hemp farms: The tribe supports hemp farmers growing within the reservation boundaries. They aim to “create a viable hemp system that promotes tribal sovereignty and provides business opportunity to tribal farmers and land owners.”
  • Visit the Nez Perce tribe’s website for more information.

Local schools, by the numbers: .

  • Lapwai School District: According to the State Department of Education, 387 Native American students attend these schools, making up about 76% of the district’s student population. The district's records show it has 479 Native American students, comprising about 92% of the population.

Coeur d’Alene

Coeur d’Alene (Schitsu’umsh)

Get to know the tribe:

  • American heroes: Coeur d’Alene tribal members have served in every major U.S. conflict since WWII: “Brave men and women of our tribal families have landed on the shores of Normandy, and served in Vietnam, Iraq, and Afghanistan.”
  • Cleaning up the Coeur d’Alene watershed: In 1991, the tribe filed a lawsuit to force restoration of the Coeur d’Alene watershed, where the mining industry dumped 72 million tons of waste into the water over a hundred-year period. Today, the Silver Valley is “the nation’s second largest Superfund site.” The tribe is among the entities leading cleanup efforts: “We do it not just for the Coeur d’Alene Tribe, but for everybody.”
  • A casino, farms, and wellness center: The tribe owns the Coeur d’Alene Casino Resort Hotel, which employs about 500 people and generates about $20 million in profits annually. The 6,000-acre tribal farm produces wheat, barley, peas, lentils, and canola. And the tribe’s wellness center includes a medical facility that “has evolved to be a national model for both Indian health care and rural health care.”
  • Visit the Coeur d’Alene tribe’s website for more information.

Local schools, by the numbers: .

  • Coeur d’Alene Tribal School: All of the school’s approximately 100 K-8 students are Native American. This is one of two Idaho schools run by tribal governments. It is located in DeSmet, on the southern end of the Coeur d’Alene Reservation.
  • Plummer-Worley School District: 159 Native American students attend these schools, making up about 46% of the district’s student population.

Kootenai

Kootenai (Ktunaxa) 

Get to know the tribe:

  • Montana/Canada connection: The U.S.-Canadian border “split the Kootenai people into seven communities — the Kootenai tribe of Idaho, as well as bands and tribes at several locations in British Columbia and Montana.”
  • Saving the sturgeon: The Kootenai River white sturgeon was listed as an endangered species in 1994. The Kootenai Tribe of Idaho, state and federal agencies, and the Bonneville Power Administration, have worked to recover this species. The tribe also has its own sturgeon hatchery.
  • A 1974 war for land and services: In 1974, the then 67 members of the tribe declared war on the United States, which had threatened to sell the tribe’s land even though it had not signed a treaty. The war was peaceful, non-violent, and lasted only a few days. The government allocated 12.5 acres to the tribe, provided roads, a sewer, and city water, and access to education, employment, and social development funding.
  • Visit the Kootenai tribe’s website for more information.

Local schools, by the numbers: 

  • Boundary County School District: The district has 37 Native American students, making up about 2.6% of its population.

Shoshone-Paiute

Shoshone-Paiute (Numu)

Get to know the tribe:

  • The 101 Ranch: The tribes own and operate a cattle and crops ranch, known as the Wilson/101 Ranch. The property totals 938 acres and includes a ranch house, outbuildings, corrals, a barn, feedlot, and holding corrals.
  • Wetlands and a reservoir: The nearly-290,000 acre Duck Valley Reservation includes more than 22,000 acres of wetlands and the Wildhorse Reservoir, built in 1936 for irrigation. Today, the tribes maintain several camping areas at the reservoir.
  • Rainbow trout fisheries: Anglers can try their luck at Lake Billy Shaw, Mountain View Reservoir, and Sheep Creek Reservoir. The Owyhee River is also open to fishing (fishing permits are required for all).
  • Visit the Shoshone-Paiute tribes’ website for more information.

Local schools, by the numbers: 

  • Owyhee Combined School: This K-12 school serves 277 Native American students, who comprise about 92% of its student population. The school is located on the Duck Valley Reservation and serves Idaho students and tribes.