Best Public Schools in Ashton, ID

Ashton, Idaho is home to two public schools—North Fremont Junior/Senior High School, serving grades 6–12 with 316 students, and Ashton Elementary School, serving grades PK–5 with 228 students—both part of the Fremont County Joint District, which ranks 66th out of 101 Idaho districts with a 2-star rating. North Fremont is the city's only secondary school and has shown steady improvement, climbing from the 5th percentile in 2022–2023 to the 30th percentile in 2025–2026. Ashton Elementary, however, has experienced a sharp decline, falling from the 76th percentile in 2023–2024 to the 27th percentile in 2025–2026.

The two schools' test scores tell a story of dramatic reversal. Between 2024–2025 and 2025–2026, Ashton Elementary's math proficiency fell from 54.2% to 41.6%, while North Fremont's math proficiency rose from 32.4% to 42.3%. In 2025–2026, North Fremont outperformed Ashton Elementary in both math (42.3% vs. 41.6%) and ELA (52.7% vs. 43.1%), while also exceeding the district average. Ashton Elementary serves a higher-need population, with 55.26% of students qualifying for free/reduced lunch compared to 44.94% at North Fremont. Chronic absenteeism is also a major concern at Ashton Elementary at 17.4%, well above the district's 12.2% and the state's 13.8%, while North Fremont's rate of 11.1% falls below both.

Grade-level data at North Fremont reveals a troubling pattern in upper grades: math proficiency drops from 56.4% in 6th grade to just 28.6% at the End of Course level, and science proficiency is only 22.9% at the End of Course level, well below the state's 41.2%. At Ashton Elementary, 4th graders perform best with 51.3% math proficiency, while 3rd graders lag at 37.8%. North Fremont spends $8,721 per student versus $7,826 at Ashton Elementary, and its 82.5% graduation rate matches the state average. The district will need different strategies for each school—supporting upper-grade academic transitions at North Fremont and addressing attendance and early-grade proficiency at Ashton Elementary.