West Ada has five schools among the state’s Top 10 performers, while Rathdrum-based Lakeland might be the most improved district, with three schools on the movers list.
And charters took nearly all of the Top 10 spots for high schools.
The Idaho Department of Education recently released its third round of annual rankings based on several learning measures. The latest results reflect the 2024-25 school year.
EdNews sifted the data for standouts and other trends.
All Top 10 high schools, except Rockland Public High School, emphasize a specific learning focus, like that of Idaho Fine Arts Academy or Meridian Technical Charter.
The first rankings were completed in 2018 when the federal government required states to identify the lowest-performing schools. The idea was that the state could help lift struggling schools with additional funding and support.
But the rankings lists, meant to be compiled every two years, were delayed from the 2020-2021 cycle to the 2021-22 school year because of the pandemic. The state moved to a three-year ranking cycle after the disruption.
The rankings rely on standardized test scores, student growth metrics, attendance and graduation rates. The state gives schools a composite score to rank them from best to worst.
Schools must have at least 20 students to be ranked. Schools are not separated by size or grades served in the overall rankings.
Factors like poverty, the number of special education students, and other demographics are not considered in the ranking.
See Idaho’s federal education accountability plan for more details on how scores are assigned.
Top 10 schools overall
| 2025 ranking | School/district | Composite score |
| 1 | Renaissance High/West Ada | 97.5 |
| 2 | Edahow Elementary/Pocatello | 97.3 |
| 3 | North Idaho STEM Charter Academy | 97.0 |
| 4 | Hayden Meadows Elementary/Coeur d’Alene | 96.4 |
| 5 | Prospect Elementary/West Ada | 96.4 |
| 6 | Galileo Magnet/West Ada | 96.4 |
| 7 | Eagle Hills Elementary/West Ada | 95.9 |
| 8 | Prairie Elementary/Cottonwood | 95.7 |
| 9 | Paramount Elementary/West Ada | 95.7 |
| 10 | Legacy Charter | 95.3 |
Ten worst
| 2025 ranking | School/district | Composite score |
| 667 | Wilder Elementary/Wilder | 7.0 |
| 668 | Lakeside Elementary/Plummer-Worley | 6.7 |
| 669 | Lakeside High/Plummer-Worley | 5.9 |
| 670 | McCain Middle/Payette | 5.4 |
| 671 | Boise Online School – Secondary/Boise | 5.3 |
| 672 | Fort Hall Elementary/Blackfoot | 5.0 |
| 673 | Pathways in Education: Nampa | 4.0 |
| 674 | Bridge Academy/Twin Falls | 2.6 |
| 675 | Wilder Middle/Wilder | 2.3 |
| 676 | Lakeside Jr. High/Plummer-Worley | 1.5 |
Most improved since 2022
| Moved up in ranking by: | School/district | 2025 ranking | 2025 composite |
| 318 | Pathways Middle/West Ada | 272 | 55.4 |
| 283 | Bruneau Elementary/Bruneau-Grandview | 244 | 59.0 |
| 267 | Mountain View Alternative/Lakeland | 76 | 81.3 |
| 261 | Falls Valley Elementary/Bonneville | 247 | 58.5 |
| 219 | Paris Elementary/Bear Lake | 108 | 76.0 |
| 217 | Athol Elementary/Lakeland | 260 | 57.3 |
| 213 | Kimberly Elementary/Kimberly | 176 | 67.0 |
| 205 | Monticello Montessori Charter | 359 | 46.9 |
| 200 | John Brown Elementary/Lakeland | 71 | 81.6 |
| 190 | Morningside Elementary/Twin Falls | 245 | 58.8 |
Top 10 high schools
| Ranking | School/district or authorizer | Composite score |
| 1 | Renaissance High/West Ada | 97.5 |
| 2 | North Idaho STEM Charter Academy/IPSCS | 97.0 |
| 3 | Meridian Technical Charter/West Ada | 94.8 |
| 4 | Meridian Medical Arts Charter/West Ada | 94.8 |
| 5 | Liberty Charter School/IPCSC | 94.6 |
| 6 | Compass Public Charter School/IPSCS | 93.6 |
| 7 | Victor Charter School/IPCSC | 92.6 |
| 8 | Coeur d’Alene Charter Academy/IPCSC | 92.3 |
| 9 | Idaho Fine Arts Academy/West Ada | 90.9 |
| 10 | Rockland Public School/Rockland | 88.0 |
*IPCSC: Idaho Public Charter School Commission
Top 10 K-8
| Ranking | School/district | Composite score |
| 1 | Edahow Elementary/Pocatello | 97.3 |
| 2 | Hayden Meadows Elementary/Coeur d’Alene | 96.4 |
| 3 | Prospect Elementary/West Ada | 96.4 |
| 4 | Galileo STEM Academy/West Ada | 96.4 |
| 5 | Eagle Hills Elementary/West Ada | 95.9 |
| 6 | Prairie Elementary/Cottonwood | 95.7 |
| 7 | Paramount Elementary/West Ada | 95.7 |
| 8 | Legacy Charter School | 95.3 |
| 9 | Sorensen Magnet School/Coeur d’Alene | 95.0 |
| 10 | Pioneer School of the Arts/West Ada | 95.0 |
Top 10 alternative
| Ranking | School/district | Composite score |
| 1 | Central Academy/West Ada | 81.9 |
| 2 | Mountainview/Lakeland | 81.3 |
| 3 | New Vision/Post Falls | 79.8 |
| 4 | Bennett Mountain/Mountain Home | 73.5 |
| 5 | Insight School of Idaho/Idaho Virtual Academy | 72.1 |
| 6 | Empower Connections/Inspire Academies | 70.4 |
| 7 | High Desert/Shoshone | 69.9 |
| 8 | Eagle Academy/West Ada | 69.5 |
| 9 | Heartland/McCall- Donnelly | 67.9 |
| 10 | Vallivue Academy/Vallivue | 64.5 |
School rankings overall:
Rankings alphabetically separated by school type:
Idaho Ed News’ Data Analyst Randy Schrader contributed to this story.
