Idaho fell short of statewide proficiency goals in English and math this spring on the Idaho Standards Achievement Test (ISAT), but performance varied widely across the state.
Some schools reached more than 90% proficiency in English language arts, and charter schools again topped overall rankings.
Students take the ISAT in English, math and science every year. The test doesn’t affect their grades, but lawmakers, schools and parents use the scores to measure Idaho’s K-12 performance.
Yet high scores were rare overall. The best-performing traditional school district, Cottonwood, reached just 66.3% proficiency in math. Idaho Virtual Academy is in the top 10 among online schools for math performance — despite just 23.9% of students reaching proficiency.
Scores are better for English language arts, with the top-performing school district, Troy, reaching 80% proficiency.
The Idaho Department of Education released the scores last week. EdNews sorted through the data to compile lists of top-performing districts and charters. The comparisons below reflect student performance in grades 3-8 and grade 11.
A note on the lists: School size, demographics, local funding and other factors can affect proficiency rates, so rankings aren’t an apples-to-apples comparison. Some data was also redacted by the state. Learn more about statewide results here.
Math Top 10 overall
| School/district | Proficiency | Number of test takers |
| North Idaho STEM Charter Academy | 92.5% | 292 |
| Coeur d’Alene Charter Academy | 87.5% | 401 |
| Victory Charter School | 79.4% | 199 |
| Liberty Charter School | 79.1% | 206 |
| Gem Prep: Online | 76% | 246 |
| Syringa Mountain Charter | 74.6% | 67 |
| Compass Public Charter | 73.7% | 734 |
| Legacy Public Charter | 73.7% | 213 |
| North Star Charter | 73.4% | 732 |
| Gem Prep: Meridian South | 72% | 286 |
Math Top 10 traditional school districts
| District | Proficiency | Number of test takers |
| Cottonwood | 66.3% | 240 |
| Whitepine | 63.6% | 118 |
| Moscow | 62.2% | 1,252 |
| Troy | 61.9% | 181 |
| McCall-Donnelly | 60.5% | 740 |
| West Side | 59.6% | 399 |
| Kootenai | 59.2% | 98 |
| Cascade | 58.7% | 109 |
| West Ada | 57.6% | 20,105 |
| Rockland | 57.6% | 85 |
Math Top 10 of the 25 traditional public school districts with the most test takers
| District | Proficiency | Number of test takers |
| West Ada | 57.6% | 20,105 |
| Lewiston | 54.7% | 2,338 |
| Lake Pend Oreille | 54.1% | 1,944 |
| Coeur D’Alene | 52.0% | 5,110 |
| Jefferson County | 51.5% | 3,437 |
| Lakeland | 49.4% | 2,497 |
| Middleton | 47.8% | 2,337 |
| Boise | 47.8% | 11,315 |
| Post Falls | 45.8% | 3,095 |
| Pocatello | 44.8% | 5,921 |
Math Top 10 schools in traditional districts
| School/district | Proficiency | Number of test takers |
| Renaissance High School in West Ada | 87.3% | 157 |
| Praxium Mastery Academy in Bonneville | 87.1% | 170 |
| Edahow Elementary in Pocatello | 81.9% | 149 |
| Victor Elementary in Teton County | 81.8% | 33 |
| Harrison Elementary in Kootenai | 81.6% | 49 |
| Paramount Elementary in West Ada | 80% | 260 |
| Eagle Hills Elementary in West Ada | 79.5% | 219 |
| Longfellow Elementary in Boise | 77.7% | 148 |
| Adams Elementary in Boise | 77.4% | 137 |
| Indian Creek Elementary in Kuna | 76.6% | 64 |
Math Top 10 charter schools
| School/district | Proficiency | Number of test takers |
| North Idaho Stem Charter Academy | 92.5% | 292 |
| Coeur d’Alene Charter Academy | 87.5% | 401 |
| Victory Charter School | 79.4% | 199 |
| Liberty Charter School | 79.1% | 206 |
| Gem Prep: Online | 76.0% | 246 |
| Syringa Mountain School | 74.6% | 67 |
| Compass Public Charter School | 73.7% | 734 |
| Legacy Public Charter School | 73.7% | 213 |
| North Star Charter School | 73.4% | 691 |
| Gem Prep: Meridian South | 72.0% | 286 |
Math Top 10 online schools
| School/district | Proficiency | Number of test takers |
| Gem Prep: Online | 76% | 246 |
| Bear Lake On-line Learning | 32.2% | 121 |
| Kamiah Online | 29% | 62 |
| Snake River Online | 28.4% | 958 |
| Sugar-Salem Online | 28.1% | 320 |
| Idaho Home Learning Academy Charter | 26.8% | 4,385 |
| Bonneville Online School | 26.2% | 61 |
| Idaho Technical Career Academy | 26.2% | 61 |
| Boundary County Online | 24.9% | 249 |
| Idaho Virtual Academy | 24.9% | 1,105 |
ELA Top 10 overall
| School/district | Proficiency | Number of test takers |
| Coeur d’Alene Charter Academy | 95.3% | 401 |
| North Idaho Stem Charter Academy | 94.5% | 292 |
| Liberty Charter School | 85.4% | 205 |
| Victory Charter School | 84.1% | 201 |
| Legacy Public Charter School | 83.4% | 211 |
|
Gem Prep: Online |
82.7% | 249 |
|
North Star Charter School |
82.3% | 696 |
| Compass Public Charter School | 80.9% | 733 |
| Troy School District | 80% | 180 |
| Syringa Mountain Charter | 79.7% | 69 |
ELA Top 10 traditional school districts
| District | Proficiency | Number of test takers |
| Troy | 80% | 180 |
| Swan Valley Elementary | 76% | 25 |
| McCall-Donnelly | 74.5% | 738 |
| West Side | 71.5% | 399 |
| Cottonwood | 71.4% | 238 |
| Kootenai | 71% | 96 |
| Rockland | 69.8% | 85 |
| West Ada | 69.1% | 20,103 |
| Moscow | 68.8% | 1,246 |
| Coeur d’Alene | 65.9% | 5,115 |
ELA Top 10 districts of the 25 traditional public school districts with the most test takers
| School/district | Proficiency | Number of test takers |
| West Ada | 69.1% | 20,103 |
| Moscow | 68.8% | 1,246 |
| Coeur d’Alene | 65.9% | 5,115 |
| Lake Pend Oreille | 64% | 1,937 |
| Lewiston | 61.4% | 2,344 |
| Lakeland | 60.7% | 2,492 |
| Jefferson County | 58.6% | 3,248 |
| Post Falls | 58.6% | 3,107 |
| Middleton | 58.2% | 2,344 |
| Pocatello | 58% | 5,916 |
ELA Top 10 schools in traditional school districts
| School/district | Proficiency | Number of test takers |
| Renaissance High in West Ada | >96% | N/A |
| Praxium Mastery Academy in Bonneville | 95.9% | 170 |
| Idaho Fine Arts Academy in West Ada | 94.3% | 141 |
| Harrison Elementary in Kootenai | 87.5% | 48 |
| Longfellow Elementary in Boise | 85.8% | 148 |
| Rocky Mtn. High in West Ada | 85.2% | 418 |
| Eagle High in West Ada | 84.6% | 382 |
| Troy Elementary in Troy | 84.6% | 104 |
| Owyhee High in West Ada | 84.1% | 403 |
| Twin Falls High | 84.1% | 283 |
ELA Top 10 charter schools
| School/district | Proficiency | Number of test takers |
| Coeur d’Alene Charter | 95.3% | 401 |
| North Idaho STEM Charter Academy | 94.5% | 292 |
| Liberty Charter | 85.4% | 205 |
| Victory Charter | 84.1% | 201 |
| Legacy Public Charter | 83.4% | 211 |
| Gem Prep: Online | 82.7% | 249 |
| North Star Charter | 82.3% | 696 |
| Compass Public Charter | 80.9% | 733 |
| Syringa Mountain | 79.7% | 69 |
| Thomas Jefferson Charter | 78.4% | 199 |
ELA Top 10 online schools
| School/district | Proficiency | Number of test takers |
| Gem Prep: Online | 82.7% | 249 |
| Idaho Technical Career Academy | 65.6% | 61 |
| Insight School of Idaho | 57.4% | 68 |
| Bonneville Online Elementary | 47% | 251 |
| Idaho Virtual Academy | 46.8% | 1,097 |
| Kootenai Bridge Academy | 46.8% | 62 |
| Sugar-Salem Online | 44.5% | 319 |
| Kamiah Online | 43.5% | 62 |
| Snake River Online | 43% | 955 |
| Bear Lake On-Line Learning | 43% | 121 |
Click here to see all scores by district and charter.
Click here to see all scores by school.
Ed News Data Analyst Randy Schrader contributed to this report.
