Idaho’s Lowest Ranked High Schools in U.S. News Report

When it comes to education in Idaho, some schools shine brightly for their academic performance. U.S. News & World Report recently released their rankings of top high schools across the nation.

The annual ranking doesn’t just highlight the Idaho schools who are top performers. The data also gives us a clearer picture of schools where there is room for improvement.

The publication included 24,000 high schools across the nation in its most recent set of rankings, including 157 Idaho high schools. Six factors went into establishing a final score for each of the schools on the list. Here’s a look at those factors and how much of the total score they made up:

College Readiness 30%
State Assessment Proficiency 20%
State Assessment Performance 20%
Underserved Student Performance 10%
College Curriculum Breadth 10%
Graduation Rate 10%

We’ve already taken a look at the top performing schools on the list, but now it's time to flip the script and look at which Idaho high schools landed near the bottom.

Get our free mobile app

While these schools may rank lower on the list, that doesn’t mean they aren’t full of hard-working students and teachers who want to see them excel, but it does highlight unique challenges some communities face.

Once U.S. News & World Report reached #104, these schools were all given a rank of “#104-157 in Idaho rankings.” Some have high graduation rates, but their low or nonexistent college readiness schools dropped them to the bottom of the list.

Author's Note: This article breaks down data that was already made public. It is simply an extraction of Idaho data from a national report and does not reflect the views of our station.

Photo by Daniel McCullough on Unsplash

Wilder Middle/High School - Wilder, ID

Graduation Rate - 91% | College Readiness - N/A | Enrollment 9-12 - 143
100% of students considered economically disadvantaged by U.S. News & World Report

Wendell High School - Wendell, ID

Graduation Rate - 71% | College Readiness - N/A | Enrollment 9-12 - 329
Reading Proficiency - 62%

Weiser High School - Weiser, ID

Graduation Rate - 82% | College Readiness - N/A | Enrollment 9-12 - 529
Mathematics Proficiency - 29% | Reading Proficiency - 64%

Teton High School - Driggs, ID

Graduation Rate - 90% | College Readiness - N/A | Enrollment 9-12 - 606
Reading Proficiency - 47%

Technical Careers High School - Idaho Falls, ID

Graduation Rate - 95% | College Readiness - N/A | Enrollment 9-12 - 107
15% of students considered economically disadvantaged by U.S. News & World Report

Sugar-Salem High School - Sugar City, ID

Graduation Rate - 91% | College Readiness - N/A | Enrollment 9-12 - 591
Mathematics Proficiency - 30% | Reading Proficiency - 43%

Snake River High School - Blackfoot, ID

Graduation Rate - 96% | College Readiness - 13.1 | Enrollment 9-12 - 603
Reading Proficiency - 41%

Shelley Senior High School - Shelley, ID

Graduation Rate - 91% | College Readiness - N/A | Enrollment 9-12 - 785
Reading Proficiency - 49%

Salmon High School - Salmon, ID

Graduation Rate - 74% | College Readiness - N/A | Enrollment 9-12 - 236
Mathematics Proficiency - 21% | Reading Proficiency 41%

Ririe High School - Ririe, ID

Graduation Rate - 83% | College Readiness - N/A | Enrollment 9-12 - 233
Mathematics Proficiency - 27% | Reading Proficiency - 60%

Rimrock Jr-Sr High School - Bruneau, ID

Graduation Rate - 96% | College Readiness - N/A | Enrollment 9-12 - 81
Reading Proficiency - 45%

Priest River Lamanna High School - Priest River, ID

Graduation Rate - 66% | College Readiness - N/A | Enrollment 9-12 - 274
30% of students considered economically disadvantaged by U.S. News & World Report

Potlatch Jr/Sr High School - Potlatch, ID

Graduation Rate - 94% | College Readiness - N/A | Enrollment 9-12 - 128
25% of students considered economically disadvantaged by U.S. News & World Report

Payette High School - Payette, ID

Graduation Rate - 79% | College Readiness - N/A | Enrollment 9-12 - 364
Reading Proficiency - 54%

Pathways in Education: Nampa - Nampa, ID

Graduation Rate - 16% | College Readiness - N/A | Enrollment 9-12 - 290
Mathematics Proficiency - 0%

Parma High School - Parma, ID

Graduation Rate - 95% | College Readiness - N/A | Enrollment 9-12 - 330
Reading Proficiency - 60%

Orofino High School - Orofino, ID

Graduation Rate - 72% | College Readiness - N/A | Enrollment 9-12 - 239
Mathematics Proficiency - 20% | Reading Proficiency - 43%

North Fremont Jr-Sr High School - Ashton, ID

Graduation Rate - 85% | College Readiness - N/A | Enrollment 9-12 - 187
32% of students considered economically disadvantaged by U.S. News & World Report

New Plymouth High School - New Plymouth, ID

Graduation Rate - 94% | College Readiness - N/A | Enrollment 9-12 - 290
Reading Proficiency - 54%

Mountain Home Senior High School - Mountain Home

Graduation Rate - 77% | College Readiness - 8.8 | Enrollment 9-12 - 894
Mathematics Proficiency - 20% | Reading Proficiency - 45%

Melba High School - Melba, ID

Graduation Rate - 87% | College Readiness - N/A | Enrollment 9-12 - 268
Mathematics Proficiency - 45% | Reading Proficiency - 57%

Lincoln High School - Idaho Falls, ID

Graduation Rate - 60% | College Readiness - N/A | Enrollment 9-12 - 136
37% of students considered economically disadvantaged by U.S. News & World Report

Lapwai High School - Lapwai, ID

Graduation Rate - 76% | College Readiness - N/A | Enrollment 9-12 - 149
21% of students considered economically disadvantaged by U.S. News & World Report

Lakeside High School - Plummer, ID

Graduation Rate - 50% | College Readiness - N/A | Enrollment 9-12 - 123
64% of students considered economically disadvantaged by U.S. News & World Report

Kuna High School - Kuna, ID

Graduation Rate - 82% | College Readiness - N/A | Enrollment 9-12 - 1,640
Mathematics Proficiency - 29% | Reading Proficiency - 60%

Jerome High School - Jerome, ID

Graduation Rate - 79% | College Readiness - N/A | Enrollment 9-12 - 1,156
Reading Proficiency - 44%

Kellogg High School - Kellogg, ID

Graduation Rate - 82% | College Readiness - N/A | Enrollment 9-12 - 300
36% of students considered economically disadvantaged by U.S. News & World Report

Idaho Technical Career Academy - Meridian, ID

Graduation Rate - 67% | College Readiness - N/A | Enrollment 9-12 -127

Idaho City High School - Idaho City, ID

Graduation Rate -88% | College Readiness - N/A | Enrollment 9-12 - 104
Reading Proficiency - 51%

Homedale High School - Homedale, ID

Graduation Rate - 92% | College Readiness - N/A | Enrollment 9-12 - 410
Science Proficiency - 15% | Reading Proficiency - 47%

Hansen Jr/Sr High School - Hansen, ID

Graduation Rate - 75% | College Readiness - N/A | Enrollment 9-12 - 88
Reading Proficiency - 58%

Garden Valley School - Garden Valley, ID

Graduation Rate - 88% | College Readiness - N/A | Enrollment 9-12 - 94
Mathematics Proficiency - 34% | Reading Proficiency - 46%

Filer High School - Filer, ID

Graduation Rate - 79% | College Readiness - N/A | Enrollment 9-12 - 488
Reading Proficiency - 66%

Eagle Academy - Eagle, ID

Graduation Rate - 47% | College Readiness - N/A | Enrollment 9-12 - 190
39% of students considered economically disadvantaged by U.S. News & World Report

Council Jr/Sr High School - Council, ID

Graduation Rate - 75% | College Readiness - N/A | Enrollment 9-12 - 76
31% of students considered economically disadvantaged by U.S. News & World Report

Clearwater Valley Jr-Sr - Kooskia, ID

Graduation Rate - 53% | College Readiness - N/A | Enrollment 9-12 - 115
Mathematics Proficiency - 32% | Reading Proficiency - 48%

Challis Jr-Sr High School - Challis, ID

Graduation Rate - 70% | College Readiness - N/A | Enrollment 9-12 - 100
36% of students considered economically disadvantaged by U.S. News & World Report

Burley Senior High School - Burley, ID

Graduation Rate - 92% | College Readiness - 5.5 | Enrollment 9-12 - 1,024
Mathematics Proficiency - 25% | Reading Proficiency - 42% | Science Proficiency - 30%

Buhl High School - Buhl, ID

Graduation Rate - 78% | College Readiness - N/A | Enrollment 9-12 - 365
36% of students considered economically disadvantaged by U.S. News & World Report

Blackfoot High School - Blackfoot, ID

Graduation Rate - 89% | College Readiness - N/A | Enrollment 9-12 - 1,243
Mathematics Proficiency - 28% | Reading Proficiency - 58%

Bennett Mountain High School - Mountain Home, ID

Graduation Rate - 89% | College Readiness - 10.6 | Enrollment 9-12 - 103
49% of students considered economically disadvantaged by U.S. News & World Report

American Falls High School - American Falls, ID

Graduation Rate - 86% | College Readiness - N/A | Enrollment 9-12 - 442
Science Proficiency - 30% | Reading Proficiency - 50%

These Are the Worst High Schools in Idaho According to National Report

READ MORE: These 10 Idaho School Leaders Make the Most Money in the State