Reading proficiency among Idaho’s K-3 students fell half a percentage point this spring compared with last spring — the first year of the redesigned Idaho Reading Indicator exam.
Idaho’s youngest students read to their computers for the second time this school year as part of the redesigned test. While students showed growth from fall to spring after a year of instruction, overall proficiency fell from 70.9% to 70.4%.
But some schools far outperformed statewide results. EdNews sorted through the data to compile lists of the top performers at both traditional and charter schools.
As in previous years, charter schools dominated the top 10 overall list. Also similar to prior years, smaller schools led the pack, with all top 10 overall performers having fewer than 350 test takers.
Idaho’s largest school district, West Ada, dominated school-level results, with five top 10 schools in the traditional districts category. Most districts with schools in this top 10 list are large like West Ada, Boise, Coeur d’Alene, and Lake Pend Oreille.
Virtual schools continue to struggle, with just one school, Gem Prep: Online, beating the statewide proficiency rate. Boundary County Online made the top 10 virtual schools list with just 43.3% of students scoring proficient.
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 the statewide results.
Top 10 overall
| District/charter | Proficiency | Number of test takers |
| North Idaho STEM Charter Academy | 96.5% | 193 |
| Taylor’s Crossing Public Charter | >95% | *Redacted (typically due to fewer than 5 students) |
| Legacy Public Charter | 92.8% | 103 |
| Vision Charter | 90.6% | 192 |
| Victory Charter | 89.7% | 96 |
| West Side Joint District | 89.1% | 179 |
| North Star Charter | 89% | 275 |
| Gem Prep: Online | 88.7% | 47 |
| Troy District | 88.1% | 89 |
| Compass Public Charter | 87.2% | 348 |
Top 10 traditional districts
| District/charter | Proficiency | Number of test takers |
| West Side | 89.1% | 179 |
| Troy | 88.1% | 89 |
| Cascade | 86% | 49 |
| Glenns Ferry | 83.6% | 46 |
| Rockland | >83% | *Redacted (typically due to fewer than 5 students) |
| Preston | 83% | 536 |
| Cottonwood | 82.9% | 88 |
| Melba | 82.5% | 160 |
| West Ada | 82% | 7,706 |
| Grace | 81.1% | 114 |
Top 10 charter schools
| District/charter | Proficiency | Number of test takers |
| North Idaho STEM Charter Academy | 96.5% | 193 |
| Taylor’s Crossing Charter School | >95% | *Redacted (typically due to fewer than 5 students) |
| Legacy Charter School | 92.8% | 103 |
| Vision Charter School | 90.6% | 192 |
| Victory Charter School | 89.7% | 96 |
| North Star Charter School | 89% | 275 |
| Gem Prep: Online | 88.7% | 47 |
| Compass Public Charter School | 87.2% | 348 |
| Palouse Prairie Charter School | 87% | 80 |
| Gem Prep: Meridian South | 86.4% | 172 |
Top 10 schools in traditional districts
| School/district | Proficiency | Number of test takers |
| Paramount Elementary in West Ada | 94.5% | 262 |
| Sorensen Magnet School in Coeur d’Alene | 93.4% | 183 |
| Eagle Hills Elementary in West Ada | 93.1% | 202 |
| Highlands Elementary in Boise | 92.2% | 142 |
| Galileo Stem Academy in West Ada | 91.7% | 352 |
| Paris Elementary in Bear Lake | 89.6% | 69 |
| Washington Elementary in Lake Pend Oreille | 89.3% | 150 |
| Hillsdale Elementary in West Ada | 89.1% | 432 |
| Harold B Lee Elementary in West Side Joint | 89.1% | 179 |
| Christine Donnell School of the Arts in West Ada | 88.9% | 257 |
Top 10 out of Idaho’s largest 25 school districts
| District | Proficiency | Number of test takers |
| Preston Joint | 83% | 536 |
| West Ada | 82.5% | 7,706 |
| Lake Pend Oreille | 80.6% | 763 |
| Coeur d’Alene | 79% | 2,045 |
| Post Falls | 78.8% | 1,341 |
| Lakeland | 78.7% | 978 |
| Lewiston | 78.6% | 951 |
| Madison | 75% | 1,166 |
| Jefferson County | 74.9% | 1,286 |
| Middleton | 72.5% | 756 |
Top 10 online schools
| School | Proficiency | Number of test takers |
| Gem Prep: Online | 88.7% | 47 |
| Kamiah Online | 68.1% | 32 |
| Wilder Academy of Virtual Education | 66.7% | 14 |
| Idaho Home Learning Academy | 63.2% | 1,979 |
| Sugar-Salem Online | 60.7% | 114 |
| Snake River Online | 60.1% | 364 |
| Idaho Virtual Academy | 58.4% | 173 |
| Bonneville Online Elementary | 49.4% | 101 |
| Bear Lake Online Learning | 48.6% | 40 |
| Boundary County Online School | 43.3% | 84 |
Spring IRI by performance.
Spring IRI alphabetically.
